by JL Terra
He held the needle right at her neck.
She sucked in a breath, but it caught in her throat as she began to lose air.
Black spots prickled at the edges of her vision, and more buzzing echoed in her ears. Or was it the sound of her own lungs trying to get air? The beginning sounds of lost consciousness.
After all that she had fought through, it was going to end like this?
His hot breath wafted across her face. “I guess you’re the one who broke free.”
Before she could ask what that meant, the same door opened again. It slammed back against the wall, reverberating in the dank stairwell, and a mob rushed in with pent-up aggression. The pattering of footsteps echoed.
The high lord must know the drug wasn’t completely working on her. That had to be why she’d been targeted again. Was Malachi’s blood protecting her?
She felt the first pick of the needle and knew that it was too late. They’d given her more. The cop was dragged backwards by the crowd, away from her.
Mei’s legs began to give out. She was about to hit the floor when her dad slid an arm around her waist and caught her. Even so, he couldn’t save her from the way the drug rolled through her.
Fire burned from her core to the ends of her fingers. The ends of her toes. The top of her head.
Her body started to convulse.
“Easy.” He had a tight hold on her.
Mei grasped his arms. She was trembling from head to toe. But it was easier to concentrate on the man in front of her now repeatedly punching the police officer. And yet, she couldn’t really focus. She felt as though her entire body was engulfed in a fever. Pressure and heat came through her in waves.
She wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come.
Ben noted the direction of her gaze and saw what she had been protesting. “Malachi, that’s enough.”
He turned, breathing hard. His raised fist had broken skin on the knuckles. As he stalked toward her, his eyes scanned the hair on her head all the way down to her toes. “They got to you?”
She tried to speak. The words got stuck before they could even form in her mind.
“We need to get out of here,” Ben said. “In all the confusion, we can just make a run for it if we stick together. Remy can pick us up outside.”
That sounded familiar to Mei. Hadn’t she done that before?
Malachi’s gaze skimmed across her face. “In a minute. Actually, you call Remy, and I’ll get Mei ready to move.”
“What are you talking about? Mei’s okay, right?”
“It’s not just the white hair.” Malachi shifted and a bead of red blood touched the tip of his finger. “She’s been drugged. I just hope I have enough to spare to counteract it without disabling myself in the process.”
“You’re going to give her your blood?” her dad said. “I could give her mine. I’ve done it before when she was shot, and she healed just fine.”
Malachi shook his head. “This has to be mine. The only other way to counteract it is to get blood from the high lord, and we can’t do that right now. That means it’s got to be me.”
Mei wanted to think about that. It seemed as though it was the edges of an idea, and yet her mind couldn’t grasp the details of it. She couldn’t put things together and come up with a thought that could even be coherent.
“Well, hurry up,” Ben said. “Because there’s a group of cops coming up the stairs right now, and they’ll arrest all of us if they think we’re a part of this.”
“Let’s get to a quiet place that we can hole up for a minute and figure out how to get out of here.”
“Copy that. Let’s move.”
Chapter 22
“Okay.” Ben’s voice echoed in his ears. “I think she’s ready to go.”
Malachi fought the pull of lethargy and pushed out of the chair, swaying back and forth before regaining his balance.. “I’m good.”
“Two minutes.” Ben paused. “Copy that.”
“Which way?” Malachi asked, taking Mei’s other hand and lifting her arm over his shoulders. He’d given her a significant amount of his blood. Probably too much, but it didn’t matter. She mattered.
“The roof.”
“Shadrach?”
Ben nodded. “It seems he’s managed to commandeer a helicopter from somewhere. So we’d better move.”
Malachi gathered up all his energy to walk. He slipped down the hallway to the same stairwell they’d found Mei, but this time they headed up. Four flights of stairs later, they were on the roof overlooking downtown New York City. He didn’t even know what precinct this was, but he knew he’d be donating a chunk of money so they could rebuild and repair some of the damage the high lord had done.
But that was for another day. Right now, they just had to get out in one piece. Or there would be no donating.
“There he is.” Ben used a free hand to motion up at the sky.
Malachi looked as the droning noise became louder and louder and the pull from the wind almost knocked him over. He’d used up almost all his energy to climb up here, and now he could barely stand. The helicopter approached from the west, all black but with the insignia of a local TV station on it. “Are you sure that’s them?”
“It is. Just be ready.”
Malachi wasn’t going to argue. Even if he had the energy, he would take Ben’s word for it over just about anything else in the world. So he simply held onto Mei, his friend holding up her other side. The three stood together, keeping Mei in the middle, upright. He knew just how much of a blow it would be for the team to lose her. He was a newer addition, and he knew that didn’t mean he meant less than any of the others, even if they claimed each other as immediate family. But she was something special.
If any of them were hurt, or killed, the team would be fractured. However, if Taya and Ben lost Mei, they wouldn’t be the same ever again. Their unborn child would grow up never knowing the older sister who was looking forward to completing spoiling her younger sibling. Or teach them her ways—everything her parents would hope wouldn’t get passed down.
