The Art of Truth (TRC #2)

Chapter 17 - Lifemark

He threaded a string from his pocket through a hole that formed and put the stone around his neck.

“Kairo, what are you doing?! This is crazy!” I cried, squeezing my hand. Blood dripped onto the grass, but I ignored the pain and grabbed his shoulders. His smile was different, dangerous. I let go and stepped back. I’d only seen that kind of look in Art’s eyes before.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Maya. This is exactly what I need,” he touched the symbol and closed his eyes. His head tilted back as he concentrated. The ground shook around me. I shut my eyes, shutting out what I knew would happen. My hand throbbed and stung as I tried to wipe away a few treacherous tears. Then came the noise. I couldn’t block it out. A deep, hollow drumming filled the air so that I could almost feel it pulsing. Something shimmered next to Kairo, catching the sunlight without casting a shadow.

I felt a shudder pass through me as the figure became a young woman I’d never seen before. Bloodstains covered her blouse, her neck at an odd angle. Her eyes were entirely black as she opened them, straightened her neck and smiled. The drumming stopped and was replaced with a silence broken only by the woman inhaling deeply.

“It’s so good to be alive. How did this happen?” she croaked, getting used to her voice again. “The last thing I remember was the accident...”

I stared at her, fear making me shake. I could feel how wrong it was, that this woman had been dead and now she stood in front of me. She reached out and touched Kairo’s shoulder, where my hand had been moments before. She was real. Bile rose to my throat. I needed to throw up at the sheer wrongness of it all.

“Sorry, but your new life isn’t going to last long,” Kairo said, smirking at her. He touched the symbol. A look of horror crossed her face and she was pulled away into nothing.

“It worked, Maya,” he smiled at me and reached out. I stepped back, away from him. I didn’t want him anywhere near me.

“Don’t ever do something like that again” I said, my voice a hollow whisper. “Never, ever.”

I wanted to scream, but the sound caught in my throat. I felt a little dizzy and closed my eyes.

“Maya...help.”

I looked up and saw him clutch the symbol, his eyes wide. His legs gave out and he collapsed, his head nearly hitting the next grave. I stayed rooted to my spot, shaking with uncertainty. Part of me wanted to rush over and see if he was okay, but my fear and revulsion kept me from moving. My body protested against what had happened, the way that the woman had been called back so simply before being sent away again. It couldn’t stand the laws of nature being broken like that. A sickening thought struck me like a blow to the stomach. I clenched my cut hand even tighter, the pain a reminder. My blood helped that to happen.

Hot tears blurred my vision. I wanted to run as far away from this place as possible, but I couldn’t. There was something else that pulled at me. A whispering call on the shadowy edge of my conscious. It wanted me to take the Lifemark from Kairo. It would be so easy to take it. I knelt down beside him. He was unconscious. I found a pulse on his wrist and listened for the rise and fall of his breathing. It was simple to turn him onto his side into the recovery position. Easy to double-check his pulse on his neck and touch the chain the Lifemark was attached to. I slipped it between my fingers and pulled it off his neck. If I could find some way of destroying it, he wouldn’t be able to use it ever again. I turned the stone over in my hands, testing its strength. It wouldn’t break easily, but perhaps if I scraped the engraving it would cause enough damage. I picked up my dagger and dragged it across the surface, my hands trembling. It didn’t leave a scratch. I needed to try harder, or use something powerful. My gaze fell onto Kairo’s gun, visible between his shirt and jeans. I grasped it, laid the stone on the ground and flicked off the safety. My fingers tightened around the trigger, but I couldn’t pull it.

The Lifemark was too important to destroy. It didn’t have to be used in a bad way. I could find a way to use it for the right reasons, to bring back people that the world needed. I dropped the gun and picked up the stone. I would let myself get used to the wrong feeling it brought; I could ignore it. If, maybe after a few uses, it wouldn’t feel so wrong anymore.

A hand closed around my wrist. Kairo’s eyes widened as he noticed the stone in my hand.

“Maya, don’t,” he warned, snatching it from my grasp. I instantly knew that I wanted it back. I reached to take it from him, but his grip was too strong. I grabbed the dagger from the ground, flipped it into the right position and tried to pull it out of his hands.

“You don’t know how to use it, Maya,” he warned.

I ignored his words and pulled the dagger up. The blade slashed across his face, across his cheek. Shock hit me as red beads formed a line on his skin. I let go instantly.

“I’m sorry,” I gasped, covering my mouth with my hands. “I didn’t mean to, Kairo. It was an accident.”

He stared at me and touched the cut. I hoped that it wasn’t deep.

“The Lifemark is dangerous,” he said softly. “More dangerous than I thought. It wants your life.”