Chapter Twenty-Three – Evaine

The pain in Jack’s eyes was harder to bear than the pain racking her body. With each convulsion, Jack’s expression grew grimmer. In her agony, she could recall everything. Jack preparing to fight for her, the look of pity on the Grimmwold’s face, the voices in her head shouting no.

Through it all, her father had fought his way to be heard. He had told her to give herself to Jack, that this was how it was meant to be. This was what her mother had tried to protect her from.

This was her fate.

“Jack. You have to.” Those were the words that had sealed her fate. He’d held her close, and asked her if she was sure. “Yes.”

Eva felt the change in him. His body ridged as his teeth elongated. She recalled their night together, the way he’d pulled away, his silhouette sitting on the edge of the bed. This was what he had been fighting. The urge to turn her, to make her like him.

There was a stinging sensation as his teeth broke her skin. Then a sharp, searing pain as his venom shot through her. She had gasped, her lungs unable to take in breath. But Jack held her; he told her he was sorry, that it should not have been like this.

“It’s OK.” Her brain was shutting down, the pain too much for it to handle, as her body convulsed. “It’s OK.”

“Eva,” he called, his voice further away.

Then there was nothing but the voices circling in her head, growing fainter. A figure appeared, and she knew it was him, her father. He took her hand and he held her, as if she were a babe in his arms.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” He stroked her face and kissed her forehead. “I thought more of duty than I did of family. Only when it was too late did I understand that family is more important than anything.”

“Can you stay?” she asked, as the other voices, distant ghostly figures, disappeared into the distance.

“For as long as you want me to.” He looked over his shoulder. “You are what they fear. They won’t come back unless you make them.”

“You are not afraid of me?” she asked.

“You are my daughter, Evaine Talbot. I can never be afraid of you.” He held her close and then loosened his grip. “It’s time to go back. It’s time to fulfill your destiny.”

“What is my destiny?”

“When it’s time, you will know.”

“Eva!” Jack’s voice pulled her back to reality, and she took a big gasping breath as if she had been underwater for too long. “Eva.”

Her body ached as if she had gone ten rounds with a gorilla. Eva grabbed hold of Jack and tried to sit up, but she couldn’t; her body wasn’t listening to the signals her brain was sending her. It all felt so different—her brain was speaking one language, her body another.

“It’s OK, it will take some time to get used to the change.”

The change. She felt different, because she was different.

“Here.” The Grimmwold thrust a small vial into Jack’s hand. “This will make the recovery quicker.”

Jack took it, casting a look at the old man that questioned whether he should trust him. But he took it and pulled the stopper out, pressing it to Eva’s lips and then tipping it up so the liquid slid down her throat. She swallowed, hoping to instantly feel better. The ache in her bones and fire in her blood continued to torment her; the Grimmwold’s tonic was not a miracle cure.

“I’m taking you home.” Jack lifted her into his arms, and made for the door, but it slammed shut in his face.

“What are you doing?” Master Donavon bellowed. Jack whirled around, shifting her weight in his arms, ready to put her down if he had to fight. But Master Donavon’s words were aimed at Master Thaddeus.

“They cannot leave. Not until I find out who entered my home and stole the Dragon’s Tear. I don’t care if this grunt wants to play house with a Night Hunter. But if they conspired together, they will feel my wrath, and the wrath of the Council.” He directed this last statement to Master Donavon, daring him to contradict his words. “We are the ruling class. Are we not? Our lands and houses must be protected.”

“I have the Dragon’s Tear,” Lucas said, holding it up for all to see.

“Lucas! I might have known. Thief, he was never worthy of being brought under the Council’s protection and tutelage.”

“You seem to forget your place, Thaddeus. Last I looked, the head of our order was Master Donavon.” The Grimmwold’s voice had returned to its ancient dry crackle, but the authority it conveyed was still present.

“Yes. Well…” Master Thaddeus thought better of the accusation he was about to aim at Master Donavon, and silenced himself.

Wise move, thought Eva. Pity, she would like to see an end to the man.

“The facts are that my son took the Dragon’s Tear from this Night Hunter. And then someone stole it from him.”

“I took it back,” Eva managed to croak.

“So you broke into my home?” Thaddeus said, barging forward to stand before her.

