Tears of the Fallen Ch. 16

Mac's head whipped around in surprise as Liam gave his friend a nod. "You're empathic? You never told me that."

"You never asked," Karn countered with a grin. "And why would I? We all keep our skills to ourselves. Perhaps that's why they're so diluted now. We're all so busy trying to be the biggest badass around that sharing unique talents has never been in our best interests. How the hell do you think I've managed to keep this motley crew in line for so long, Mac?"

It was a rhetorical question but the leader of the Praetorian's answered anyway. "You've had an inkling of what they were thinking or feeling."

"Feeling," his friend confirmed. "When you can sense emotions it's easier to divert the ones you don't want to be predominant in any given situation." Mac looked stunned and a bit put out at only now learning what his second in command could do, but Karn was unrepentant. If this new knowledge of shadow walking hadn't materialised, he would have kept his mouth shut about his abilities.

"I have no objections to you observing, Karn," Liam said, his lips curling in a small smile. "The more people who can hone their skills the better." He glanced at the woman at his side before turning back to the waiting vampires. "Should we make a start?"

With a concerned expression Mac nodded and motioned for them to head upstairs to the infirmary.

"You doubt we will be successful," Reasa commented as she passed him, feeling oddly comfortable in his presence. He reminded her of Louis a little, with perhaps a tad less of a cruel streak in his eyes. She didn't doubt for a moment that the Praetorian leader wasn't capable of cruelty, just that he was less inclined to veer in that direction.

"Brandon is close to Lily's heart. If you try this and fail, her heart will break. In saying that, this is the lesser of two evils so I am willing to give it a try."

She could understand his position, and hoped they could affect a positive change on the vampires. There was a lot at stake, not only the hopes of all those who cared for the injured, but also the mental well-being of the Vârcolac at her side. There was no accounting for what Liam would do if they failed. It didn't bear thinking about.

Reasa tried to convince herself that it was the emotional backlash of Liam's powers that concerned her, but she knew she was lying to herself. Though it was a strong factor to be considered, the kiss she had shared with Liam was still very firmly emblazoned in her memory. She should have been furious about the liberty he'd taken, and a part of her was, but mostly she longed for another taste of his lips, to see if his kiss had truly been as amazing as her memory told her it was. Shaking the memory from her mind as best she could, Reasa entered the door to the large infirmary, her gaze quickly sweeping the area.

Beside the very first bed that came into view stood Elina gazing down at the dark-haired male lying there. For all intents and purposes he gave off the appearance of being dead. Her expression was neutral, no sign of her inner thoughts as she watched the male for a moment longer and then walked gracefully over to the nearby window to rest against the window seat facing into the room.

Sitting in a comfy armchair beside the bed was Lily, a book in hand that she was reading out loud to the sleeping male. At their entrance, the Vârcolac finished the paragraph she was reading and then turned grave eyes to them. "I hate this book but it's one of Brandon's favourites. Please wake him up so he can finish the damned thing himself."

Lily rose from the chair, smiling a sad smile as she dropped a kiss on Brandon's forehead. "See you soon, Bran."

She walked across to them, slipping effortlessly into Liam's waiting arms. For a moment they just hugged quietly and then Lily straightened and stepped back, acceptance in her expression. "I know you will do your very best, Liam. Don't do anything that endangers you though, not for Brandon, and not for the others. They were your protectors and they wouldn't want you to do anything that caused you harm. Keep that firmly in mind." She was silently granting forgiveness in advance... should they fail at their task.

Liam nodded solemnly, guilt threatening to overwhelm him again. He was the reason six souls lay trapped or destroyed within their host bodies, and his beautiful friend was granting him absolution if he couldn't rectify his grievous error. He didn't deserve it and he wouldn't fail. He would stay there for however long it took to bring each and every one of the injured vampires back.

"I think you should go be somewhere else, Lily," he answered, his gaze dropping to her abdomen. "I have no idea how much, if any, emotional leakage will seep into the room as we try this. It would probably be best if you weren't present as a precaution."

