She dropped on top of me and stopped moving. I thought she might be dead, but I could feel a faint rise of her chest against mine as we lay entwined on an uncomfortable bed of broken electronics.
“Lizzy?” I had instinctively thrown my arms around her as we fell to the floor. A couple thin lines of blood appeared across my arms, another down my neck. My shirt resembled swiss cheese. It burned like hell as Isaac’s magic ate at my skin, but the wounds were only superficial. Lizzy, unfortunately, had taken the brunt of his attack. She had used her own body as a shield, allowing the magic to tear through her to protect me.
“Well, who’s the stupid one now?” I chuckled at her, lifting her near lifeless body off my chest and holding her upright in my arms. “You could have just let me absorb the magic. Or done nothing. It wouldn’t have killed me. Probably.”
“We all know your reaction time sucks,” she whispered, her head drooping to the side off my shoulder. Her creamy hair was tinged with the thick red liquid seeping out from everywhere on her body. Her face was unrecognizable amidst the burn marks from Isaac’s magic. Her leather jacket and black jeans were torn to shreds, revealing her charred skin underneath. “Besides, if I let you get hurt, you wouldn’t believe me.”
“Believe what?” I questioned with a puzzled look.
“That I will save you.” She attempted to smile, but instead coughed up a volcano of blood that flowed like lava from her mouth directly on my chest.
Nolan marched over to us, boots crunching against the broken glass and metal underneath them. “Well, how sweet. Don’t be fooled again, my friend. This doesn’t change anything. You are still a threat to her.”
I gently let go of Lizzy, rolling her over onto the floor next to me, and stood up to face Nolan. “I believe we had a deal. I’d come with you, and you’d give yourself up to clear my name.”
“And you really believe that? No. I still have many things I need to do, my friend. Maybe another time.” He waved his hand at me and turned to walk away. I reached into my pocket to grab the syringe when I remembered I had already used it on Lizzy. I could now hear footsteps thumping down the hall. Time was up, the police were here.
“Nolan, you son of a bitch! You—”
“Adrian, you have to get out of here!” Daphne placed a hand on my forearm and whirled me around. I took one look at her, then Lizzy, and back to Nolan.
“No, this is our chance! We have to do something.” Raven transformed into her hideous bird form and flew away. Isaac must have made his escape right after the last attack along with Daisy, made apparent by the absent wall his magic dust had eaten through. Blair and Eli were finally shaking off the effects of the spell and regaining their mobility.
I watched Nolan standing in the middle of the lab like a stone statue. Why was he still here? What was he waiting for? I glanced over to Lizzy breathing heavily on the floor with one arm extended toward Nolan.
“You’re...you’re using your blood to control him, aren’t you?”
“Yes,” she heaved out, “but I’m running out of time. I can’t hold onto him for very long. Tell him what he needs to do and the magic will implant the thought into his mind. He must carry out the command until either it’s complete, or I call it off.”
“Oh! I think I can help!” Daphne pulled out what looked to be a container of mints from her lab coat. “Here, it’ll give you a little bit of a magic adrenaline boost. Don’t worry, it’s nowhere near as powerful as the liquid stuff.”
Lizzy hesitated. After all, the woman was working with Nolan.
“Take it, Lizzy.” I nodded as Daphne took a magic mint candy and placed it directly on Lizzy’s tongue.
I faced Nolan and peered directly into his silvery eyes. “You will not transport yourself away from here. When the police arrive, you will tell them you attacked Daphne and attempted to kill her just as you did her aunt. Everything that happened here was a result of you setting off the magic in this lab. You will tell the police that I, Adrian Cotter, had no involvement with your plan and was wrongfully accused.”
Nolan blinked, which I assumed was his way of acknowledging my command.
“We need to leave now.” Eli and Blair each wrapped an arm around each other, hobbling over to where we were standing. I don’t know if I’d call it fear, that sharp taste at the back of my throat, but Blair’s words swooped down on me like angry vultures coveting a dead carcass.
