by MJ Fletcher
“Good for him.” He nodded.
“Now tell me how to get out of this dimension.” I slipped the device into my pocket and patted it reassuringly. It might not be what I needed, but I wasn’t about to let anyone else get their hands on it.
“I’ve already given you the device. That is my last bargaining chip,” he replied with regret.
“Not much of one.” I pulled my phone out and tapped the screen, making a call. I heard the familiar click of someone answering. “Edgar, I need an exit.”
Mr. Slade threw his hands up in the air. “I have a Map.”
“I’ll get back to you, rock star.” I tapped the phone, ending the call and slipped it back in my pocket. “Where?”
“Over there.” He pointed to a set of filing cabinets that sat beside the stairs.
I walked up to them and pulled open the one he pointed at and found a store house of Maps. I could only imagine what Edgar would do if he saw this stash. I smiled and flipped through the Maps and, grabbing a handful, I pulled them out. I brought them to Mr. Slade and he pushed them aside until he found the right one.
“This is it.”
I looked over the Map and made a series of quick calculations in my head. I could do a few quick jumps through the In Between and get back to a safe dimension.
A boom shook the foundations of the house, throwing me off my feet and sending me tumbling to the floor. Mr. Slade hit the floor beside me, and I scrambled to my feet. Someone was attacking, and they obviously didn’t plan on us getting out of the house alive.
“It seems we have company,” Mr. Slade said.
Chapter 33
“No shit, really?” I shook my head and lifted my hands attempting to open a portal. I felt the series of locks immediately. Someone outside was creating one lock after another. I could break each of them, but they weren’t worried about that. They were stalling me, crafting one on top of another to keep me busy.
If we were going to get out of here, we were going to have to go through the door and into our enemies’ arms. I didn’t like that idea at all, but it wasn’t as if I had many options. It was either that or let the house fall down on our heads.
“Crap,” I mumbled under my breath.
“I suppose this is it,” Mr. Slade said resolutely.
“You’re a freakin ray of sunshine, aren’t you? Now get your ass up and let’s go. We’re getting out of here.”
I pulled him to his feet and pushed him toward the stairs. We rushed up them, and I activated my abilities as I returned to the first floor. The house shook once again when a hole was torn in what was once the living room. Furniture and wood flew in all directions, and I ducked to avoid getting hit by the debris.
“Jess, come out now and we might be able to work something out,” Nyla called out.
“Crap,” I whispered again.
I had no idea what this meant for Ronan. Had he survived? I was growing fond of him and his sexy accent, and if they had hurt him I wasn’t going to be happy.
“Whatever they’ve told you about me, it’s a lie. Let’s talk,” Nyla called out.
“Considering you’ve been trying to kill my friends, I don’t think I’ll be trusting you right now.” I shouted back at her.
“I understand why you’d be hesitant, but I never wanted to harm you. I thought of you just as a tool. I can see now I was wrong. You and I are not so different, Jess.”
“Of course we aren’t. I’m sure we’ll be sipping cocktails and braiding one another’s hair in no time. DeAndre was right about you, you freaking psychopath.”
“I see that my old master has been filling your head with lies. I’ll have to do something about that. Now let’s not waste time insulting one another when I can be helping you.”
“People have been saying that to me a lot today, and it’s starting to get real old.”
“Hand over Mr. Slade and we can work something out.”
“You mean like you trying to steal the Artifact and killing me in the process?” I yelled. I could feel people with Skeleton Key’s working their way around to the back of the house. I sensed at least five people and in the distance even more. I was going to have to do something soon to get out of here.
“The Artifact is unique, Jess, and it needs to be protected. It should be in the proper hands.” Nyla’s voice had taken on a different tone, distant and longing.
Anger boiled in me, I’d had enough of people trying to help me. All anyone cared about was power, and I simply happened to be in their way. They had picked the wrong person to come after.
“I take it you’re the right person, Nyla?”
I slowed my breathing and clenched my fists, feeling the power of the Artifact course through my veins. For the moment I was in full control of it, though I knew if I pushed too hard I would lose myself to it. For the moment, however, my anger was focusing me.
“I have the skills needed to wield it,” she said.
I walked into the living room and stopped, staring at the gaping hole that opened on the front of the house. Nyla was in front of the white picket fence, her Skeleton Key in hand, crimson energy encircling her. I hopped out of the house onto what had once been pristine grass. Mr. Slade scrambled out directly behind me, using me as a shield.
I used my abilities and determined that there were three Guilders behind the house and one more on each side, plus Nyla made six in all.
“This Artifact has been in my family for generations and is my birthright. You think you have more right to it than me? Come and take it.”
Chapter 34
“Don’t be foolish, Jess. I will end you,” Nyla said confidently.
“You think so, then give me a whirl.” I didn’t wait. I crossed my forearms and power roiled forth.
Nyla shook her head and waved her hand. The Guilders on either side of the house rushed toward me. I didn’t have to see them to know they were coming. Their Keys were giving off enough power for me to sense their every move.