"I don't want to leave Brandon... " Lily started to say, her gaze sweeping back to her friend as she spoke. Her mate was already moving though to gather her up against his chest and pull her towards the doorway.

"You heard Liam, this has never been done before and we don't know what may happen. I will not countenance any harm coming to you or our daughter, Liliana."

She knew she couldn't argue with Mac. She didn't have any intention of it. It was right that she shouldn't be around so much empathy right now and she would never do anything to risk their child. As if she would even consider causing her mate to, once more, lose the most precious thing in his world. "You never let me finish," she smiled up at Mac, sending soothing love down their mate bond. "I had been about to say I didn't want to leave Brandon but it would be best if I wasn't around such charged emotions. I'm not completely stupid, my love."

His frown lightened and then his expression turned sheepish. "Overreacting again, uh?"

Though his words were conciliatory, his tone was implacable and brought a loving smile to her face as she gave him a reassuring hug. "It's understandable. Let me know if there is any improvement."

Mac kissed his mate, long and slow, giving her as much love and reassurance as he could. He was aware that her heart was breaking and she was afraid to hope for a good outcome. He wanted to tell her it would all be okay but he truly didn't know if it would. He finally raised his head and cupped her cheek tenderly. "You'll be the first to know, my Lily Rose."

Satisfied, the pregnant Vârcolac headed from the room, leaving everyone staring quietly at Brandon for a long moment.

"I think it's best if we try this on Brandon first," Liam finally broke the silence. It appeared the expectation was there from the Praetorians that his friend was to be the first attempt anyway, so he was merely formalising the thought. "We need another comfortable chair. I don't know how long this may take."

Karn left the room and Elina came forward to look up at her cousin. "I can shield the room as you work. It won't be the best of shields as I'll need to cast it across everyone present, but it should help if there is some emotional leakage."

Liam considered it for a moment and then shook his head. "That kind of shield would be mostly ineffective and not a good use of your talents." He glanced at Reasa and then back to his cousin. "Reasa's control is exceptional. I'm not concerned about any issues there. I think it would be best if you buffered my defences instead. You're used to my mind so it will be second nature to you."

"And you will feel more confident in yourself knowing I am doing so," Elina said telepathically for his ears only.

"Yes I would, Elle. I am so much stronger with the new shielding techniques I've learned but this... this will just make me feel a bit better."

Karn's return into the room with a second plush armchair halted their conversation and Elina once more returned to her spot at the window. As Karn set it down beside its matching companion, she let her gaze run over the vampire that had managed to break through the cold defences she'd honed to perfection. She was still perturbed that she'd lashed out at him with such violence. Her loss of control had been unforgivable, no matter what the circumstances had been. It was unfortunate he would be present during this exercise, when she needed all of her control, but she would find a way to ignore him.

As if realising he was under scrutiny, Karn turned his head to look at her, his lips curling in another insufferable smile as his pale blue eyes twinkled and seem to convey that he knew just what she was thinking. Looking away, Elina turned inward, feeling the link that connected her to her cousin and concentrating solely on that as she slipped into Liam's mind and wove a delicate net of spidery tendrils around his impressive defences. Her web looked flimsy but it was as strong as she could make it. If Liam's control broke, well there would be at least a small fraction of time for the others to run before total catastrophe occurred.

Turning back to her cousin, she watched him and Reasa sit down beside Brandon's bed, the ancient tome open in Liam's lap as he quickly ran his gaze over a couple of pages. She stiffened when Karn moved to her side, resting his back against the wall beside her.

"Can I shadow you?"

Every single part of her being screamed NO but she ignored her instincts to push him away and relaxed as best she could. "I am only an additional shield for Liam. You will not learn anything from that."

"Guess, I will be the judge of that?" he countered swiftly, and she knew he would cause a scene if she continued to thwart him and that was counter-productive to why they were all here.

"Fine." Elina allowed entry into her mind, trying not to lash out instinctively when she felt the pure male dominance of the vampire by her side slip easily inside and nestle close to her own defences. She ignored him as best she could, relaxing further when he didn't push at her inner defences but instead examined her link with Liam and followed that path to her cousin's mind.

