by K Fisher
“I don’t want to roam the world,” Aiden lied, his voice cracking. “She knows about my power, she knows I’ll kill anything I touch down there. No amount of isolation assists with training something I’ll never again harness, does she think I’ve been practicing ‘not’ killing everything I touch while I’ve been trapped here? It’s gone, the Affinity is stripped, she knows how this works. I’ll make you no promises. Go back to your bitch and leave me.”
Nico laughed, the sound rich and deep as it filled the confines of his room. “That is not the answer I was sent here to obtain, Aiden. You know I can travel wherever I need to, between planes, outside, even right to Hazel’s location at this very moment. I have been told that if you refuse to agree to her wishes, I am to harm Hazel this night. Maybe something small.” Nico leaned forward, eyes glimmering. “Maybe I’ll take a finger or two, that won’t impact the Affinity she-”
But his voice cut off, a strangled noise escaping as he began clawing at the strong hand that squeezed at his throat. Aiden was a mere inch away from his face, eyes glowing bright blue, a hue that slowly began to take over his body. There was a rage inside Aiden, one that had been easily ignited by the intruder before him and his threatening words towards Hazel, one that made the power beneath his skin come to life once again, a power he was no longer supposed to possess.
A fist launched out, making contact with Aiden’s stomach. He was surprised by Nico’s strength, the breath forced from his body as he loosened his grip for a split second. It was all Nico needed to rip his body away from Aiden, the dark mist starting to creep up his body and consume him.
Contact, Aiden had made contact. He wasn’t going to lose the opportunity to make some sort of lasting damage before Nico had a chance to escape the spirit realm and harm Hazel. Lunging forward, Aiden felt an energy he had not been prepared for. His entire body was ignited in blue, angry and strong as he made full contact with Nico. The two of them fell to the ground in a heap, Nico’s strong legs kicking out as he tried to wrap an arm around Aiden’s neck. Aiden dodged his arms, using his shoulder to grind Nico against the floor. Each time he pushed downward, the bedroom around them started to flicker, the piano in the middle of the room defying physics as it started to bend and sway towards the ground, no longer solid in the realm as it began to pixelate.
Something was happening and Aiden could not stop it. Channeling the power and anger within himself, Aiden lifted off Nico, not giving him a chance to escape before he slammed his body back down upon the man over and over again, pinning him as he squirmed. Although Nico was a strong being, he was not as strong as Aiden had been. When alive, he had been a hard worker, a physical man who prided himself in his ability to withstand the most tedious of tasks involving strength, including fighting.
Nico, on the other hand, was a kept man, strong, but kept.
It was nothing compared to the insanity brewing beneath the surface just inside Aiden.
Nico groaned, rolling to his side as he slammed his knee upward into Aiden’s chest, attempting once more to scramble away. But Aiden had his hands on Nico’s shoulders, pushing him back in the trapped position on his back. For a moment, both of them froze, a dark energy stirring in the air around them. It was his power, the calling of death. Somehow, in some way, it was within him as he held Nico below him.
A cry of pain unlike anything Aiden had heard before tore from Nico’s mouth as he jerked and twitched beneath him. The suede suit he wore frayed and dissolved at the shoulders where Aiden held on, the power surging through his body like acid as it slowly crept along the material and ate it away. He now had direct contact with Nico’s bare skin. The roar of torture from Nico intensified as his dark skin began to crack, a black spiderweb erupting along the exposed skin as it started to creep down his arm and soak through his body like a curse that Aiden could not stop, and did not want to.
In one last moment of desperation, Nico swung his head forward and smashed it against Aiden’s face. Despite his best attempts, Aiden released Nico’s shoulders and reeled back, seeing stars as a heat spread through his nose and forehead. Pain…he had not truly felt physical pain in so long, it stunned him.
Before he had a chance to get his hands on Nico again, the man called upon his Affinity, the dark mist swirling over his body and erasing him from view. In a blink the ground in which he had laid was empty, leaving Aiden alone in his room once again.
