by Sarah Jaune
Overhead, he heard what had caused Ivy’s panic. The sound of the engine sent a skittering of panic up Eli’s spine. After almost two full days of not seeing a single car moving, it was indescribably unnerving to have one appear at that very moment.
Ivy poked her head up and watched the taillights of the car as it slowly faded on its eastward trek across the bridge. “It looked like a nice car,” she told them. “I don’t see anything else.”
“I hope we didn’t crack the boat,” Thane said heavily as the two boys hefted it up again and finished climbing the hill.
“I don’t think you did,” Claire told them from the rear of their convoy.
This time they managed to cross the street, but that left them with almost a hundred feet of open space to cross with the huge boat. Eli had never felt so exposed. He wanted to tell Thane to hurry it up, but unlike Eli, Thane didn’t have unlimited strength, and by the time they hit the ledge where they’d climbed up onto the road, Thane was puffing hard.
“Here, set it down,” Eli instructed him. “I’ll climb down and levitate it down to the water.”
“Okay,” Thane panted as Eli jumped down. He held up his hands and floated the boat carefully over his head and down into the murky lake. He turned back in time to see Claire sitting on the ledge, ready to hop into his arms. He caught her, then gave Ivy a hand down.
Thane waved him off and climbed down himself. “I have it. I’m just a little winded, that’s all.”
Eli decided not to comment.
Ivy bent down into the water and touched the surface. “I sent out a call that we’re here. Let’s hop in the boat and make our way across.”
“That’s a really big lake, though,” Thane observed. “We could be spotted as we cross.”
“I know,” Ivy intoned with worry written all over her face. “We don’t have a lot of options, but I said all along this was the riskiest idea for the rescue.”
They all piled into the boat and Ivy started them across the lake. This time, though, they had paddles. The broken rowboat that Thane had found had had a couple, which was about the only useful thing to it.
“I think it has a crack,” Claire squeaked as she pointed to the bottom of the boat. “You did crack it!”
Sure enough, a tiny trickle of water was streaming into the boat.
Muttering a dark curse, Ivy turned her attention from the lake and flicked the water from the boat as though she were throwing a book overboard. Then she forced the hull to hold tight against the water that wanted to force its way in.
“Here,” came a high pitched voice from the side of the boat. A slimy, gray arm appeared over the side, passing over a wad of black goo. “Stick to hole. It stops water.”
Ivy immediately took it, and plastered the bottom of the boat. “It isn’t sticking.”
“Blow on it,” Keela instructed.
Ivy bent down and blew several long streams of air onto the slime. Instantly, it solidified, adhering to the bottom of the boat.
“That’s amazing!” Ivy told the mermaid, who continued to swim alongside them. “What was it?”
“Mermaid magic,” she answered evasively. “We has kids in trees.”
Then she was gone.
Eli had no idea what she meant by that, but he sincerely hoped it meant their job was going to be a simple one.
Then the boat rocked and shot forward so that Eli almost lost the paddle he’d been using. The boat skidded across the surface of the lake, almost like a skipping rock, hopping from one crest to another.
It made Eli immediately sea sick, but it did have the advantage of getting them across the lake in under five minutes.
He didn’t even want to contemplate how fast they’d been going.
The mermaids halted the boat ten feet from shore, about forty feet from the Overseer’s main pier. The boat drifted gently up to the sandy beach in a place that was hidden from the rest of the house by a thicket of trees.
“They is in there,” Keela pointed towards a clump of bushes.
Eli wanted out of the boat before he ended up throwing up, so he needed no encouragement to jump onto the shore. He strode over to a set of bushes, on guard for any possible danger.
What he saw nearly broke him.
A tiny girl, maybe five or six, held a sleeping toddler in her arms. Her big, brown eyes gazed up at him in terror.
Eli cut off the swear word he wanted to say as he knelt down next to her. “Hi,” he said quietly as her golden skin glowed pale in the moonlight. From what he could see of her hair, it was a very light brown. “My name is Eli. I’m here to help you get out.”
Her lower lip trembled in a way that Eli recognized all too well from his little sisters.
“Eli?” Ivy’s quiet voice caught his attention.
“They’re here,” Eli called softly back to her. He turned back to the small girl. Her arms were a little scratched from the underbrush that surrounded the trees. “My dad was mean to me, too, when I was your age. I had someone come for me, as well. But I had my big sister to help get me out.”
There was no teenager present, just these two.
“My sister couldn’t come,” the little girl said in something close to a wail. “She made me come.”
“Okay,” Eli reached slowly for the sleeping toddler. “Can I carry him for you?”
The girl nodded, and Eli gently transferred the small boy to his shoulder. He held out his other arm. “Come on.”
She scrambled to her feet and Eli scooped her up with his free arm, carrying them both back to the boat.
