by Sarah Carter
“Yes, that’s why they guard me.” Fabian snorts. “There are people who would like to see me dead.”
“Ooo,” Claire teases. “Do I have to worry?”
“No,” Fabian replies. “Nothing could ever happen here. The people after me know that.”
“So, you’re invincible?”
“You could say that.” Fabian sneers.
Claire pulls him to a stop. “Are you a bad man?”
He returns her gaze and inquires, “Do you really want to know?”
“I’ll take that as a yes. That’s good, because I do like bad boys,” Claire purrs.
“Well, I’m the baddest of the bad,” Fabian states.
“That’s all I needed to know.” Claire grabs him by the top of his pants and leads him down the hallway.
Fabian grabs her, and before she knows it, he’s kissing her. She wants to pull away and throw up, but she knows she can’t. Completely revolted, Claire kisses him back. There is a sinking feeling in her stomach. She knows part of her is dying. The innocent part. The part that still made her feel like a kid. It’s like a punch to the gut. This is who she is now…a weapon. Lives are at stake. She needs to do what it takes to get this bastard.
“Can we get away from prying eyes,” Claire whispers, pulling away from him.
“No, my enemies really want me dead,” Fabian murmurs back. “The guards stay.”
“I can’t do this then,” Claire says, backing away from him.
“I’ll just have to show you,” Fabian replies. He grabs her hand and drags her down the hall. They turn into a room. Claire stops. There is a canopy bed with curtains. “See? No one will see.”
“But they can hear,” Claire retorts back.
“Well, that I can’t help,” Fabian states. “Only two guards go in, anyway.”
Claire knows that means two guards at the door. “Fine,” she finally says. “Let’s get this party started.”
“First, we need to search you,” Fabian states.
She gives him a look. “Exactly where would I hide something?”
“Sorry, you never know.”
“Fine,” Claire snaps. She reaches down and strips off the dress. She’s only standing there in her underwear. “Not exactly sure where I would hide anything.”
“In your bra,” the bodyguard says.
Looking down, Claire replies, “There are only boobs in there, trust me.”
“We still have to look,” Fabian declares, with a glint in his eyes.
“You can look when we get in there and close the curtains,” Claire says. “Anyway, what exactly do you think I’m I going to do? I’ve never done anything aggressive in my life.” She smirks “But I have been known to bite.”
Fabian’s nostrils flare and he stares at her for a minute. Finally, he picks her up. Claire tenses. He throws her on the bed. Quickly, he kicks off his shoes. With her adrenaline pumping, Claire watches him crawl onto the bed. He pulls the curtains shut. Fear starts to bubble up in her chest.
You’re stronger than him, He can’t overpower you. You can drain him, and…you can kill him.
He makes his way over her. “Now, let me finish searching you.”
“Kiss me first,” Claire whispers.
“Oh, no,” Fabian chuckles. “We need to take everything off.”
Claire grabs him and pulls him down to her. She presses her lips against his. He pulls away, but she pulls him back down. With her stomach turning, Claire starts to kiss him like she kisses Damien. Everything in her is screaming that this is going to hurt Damien beyond imagination, but she has to do it. Fabian finally starts kissing her back.
Knowing it’s now or never, Claire flicks her energy into him ever so slightly. Fabian flinches but his energy reacts. Claire snags it and takes it in as rapidly as she can. It actually hurts a lot. She realizes it’s probably because of having Kayla’s energy in her already.
Fabian starts to fight but Claire quickly throws her hand over his mouth, stifling him. She uses her extra strength to hold him still. His eyes finally roll back into his head and he’s out. Claire scrunches into a ball, trying to keep the energy in. Finally, she lets out a moan of relief. She hears chuckling outside the curtain. She flips off the bodyguard.
Quickly, Claire moves Fabian under the covers. She pulls the blanket over his head. The next thing she does is press the microchip about a hundred times. Then, taking a deep breath, Claire shifts into Fabian. She exits the curtain. The bodyguards give her weird looks.