Chapter Fifteen
Instead of following Caden when he descended to the forest floor, Hazel slowly moved to the front of the van, careful not to step in the wrong areas and offset the precarious nature in which they were trapped. Even as she moved so slowly, the van grunted and groaned, wedged between the side of the hill and the massive tree, but far from danger, and far from firmly wedged as she had previously thought.
Tucker’s emerald eyes were on her, one marred by blood dripping down his forehead. He blinked, wincing as he wiped it away quickly and grimaced at the sight of blood on his hand. “Careful, I just need you to help me get this seat back, then I think I can climb through.”
Hazel nodded, observing the situation before her as she assessed her next move as fast as possible. She knew she had to move quickly and they needed to get out of there before they were attacked again. Leaving Caden alone outside to face whatever occurred was not something that settled well with Hazel, and the van was not a safe place to sit tight.
The windshield was completely destroyed, only jagged glass reaching from the edges remained. Between their sharp shards, Hazel could see the forest floor down below. It was a steep drop, but the side of the mountain appeared to be a slow build behind them. If she could get Tucker back to her and they left through the door Caden escaped from, they would surely have an easy drop and be able to grab the side of the mountain. It wasn’t far to the road and they all had cell phones, the only loss was their van and whatever they had on the computers within.
And Faye, of course. The most important disappearance.
Hazel had not known them for long, but she knew what a team was. This was her assigned squad somehow, and she had agreed to work with them. This realization meant that every attack against any of them was now personal.
“Hang on to the side of the seat, I’m going to bring it back,” she said softly, reaching upward. With a yank, she pulled down the seat lever on the side, the driver’s seat flying backwards quickly as Tucker was allowed more space. His body adjusted, large frame squeezing between the two seats and towards her the moment the space gave him room to get free of the seatbelt.
Just as he reached the middle of the two chairs, the van made a terrible, deep groan and shifted slightly. They both froze, Hazel’s hand extended towards Tucker and his own towards hers. The van started to lean forward, slowly at first, but they both knew what was about to happen. The van had been wedged before, but with their movement and the struggle, it had clearly shifted, no longer safe against the tree as it started to allow gravity to take over.
“Don’t…move…” Tucker whispered, frantic emerald eyes searching the area around her before he slowly lowered the outstretched hand to the side of the chair, securing himself. “I am going to get to you and grab you, Hazel. Then we are going to jump out the door. How far is the drop on that end?”
“I don’t know, Caden isn’t screaming in pain below, so not too far.” Where the hell was he? Was the idiot truly going to run around the forest trying to find Faye while they dangled in the van like the Jeep from Jurassic Park? Or was it Jurassic World? No matter the movie, Hazel was certain she had seen something similar and although it had worked out for those involved, there was too much uncertainty as she stared down at the fall that would surely leave them in a muddled heap.
“Get ready to push towards the door, Hazel. I’m going to run and grab you, not that you weigh much.” The words were followed by a wink, one that left Hazel stunned and questioning his sanity. Truly, at a time like this? “One…” But before the countdown could continue, the van gave a
nother guttural, mechanic groan and shifted forward once again. Fear filled Tucker’s eyes, quickly replaced with a fire, one so bright his eyes appeared to glow. “Nope. NOW!”
Hazel pushed her body towards the door at the same time Tucker launched himself forward between the seats. One arm hooked around her waist, the other reaching for the door to the van as it started to fall. There was no possible way they were going to make it in time, no possible way they’d get through the door.
But Tucker was quicker than anyone she’d ever seen, her body was being yanked through the space between the front of the van and the door until they were both hitting empty air. Above them, the van had started to fall down the hill, smashing into tree after tree as it plummeted to the bottom. Tucker and Hazel fell for less than a second before they hit the side of the mountain, both rolling forward a few feet and sliding before they were able to grab onto undergrowth and hold themselves steady.
