"You mean the ones that got so corrupt that there was a civil war, and they had to leave with their tails tucked between their legs?" Dax lifts up his knife, now on full alert.
"They aren't anymore." Brad takes a few steps back and almost trips. "They realized they were wrong."
Oh, dear Lord. The last thing I want to deal with is another corrupt council. "Oh, so they think stealing and lying are still acceptable things to do?" Brad got me in serious trouble with the council when he stole the Earth’s Stone from me. They thought I had something to do with it. "I'm done listening. You can go to hell."
"Look, I'm sorry, but we were afraid you were going to give it to the council." Brad rubs a hand down his face and sighs.
"You manipulated me." My power begins to spring alive again, and the wind picks up.
"Look, if I could take it all back, I would." His hands tremble, and he closes his eyes. "I messed up, but I was trying to protect you. I promise, going forward, I'll be honest and upfront with you."
Right now he reminds me of my friend back in high school. The remorse is coming off of him in waves.
"Look, you can sort it all out later. Right now, we have more pressing matters on our hands." Dax laughs and crosses his arms.
"We're willing to help get Charlie back as a sign of good faith. We have a team of fifteen men/soldiers/warriors at our disposal." Brad glances at Dax and back at me.
"We could use additional resources." Damien walks up beside me, and the coolness of the shadows brushes my arm. "Why don't you give him another chance?"
Dammit, we do need more people to help with the rescue, and Brad does seem to regret what he did. I don't know right from wrong any longer. It shouldn't be this difficult, but I want to scream or wake up from this horrible nightmare. I'm not sure if I can trust him, but if he can help me save Charlie and get the artifact, then it might be a risk worth taking. "Fine, but Dax and I will be watching you."
"You got that right." Dax nods and puts his knife back in its sheath.
"Okay, great. I'll go back and get them, but there is one condition to us helping you." Brad cringes but holds his head high.
There's always a catch. "What is it?" I'm sure I'm going to regret asking.
"I need your word that once you obtain all of the artifacts, you won't return to the council." His jaw is firm and he takes a few steps toward me. "The council had no problem throwing the Archetypus out of power when they became corrupt, but now, they are the ones who are abusing their powers. The council shouldn't have access to that kind of magic."
"Not all the council is corrupt." Dax's eyes narrow, and his breathing quickens.
Damien laughs out loud as if he's watching a comedy show.
"You have my word." I never intended to go back to them anyway. That's an easy one to keep.
"Chris..." Dax's jaw drops open, and his brows furrow.
"Maybe Luke isn't corrupt, but the other two are." I'm not going to stand down from this. "I'm not going to allow anyone to have access to my power."
A large smile fills Brad’s face. "Then you’ve got a deal."
18
The crashing of the ocean waves is faint, almost inaudible, and there’s just a hint of salt water in the air. Now that I'm calmer, it's time to figure out a plan, but I've got no clue where to start. "We can't go back to Ria's house."
Dax doesn't miss a stride and keeps steady on his path. "Right now, we are going to take in our enemy."
"I need to let my men know that we're staying." Brad glances around, and his eyes fall on me. "Where should we meet back up with you?"
That's a good question. I've got no flipping clue, and we need to move and fast. The longer Charlie is with them, the more worried I get. "Just want to meet back up at the beach? It usually is pretty deserted."
"Yeah, that's where all the tourists go, or at least that's the word on the market." Dax nods, but his eyes never stop scoping out our surroundings.
He's a warrior through and through. No wonder Luke chose him to accompany me everywhere. He's a natural and always seems to be a few steps ahead compared to me.
"Okay, we'll meet you there as soon as possible." Brad turns to head back to the front of the island and then pauses. "Are you two going to be okay?"
"We aren't getting too close." Dax turns around and points a finger at me. "You can't be stupid. We need to spy only, so you can't get ahead of the plan."
Shit, he's right, but how can I sit still when I'm this close to Charlie? Still, if I did something that wound up jeopardizing him, I wouldn't be able to live with that. I hate that I'm put in this situation. I would trade spots with him in a minute if given the chance. He doesn't deserve this, and he's only there because of me. "I get it. We have to save him. I won't do anything stupid."
"All right, good." He heads back in the original direction. "Brad, we will meet you all back there in the next thirty minutes."
"Got it." Brad heads in the direction of where his men are waiting.
As much as I hate it, I do need to make sure I keep my emotions in check and my head on straight. The fortress is getting larger with every step we take.
It doesn't take long before Dax holds out a hand and lowers his voice. "This is as close as we can risk." We’ve stopped at the edge of a strip of
