by B N Miles
She nodded. “Nikki and I can handle that,” she said.
“No,” he said. “Let Nikki do it. You keep an eye on Kerrin.”
Jessalene walked over to the guard Jared had killed and took the gun from his limp hand. She pulled back the slide, checked the magazine, and nodded to herself.
“I can handle that,” she said.
Jared turned to Nikki, who stood near the door, licking her lips.
“What about you?” he asked.
“Oh, darling,” she said. “A bunch of Humans with guns and clubs? I was made for this.”
“How long until daybreak?”
“I don’t know,” she said, shaking her head. “But not long, by my count.”
“All right,” he said. “I’m going to need a lot of power here. Izzy, can you help us?”
Izzy tore herself from the door. “What do you need?”
“Come with me,” he said. “We’re going to break Cassie out while Nikki holds off the guards.”
She hesitated. “I can help her,” she said.
Nikki put a hand on Izzy’s shoulder. “You don’t want to watch this,” Nikki said gently in her ear. “Go help Jared, dear.”
Izzy met Nikki’s gaze then took a breath and walked away from the door. Jared reached his hand out and Izzy took it.
He led her over to Cassie’s cell, where Lumi was bent over, her eyes inches from the door, her lips moving silently as her fingers twitched at the air, already beginning to read and probe at the wards.
Jared looked over his shoulder as Nikki grinned viciously, threw open the double doors, and stepped out into the hall.
46
Jared forced himself to ignore the screaming and gunshots in the hall. Jessalene pulled Kerrin to the side of the door, hiding her away, and Penny curled up in a small ball, rocking back and forth.
Lumi barely looked back. Her fingers continued twitching as she probed at the wards. She cursed again and stood up, turning back to look at Jared.
“It’s going to be hard,” she said.
“Izzy can help,” he said. “At least she can dump more power into us.”
Izzy nodded and looked over her shoulder. Jared could feel the anxiety rolling off her, and he put a hand on her shoulder.
“I’m okay,” she said, almost jumping. “I’m fine. Do you think Nikki’s okay? It sounds really bad.”
“She’s okay,” Jared said. “Just concentrate. All you need to do is funnel more power into our spellwork. Can you do that?”
“I think so,” she said, biting her lip. “I’ve never really worked with other Magi like this before.”
“Don’t worry, it’s easy,” Lumi said. “At least, your job will be.”
“Me and Lumi have been working together for a little while now,” Jared said. “So it shouldn’t be hard for you to add a little into the mix.”
“Just tell me what to do,” she said.
“We need to break these wards,” Lumi said. “There’s no finesse here, just like we did with that other door, but harder. We don’t have time and I don’t think we’d be able to open them if we did. We’ll have to use brute force on this bad boy.”
“All right,” Jared said, taking a deep breath. “We’re going to be pretty messed up with Need after this.”
“Probably,” Lumi agreed. “But we have no other choice.” She closed her eyes and held her hands out. “Are you ready?”
“Ready,” Jared said.
He took a deep, steadying breath as the screams out in the hall began to taper off. A few more gunshots cracked, another scream, and then silence.
“Izzy, put a hand on both of our shoulders,” Lumi said. “Physical contact will help make this easier.”
“Got it,” Izzy said.
Jared felt her palm rest on his right shoulder.
Lumi cleared her throat. “Okay then,” she said. “I’m taking point. Izzy, when I begin to touch the priori, you start too. Instead of shaping it, close your eyes and picture yourself pushing it away from you, like you’re redirecting a flowing stream. You should feel it, and if you don’t, just keep trying. If you direct it our way, we’ll be able to use it.
“I’ll try,” Izzy said.
“Jared, when I wrench a hole, you punch it, got it?”
“Got it,” Jared said.
“Cassie, baby, we’re coming.”
Lumi began to funnel priori.
It was a slow stream at first. Jared felt Izzy start her own channeling next, and at first he didn’t sense anything run off her. He took a deep breath and began his own funneling, pulling as much power into him as he could.