Eli had no idea how this child had snuck the toddler out of the house. Somehow, she’d kept the baby quiet long enough that they weren’t discovered.
“What’s your name?” Eli asked her.
“Diana,” she whispered into his neck. “My brother is Payton.”
He approached the boat and saw the horror on Ivy’s face. Thane, too, appeared dumbstruck. “Hold the boat, Ivy,” Eli told her as he stepped from the shore into the boat.
It held completely stable under him, and he set Diana down. “This is Ivy, Thane, and Claire. We’re going to help you, okay?”
“I can take the baby,” Claire offered as she grabbed one of their blankets. She sat down on the bottom of the boat and held out her arms as Eli set the toddler down.
The little boy let out a tiny, snuffling snore, then went back to sleep.
“My sister,” Diane said, pointing to the house. “My father locked her up.”
Eli nodded grimly. “Okay, I’ll go get her. Where is she being kept?”
“She’s in her bedroom,” Diana explained. “There are bars on her windows.”
“That’s not a problem,” Eli assured her. “Which room is hers? Do you know?”
Diana shook her head. “It’s on the side of the house. Oh! She has pink curtains.”
He nodded and turned to Ivy and Thane. “We have a few options. I can go in like I did for Thane, fast, and quick.”
“That’s a good idea,” Thane said quickly. “You can move fast. We’ll stay here unless we have to move.”
“If you have to, move,” Eli added as he scanned the surrounding area. “I’ll take the older girl and hide out under the bridge. You come find us when you can.”
“That’s a plan,” Ivy said, although she didn’t appear to like it. She gave him a swift hug and waved him off, turning away.
Eli stared at the back of her head for a moment, but didn’t push it. “Diana, what’s your sister’s name?”
“Haleigh,” Diana answered. “Please save her!”
Eli didn’t give himself time to think. He sprinted from the boat and made his way through the trees until he could catch sight of the large, imposing house with terraces that ran the length of both the first and second stories. Potted plants with long, draping leaves dripped like melted candlewax down the metal railings. He went first one way, but saw quickly that the left side of the house was brightly lit. The girl might be over there, but he would also be ea
sier to spot. He doubled back and went to the right of the house. There were a few windows lit, but one stood out as a beacon to him.
A single lamp burned behind a window with pink curtains. It was also the only window that was barred.
Sighing in relief, Eli pulled in a lungful of air and dashed as fast as he could across the yard. He made the house in about three seconds, grabbed one of the posts that supported the porch and vaulted up so he could grab the bottom of one of the metal rails. He pulled himself up and over, checking to verify that the porch was indeed empty.
So far things were going smoothly, which made him incredibly nervous.
Eli moved to the window and bent to examine the bars. They were bolted into place by large, metal bolts. He grinned and twirled his fingers in the air, spinning first one bolt loose, then another. It was on the third that a face peeked out through the curtains.
What Eli saw left him even more nauseated than the boat ride. Her entire face was puffy, purple, and damaged by angry bruises. She looked as though she’d been beaten pretty hard.
Eli brought his finger to his lips, and she gaped at him stupidly. He knew she was eighteen, so about two years older than he was, but she didn’t look that old, although it was difficult to tell under all the bruising. What he knew was that he had to keep going until he had them all out and could lower the bars silently to the porch.
The girl unlatched the window and quietly slid it open. “You’re…”
“I’m Eli,” he told her simply as he tried not to stare at the bruises. “We have your brother and sister already. Are you ready to go?”
She shook her head, which appeared to be the same light brown of her sister’s, but she had hazel eyes. “If I go, my father will come after me. I have to stay. I want them safe. He’ll be mad that they’re gone, but he won’t try to find them.”
Eli seriously doubted that. “Your father is going to let his male heir leave?”
“Payton isn’t his heir,” Haleigh said miserably. “I have another brother. He’s fourteen. Virgil is… he’s like my father.”
“Did he hit you?” Eli asked before he could stop himself.
She waved that off. “Yes, but I goaded him into it. I knew that if I got him to beat me up the wedding would be postponed.”
Her casual explanation that her younger brother had beaten the crap out of her did nothing to ease Eli’s worry. “Let’s go.”
“I can’t—” Haleigh shook her head, then cut herself off. “Just save Diana and Payton. That’s all I want. I just wanted to try to get them out of here. I have no idea how you heard about us, but you can’t begin to know how grateful I am.”
“I do know,” Eli said as he grabbed her arms and hauled her from the room. He hated to do this, but she had to go. Her mild protest was more in surprise than alarm. He set her down then closed the window. “I also know what is waiting for you if you marry that guy,” he explained as he hefted the bars back up and grabbed a screwdriver from his pocket. “I was saved as well, and I know of the man you’re supposed to marry. He’s evil.”