Above them, the van door had been broken off, dangling from the branches precariously before the absence of the van urged it to change direction. It fell suddenly, aimed directly for them as it ate through air and promised contact.
Just before it hit them, Tucker’s hand punched upwards, smashing into the metal as it made a solid connection. The door was thrown away from them, an emerald trail of power following close behind as Tucker easily was rid of it.
“Thanks,” Hazel gasped, finding it hard to locate the words she wanted to say as they hung from the side of the mountain pathway. Letting go, Hazel allowed herself to slide down about ten feet, stopping when she reached where the car door had finally ended up.
There was a small, flat area below that led into the dense trees, a hiking trail that they could reach easily if only they dropped a bit further. A batch of bushes near Hazel had been kicked up and destroyed, she could only assume from a sliding Caden. Good, at least they were heading in the right direction and it was clear by the lack of a body in sight that he had reached the trail.
Tucker was close behind, his large, muscled body tearing up the dirt and plants as he awkwardly fell near her on the trail below. They both slowly rose to their feet, not bothering to wipe up the blood, dirt, or undergrowth that coated their bodies. After his large body had regained composure, Tucker silently started ahead on the trail, jerking his head forward before looking back at her. She knew what he needed from her and was happy to oblige, her eyes searched for danger or any sign of Caden or Faye as they quietly moved ahead down the pathway. With any luck, anything evil out there would assume they fell with the van, but there was no time to sit around and play God with a dangerous situation.
After they had walked for a small bit, Hazel finally broke the silence between the two of them, her voice low as she raised a hand to mess with a bloodied strand of her hair in frustration, her head aching from the impact, but the blood had almost dried and that was a relief. Clearly no one was wounded to a point where they needed immediate medical attention, and that was a blessing.
Cool, calm, collected. “Do you have a way of finding either of them? Some summoning Affinity or something I haven’t been privy to, yet? I think now’s the time seeing as we’re in the middle of buttfuck nowhere.”
“Shh.”
“Don’t shh me, Tucker. I’m in this as much as you are and-”
His hand whipped out and secured on her mouth, pressing down with a soft warning before he shook his head, eyes looking behind her as the soft thudding of feet on the forest floor were heard. Hazel did not fight him and he removed his hand only a second later, the both of them crouching down as they prepared for whatever met them.
But instead of Nico or some other horror making an appearance, Caden burst around the corner, stopping when he saw them on the inclined trail, bent over as he fought to catch his breath. “Oh thank god, you’re both okay.” Behind him, the small metal device Hazel had seen Caden working on several times before buzzed around in the air. It was riding the wind, swirling around his head, small, coiled arms batting at the sky as though it meant to swim. The metal square on top of its head that she had thought looked like a top hat before, now had a tiny antenna protruding upward. On the face of the metal device, a small screen faced her, like a flying go-pro.
“No thanks to you, did you catch sight of where she went?” Tucker inquired.
“No. It’s clear Danira wants us to come straight to her to get her back. Unless Faye was the one she wanted all along?” Caden’s dark blue eyes were wide behind his now cracked glasses, a desperation etched into the deep lines of his worried face and along his strong jawline.
“Faye isn’t the one she wanted, she let me know that for certain. Probably just some sick plan to get under our skin and get Hazel to play on her own familiar grounds, but I have no idea how Nico knew where to find us, I guess we can only assume Hazel’s dream,” Tucker growled, wiping at a dripping line of blood coming from his upper arm. The three of them really looked horrendous, and it was only a matter of time before Danira sent someone to investigate.
“Is there anything we need to get back at the van?” Hazel inquired, her eyes searching the two.
“I can clear it,” Caden mumbled, closing his eyes, when he opened them again, they were met with an angry gaze. “I can’t concentrate, let’s get up this trail and to the main road. We need to see if we can get a taxi or something to pick us up and I can clear our data once we’re there. Is there an option for an Uber way the hell out on the mountain?” One hand rose to his blonde hair, grabbing at the messy strands as he cursed under his breath.