The outside world dropped away. There was only Lumi and Izzy, the three of them just glowing candles at first. But then Lumi grunted and began to funnel in earnest, sucking in so much priori that Jared felt like she might warp reality around them. He heard Izzy let out a little gasp, since she’d never really felt the extent of Lumi’s power before.
Jared began to match Lumi the best he could, and was almost surprised to find that he could keep up. The two of them pulled so much energy into the room that the air around them began to heat up. He felt Izzy’s fingers dig into his shoulder as she let out a little grunt.
But then he sensed Izzy like a spotlight. One second, she was just there, pulling power into herself, storing it in her own body, and the next the power began to flow off her like a rushing stream. She wasn’t directing it to them, but because she was touching their bodies, she didn’t need to. Jared sucked in her power, greedy for every drop.
Lumi hit her limit a moment later and unleashed her magic. She shoved her hands forward, her fingers gripping at the wards as they flared to life. Jared opened his eyes and watched the bright, flashing, sizzling lights. It reminded him of his uncle tearing his shields to pieces back on the floor of that strange piano room in the Bechtel house. That felt so long ago, like it was another lifetime. Lumi worked just like Rolf had back then, her fingers digging into the wards as she physically began to rip them apart, funneling all of her and Izzy’s power into the process.
The fabric began to tear and snap as she ripped the pieces to shreds. Normally, they pulled a string or two and let the whole structure open up, but this was too dense, too tightly packed. She yanked hard and Jared felt a suck of air as a hole formed in the magic, not large, but big enough for him to take all the stored energy he’d built up and shove it in the gap.
He growled with the effort. Lumi ripped out as he filled and pushed. He heard Izzy groan distantly. Lumi growled with anger, her jaw clenched, every muscle in her arms and hands flexed to their limits. Jared pushed harder, punching through, punching as hard as he could.
The wards snapped and Lumi fell backwards as the pressure released. He felt her power blink out. Izzy staggered back with Lumi, and he lost his connection to extra priori through her, but it didn’t matter. The door shuddered and cracked down the center as Jared’s power burst through the wards and slammed into the heavy metal. A hole wrenched itself and Jared barely pulled back in time to stop himself from ripping through the rest of the damn building.
He stood there, panting, the door steaming. He turned and saw Lumi sitting on the ground, leaning back on her hands, her head tilted back. Sweat drenched her brow. Izzy knelt next to her, leaning close.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” she said. “Just fucking fine.”
Jared let out a breath and put his hands behind his head. The Need washed over him then, heavy and nearly debilitating. He closed his eyes and tried to reach for a calming, soothing mantra, but the Need was a pulsing dagger in his skull.
He released another breath, opened his eyes, and looked back toward the double doors.
Penny had her head in her arms, curled up in a ball with her back to the wall. Jessalene stood with her weapon out, Kerrin just behind her.
And Nikki stepped back through, a huge smile on her face.
Her face and hair were covered in blood. There were tears in her
shirt where bullets had pierced her skin. Small holes bled all over her and seemed to sizzle and steam. Jared took a few steps toward her, concern overwhelming the Need for a moment.
“Nikki,” he said.
She held up a hand. “I’m okay,” she said.
“You were shot.”
She laughed and winced. “They’ll heal.”
Jared stared as one of the wounds sizzled more, smoking faster, and a bullet popped out. The wound closed up behind it.
“Holy shit,” Penny said and a sob wrenched itself from her chest. She buried her face in her arms again.
Nikki cackled a wicked laugh and licked the blood from her fingers. “During the daytime, that would’ve killed me. But at night…” She trailed off.
“Are there any more guards?” Jared asked.
“There will be,” Nikki said. “A few escaped while I was playing.”
“Then we’d better get moving.” Jared turned back to the door and walked to it. Izzy helped Lumi back to her feet, and the girls leaned against each other.