He just knew she was going to put this child through some sort of training, a deep-seated need to equip the kid with the ability to stand up against any enemy. Even against Ben and Taya’s wishes. There was no possible way Mei would allow her baby sibling to be hurt.
He should feel like that about her. The need to give her all the skills needed to combat the evil herself. Given how old he was, and the life he’d lived, that was how Malachi would expect to feel about the people he worked with. And he did. And yet, with Mei, it was so much more than that.
The helicopter began to approach.
Ben had them crouch behind a row of air conditioning units. Mei was barely conscious.
Malachi touched her cheek and lifted her face so he could take a look into her eyes. Still closed. If he’d had a free hand, he would have checked her pupils. She should’ve regained consciousness by now. It was tough to determine how much he should have given her. Hadn’t he given her enough? And yet, he might need to provide her with still more of his unique blood.
She sucked in a breath through her nose, and her eyes flew open.
“Whoa.” Malachi stopped her from getting up. “Stay right here. It’s okay, we’re taking care of it.”
She looked around and found Ben on the other side of them. “Dad?”
“We’ll be out of here in a sec.”
“Okay, but where are we?”
Malachi studied the door from the stairs. “We’re on the roof.”
He’d wedged it shut, but that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t come bursting through there any minute to try to stop them. Anything could happen in the next couple of minutes before taking off in the helicopter to safety.
“This is the police station?” She looked at him. “Did you…? Did I…?”
He had no idea what she was asking. “As near as I can tell, you were drugged and sent here, along with all the others, to kill me.”
It was certainly an effective method for the high lord to ensure the two of them were taken care of. In a way that was incredibly public and meant the police department—unable to combat this new threat—would turn to a savior. The high lord would likely swoop in with a plan to get the upper hand. He would make it so the police department had no choice but to lean on him, to become indebted to him and his foothold here in New York City. Without a clue he was the one behind it all.
And the only one who could take care of the high lord, once and for all, was Malachi.
The helicopter touched down.
Almost at exactly the same time, someone banged on the door that separated them from the stairwell. His barricade was holding, but there wasn’t going to be much time. “Let’s go. They’ll be out here any second.”
Waiting any longer than necessary was going to be a gamble, and one he couldn’t afford to make. Kind of like the risk he constantly took with people close to him.
Ben climbed in first, and with Remy and Malachi’s help, pulled Mei into the chopper. Remy worked to strap her into a seat.
Ben glanced at him. “Get in, Malachi. You said yourself we don’t have much time.”
Malachi took a step back. “Make sure she’s safe.”
Ben would know what he meant. And why he was doing this.
Malachi shut the door to the helicopter and mouthed the word, “Go.”
Remy said something. Ben shook his head, a knowing look of respect in his eyes as he gazed through the window at Malachi.
A few loud cracks, and then the sound of an axe penetrated from the other side. The door to the stairwell blew open, the wood splintering into pieces that flew every which way. Cops, along with a mess of people—all with white hair—barreled out, all working together, making him wonder if they had been bitten the same way Mei was.
But there was no time to puzzle it out. Clearly, the high lord had been working on this plan for some time. If only Malachi hadn’t been so distracted with his new family. It had all slipped in, right under his nose, and he’d been too busy to even notice.
The mob ran toward him. Someone fired a weapon at the helicopter.
He heard the clang of a bullet hitting metal, but the helicopter quickly recovered. Shadrach piloted it higher and banked east, out of range of their assailant.
Now that he knew they were safe, Malachi made a run for the edge of the roof.
He pumped his arms and legs as fast as he possibly could, gaining speed quickly as he reached the ledge.
At the last second, he jumped, clawing through the air, and cleared the entire alley before landing on the roof of the neighboring building. With his forward momentum, he tucked and rolled into a ball to keep his head from grazing the ground, He couldn’t say the same for his shoulder. Hip. Knee.
He came to a stop with gritted teeth and stayed low just in case the shooter was intent on trying to hit him with a bullet as well.
He used the fire exit stairs on the neighboring building to lower himself down to another roof that was half the height of the tower. There were far too many cops on the street to go into the lobby, and they would be watching this building as well.
Someone came out of the door that led to the roof he was on. More cops, directed here by their friends from the police station, maybe. At least, they wore the uniform. And they looked mad.
Malachi launched his body into a run again, pushing into and cutting through the air as he headed towards to the corner of the building. Bullets flew at him from their guns. It was apparent their plans for him had changed. Whether or not they were agents of the high lord, he sensed their intention was no longer about capturing him or even preventing his escape. They were coming to kill him.
He launched himself off the edge of the roof and transformed.
So much of what he was found itself rooted in the spiritual. Sure, he was a flesh and blood man now, but he hadn’t always been. His kind had left heaven and come to earth for their own selfish reasons, determined to forge their own path. Little credence had been given to what they would be sacrificing.
