by Celeste Raye
“I am not trying to get into your pants right now, Jessica, though I might consider it if you asked nicely.”
She waved him off and told him to be quiet. They had just been passed by ten or so guards, and they thought the coast was clear, but there were two more much further behind. Jessica watched them pass and recognized the man they were dragging between them. Her eyes lit up, and she was moving forward before she had told her partner about any of it. Scott didn’t know that she was attacking until she just was.
Her shift was flawless, and the screams were only a gurgle because she went straight for the necks. Jessica wasn’t the violent sort, but when she saw Jake standing there, the leader of her people, she couldn’t stand by and do nothing.
It was over in seconds, and they pulled the two dead bodies into the shadows of the tunnel. She was breathing hard, and she knew she must look a sight. Jake was a bit disoriented, but he seemed to snap out of it some then.
“Scott? Jessica?”
He said it like he didn’t fully recognize them. Jessica didn’t take it to heart. She could only imagine what had happened and why he looked bewildered.
“Can we get to the rest of you?”
“How many of you guys are there?”
“Only us, Jake.”
Jake looked from Jessica to Scott. “I am glad to see you, but we need to get out of here and regroup. We need back up, and we need to get back here as soon as possible. If not, they are not going to make it until morning. They are going to kill all of us, all the Rebel Bears.”
She could feel the intensity of his words. He believed them, and that meant that she should as well. Jessica looked to Scott, and he knew without her saying anything that she needed help with Jake. Scott was concerned, as was she, but they had to get Jake to shut up so that they could do what he suggested.
Jessica hadn’t liked the tunnel since they got into it, but with the warning coming from Jake, she was more nervous than before.
There were questions that needed to be asked. He was covered in mud, blood, and she could only imagine what else. The more she tried to figure it all out, the more she realized that she should give up. It would be easier.
“Why don’t we get out of here first, Jake, then you can tell us what happened.”
Jessica was worried about the sounds he was making, a bit louder than she would have liked.
She knew that getting out of there quietly and quickly depended on Jake pulling himself together. Scott and Jessica worked hard to keep Jake moving. He would be fine one minute, almost able to walk by himself, and then the next, he was babbling and trying to get away from them, saying he needed to go back.
When they finally got out, Scott shifted and waited for Jake. Jessica waited as well because she was hopeful, he would be able to heal and get his mind back. There was most likely a drug coursing through his system. Jake needed his mind back so they could figure out how to save them. He was talking like they had to be quick.
It was about ten miles away before he stopped and shifted back to his human form. He was calmer than he had been before, more lucid, but there was still something wild in his eyes that Jessica didn’t remember from before. It was certainly alarming.
Scott stopped as well, and Jessica pulled out a water bottle. They were going in the direction of the clubhouse. It occurred to her then that he might not know about it being burned down.
“So, tell us what happened, Jake.”
He sighed and looked far off for several moments. When his eyes focused back on them, it was clear that he’d seen bad things that would stay with him forever. That was saying something, considering what Jake had already been through.
“It was fast. It was only a few moments really that we knew something was wrong. There was an explosion, and I heard screaming. When I tried to get out of the dining hall to help, I was frozen in place. We all were. I don’t know what kind of magic was being used, but it was strong.”
Jessica waited for him to go on. She wanted to hear the rest of it and was impatient, but she knew that she would have to move at his speed., which didn’t seem to be that fast.
“So, an ancient came in, Scully, I think he said. We were all condemned for the deaths of their fellow ancients, and we were all going to die. It was boomed to us through the clubhouse. Smoke was filling the place, and I thought we would burn up there, but instead, we were all knocked out, and when we woke up, we were in that place. I really don’t know how in the hell we got there, though.”
Scott spoke up, asking his brother what had been done to them and why he was covered like he was. At first, Jake didn’t understand the question. Finally, Scott mentioned that he should look at himself, and when Jake looked down at his hands, he shrugged.
“I tried to get away twice. I was being dragged back to the cages. They are human. I thought I could take them, but they are powerful in numbers.”
Scott nodded because he’d had the same thoughts not too long ago. What would have happened to him and Jessica if he would have just kept on going? He shuddered to think about it.
“We need the witches, Scott.”
Scott agreed, though he was just as unsettled with them as he was with the human army underground. If Scott had a choice, he would have picked one that didn’t have him going toe to toe with the enemy. He was never one to shy away from a fight, but there was so much more that was on the line now. He wasn’t sure how he was supposed to get through the next few hours, let alone days or weeks.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Jake was almost back to his old self by the time the trio got to Evelyn’s house. They’d stopped to rest for a while, but Jake was on a mission, and he was convinced that they had no time to spare. Everyone he knew and loved was going to die unless he could figure out a way to save them.
He cringed to think of the place he’d come from, or the fact that he was going to have to deal with Evelyn at all.