Tucker’s massive body walked the distance between them in one stride, hands rising to grasp onto Caden’s shoulders as he leaned in close and spoke to him. Tucker’s voice was low and growling, every word reaching Hazel’s ear.
“We are going to get her back. No matter how much we both don’t want to acknowledge it, Nico doesn’t seem interested in hurting her, never has. We are going to keep going to Hazel’s house, it’s clear Danira did not want us to keep doing whatever we were doing, which also means it will be beneficial to us in some way. Take a breath and focus with me.”
“Nico works for Danira, he’ll do anything she asks, he’ll kill her if she demands it.”
“Caden, we both know that isn’t true.”
Caden took a deep, shaky breath before his dark blue eyes snapped over to Hazel, the desperation and fear was now combined with something else, a wall that slowly slid in place. Tucker seemed shaken as well, but the calm demeanor he wore for Caden’s benefit was admirable.
“Alright, Hazel, as soon as we get in cell service, we’re going to need that address again.”
It took them just short of twenty minutes to get back to the main road, even less than that to get a call out for an Uber. Thankfully, they had been close enough to the highway and civilization that they still had cell service that could easily be amplified by Caden’s technological Affinity.
Standing on the side of the road was something that left them all in a quiet state of anxiety, staring ahead at the jagged rocks along the side of the mountain as random cars drove by, wondering if one of them would suddenly swerve in their direction and end their lives. Hazel’s body felt on edge and cloudy, like a young kid who drank far too many energy drinks and had forced themselves to pull an all-nighter. Her movements left tracers in the air behind her waving hand, a sure sign that her body and mind were starting to give out on her. Hazel’s app indicated their ride was heading up the mountain pass, the two men next to her mimicked her wave as the black Toyota pulled up.
“Sampson?” the driver inquired, leaning down to get a peek at them through dark, squinted eyes.
“That’s us,” Hazel responded, quickly running to the back seat as Caden grabbed the front passenger. The driver kept an eye on all of them, widening when he caught sight of the blood on the three. Before he had a chance to question anything, Hazel flashed him the best smile she could muster from the back.
“Sorry about the mess, we’ll tip big
. We got into a little accident. We’re just looking to get home. I put in the address.” She waved her phone upward, pausing as her eyes caught the slow-motion flashes of energy in the air behind the wave. Tucker nudged her shoulder with his own in the back and she blinked out of the trance. “Please hurry.”
The driver didn’t ask anymore questions, starting down the hill as he followed the instructions his GPS barked at him. The music’s volume was turned up, to Hazel’s relief, and was a calming, coffeehouse jazz that tried to be comforting, but failed miserably considering what they had just gone through. Taking a deep breath, Hazel allowed her eyes to close for a brief moment, the dizziness that had clung onto her dissipated by the time her eyes opened again. When they did, they met the driver’s in the rearview mirror. He gave her a toothy grin, the rest of his face unseen aside from the crinkle of his wrinkled face as his lips turned upward.
“Do any of you write? I am an author, you know. My first book of poetry was something I worked on for almost a decade before it was finally published. Held in such high regard, you know, the thing about poetry, it’s all about the dance of words. You’re telling a long story in just a handful of singular words. So, do any of you write?”
His voice was a gentle lift of octaves, rising ever higher at the end of each sentence he sent in their direction. Tucker had his eyes closed next to Hazel, the two emerald orbs shooting open at the voice of their driver and for a split second, Hazel wondered if he would jump to the front of the car and end the man’s life if he asked another question. Caden’s eyes were staring at the GPS, as if he could will the device to transport them faster if he only glared at it.
“I don’t write, no. But I hear Tucker is a poet,” Hazel joked, unsure where her feistiness was coming from. Every ounce of her body and mind was exhausted from what had happened, the adrenaline had finally worn off and the pain from the tumble they had taken was making itself apparent. Still, for some reason she felt the need to poke at someone, anything.