Claire rolls her eyes. “The little skank passed out. Damn girls can’t hold their liquor.”
The bodyguard chuckles. “What do you want us to do with her?”
“Leave her to me,” Claire replies. “I want to be alone with the whore.”
One of the bodyguards looks at him. “Sir, you really aren’t going to…”
“Do I need to remind you who you’re talking to?” Claire yells. “You work for me. Remember that!”
One bodyguard stops and says, “Sir, why am I not sensing you?”
Quickly, Claire unblocks her energy. The other bodyguard jerks back. “What the hell?” He glares at her and then whips back the curtain. Both he and the other bodyguard pull back the comforter.
While they aren’t looking, Claire shifts back to herself. She’s most accustomed to this body. The bodyguards both turn around and jump back when they see Claire. “Listen,” she starts putting her hands up. “I don’t want to hurt you, so don’t do anything.”
They both go for their guns. Claire groans, then attacks. She knocks the gun out of the first bodyguard’s hand. The second bodyguard points his weapon at her. She reaches out, and in two movements she snaps the guy’s arm. He cries out, falling to the ground. The other bodyguard leaps for her. He must have had some training, because it actually takes her a few moves before he hits the ground. She pushes two pressure points, immobilizing him.
The door opens. Claire jumps behind it.
“She’s there!” the one bodyguard screams.
She takes the door and slams it into the bodyguard’s face. He buckles. Claire grabs him and sucks the energy out of him. When he falls, she shoves him to the side.
“What the hell are you?” one bodyguard yells.
“A Neturu,” Claire replies. “Now, stop fighting me. You won’t win.”
Pain shoots through her back. She realizes she’s just been stabbed. Grabbing the Cinya out of her bra, she extends the blade. Spinning out of the bodyguard’s hands, Claire slams the blade into the base of his neck. One of the few killing blows for the Neturu. Blood sprays all over her arms and the bodyguard falls to the ground…dead. Claire stands in shock for a minute. Then she senses movement next to her. With deadly accuracy, she throws the knife into the forehead of a bodyguard with a gun. Now, all emotion is turned off. She looks at the remaining bodyguards. “Do you want to try to stop me, too?”
They quickly shake their heads. “You’re a freak,” one of them says.
“Yeah, I kind of am,” Claire growls. “So, choose your next move wisely.” She walks between them and grabs Fabian, easily throwing him over her shoulder. Next, she grabs the Cinya out of the guard’s forehead as she walks out into the hallway. Turning around, Claire slams the door and then snaps the doorknob off.
With light footsteps, she starts to sneak down the hallway. When she sees movement, Claire darts into a side room. There is a closet door. She throws Fabian onto the floor of the closet. Quickly shutting the door, she snaps that doorknob off too and then shifts into Fabian.
Two bodyguards show up in the doorway. “What’s going on?” One of them asks.
“Nothing,” Claire answers. “A misunderstanding.”
“Where’s the girl?” The bodyguard replies, curiously looking at him.
“I disposed of her.”
The bodyguards eye her suspiciously. “Are you sure you’re alright sir?”
“I’m fine!” Claire yells. “Stop staring at me or I’ll have someone shoot
you in the head.”
“Sorry, sir,” he replies.
“Now, you need to listen to me carefully,” Claire growls. “Evacuate the building.”
“What?” the guy gasps.
“Evacuate the building and gather all the guards on the dance floor.”
“Sir…”
“Now!” Claire screams. “Or I will personally shoot you!”
“Yes, sir,” the bodyguard stammers. He presses something on his ear. “Pull the alarm.” There’s a pause. “These are his direct orders. He’s standing in front of me.”
Claire starts to walk over to them. She holds the blade in her palm so they don’t see. A very loud alarm starts going off.
The bodyguard listens to something and then looks at Claire. “Sir, where’s your protection?”
“Probably doing something stupid.”
The guard looks at Claire. “What?”