“No. I took it back from your son. I felt him switch them. He was so pleased with himself…” She took a moment to gather her thoughts, shuffling them into the right order to complete this lie. “He let his guard down, he thought he had succeeded and got sloppy. When he said goodbye to me, after he walked me to the car, I took it back. I took back what was mine.”

“There, that closes the matter,” Master Donavon said quickly. He approached Lucas and took the stone from him. Lucas hesitated but then relinquished his prize.

“Shall I tell you how we got it back from the Templars?” Lucas asked.

“Shut up,” Jack whispered under his breath.

“Another time.” Master Donavon looked exhausted. “I will keep this safe and we will reconvene tomorrow. I charge you all with being here.”

“Master Donavon, this is not over…”

“Thaddeus, I respectfully ask you to do as I say,” Master Donavon said curtly. “You forget yourself in all the excitement. Go home, rest, recuperate, and return tomorrow with your manners intact.”

Master Donavon left the chambers, with the Grimmwold beside him. The two men were deep in conversation, and Eva would love to be able to turn into a bird and fly after them and perch on the Grimmwold’s shoulder and listen to their conversation.

“Oh, fuck,” she said, and buried her face in Jack’s chest. She might not be able to turn into a bird, but she could turn into a bear.

“Hey, it’s OK.” He held her close. “Don’t fight it, Eva.”

“Don’t fight it?” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I don’t know how to fight it. I don’t know how to control it. I have a beast inside me, don’t I?”

Eva could feel something scratching at the edge of her consciousness. How many things could she fit in her head before it exploded? Her father, the Night Hunters, and now this.

“I’ll help you,” Jack said.

“We’ll all help you,” Helena said, taking Eva’s hand and holding it tight. A warmth passed from Helena’s hand into Eva’s and it spread though her veins, lessening the pain. “Let’s go back to my house. I can mix up a remedy to help her.”

“Thank you, Helena,” Jack said, his voice tight.

“It’s not your fault,” Eva said to him as he placed her carefully into the back seat of the car.

“It is. I should have taken you and run as far away from the druids as we could get,” Jack shook his head. “I trusted Master Grimmwold.”

“I still trust him,” Eva said, stroking Jack’s cheek, even though it caused her a tremendous amount of pain.

He took her hand and kissed it. She didn’t feel the press of his lips, her nerve endings were too shattered. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. At least when we have children, I’ll be able to run with them. I will be a bear, right? Not a chicken, or a lamb.”

“No.” He leaned down and kissed her. “You will be a fierce bear.”

“Good, that means I can join your squad too. When I’ve mastered the shift.”

“Eva, I don’t know, what we do is dangerous.”

“And I’m just a bank clerk from Bournemouth.”

“You are a Night Hunter,” Jack said, sliding into the back seat next to her and cradling her head on his shoulder.

“Do you think anyone has crossed a Night Hunter with a shifter before?” she asked, her mind wandering as Helena drove, with Lucas in the passenger seat.

Helena looked in the rearview mirror, angling her head so that she met Eva’s eyes. “Do you think that is what this is all about?”

“What? Making a new species?” Lucas scoffed.

“What is so stupid about that? Eva has memories of the Night Hunters, and now she has the strength and extra senses of a shifter. She will be stronger than any other shifter ever.”

“See, I told you I could join the squad,” Eva said to Jack.

“We’ll talk about it when you are stronger.”

“I won’t change my mind,” Eva insisted. Her words were exaggerated, as if she had drunk too much alcohol. Her speech didn’t feel right, didn’t feel as though it had a direct line to her brain.

Jack didn’t argue; he held her close, while Helena drove them back to her house. When they arrived, Liam and Kurt were already there, waiting.

“How is she?” Kurt asked, opening the car door for Jack.

“She’ll be OK,” Jack assured him.

“I didn’t expect the Grimmwold to tell you to turn her. I always thought he was on our side,” Liam said.

“He is on our side… Your side,” Lucas said. “This is the best outcome.”

Jack rounded on Lucas. “Best outcome? Does this look like the best outcome?”

“I understand your concern,” Lucas began.

“Concern…” Jack spat, but Helena intervened.