He stopped in front of the door and grabbed on to the long steel handle. It was hot, almost too hot to touch, but he grabbed with both hands and pulled. It gave an inch, then another inch, and he kicked against the frame to give him more leverage. The door came free with a grinding scream. He staggered back as it swung open.
Inside, the cell was dim. A long swath of the floor and far wall was burned and gouged up from the magic he’d unleashed a moment before.
Cassie sat in the middle of the room surrounded by runes, her knees up to her chest, her manacled hands out in front of her.
She lifted her head slowly, her eyes unfocused, and smiled a little.
“I thought that was you,” she said. Her voice sounded far, far away.
47
“Cassie,” Jared said, and ran into the cell.
She smiled up at him, lazily drooping her head to one side, her red hair hanging toward the floor. Jared reached her, dropped to his knees, and pulled her against him.
She felt like heaven. He held her tight, pressed her body against his, breathed her smell in deep. She let out a small, soft sob, and he felt her body shudder against his. After a long moment, he pulled her back and stared into her face.
“Are you hurt?” he asked.
“I don’t think so,” she said, her voice dreamy and slow. “I can’t seem… to think straight.”
“Jared,” Lumi said from the doorway. “Jared, it’s the runes.”
“What is?” he asked.
“They’re like drugs for her,” she said. “I think they’re messing her up. And I think they’re going to do the same to you if you don’t pull her out right now.”
Jared didn’t wait to find out if she was right. He stood, scooped Cassie into his arms, and carried her to the door.
“My hero,” she said, beaming at him.
Then the cell began to scream.
Jared stumbled forward and nearly lost his footing but caught himself on the door’s frame. The screaming was a loud alarm, a blaring, horrible screech that seemed to burrow itself into his brain. Lumi pressed her hands over her ears and helped Jared back through the mangled door.
The others were gathered at the far entrance, Jessalene with her gun out, Penny looking around like the world was about to end, her hands pressed over her ears. Nikki had an annoyed look on her face that changed the instant she saw Cassie.
“They have her!” she shouted and ran over.
Jared helped Cassie down to her feet then pressed his hands to her manacles. They were just simple chains, no warding or enchantment. He broke them off with ice, cracked them away, and tossed them aside.
Cassie let out a breath, rubbed her wrists, and looked around.
“Hey guys,” she said, blinking like she was just waking up from a long nap. “I was wondering when you’d show up.”
Nikki blurred to Cassie and threw her arms around her neck. Cassie laughed and hugged her back. Jessalene and Lumi were next, hugging Cassie, kissing her, laughing like they never expected to see her again. Tears rolled down Jessalene’s cheeks and even Jared felt a hint of it tug at his chest.
But the alarm continued, and he knew they didn’t have time for happy reunions.
“We have to get moving,” he said. “If we don’t, we’re all going to end up in cages.”
Cassie nodded and looked up at him. “Do you know what they’re doing here?” she asked.
“Kerrin told us some of it,” he said.
Cassie followed his gaze and let out a breath. Kerrin stood near the door, glaring daggers down at Penny, who still hugged her knees to her chest.
“I see,” she said, her voice soft, almost lost in the alarm. “She’s one of the girls from up front, right?”
“Right,” Jared said.
“There are a lot more,” Cassie said. “And men too, in cells all over this place. I saw some of them when they…” She trailed off.
Jared touched her arm and held it. “Did they hurt you?”
“No,” she said. “No, they didn’t do to me what they did to them. They just… scanned me. I don’t really understand what they were looking for. They sat me in this white room and all these different people came in; some of them were Magi, some of them were just regular Humans. They were testing me for something, but they never actually… hurt me.”
A flood of relief washed over Jared and he released her arm. Kerrin stared at them, her eyes hard, her bruises seeming starker now against the contract of Cassie’s relatively unscathed appearance. Her nose had stopped bleeding, but dried purple-red blood rimmed her nostrils and stained the sleeve of her jumpsuit.