Getting out of here would be nearly impossible. Blair and Eli could barely stand. Lizzy literally couldn’t stand. And the police would no doubt have all the exits covered by now.
I stared distantly at a large piece of broken glass lying on the floor. I closed my eyes, rubbing the back of my head as the massive headache I’d been ignoring this whole time suddenly became worse. When I opened my eyes again, a rainbow of golden light emanated from the large piece of reflective glass I was holding in front of me.
“How the hell did you do that?!” Daphne gasped at the blinding rays of magic piercing upwards nearly six feet tall. To her, it probably just looked like an odd reflection of light, but she knew something was there. I just stared at it dumbfounded. I didn’t do that, but I know who did. It terrified me to know that Rezith now had that kind of control over me. I’d have to do something about that later.
“Let’s just go.” I turned to Daphne with sorrowful eyes. “I know you don’t want to, but you have to stay here and tell the police what happened.”
“I know. But, um, well, you think that maybe...um…”
I cut her off and replied, “I said I’d come find you when all this blows over. Assuming I’m still alive and not a wanted fugitive. I know where you’ll be.” She nodded, and I scooped up Lizzy in my arms.
I flashed Daphne a quick smile and said, “Stay safe, Daphne. You’re a lot stronger than you make yourself out to be. Thanks for your help.”
Her rosy pink cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she pushed her glasses close to her face and shied away.
I stopped for a moment to wonder where this magic portal was taking us. But as the voices of a police unit echoed loudly down the hall, there was no time to come up with a different plan. I had to trust Rezith and make a leap of faith through the magic portal.
Blair and Eli went first, and I followed right behind them. Where we ended up was the last place I was expecting to go.
Chapter 36
“W here the hell are we?” Blair questioned as she soaked in the darkness of the rundown building. No lights were on; only the faint glow from the stars and a couple lights outside lit a small area around us through the large opening at the entrance of the building. However, I could not mistake the smell of stinky cheese and jet fuel.
“We’re safe,” I answered. I placed Lizzy down on the cold concrete and brushed the hair back from her mangled face. Somehow, she was still conscious, but she was groaning in exceptional pain. If we didn’t get her help fast she wouldn’t be alive for much longer.
The echo of high heels tapped loudly down the metal stairs.
“Who’s there? Who are you?!” Although she was trying to intimidate her intruders, her soft, shaky voice was more frightened than anything. She waved a flashlight in every direction searching for the source of the loud noise that boomed through the airplane hangar when we arrived a few moments ago.
I ran toward the light. “Julie! We need help!”
“Adrian, is that you?” Julie flashed the bright light into my face. I squinted my eyes and threw up my hands to block it.
Julie raced over to my side. “Adrian, what happened? You’re covered in burns and...is that blood?” She drew back my hair, grabbed my arms, picked at my torn clothes, and examined every part of my body. Aside from a few cuts and burns, I was the least injured out of the group.
“It’s not mine. I’m fine. She’s the one who needs help.” Julie flashed the light over a body completely coated in dark red blood, clothes torn to shreds. She then glanced up at Eli and Blair standing over her.
&nbs
p; “We’re fine. Please help her,” Blair pleaded.
Julie shot her gaze at me and spoke, “Get her to my office! Now!” I only knew of one office here, so I bent down to gingerly pick up Lizzy when Eli pushed me out of the way.
“You’ve done enough. I will take her.” After what just happened, it was clear he didn’t want me anywhere near Lizzy. I backed away and let him carry her. There was nothing to argue about. I had become malicious and violent, seriously injuring one of his teammates. I didn’t deserve to even be here right now and I was sure they felt the same way.
Eli entered the room with Lizzy and I followed behind, noticing a few changes had been made to the office. The windows were replaced and the broken pieces of wood were cleaned up and fixed. Lining one side of the room was a cheap plastic shelving unit full of medicines and medical tools. In the center of the room was an exam table with a light craned over it. Mike stood next to it, tidying things up.