I stood waiting. The one on my left reached me first. He created a mace with his abilities and swung it toward me. I pivoted on my back foot and swung around him, his blow sailing harmlessly where I had been moments earlier. I brought my fist around and punched out. He screamed in pain as my hand connected with his body, the energy of the Artifact making my fists feel like stone. When I felt the blow land, I pulsed the power tripling the force of the blow and knocked him off his feet. He hit the street writhing in pain.
The second attacker made her move. She had a crimson sword and came at me with a slashing attack. I stepped back not bothering to block it, instead moving out of range. I forced her to move toward me, swinging and slashing.
She thought I was on defense and thrust her blade toward my chest. I created my own katanas instantly and brought one down, forcing her blade into the ground and her into a hunched position. I spun around her side and brought the other blade down on the back of her neck. I felt the slice as she fell lifelessly to the ground.
I turned to Nyla Foxglove and the expression on her face had changed from superiority to anger.
“Ronan, is he alive?” I asked.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because if he is I might let some of you live.”
“That sure of yourself?”
“Completely,” I said.
“Arrogant bitch.”
“It’s not arrogance if it’s true.”
“You can’t beat us all,” she said.
“I guess we’ll find out.”
Nyla advanced with determination. I felt the three from behind the house approaching as well. But Nyla was the only real threat, her power was impressive. I could feel the control she was exerting, keeping herself running hot, but not so much so that she would run out of steam halfway through the battle.
“I might actual enjoy this,” she said as she continued to approach.
The other three came in first. One rounded the house faster than I expected and released a bolt of energy at me. I
swung my blade, deflecting it, but found myself on the defense. The shots kept coming and I had to back up and plant my feet to fend them off. The other two soon joined in, and I dissolved my blades and created a shield. Not a position I wanted to find myself in. Mr. Slade cowered behind me under the shield, muttering under his breath how we were about to die.
A crimson portal opened and Ronan jumped out, his shirt torn and his face bloodied. He threw himself at the three attackers with wild recklessness. His crimson fists connected with such force that the blows released sparks of energy.
“Boyfriend comes to save you?” Nyla asked as she created a spear and slashed at my shield.
“I don’t go for the whole boyfriend thing,” I said with a smile. “Now let’s see what you’re made of.”
I dropped my hands and the shield disappeared. I launched myself at her, while incasing my hands in crimson energy like gloves. My anger flared. I didn’t only want to beat Nyla; I wanted to do it with my bare hands.
She snapped her spear toward me, and I snatched it out of her hand, twisting it and feeling it snap under my power. I swung my other hand out and backhanded her, sending her flipping backwards.
“You should have stayed away from me,” I warned, though it was too late.
Nyla looked up from the ground, staring at me in awe. Crimson light consumed me as I gave into the power of the Artifact. I wanted to burn her out of existence, and I had the power to do it. I only had to access it and show her what I could truly do.
“You’re beautiful.”
Her voice floated toward me through the sound of howling winds that filled my ears and I couldn’t block it out. I looked down. Crimson mist was slowly making its way up my legs. My skin tingled and I realized that I was letting the power get out of control.
“Crap,” I said.
I needed to dial it back, but I had taken it so far that I didn’t know how. I took a step backward and turned to find Ronan approaching me slowly. The broken bodies of the men he had fought lay in disarray behind him. Mr. Slade was on his knees, staring at me with wide eyed wonder and fear.
“Jess, are you okay?” Ronan asked.
“No, I don’t think I can turn it off.”
Ronan stopped a few feet from me. “Are you sure?”
I was aware of him reaching out with his powers. I could feel them around me, probing my own abilities and trying to find a way around them. But it was too much; I was in full on explosion mode.
I concentrated, using breathing techniques my cousin had taught me to calm myself. I used my normal counter measures, trying to pull back on my power as much as I was able. But it wasn’t working. If anything, it was increasing.
Nyla was still in front of me and I sensed her moving. My hand shot up and a bolt of red energy ripped from my palm and slammed into her with such force it drove her into the ground across the street. Smoke billowed from the blow to her chest. She wasn’t dead, but I’d knock her out of the fight for the moment.
“Jess.” Ronan took a step toward me.
I spun toward him, my hand swinging in his direction. He was smarter than Nyla and dropped all use of powers immediately and raised his hands.
“I only want to help,” he said.
“That’s what they all say, Ronan, but I’m alone in this.”
My vision went crimson and the world seemed to tilt. Why didn’t I know how to completely control this power? It was my birthright. My father had bequeathed it to me. I could control it to a point, and then other times it was as if it controlled me. But those few moments when I was in charge made me wonder, did I have to be afraid of the Artifact, or was it something I could learn to control?
The image of my father bleeding and dying in my arms fought through the haze in my mind. What the hell was I talking about? If I tried this I was a dead woman.
Impossible Engineer energy flowed beside me and I spun to face it. Mr. Slade was trying to activate a device. I twisted my wrist and a wave of energy floated over him.
“What are you doing?” he asked and quickly tried to back up. He tripped over his own feet, falling and scrambling backwards on his elbows to get distance from me.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” I said.
