by MJ Fletcher
She raced forward, her blade slicing through air leaving a gleaming trail of blue light. I sidestepped and spun around dodging the blow and bringing my whip around to snap at her legs. But Faith was good, as soon as I dodged she changed her angle and my whip sailed through empty air.
“So you turn against the Society you supposedly loved and joined the First Kind?”
“The First Kind will restore the Societies to their proper place, and I will be the best of the Doorknob Society, as it should have been. You’ll be nothing more than a sad footnote in my history.”
“Unlikely.”
I brought my whip up and snapped it, sending it straight for her. Faith raised her blade to deflect the attack, and I rushed in under my own assault and kicked her in the stomach doubling her over. She quickly wrapped her arm around my leg and held onto me, knocking me off balance. I crashed into the street and she swung her blade at my head.
I pulled my energy whip taut and used it to stop the hit. Electricity crackled off the two weapons as Faith edged it closer to my face. She was stronger, stronger than I remembered. While I had been playing nice with Nightshade, she must have been training and preparing for this, and it showed. I wanted to slap myself for being so stupid, but it didn’t look like I was going to get the chance.
“Chloe!” Rosalita raced through the crowd, her eyes locked on me. Faith glanced her way for a second, and I took advantage of it. I brought my knee up catching her in the ribs, knocking her clear off of me. She rolled with the blow and came right up on her feet.
I pushed myself up and brought my whip around. Faith was too fast, she came inside the arc of my whip and punched me in the stomach, knocking the wind out of me and dropping me to the floor.
She smirked down at me and swept her leg to the side connecting with my face. My nose and cheek exploded in pain, stunning me senseless for a moment.
Rosalita came in behind us her Key formed into a trident and jabbed at Faith.
She jumped back and twirled her blade in her hand. “We knew someone was helping you, though I didn’t think it was someone old enough to have walked with dinosaurs.” Faith laughed at her own joke.
Rosalita said nothing. She circled around to stand in front of me. I spit blood out of my mouth and wiped away the blood that dripped from my nose.
“You should be playing the odds, Fixer. Once we dispatch Masters, it’ll be over and we’ll have our way. Stop helping her now and I might be able to spare you.”
“Your kind never spares anyone.”
“Your funeral, crone.”
“Try me, little one.”
Faith moved in, her blade spiraling in the air and attacking with such speed and ferocity that I could see only a blue blur. Rosalita parried with her trident, but she was getting pushed back with such force that she was already winded.
I clenched my mechanical hand, took a deep, fortifying breath, and stood. The side of my face felt on fire, and I was pretty sure my nose was broken. I flicked my wrist and the energy whip snapped out.
“Two against one is it, that doesn’t seem fair.” Faith chuckled as she noticed me while continuing her attack on Rosalita.
I stayed to her side, forcing her to watch her blind side and slow her assault. “Since when does First Kind care about being fair?” I spit blood from my mouth.
“I think my kick improved your face.” She laughed. “Don’t you get it, you fool? Anyone who helps you, or even dares talk to you will be hunted down and killed.”
“Not if I kill you first.”
“Big talk, Ms. Masters, let’s see you back it up.”
The crowd parted beside me and my mouth dropped open as Miranda the head of the HVO, the woman I’ve been searching for walked forward.
“It’s you,” I said pleased to see her.
“How very perceptive of you. Let’s see how you and the old woman do when the odds are even. Shall we?” Miranda raised her Silver Star. It glowed like a beacon in this dimension of dying stars.
“Fine by me.” This was it. The woman I needed to find my sister stood right in front of me, and there wasn’t a chance in hell I was letting her go without getting the information I needed from her. I cracked my whip and ran at her.
Chapter Nineteen
Status: Nothing is going to stop me even if I have to kick everyone’s ass.
Miranda sidestepped my attack with the grace of a dancer moving out of the way of a charging bull. I may not have been practicing like I should have, but I’ve been in more battles than anyone I know young or old. Experience tends to trump practice no matter what, so I settled into the rhythm of the moment. I pulled up short of my run and cracked my whip behind me and felt it make contact with Miranda’s waist. She shrieked and jumped away like she’d been stung.