"Impressive." There was such respect and awe in Karn's tone that the last of Elina's misgivings eased and she concentrated on what was happening before them as opposed to fixating on the male at her side. She was relying on Karn not to violate the trust she was giving him. She only hoped that she wasn't wrong to do so.

Liam glanced at the woman at his side, meeting her apprehensive gaze. "Do you need more time?"

Reasa shook her head, rolling her shoulders to relax some of the tension suffusing her body. "No, we should begin."

At her acceptance, the large Vârcolac closed the book and set it down on the floor. "Mac, it might be best to clear the house of anyone who doesn't need to be here."

"That's already been done, Liam. Everyone who is here needs to be here," the Praetorian leader answered calmly, signalling the Weres and vampires who were tending to the others. "We can't afford to leave the others uncared for while this is happening. Everyone present has volunteered to be here."

Again, it was as if he was being absolved of any responsibility in advance, and Liam felt another moment's doubt that he could, not only, bring the vampires back, but deserved any forgiveness.

"We should begin, Liam."

Reasa's practical tone helped to balance him and he nodded his head slowly, turning to look at Brandon lying so peacefully in the bed. "Time to come back to us, Brandon," he muttered under his breath, feeling Reasa slipped effortlessly into his mind beside Elina.

Dear God it was hopeless!

That was the first thought that came to Liam's mind as he slipped into Brandon's and viewed the carnage that was there. Unlike everything he'd previously experienced, there was no long passageway with doors leading from it, straight or curving haphazardly as Reasa had described. He stood at the beginning of what appeared to be a maze, a ten-foot barrier of steel mesh in front of him.

"Reasa?" He couldn't keep the hopelessness from his voice and knew she picked up on it instantly.

"I've never seen anything like it before," she whispered, her tone horrified as she stood beside him. "Liam, this mind is gone. There is nothing we can do."

They were speaking aloud as they had done before, and he knew the others would be listening to every word they said. Despite concentrating solely on Brandon's mind, he could detect Mac's sharp, indrawn breath at Reasa's announcement. Liam refused to be defeated, refused to give up hope when they hadn't even tried yet.

"I don't accept that, Reasa. I can't accept that. We have to be able to do something."

"What? I have no experience of this. I don't know where to begin and that book didn't give us any answers for something as damaged as this. What can we do?"

Squaring his shoulders, Liam reached down and took her hand, to lend her strength and also to find some himself. "We can try, Reasa. We can try." Taking a step forward he pulled her through the opening in the steel mesh and deeper into the fractured mind before them.

The conversation between Liam and Reasa made Mac's heart sink. He had no idea what they were seeing inside Brandon's mind but it sounded hopeless. He looked away from the bed, towards the window where Elina and Karn stood.

"Are you seeing what they're seeing?"

Elina shook her head, for once her serene expression clouded by a deep frown. "I can only feel their emotions, Mac. Whatever they're experiencing has stunned them. Reasa is convinced there is nothing they can do. Despite the fact she has more experience than Liam, he isn't willing to concede that point yet. Liam is determined they can prevail, but I'm not sure how much of that is wishful thinking on his part."

The Vârcolac turned her gaze from the couple at the bed to the Praetorian leader. "Are you sure you can't clear out more people from the house? I'm unsure if I'll be able to contain Liam if this goes badly, Mac. Perhaps you should join Lily? We can't afford to lose you as Praetorian leader, let alone as Lily's mate."

A low growl from the male at her side had her head inclining in his direction.

"You should have more faith in your cousin... and yourself. Liam's shields are strong and the buffer you have in place buys us all a little time should something go wrong. Doubting Liam while you're in his mind isn't going to be of help," Karn remarked.

Mac considered their words when Elina didn't respond to his second in command, taking his time to digest the ramifications if things went wrong. Karn was right, they had an advanced warning system in place, and they could use the precious few seconds that Elina could grant them. For now, his place was here with his fallen, until such times it became too dangerous to remain. In addition, if Elina was right about Liam being unrealistic about their chances of success, someone had to be there to ensure neither he nor Reasa came to any harm. That was his job.