The fog of crimson energy slipped around him. It solidified into red shackles that attached to his hands and snapped into the street.
“Jess,” Ronan spoke again, “we need to stop.”
“We?” I said.
“You said you’re alone. That’s not true, I’m here.”
He stood across from me, his shirt torn to shreds, resembling some mythic hero from a fairy tale. But I had figured out a long time ago that I didn’t fit into any fairy tale story. I wasn’t the princess to be rescued. I was a lonely warrior plain and simple. I’d chosen that road by pushing my friends away and walking a solitary path.
“I’m always alone,” I said and moved away from him. The power in me wanted to consume him and drain him of every ounce of Guild energy he possessed. I wanted to show him how superior I was; I wanted to show all of them.
No, that isn’t right.
Why would I want that? I stopped myself, my mind racing. I knew this was all wrong, but I was having a hard time distinguishing exactly what was happening. The Artifact was affecting me in ways I hadn’t experienced before. It was almost as if it had a mind of its own.
“I can help you, let me.” Ronan was speaking, but he sounded so very far away.
“Stay away from me,” I warned stepping back. I lifted my hand, twisting my wrist. Numbers and calculations played in my head. I had seen something earlier about how to leave this dimension. I needed to get away, to find some place I could think and be safe.
I thought of my friends and family, though I couldn’t go to them while I was like this. I had to leave and find safe haven for myself away from others. But where? If I could just run, maybe I could outrun the power consuming me.
A crimson door shot out of the street beside me and flung open, the grey haze of the In Between visible in the portal.
“What are you doing?” Ronan asked anxiously.
“Leaving,” I said.
“She has the device. It could separate the Artifact from her and save her,” Mr. Slade called out.
Ronan looked from him to me and back. His eyes narrowed, and for a moment I wondered what he was thinking.
“We can stop this,” —he held his hand out to me— “together.”
A part of me wanted to lift my hand and take his, but I didn’t. A little voice in my head spoke quietly, whispering over and over.
Don’t trust him.
Nyla launched past Ronan and slammed into me, having recovered quicker than I thought she would. But she was a fool to think she could take me on with the full power of the Artifact running wild. We fell into the In Between, tumbling into the opaque greyness.
My mind was a jumble of thoughts and ideas. I couldn’t concentrate with the power of the Artifact in control. I reached out with my senses, trying to find a safe path, but they all felt closed to me. Something was wrong. I struggled to my feet.
Nyla stood across from me, holding a small timepiece in her hand and smiling. Around us were multiple portals that I must have opened when we fell into the In Between, but I could barely move to reach any of them.
“That Timelock you’ve been looking for? It is right here in front of you. I had Mr. Slade make some changes to it. Now you are able to focus the power just as I’m doing. I’m using it to slow down the personal space around you, turning you into nothing more than a toy for me to do whatever I please to.
It paralyzed me. Though the power of the Artifact surrounded me, I could no longer control it. My body began to burn, and I knew my time was ending. I had lost the battle and now I was going to lose to Nyla. The Timelock was stopping me from burning out and keeping me in a perpetual state of agony.
Fear roiled in my stomach and the faint voice in my head grew louder, screaming at me to fight, to use all the power of
the Artifact and damn the consequences. I was going to die anyway, so I might as well take this bitch with me.
I was scared and wanted nothing more than to feel safe and protected as I once had. But that had been another lifetime ago or so it seemed. Once again I found myself in a fight for my life, with no one to save me—but me.
Nyla walked forward and my whole body trembled at her approach. I concentrated all my power on breaking the hold of the Timelock. My body was on fire and I wanted it to stop. In my head, I let loose with a guttural scream that tore up from my lungs and suddenly the Timelock moved.
A bubble of crimson energy exploded out from me, throwing Nyla backwards. It tossed me off my feet and I tumbled back, falling straight through one of the portals. Headed where? I had no idea.
Chapter 35
I hit the stone ground and the power of the Artifact lessened as the portal had torn a great deal of energy out of me. If Nyla didn’t follow me, I might be able to survive this fight. I dragged myself forward, tendrils of crimson energy floating behind me.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Nyla’s voice echoed down the cobblestone street as she ran forward and kicked me in the stomach, knocking me onto my back.
The air rushed from my lungs in a painful gasp and I coughed and gagged as she kicked me again. The voice in my head was gone and the power of the Artifact was scattered. I couldn’t concentrate and I felt as though I had been run over by a truck.
“You’re not getting away from me, Jess.” Nyla leaned down close to me, smiling. She slipped the Timelock back into her pocket and I winced knowing it was so close.
“Screw you,” I managed to say between coughs.
“Still some fight left in you. Well, I can take care of that.” Nyla took out her Skeleton Key and held it above me. “I’m going to enjoy this.”
“Get the hell away from her now,” the voice boomed down the street, stopping Nyla.
Merric Vale walked forward, his long, white hair free and flying around him in the wind. His eyes were fixed on Nyla and his hands were clenched into fists.