Using her full strength, she spin kicks him in the chest. The guy flies back into the wall, crumbling it. The other bodyguard reaches out to punch her. Claire ducks out of the way and then sweeps the guy’s legs from underneath him. He falls, but not before he throws a knife into her stomach. Claire cries out. With pain radiating through her body, she yanks out the knife. The pain is even worse.
“You’re going down,” the bodyguard growls. He grabs her and puts her into a headlock. The pain is severe, but Claire tries to block it. Grabbing the guy’s arm, she harnesses the bodyguard’s energy. They struggle until he collapses to the ground. Claire quickly turns around. Both guys are unconscious on the floor.
It dawns on her that the pain in her abdomen is gone. She looks down. There is blood all over her, but the wound is gone. Reaching behind, Claire realizes her back is healed, too. “Oh my god,” she breathes out. “The energy transfer heals me.”
After a minute, she shifts back into Fabian and walks out into the hallway. The alarm continues to screech. Hesitantly, she makes her way out into the club. The music is still loud and, combined with the alarm, it’s overpowering. She walks out into the middle of the empty club. No one is around.
But then, Claire is knocked over. An electrical fire sweeps over her. She cries out. It makes her shift back.
“Claire!” someone cries out.
She rolls onto her back in pain.
Her grandfather runs over to her. “Claire, we didn’t know it was you.”
With a thought she shifts into a tiger. The pain subsides. Shifting back to herself, Claire looks up at her grandfather. “I did it,” she breathes out. Sitting up, she grabs her head.
“How do you feel?” he asks.
“Tired,” Claire whispers.
Her grandfather helps her up. “Where’s Fabian?”
Claire sees guard members rush through the club. “He’s this way. There are bodyguards down.”
“Are they alive?” her grandfather asks.
The realization of what happened finally sets in. It takes her breath away. “No,” she says. “Some are dead…and some are alive. I killed…”
Mr. Grandin comes up. “What’s going on?”
“We need tranquilizers and cuffs,” her grandfather says. “Show us where they are.”
She barely nudges her head toward the doorway. They walk over there and down the hallway. When they get to the side room, Claire says, “He’s in the closet.”
“Okay, we need tools to get that door open,” Mr. Grandin tells a guard member.
“No, you don’t,” Claire interjects. She walks over and kicks the door in.
“Claire,” her grandfather snaps. “Where did you get that scar on your back and why are you covered in blood?”
Lifting her hands up, she stares down at the blood all over her. Claire’s heart sinks and her stomach turns. “It’s not all my blood,” she barely whispers, “but I…heal…when I absorb energy. I was stabbed twice.” Claire continues to stare at the blood all over her. She can barely think straight. Someone’s blood is on her. Someone she killed. “I need to get out of here,” she gasps.
“Yes,” her grandfather says. “Come on.” He reaches over to put his arm around her.
“No!” Claire screams. “Don’t touch me. I can’t do it. I can’t…” She starts to gasp for air.
“Let’s go now,” her grandfather says sharply.
Claire turns and runs. She sprints down the hall and through the club. When she makes it outside, all the guard members freeze. It’s then that she realizes what they see. She’s nearly naked and covered in blood. “I need to put something on!” she screams. They don’t move. “Please,” Claire pleads.
One of the guard members takes off the top of his uniform and tosses it to her. Claire slides it on. She clenches it tightly.
Her grandfather comes up behind her. “We’re taking you to a safe house. Come on.” Feeling hollow inside, Claire follows him into a car. They drive silently. Finally, her grandfather says, “Claire…”
“Don’t,” she breathes out. “Just don’t.” He reaches out for her hand and she yanks it away. When they get to the safe house, they make their way to a suite. Claire goes to the bathroom. She lifts up her hands and sees most of the blood has dried.
“What do you need Claire? Food?”
“I need to be alone,” she states, trying to sound okay. “I don’t want anyone to come in here. No one.”
“Damien…”
A severe tightness forms in her chest. “Not even him.”
“Claire…”
“I mean it!” she screams, slamming the door behind her. It takes a minute, but she goes to the shower and turns it on super-hot. Claire rubs her fingers together, feeling the blood.