“What are you doing?” Haleigh asked in a panic as she tried to smack his arm away. He didn’t stop what he was doing, though. They had very little time to make a clean escape. “I have to get back in there! I know Price is evil, but I don’t matter—”
“Yes,” Eli said as calm stole over him, clearing his head of any fear. “You do matter. We can get all three of you away and hidden. Your brother and sister need you. You can start all over again and never have to live in fear.” He finished screwing the bars back in place and studied the window carefully to make sure he couldn’t see any hint that this was the way she’d escaped. “I need you to trust me on this one. I remember being so afraid my father would find me, but we can keep you safe.” He turned and flinched when he saw the tears on her battered cheeks. “Don’t cry! Come on, we have to go.”
Haleigh carefully wiped at her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Eli gritted his teeth and held back the retort. “You can fall apart later, but right now I need you to focus on escaping.” He glanced down at her sweat pants and her faded yellow t-shirt. “I never wore that sort of thing when I was in my father’s house.”
She smiled, her first real smile. “He hates it. He tells me I’m horribly common.”
“It will do, though,” Eli moved over to the railing and swung himself over. He glanced around again, just to make sure they hadn’t been spotted. “Can you get down or will you need help?”
“Help,” she said immediately. “My face isn’t the only bruised thing on me.”
Sickened, Eli nodded and wedged his feet under the railing so he was stable and could assist her in getting over the bars. He could have run with her back to the boat if she hadn’t been injured, but in her state it would have been agony. They’d have to be careful. She was about his size, same height, maybe a little bit thinner, but her arms shook, and he had to climb down with her, keeping hold of her waist until they hit the path. “Let’s go,” he said as he knelt and started a slow creep around the side of the house. “Stay as low to the ground as you can.”
“I’ll try,” Haleigh murmured as she clung close to his side.
“Stop!” commanded an arrogant voice from behind them.
CHAPTER 24
THE HEIR APPARENT
Eli turned to see a tall, fit man of about twenty-three who looked remarkably like Thane, except not nearly as wide. Even at a distance, Eli could see the haughty, mean expression on the man’s face. He marched coldly through the garden, around the stone paths, past the ornamental bushes that littered the lawn.
“Go,” Eli told Haleigh, waving her off.
“No,” she whispered in terror.
“Go,” Eli urged her again. “I’ve got this.”
The man laughed. “You stay right there, Haleigh. I’ll deal with you shortly.”
Haleigh, thankfully, ignored him and took off towards the beach. He could hear her uneven, labored steps and knew it would take her minutes to get to the boat. Hopefully Ivy or Thane would spot her, although if she saw Thane she was likely to panic.
The man moved to chase her, but Eli stepped in his way, blocking him from proceeding. “She won’t get far,” the man sneered.
Price, Eli remembered. This was Price, Thane’s older brother.
Eli didn’t respond to him, simply waited him out. He’d have to take this guy out, hopefully knock him out. He couldn’t have him telling who took them.
Unfortunately, he’d seen Eli and he’d be able to describe him.
That would be a problem. Unless… a crazy idea formed in Eli’s mind, one so stupid, so daring, that he thought it just might work.
“You can’t possibly think you’ll beat me,” Price goaded as he took a step towards Eli. “A shrimpy little tyke like you couldn’t take on a toddler.”
Eli studied the man, studied the way he moved. This was a man who knew how to fight. He wouldn’t be easily tricked.
His power was magnetism. Eli inclined his chin. “Go on, then. Take me down.”
A metal bar flew through the air at Eli, straight for his head. Eli flicked his fingers, sending it off course for a moment before the bar swung around, coming in for another blow. Eli moved fast and snagged the pipe. He swiped out at Price, but he’d underestimated just how much force the other guy had to control the pipe’s momentum. If it weren’t for Eli’s strength, he’d have been knocked off his feet.
Stunned, Price took a step back. “That’s… not possible.”
Eli fought with the pipe until he broke Price’s concentration enough to gain control of it. It didn’t last more than a second, though, before Price flicked his fingers and the pipe flew up, once again attempting to smack Eli in the head.
Eli drove the pipe into the ground and quickly forced it down a good twenty feet into the wet, soft earth. He sprang for Price, putting on an extra spurt of speed until he’d knocked the bigger man down onto the ground. Price’s head connected with
the grass, but it wasn’t enough to knock him unconscious. Eli pulled back his fist to punch, but was hit in the back with a metal lawn chair.
Pain radiated up his spine, and he was sent sprawling over Price’s head, landing several feet away. Annoyed, and in pain, Eli grabbed up a decorative rock from one of the garden beds and threw it at Price, hitting him in the stomach and causing him to double over in pain. Eli ran for him again, and flipped him around, putting Price into a chokehold. “Stop or you’re dead.”
He must have sounded sincere, because Price did freeze. “You’re going to pay for this.”