"I'm staying," he finally answered, his tone brooking no argument.

The Vârcolac opened her mouth as if to say more but a hand on her arm diverted her attention and her frosty glare turned on Karn. "Do not touch me."

"Don't get excited, Missy. It wasn't that kind of touch."

Karn removed his hand, delighting in the irritated snort that escaped Elina's lips. He couldn't help baiting her at every possible turn, regardless of how dire the current situation was. There was something about the woman that brought out the devilment in him. It had been a long time since any woman had interested him on the level that Elina did. Mac's disapproving glare settled him down somewhat, and he settled back to let events unfold.

*****

More steel mesh greeted Liam and Reasa as they moved forward into Brandon's mind. It bent and twisted, seeming to branch off into different paths. It was indeed a maze, one so twisted that they hit a dead end almost immediately and had to backtrack. Liam chose to go right, weaving through spaces so narrow he could feel steel barbs snagging at his arms. He ignored it, keeping his forward momentum until he hit another dead end.

"Back," he sighed, returning to the beginning and choosing the forward path this time. Liam refused to give up. The fact they were in a maze indicated some kind of order within Brandon's mind even if it was complicated. If the vampire's mind was truly destroyed then shouldn't there just be blackness or an absence of everything?

They continued forward, eyes flicking over every conceivable surface they could see. Liam had no idea what they were looking for and he doubted Reasa did too. He only hoped that they would recognise it when they did see it. The maze hit a dead end going forward halting them in their tracks again. They had the option of turning left or right, and Liam pondered which route to take first. Settling on the left, he turned to start off in that direction but Reasa resisted his movement.

"Wait! Stop!" she cried out, pulling him back, her gaze fixed on something on the ground at her feet.

Liam frowned, puzzled by why she had stopped him. He couldn't see anything other than grey stone and more steel mesh, but she was bending down low, peering at something just out of his line of sight. His gut instinct was to keep moving forward, however he had to concede that Reasa had been doing this a lot longer than he had. It was pointless bringing her with him if he was going to disregard her expertise.

Shifting his position to get a better vantage point, he saw what appeared to be a small dull glass bead. He had no idea what it was or why his mate considered it significant. It was clear she did as her brow was furrowed in a deep frown as she stared at it.

"Liam... " When she looked up at him there was a flicker of something in her eyes he couldn't quite make out.

"What is it?" He held his breath as he waited for her answer, hoping against hope it would be something positive. It just had to be something positive to ease the growing hopeless he was feeling.

"I think this is part of Brandon's psyche. Reach out with your emotions, as you did at the pack. You have to concentrate hard but you should be able to sense it stronger than I can. There's barely a flicker nudging at my senses."

It was difficult to bend down in the tight space beside her but Liam dropped to his knees uncaring that a steel barb scored down his back drawing blood. He reached out with his stronger senses, concentrating on the glass bead that looked so innocuous. At first he could detect nothing, and then, for the briefest of moments he sensed something, felt some kind of connection.

"I think you may be right," he whispered, the first tendrils of hope beginning to form within him. He called out to Brandon but there was no response, and yet, Reasa's hopeful expression helped to sooth his initial disappointment. If this was part of Brandon's psyche... if they could find more small pieces scattered throughout the maze...

"Can we fashion a receptacle? If there are more pieces splintered throughout the maze, we can gather them all together and maybe that will be enough for Brandon's mind to do the rest?"

As soon as he'd asked the question, a clear glass urn appeared before them, and Reasa reverently placed the glass bead into it. It looked so lost and alone within the huge jar, and yet, a little of the dullness appeared to have receded. Liam wasn't sure if it truly had, or if it was just wishful thinking on his part.

"We could be here for days looking for other parts of his psyche," Reasa said quietly, as they took a moment to pause and consider their options. "Perhaps we should split up? We can place a marker on each passage we've tried so the other doesn't waste time repeating steps already taken. If we find more of these beads we can add them to the urn by a simple thought command. The book said we could do that as long as we can hold onto the image we're transporting an object to."