“Come on,” Jared said. “Let’s get the hell out of this place.” He strode toward the doors.
Kerrin moved to meet him. “You’re keeping your fuckin’ promise, right?” she asked. “You’re gonna unleash all those cages, right?”
“Right,” Jared said. “And burn this hell hole to the ground if we can.”
Kerrin’s mad eyes gleamed with delight.
Jared moved past her and walked to Penny. He knelt in front of her and reached out. She flinched back, but he grabbed her arms and pulled them away from her head, making her look up at him.
“Penny,” he said.
She chewed on her lip, her eyes red rimmed and filled with tears.
“I didn’t know,” she said. “I swear, I didn’t know. I really didn’t know.”
“I believe you,” Jared said. “I know you didn’t.”
“And the Vampire… she just… I heard what she did.”
“Nikki did what she had to do,” he said.
“She enjoyed it.” A rough sob escaped her lips. “She was laughing.”
He smiled touch a touch, a wry and angry smile. “Yeah, well, I think I would’ve enjoyed it, too.”
She reared back and stared at him, her mouth hanging open. “You don’t mean that.”
“They’re torturing Metas here,” he said. “They’re killing them.”
“They’re just people,” she said. “They’re just doing what they’re told.”
“No amount of money would get me to hurt Metas like this.” He leaned closer to her. “If you don’t want to come with us, you can stay here. You can tell them we forced you, threatened to kill you. But we are going to kill more of them, Penny. We’re going to kill a lot more. If you have a problem with that, stay behind.”
“No… no, I just…” She seemed to choke on her words as she stared back at him. “I don’t want to stay. I can’t stay here.”
“Then get up,” he said, his voice harsher than he intended, but he didn’t have time for moral quandaries. “Get up, keep your head down, and stay with Jessalene. Things are going to get ugly from here on out.”
“I don’t know if I can handle it.”
“Then close your eyes.” Jared got to his feet and reached out a hand. “If you want to do better, then get up and help us.”
She stared at his hand
then her eyes moved past him. She must have looked at all the others, and although he didn’t know what she saw, he could guess: angry and broken Kerrin, exhausted and chained Cassie, bloody and triumphant Nikki, Izzy and Lumi both pushed to their limits, and Jessalene, beautiful and angry Jessalene, willing to do anything to save the people she loved.
Penny took his hand and he helped her stand.
“Good choice,” he said then turned back to the others. “All right, gather up,” he shouted over the alarm.
Nikki blurred over to him and Lumi jogged over, her jaw clenched. He knew she was suffering as much as he was, probably worse, but they were going to have to push that aside. They had more fighting ahead, and a lot more magic.
“Nikki and Lumi, up front with me,” Jared said. “We’re going to meet resistance, but we’ll clear a path down the hall and back toward the elevator. Izzy and Kerrin, search those dead guards out there for passes so we can open the cells. Jessalene, you stick with Cassie and Penny, make sure they’re safe. Everyone understand?”
He saw a round of nodding heads and serious expressions.
“Let’s go,” he said, turning to the double doors and throwing them open.
48
The hall was covered in gore, and Jared did his best to step over the thickest, darkest blood puddles. He moved gingerly and swiftly around the bodies, their organs hanging out of them, their intestines lining the floor.
Now he understood what she meant when she used the word playing earlier.
Nikki gave him a big, genuine smile as they reached the end of the hall. Jared motioned them to a halt then looked out first. Gunfire burst at him, almost taking his head off as he ripped his face back in. There was a barricade set up, a jumble of desks and plastic chairs and men in riot gear with shields and assault rifles crouched down behind it.
“Guards,” Jared said. “A lot of them.”
“Fun,” Nikki said.
“They’re too far, even for you,” Jared said. “They’ll light you up before you reach them. We’ll put up a barrier and push our way closer.”
“Not as fun, but okay,” Nikki said. “And then I get to kill them?”