“Adrian? What are you doing here?”
“She needs help.” Eli placed her down on the exam table. Julie came rushing in behind me. Blair followed, but stood waiting in the doorway as if needing permission to enter.
Julie snapped some vinyl gloves onto her hands and rolled the light over so it was shining down on Lizzy. At that moment, Lizzy arched her back and let out a chilling scream that tore through the entire room like a shockwave. Her legs started twitching while her arms aggressively smacked against the exam table. Her head was twisting in all different directions as she lost control of her body.
“Mike.” Julie placed her hands on top of Lizzy, trying to keep her from thrashing and falling off the table.
“I’m on it.” Mike dashed over to the shelf of medicines and somehow knew exactly what Julie needed.
“What the hell happened?” I opened my mouth to reply, but what could I tell her? It was all my fault Lizzy was injured.
“We had an altercation. Most of the wounds are magic related.”
“I’ll do my best, but this looks serious, and we aren’t exactly in a state of the art hospital here. I don’t have the equipment to properly treat something like this. The gunshot wound looks like it went right through, but these other wounds...there’s no telling what kind of magic was left behind and how it might affect hers. You’re lucky it doesn’t look like any major arteries or organs were hit.”
My heart dropped into a bottomless pit that surfaced in my stomach. What had I done? Did Nolan plan for me to do this? Or maybe Rezith’s madness was taking over? I shuddered at the thought that maybe it wasn’t either of those...maybe this was all my own craziness and insecurity.
“Can I do something?” I didn’t expect I’d be able to, but I felt obligated to ask.
“You can get out and let me work.” Julie’s icy stare sent me backpedaling toward the door where Blair and Eli were watching.
I stood on the metal landing at the top of the stairs. The three of us leaned against the wobbly railing in silence. None of us knew what to say to each other.
Mixed feelings swam throughout my throbbing head. One moment I was ready to kill her, the next I was praying she stayed alive. She lied to me, but also saved me. If her goal was to have me dead, she had a number of opportunities to do so. I didn’t know how I should feel. I wanted to accept her, but with all the backstabbing and mistrust I’ve dealt with my entire life, I just couldn’t. If she had just left me behind in that holding cell none of this would have ever happened. Her life would have been better off without me in it, and I would have been better off without her in mine.
I opened my mouth to speak when Blair stole the first words. “I warned you, Adrian. I told you never to hurt her. At the time, I was more concerned with her fragile emotions. I never expected you to nearly kill her.”
I couldn’t deny my actions. Now that reality had set in, I hated myself for what I did. That wasn’t me. But maybe it was Rezith. Was this the type of person I was turning in to?
Eli spat out his poisonous words next. “You know, you’re no better than the people you claim to hate. You keep saying you want to protect people from violence. And tonight, you lashed out and put someone who cares about you in danger. What the hell is wrong with you, Adrian? You’re pathetic.”
I clutched my chest at the tightness squeezing around my lungs. I expected this reaction from Blair, but Eli’s normally playful personality was dripping with repulsion. They both shook their heads in disgust, and went to go stand somewhere else far away from me.
About an hour later, Mike came out and said he would set up a few cots downstairs so we could sleep while Julie continued to treat Lizzy. I figured Blair and Eli didn’t want me around, so I stayed where I was outside the office. I slid my back against the newly repaired and repainted wall and buried my head in my knees. I stayed there all night, until the golden morning light began streaking its way through the entrance of the airplane hangar.
Julie finally came out of her office. “It was touch and go all night. Every time I thought we were in the clear, she’d crash and have a seizure. She’s stable right now, but Adrian...things aren’t looking really good. At best, she’ll survive but there’s no telling what kind of lasting damage she’ll suffer from.”
Tears spurted from my eyes like sprinklers, and I didn’t even try to hide my grief. I wiped them away, along with the snot running down my nose and asked Julie if I could see her.
“Sure, but she’s not awake. And don’t touch anything!” Mike and Julie left the room. I pulled up a chair and sat next to Lizzy lying on the exam table with tubes and machines crawling across her body.