The only good that seemed to come out of it was that his new brother and his mate were spared. It was a place that housed all kinds of magical creatures. He wanted to kill everyone in there, never feeling so hateful in all of his life. Revenge welled up inside of him.
Evelyn was not smiling as they made their way in. She had the appearance of her younger self, though he figured that it would just be easier to yell at them that way.
“So, you’ve done it again, Jake, haven’t ya?”
“Done what?”
“Screwed everything up and put everyone’s life in danger, including my niece’s.”
“Well, did you really think that the coast was clear after we barbequed half of the ancients?”
“That’s why I told you that you should have let me take care of the rest of them. Your words.”
Jake agreed. He hadn’t wanted to do more than what was done. Killing all of those people, his people, had been hard to stomach. Killing more, searching them out and attacking them before they did anything to them, didn’t seem like the right thing to do. Now, he saw where he’d made a huge mistake.
“I know that you’re right. I didn’t want that much bloodshed, but now I know that the only way to move forward is to burn them all.”
Evelyn smiled, and Jake wished he didn’t have such hatred in his heart. The conditions that he had seen his people in, his wife and kid, it was enough to make him lose any sense of humanity that he had left. He didn’t care who stood in their way; Jake wanted to bring the mountain down on their heads.
“You know, Jake, I could possibly do that. You might be on to something?”
Jake looked at her confused, as did Jessica and Scott. He hadn’t said anything, made no suggestions.
“What?”
“You know, bringing the mountain down on them. I think you are on to something. We have several witches in the coven that specialize in earth magic. It might be just the thing that we need to make it happen.”
Jake was gob smacked because she had not only read his mind, but she was literally talking about taking
a mountain down.
“Can we do that and not hurt the others?”
Evelyn smiled and said that she had an idea. There was an evil twinkle in her eyes, and that made him nervous. Jake regretted that he likely had a similar look in his own eyes.
Scott was incredulous of the idea that was floated towards him. The witches wanted to literally move a mountain, and he couldn’t believe it was possible. The more they talked about it, the more he realized they weren’t joking. They were really going to do it, and Scott was at a loss for words.
He was on the rickety porch getting air because they were about to leave and Scott had to psych himself up. There was no way he could walk in and complete such a plan. It was going to be harder still because so much of it was going to rely on other people. He was used to relying on himself, and he couldn’t imagine it any other way.
Jessica came out and wrapped her arms around him. “Are you going to be okay, Scott? You know that you don’t have to go. I mean, this is all so new to you.”
“Does it look like I’m freaking out?”
She snickered. “A little bit, yeah.”
Scott smiled and loved her honesty. He never had to scrape off the sugar to get to her answer.
“Well, I guess I am a little bit, but I am not going to let it stop me. We have to do this, so as crazy as it all sounds, I’m in.”
She hugged him tighter, and for a brief second, he wasn’t full of fear. He knew that it was likely to change, though. As soon as she wasn’t next to him, it was all going to hit him again.
He heard his name being called and went to see what was going on. Everyone was ready to go, and Scott knew that he had to be as well, no matter how ill of a feeling he had.
They ran off as a group while the witches hovered over the earth and moved just as fast. If Scott wasn’t so worried about what was going to happen next, he would have stopped and been impressed. Witches were more powerful than he could have imagined, but there was no way they could take a mountain down, right?
He was in his mind the whole time, and it wasn’t but a few moments before he was stopping with the rest of them. They were at the tunnel entrance. He looked to Jake, and he was just as worried as Scott was. That made him feel better because Jake was the seasoned leader. He was brave, and if he was nervous, it was okay that Scott was as well.
Scott moved to the outside of the group and got Jessica in front of him. He wanted her close so he could keep an eye on her. He’d almost suggested that she stay behind because of her condition, but she’d looked at him like she was going to take his head off, so he had changed his tune very quickly. He didn’t like it when Jessica was mad at him. She wanted to help; they all did.
He looked back and felt like he had a whole posse behind him. He knew then that they weren’t going to fail; they couldn’t. The people that were with him weren’t going to let it happen. Scott just had to have a bit more faith.
Jessica squeezed his hand. He hadn’t even realized that he had grabbed it, but he was thankful for her encouragement and just being there. He didn’t know if he would be able to handle it without her.
“We’ve got this, Scott.”
He looked over at her and smiled. “I know. I know we do. I just…”
She squeezed his hand again and hugged her body to him. No words were needed, and that was one of the best parts of being with her. He’d never felt so comfortable in such an uncomfortable situation.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jessica was quiet as they walked through the tunnels; they all were. Even the witches that had bickered among themselves since they left Evelyn’s house were now quiet. There were a few whispered comments here and there, but nothing loud enough that Jessica could make out what they were saying.
She was walking next to Scott. He wasn’t trying to put on a brave face. He was worried, and she could feel the anxiety flowing off of him. It was contagious, and she tried to calm herself. It wasn’t going to do any good to freak out any more than she already was. They had a plan. While it was risky and hinged on a lot of things coming together in the right way, Jessica was sure that it would work. It had to.