It’s then that her walls come crumbling down. Everything that happened tears at her insides. She throws off the uniform and jumps into the shower. As the tears start to come, she shakily tries to rub the blood off. She rubs and rubs but some of it is hard to get off. Exhausted and broken, Claire finally falls down. She curls up into a ball and cries.
A while goes by as she lays on the shower floor. The water beating down on her is a small comfort. She hears yelling.
“I don’t give a damn!” Damien shouts. “Move!” There is silence. “Then unlock the door! I swear to god, I will have you executed. I’m giving you a direct order. Open the door!”
Claire clenches her eyes shut and curls into a tighter ball. She hears the door open and she whispers, “Go away.”
“No,” Damien replies. “Come on. Sit up.” Claire shakes her head. With a sigh, Damien starts to take his clothes off. Finally, he steps into the shower with her. Claire doesn’t move, but Damien pulls her up into a sitting position.
Bringing up her hands, Claire whispers, “I still have blood on me.”
“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Damien replies gently. He grabs the soap and begins to wash her arms and hands. Claire starts to cry again. “Shh, baby,” Damien murmurs. “I’m going to take care of you. I promise. You’re safe.” Very carefully, Damien washes her body. He helps her take the rest of her clothes off. When her skin is clean, Damien asks, “Can you stand so I can wash your hair?”
She looks up at him. “Is there blood in it?”
“No,” he replies. “I just figured you’d want to get completely clean.”
“I killed people.” Claire exhales, looking into his eyes. “I took their lives. It was their blood on me.”
“I know. Did you get hurt?”
Claire points to the scar on her stomach. “I was stabbed here.” She reaches behind her, “And on my back.”
“How…?”
“I can heal from severe injuries when I absorb energy,” she states. “I turned off my emotion. When I was fighting, when I was killing…when I had him on top of me.”
There is dead silence and finally Damien says, “What did you just say?”
“I had to make him think I was going to sleep with him,” Claire whispers. “It was disgusting. I had to take my clothes off. I had to kiss him. All I wanted to d
o was puke.”
“You did…what?” Damien stutters.
Fear boils up in Claire’s chest. “Damien…I had to.”
He sits back and stares at the shower floor. “Whoa…okay. Not sure how I’m supposed to feel right now.”
“Damien, please. It tore me apart. Knowing what I was doing. Knowing it would hurt you. I just had to shut it down. I had to do it. I had to get to him.”
Damien shakes his head and says, “I know you felt like you had to, and I know you did. But it’s still a punch to the stomach.”
Claire gets up on her knees and looks him in the eyes. “Damien, it was horrible and meant nothing. I love you…more than you know.”
“I know, Claire.”
“Please,” she pleads, as the tears start to come back. “I can’t have gone through this and lose you too. It would destroy me. Please.”
With a soft look, Damien says, “You aren’t going to lose me.”
“Please help me…” She whispers.
“Help you what?”
“Forget him. I need to feel you. I need you. Make love to me so I can forget. Please.”
“Claire, baby, that may not be the answer,” Damien says.
She moves and wraps her arms around him. “I want to forget this. Please, help me do that.” Claire leans forward to kiss him. Damien hesitates but then kisses her back. He sits her up and lifts her against him. With that, he softly makes her feel whole again.
* * * * * * * *
Claire startles herself awake. Her dreams are way too vivid. She sits up and notices the bedroom is empty. Looking out the window, Claire sees that the sun is high in the sky. She throws back the covers and walks out into the living room. Damien is sitting on the floor, obviously in Shima. She turns around and heads to the bathroom.
After she’s done, Claire walks out by him. Curious, she shuts down her energy and sneaks over to him. Stopping, she realizes that this must block him from sensing her approach. With a wicked grin, Claire steps toward him. Suddenly, Damien reaches out and grabs her legs out from underneath her. She slams down on the ground and he quickly jumps on top of her.
Claire giggles uncontrollably. “Aw, you’re such a punk!”
“You think you can actually sneak up on me? Do you realize how trained I am?” he declares, with the biggest grin ever.