“Lizzy, if you can hear me, I came back. Now you need to keep your promise and come back to me.” I paused to sniffle. “You can’t leave me. You got that? I can’t have you dying before I have a chance to save your ass again and even out the score.”
I traced my fingertips over the bandage where my magic pierced through her shoulder, and the realization hit me like one of Lizzy’s punches to my head.
The chair screeched against the wooden floor as I jumped up and leaped down the stairs two at a time.
“Eli! Eli!” Eli popped his head out of the storage room where he was sleeping.
“What do you want?” He leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms.
“If my magic can heal me, can it heal someone else?”
He straightened his posture and stared distantly toward the ceiling as he ran through the scenario in his head.
“I suppose it’s possible, but most of the magic that wounded her is no longer there. Besides, do you even know how to do something like that? This is someone else we’re talking about. Not you.” Eli had a valid point. I could sense the magic inside my own body, and search to destroy it. But what about someone else's? I was certain Rezith could easily fix this, but I couldn’t trust him. What would happen if I gave him control?
“What about her blood? Her blood is magic. What if I absorbed the foreign magic through her blood?”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Eli shook his head while touching his chin and gazing at the floor.
“Sure it does. It’s like a…magical blood transfusion. I know what her power feels like. What if I could remove everything but her magic?”
“But if you fail and drain her magic too, she’ll die for sure. If someone’s magic is completely drained from them, it’s not just their magic they’ll lose. Not to mention her injuries weren’t only caused by magic. Some were physical. Your ability won’t do anything for that.”
“Come on, Eli! Work with me! We gotta try something. We’re out of options!” I gripped my hands around his broad shoulders and shook some sense into him.
“I guess we don’t have a choice. Are you sure you can do it?”
I shrugged with uncertainty. “To be honest, no. But if her life is on the line I will do whatever I can to save it.”
I can still help, you know. Rezith must have been listening to our conversation.
I know. But I need to do this
myself.
Ha. Just like your mother. Willing to do anything to save the one she loved.
Loved? That was a particularly strong word. But I was responsible for what happened and I needed to fix this. The Obsession Killer was a murderer. Rezith was a murderer. Adrian Cotter was not. He was a police officer who swore an oath to save lives, not take them.
“I’m going to fix my mistake.” Eli simply nodded and yelled for Blair. Together, we stormed into the makeshift operating room where Julie was watching a monitor with a frown on her face. She shifted her gaze to the three slobs dragging dirt and grime into her clean workspace.
“What are you doing?” she asked, moving to block us from reaching Lizzy.
“I have a plan.”
“Like hell you do! Last I checked you weren’t a doctor. The best you can do is leave her to rest and hope for the best. What could you possibly plan on doing anyway?”
“Um, things I don’t have time to explain right now and won’t make sense to you anyway.”
She narrowed her tired eyes and pressed her lips together. She glanced back to Eli and Blair who were in complete approval and weren’t trying to stop me. “I guess. But I’m staying here.”
“Fine.” I ran over and grabbed a scalpel from the tray of tools next to the exam table and with as much precision as my shaking hands allowed, I created a small incision along her palm.
“What the hell are you doing!? Stop it!” She went to swat at my hand before stopping short, realizing that her interference would have only jammed the scalpel right through.
I wasn’t sure if it was needed, but I repeated the process to myself. Lizzy had mentioned once that when her blood mixed with another’s, the magic became stronger. So maybe I could make a deeper connection with mine.
All eyes in the room were locked on me, staring in intense wonder as I proceeded. I gently squeezed her hand in mine and closed my eyes. I drew in a deep breath to clear my mind. I had never done anything like this before, and I wasn’t certain it would even work. I not only had to absorb the magic, but also dispel it at the same time. I couldn’t spit it back out because if I released that magic back into Lizzy it was game over. I had to do this carefully.
How to Hunt a Menacing Magical Shadow Page 31