Jake stopped and held his hand up. Everyone behind him did the same and waited for what was going to come next. Really, Jessica was waiting for someone to jump out and get them. She still didn’t know how they had all been incapacitated, so she wasn’t sure what to look for.
The closer they got to the place they were before, the louder the noise in the tunnel was. She could hear the humans talking, buzzing around not too far from her. She could also sense all of her people not too much further away. They were still alive, and that made her flood with relief.
The plan was that the witches were going to do their magic, immobilizing everyone in their way. Jake knew how to get to the rest of the people in holding, and once they were all in the cell area, a protection spell would be made. Then, the most incredible part of the plan was, that they were going to fold the mountain on top of itself, killing all left inside.
It relied on the witches and their powers of persuasion. She’d seen enough that she wasn’t worried about that. Jessica was worried about the protection that was going to save them and then let them escape. She didn’t like small spaces, and a protection bubble would be a tight fit. She kept telling herself that it was all going to be okay. She wasn’t ready for it when they started to run forward.
The first group of guards was easily put under by just a snap of the finger. The second was more of the same, but the third and fourth groups were larger and close enough together that they merged, and the witches got overwhelmed. One got shot, and Jessica instinctively knew that it was her people’s turn. She didn’t like the idea of sitting back and just being there anyway. Jessica was used to action.
It turned into a chaotic mess. Blood was on her face, splattered from one of the guards that Scott had taken out. Apparently, they had gotten too close to her, and he had fixed it. She was smiling at him when she was charged by another guard. The humans knew what they were, and she saw a long, slim stick come out. She thought he was going to hit her, but instead, it let out this piecing sound that made her cringe and pain flashed to her ears. It was so intense that she went to her knees almost immediately.
Whatever it was, the shifters were all affected and were on the ground. The witches weren’t affected, though. They were given the opportunity to stop the rest of the guards. With the guards thinking that they’d won, they didn’t see the witches coming.
Once they had passed the last set of guards before, they got the holding cells, Jessica could see that they were several down from their earlier numbers.
There was also no sign of the ancients. The plan was not going to work if they weren’t there.
She asked Jake about it, and he said that they were there. “Can’t you feel those bastards?”
He was in his own world now, revenge filling his eyes with madness. She moved away from him and found Scott. He was no longer afraid, but holding her hand softly, squeezing it. Now she was the one that needed some peace.
They made it to the holding room, and everything was going to plan. She was on the tail-end of it all, and Jessica was the first one to hear the shouts coming from behind them. She looked back to see how many there were, and she only saw one, so she decided she was going to take care of it herself.
Instead of walking into the holding room like everyone else, Jessica stood back and made her way to the guard instead. She saw the stick come out and panicked, attacking without thinking straight. Jessica shifted in the air, going for the man’s throat, but instead, she heard the distinct sound of a gunshot. Then the pain of it hitting her in the head.
Then nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Scott heard the sound and looked behind him. He was told to stay in the room, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t get his eyes on Jessica, and now he had a clenching in his chest. Where was she?
Panic started to set in. Something was off. He didn�
�t know what it was, but he knew that something was wrong. Leaving the room, ignoring the yelling that was going on behind him, Scott went in search of Jessica.
He found her quickly, dead on the ground, blood oozing out of her head. Rage filled him, and he shifted, killing the solitary guard holding the gun. They had taken on at least fifty of them, and one damn guard was going to be her end.
He went to Jessica. She wasn’t breathing. It was all over, and a part of him broke, something that made the aching inside of him even worse.
Scott heard his name being called, but he wasn’t answering. He felt someone grabbing him from behind and pulling him towards the room. There were several other shifters that were there, as well as some other magical creatures. Scott didn’t know what he was walking into. He didn’t care.
He wouldn’t let go of Jessica. He kept waiting for her to wake up. That’s all she had to do. She just had to open her eyes and wake up. He willed her to do that very thing, but no matter how much Scott wanted it, how much he put his heart and soul into it, there was nothing he could do.
Somewhere in the distance, he could hear chanting. He knew that this was the moment they were going to put up the protection spell. It was too late for Jessica, so none of it really mattered. He didn't care if he was safe.
The purple haze around him held strong as the witches did exactly what they said they would do. They brought the mountain down on top of everyone else, actually picking it up and flipping it over with their chanting and magic.
Scott had heard about the original plan, but he never believed that they would actually be able to pull it off. Now he knew that they could, but he wasn't amazed. He wasn't relieved. The only thing he felt was devastation and a hollowness where his heart used to be.
The bubble was still holding, and he looked around at the inside of the mountain. All of the tunnels were gone. All of everything that was outside of them was gone. He couldn't even imagine how it was all happening, but for once, he didn't care.
