Forced Bonds (The Bonds That Tie, #4)(53)

When we get to the library, Nox heads straight to Alistair, who is waiting with a large ring of keys in his hands, incredibly old-fashioned but exactly what I was expecting for this place, and a stack of books already waiting for us on the desk in front of him.

“It's good to see you again, Mr. Draven,” Alistair says, and Nox dips his head a little in greeting.

“Sorry that you had to dig these out for us. I know there are some very unpleasant things up there hidden in the stacks.”

Alistair shrugs and waves his hand. “If it helps with the messy situation, then they're all yours. We appreciate everything that you do for the community.”

He keeps saying ‘we’, which is a little confusing, but then he glances over at me and waves behind his back as though beckoning someone over. A young boy who can't be much older than nine or ten slinks over to us, his eyes a little sunken in his skull, with dark circles underneath them and a sickly look to his skin.

Nox frowns at him, calling his shadow creatures away and to heel so that they don't scare the boy anymore, but his eyes stay glued to the very damaged-looking child.

“This is my nephew, Joseph. His parents were both taken in the last wave, and even though his mother's Bonded moved to the Sanctuary, Joseph chose to move here instead. It's safer for him here.”

My eyes flick back to Nox. He is definitely having some feelings about this kid, feelings that he will not want anyone to know about. I need to defuse this situation, and quickly.

I take a step forward, dodging the snarling jaws of the creatures, and reach out to take the stack of books from Alistair’s desk with a polite smile. “Thank you again for grabbing these. We will get out of your hair quickly, before we bring any trouble to your doorstep.”

Alistair smiles, his eyes crinkling as he pats the bare concrete wall beside him. “Doesn't matter what you bring to my door. No one's getting through it.”

And then we hear the explosion.





Chapter Sixteen





Oli



I already feel as though the walls are closing in on me, and the sound of the explosion just has my heart trying to beat out of my chest in a panic.

I’d never realized that I had any issues with small spaces.

I definitely have been in smaller enclosures than this before, but the heat of the concrete and the stagnation in the air has me gasping for breath, my lungs screaming in my chest as though I’m not getting enough oxygen, even though I know I am.

I have no freaking clue how North and Nox spent months here as children, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was the trauma in Nox's past, because I am feeling particularly traumatized right now.

Where is Oleander?

North's words are stern, bordering on desperate, and even though he's using our joint mind link, he is definitely not speaking to me.

Gryphon gets an arm around my waist and sends back, We're all still in the library. Oli is safe. Where are you and do you have eyes on what just happened? It feels a lot like Unser.

I almost want to huff and stamp my foot in frustration.

I still have never gotten a clear answer from anyone over who the hell Unser is and what he’s capable of. His name is just dropped into conversation randomly by everyone around me, as if he's some urban legend. When I glance up at Gryphon to demand to know what the hell that means, there's another explosion, this one big enough that I feel a little sick from the motion under my feet.

This time, Nox takes a step towards the little boy.

Gryphon starts shoving the books into his bulletproof vest, which is a smart way to get his hands free and protect the ancient tomes of knowledge that is otherwise lost to time. “We need to figure out if there's any damage to the Hail Mary before we go out and neutralize it—“

“I’m not leaving the kid,” Nox says, cutting Gryphon off, and Joseph’s eyes flick over to him.

I have to admit, it looks as though the kid has been put through the wringer, and the softness that Nox is treating him with is a little bit of a surprise. I didn’t know he was capable of it. Even North gets treated with a wary sort of disdain by his brother.

Gryphon sends through again, North, do you have eyes on who is out there and what is going on?

North finally replies, harried sounding, We do. It's Silas Davies himself, along with at least eight Shields and a whole group of the Resistance’s Top Tier Gifted. I recognize most of them, but I was unaware that they had a Trigger.

“Fuck,” Gryphon says out loud, and I can't contain myself any longer.

“What the hell is a Trigger? And who the fuck is Unser?”

Gryphon stalks towards the opening of the library, still shoving the last of the books into his clothing as he looks down the hallway. I’m not sure if he really thinks he's going to see a giant hole hole in the thick concrete walls, but there’s been no change in the air pressure, so I’m not worried about it yet.

Surprisingly, Nox answers me with none of the usual sarcasm or vitriol in his voice. “A Trigger is a living bomb. It's a Gifted whose power is literally an explosive. Usually, it's a one time thing. In teenage years, something will ‘trigger’ them and when their gift kicks in, the use of it kills them, as well as anyone close by.”

My gut sinks, and I’m sure my face is horrified, but Nox just keeps laying out the facts. “Unser was the first Gifted to have two abilities, the Trigger itself, and the Regeneration. He's a living bomb that can go off more than once, though his recovery period is a few weeks, so he has to be used in a very strategic way.”