“Leave it, boys, this does Eva no good.” She put her hands on Jack’s chest. “Lucas means well.”

“Come on Jack, let’s get Eva inside.” Kurt pulled Jack away from Lucas.

“I can walk,” Eva said, wanting to defuse the situation by showing them she was OK, that she could handle this new her. But she couldn’t and after shuffling to the edge of the seat, she couldn’t summon the strength to lift herself out.

“I’ll carry you.” Jack lifted her effortlessly, and they followed Helena into the house.

It was warm inside, and the smell of fresh bread hit Eva, making her stomach growl. “Am I supposed to be hungry?”

“It’s the change in your metabolism,” Lucas said, matter-of-factly.

“You mean I’m going to eat even more, and put on more pounds?” Eva asked dismayed.

“You’ll eat more, but your body will begin to convert it to muscle. Your bear isn’t made out of thin air,” Lucas said.

“She doesn’t need a science lesson,” Jack snapped at Lucas.

“You know, that might be exactly what I need. Once I’ve eaten.”

Jack sat her down on the overstuffed sofa that took up most of Helena’s small sitting room. She settled into it, feeling cocooned. Jack fetched a blanket and put it over her, but her body was burning up.

“Can I have some water?” Eva asked.

“Sure,” Jack went to get her a glass of water, joining the others who were all in the kitchen talking quietly. But she could hear them. Eva put her hands over her ears and then took them away again. It was so weird, things that would have been outside of her range of hearing were now clear. Like the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs.

“Locke?” she called softly.

“Eva. I heard voices. Is everything OK? Helena told me to keep out of sight when the druids came earlier.” He came into the room, took one look at her, and cursed under his breath. “You’ve been turned.”

“You can tell?” Eva asked.

“Yes. You look like hell.” He came to sit beside her, placing his hand on her forehead before looking into her eyes. “You need something to bring your temperature down. Then you should sleep. By the morning the worst of it will have passed.”

“You’ve seen someone turned before?” Jack asked.

“You haven’t?” Locke asked.

Jack shook his head. “No.”

“And you didn’t think to be prepared before this happened?” Locke asked.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen. Not yet… Or not ever.” His guilt was there in his voice, and Eva hoped one day he would forgive himself.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Get some ice, and ask Helena for some aspirin to help bring down her temperature,” Locke ordered Jack.

“Have you turned someone?” Eva asked.

“Yes,” Locke replied quietly, avoiding her eyes.

“You look guiltier than Jack,” she said softly. “You turned your mate?”

He nodded. “If I hadn’t…”

“She wouldn’t have become one of those … things. The ones in the warehouse.”

“Yes.” His hand shook as he pressed it to his face, hiding the tears there. Eva looked away, his pain too much. But he gave her a glimpse of how much it would hurt Jack if anything happened to her. Was this how she would feel once she had fully turned?

“I’m so sorry.” Eva reached out to him, her hand touching his, but he flinched away.

“I won’t rest until I have hunted down and killed everyone responsible.”

She believed him. The pain emanating from him was so tangible, she was compelled to offer her help. “When I’m better… I will help you, Locke. I swear.”

“No, you shouldn’t promise such things,” Locke said.

“Yes, she should. And so should every shifter.” Jack was back by her side, and she felt better just having him close. Whether it was her heightened emotions, of the effects of being turned, she could feel his presence. Eva remembered his words. Wherever you are, I will find you. I will always know where you are.

For Locke, that connection had gone, never to be replaced. “Jack’s right, for our sakes and the sake of our children, we will hunt the Templars down, and thwart their plans.”

“I swear that when I am leader of the Council, it will become my priority,” Lucas said. No one in the room laughed at Lucas and his bold claim.

“You should rest,” Jack said, breaking the pensive silence.

“Here, drink this first.” Helena handed her a cup with pink liquid in it. Eva didn’t hesitate, she downed it in one gulp, not tasting it, only hoping when she woke in the morning she would feel better.

Or she would wake to find this all a dream.

No, she wanted to be like them. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to fight. For Locke, for Jack, and for their children. As she drifted off to sleep, she promised to make this world a safer place. Yet mingling with that promise, circling around and around her head, were Sophia’s words.

She swept them aside, unable to believe Jack’s undying love and loyalty would ever fail.