Most people lack the ability to see past the physical world in which they live and have no idea the otherworld that lies beyond. They have no idea their soul was once a spirit, encased in a shell, designed to survive in earth’s environment. Too many consider only the dictates of their flesh, allowing themselves to be ruled by its every desire.
Malachi rounded a building and swept to the height of New York’s skyline once again, swooping over the roofs of buildings so that he could see what was below him.
And he saw it all.
Swarms of spirits, black and thick like tar, swept across the city. They acted like bees, pollenating as they went, spreading the darkness with them as they traveled throughout the streets, looking for a body in which to settle. A massive swarm swirled over to the east, in Brooklyn. A concentration he didn’t like the look of.
Most of these spirits were merely an annoyance in people’s lives. The methods of the enemy to drag down humans into a pit of fear and anxiety, dissatisfaction, and the belief that nothing will ever change. These people were saturated with the ideaology that their lives were what they were and there was nothing they could do to improve it.
And yet, even in what appeared to be an ocean of black, lights shone through. Tiny pricks like stars in the night sky.
Pockets of light, and goodness. Faith and hope, even in the darkness.
Malachi flew to the concentration of black, knowing that was where the high lord would be. If he could save the teenage girl Mei cared for, he would do that. Otherwise, it was time for him to face his brother. End this madness.
The swarm whirled over a graveyard.
His brother stood in the middle, beside a massive marble mausoleum. Waiting for Malachi.
Malachi materialized across a lawn peppered with headstones. The second his physical body completely reappeared, he fell to one knee. Mei was awake. Her fear rolled through him.
What?
She gasped. Malachi?
He could hear her as though she was in front of him and knew she was experiencing his strong emotions as he faced Barnabas. We exchanged a considerable amount of blood. The connection is much stronger now. Why are you so afraid?
Because I don’t know where you are. We just set down. She quieted. I’m coming to you.
No, don’t. He didn’t need her here where she could be injured.
Mei never responded.
Malachi knew her well enough to know that meant she didn’t want to argue. She would come anyway, despite it being against his wishes. She couldn’t conceive of how he could not need her help—or at least be better off for it.
He needed to get this done quickly. Before she got here.
Malachi felt the presence of evil before he even got near Barnabas. It was all around him in this place. Those swarming spirits almost tangible, even in his physical body as they no doubt buffeted him on the spiritual plane.
Malachi drew near to him. “It’s time.”
Barnabas, his face once so dear, sneered at him. That regal nose and high cheekbones. Long dark hair that touched his shoulders. He looked like some ancient Eastern European prince. “If you wish to end things here, I am happy to oblige.”
“So you realize, then.” They would both die tonight.
“I know you came to me. If you wish to end this existence, I can do nothing but aid you. I will continue on as always.”
Malachi shook his head. “That’s not how this works.”
“You’ve become modern.” Barnabas frowned, his eyes drifting over Malachi’s clothes. “And not in any way that is good.”
Malachi pulled a gun. “Modern things have their uses.” He raised his hand with purpose and shot Barnabas twice in the chest.
His brother didn’t even go down. He erupted into laughter.
A woman screamed. Bella rushe
d from the mausoleum, right to Barnabas, collapsing at his feet. Her hair fell in a pool around him.
“Like that.”
She’s here. He let Mei know that the teen was alive and was with them in the graveyard. Added bonus—they now knew the level of Bella’s attachment to his brother.
Barnabas grasped her by the arms. Bella’s head snapped back. Malachi wanted to wince, but didn’t.
“Easy.”
Barnabas released the girl’s arm so she was now standing beside him. She meant little to him, but there was something more. Something Malachi couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“You were shot!” The girl whimpered.
“Nothing is going to happen to me.” He pulled her in front of him and snaked his arm around her waist. “You’ll protect me. Right, love?”
Malachi frowned.
His brother’s palm settled low on Bella’s stomach. Fingers splayed wide. “Both of you will protect me.”
He couldn’t stop the words that traveled from his mind to Mei. He knew he should’ve kept the information to himself for now. Or told her in a better way. Shock had the words reverberating in his head, though, before he could stop them. She’s pregnant.
Mei’s scream echoed inside his head.
Chapter 23
Everything inside of Mei drew her to the place he stood. She raced across the grass of the cemetery, expecting with every step to stumble or fall. But she never did. In fact, she was too frantic to realize her feet only touched the ground every few steps.
Ben had driven her, Shadrach, and Remy here using the car they’d picked up after the helicopter had landed. She hadn’t even waited for the car to stop before jumping out and sprinting here. Or floating, it seemed.
As she swept toward him soundlessly, without even the rustle of clothing, she spotted Barnabas and Bella facing Malachi. The teen stood close to the ancient man. His arm was around her, and he held her to him. It wasn’t an endearing hold; almost as though he was using her for cover.