I drew first blood and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be my last. Miranda came around swinging her arm and letting loose with a barrage of small glowing stars headed straight in my direction. I dropped to one knee and avoided most of them, but one sliced a thin line across the side of my neck.
Miranda rushed in thinking she had the advantage since I was down on my knee. I remained still, my whip coiled at my side. Once she was close enough, I didn’t attempt a block or try to back pedal. Instead I leapt forward, grasped her neck with my mechanical hand, and squeezed just enough to make her gag. She brought her Silver Star up and pounded it against my hand. If it had been a normal hand, I would have been screaming in pain and dropped her. But all I did was flinch as sparks of electricity bounced off of it.
I pulled her in close as she continued to gag and gasp for air. Her eyes began to bulge since I refused to loosen my grip. Her arms turned limp and dropped to her sides and the energy of her Silver Star faded as it slipped from her limp fingers.
Rosalita was holding her own against Faith, so I figured I had a few moments, not many, to try and get some answers about Erin, before I took care of Faith. Something I was looking forward to.
I brought her close to me, our faces almost touching. A new line of blood was dripping from my nose, the taste coppery on my lips.
“Where the fuck is my sister?”
Her eyes turned into glowing orbs as she realized I knew the truth. I loosened my hold on her neck, letting her take a breath. She stared at me with a mixture of fear and hatred.
She choked some before being able to speak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Do you honestly believe I won’t snap your neck?”
“Then you’ll never know.”
“You really believe that? I’ll find her, you know I will. It’s whether you want to suffer miserably before you die that makes the difference.”
“No, no I won’t tell you.”
A guttural yell tore from my mouth and I lifted her in the air and slammed her down onto the street with such force that her leg snapped backwards from the blow and her scream echoed in the air.
“You... you... broke my leg.”
“That’s not the only thing I’m going to break.”
“I can’t tell you.” She winced, her fingers clawing at the ground. “He’ll kill me.”
“Why?”
“He doesn’t know you’re aware of her identity. He plans to use her to stop you.”
“Where is she?”
“I can’t... please.”
“Sorry, I’m all out of pity.” I stood leaning over her and cracked my whip. “And you’ve outlived your usefulness.” I brought my arm up and poised it, ready to strike down with my energy whip.
“Wait! Erin’s with the Skeleton Key Guild.”
“Where?”
“Their dimension... the Hollow. They’re keeping her there. They figure it is the safest place from you.”
I leaned in close once again. “They’re wrong.” I brought my fist down and cracked her across the jaw with such force that her head bounced off the street with a sickening thud.
I needed to use the information quick and get to Erin before they moved h
er. I didn’t have time to finish things with Faith properly. She was beginning to overtake Rosalita and I didn’t have time for this to develop into a full blown fight. But how to stop it before energy started flying uncontrollably?
My eyes caught sight of something on one of the carts a few feet away. I hurried over to it, not sure if it would work with such an antiquated weapon. I grabbed one of the guns and checked to make sure it was chambered. I pointed and squeezed the trigger, the bullet slammed against Faith’s blade.
“What the hell?” she yelled and stared at me in shock “You shot me?”
“Who said I was done?” I pulled the trigger again and again firing at her, forcing her back, forcing her to use her shield while she tried to figure out how to stop my assault.
Rosalita raced toward me, and I nodded to her, “We’re leaving, now.”
While I continued firing, Rosalita opened a portal and stepped in. I edged toward it, stopped shooting, and smiled at Faith. “Until next time.” I waved and she screamed and ran toward me as I slammed the portal closed.
We were standing in an empty warehouse in who the hell knows where. Rosalita had accessed a personal dimension and taken out her Polymorph case and was mixing some potions together. She applied a salve to a wound across her forearm, and then crossed to me and rubbed it over the slice on my neck.
“I’ve got something for your nose as well.” She nodded as she looked at my broken and bloodied face.
“I need to get to the Hollow,” I said as she pulled out another bottle.
“Why?”
“That’s where they’re keeping my sister. Plus, I think we can find information there on what Tower is up to.”
“You’re sure?”
“It’s the best lead I’ve had.” I should probably tell her about Hawk, but I wanted to keep that information to myself for the moment. Besides if it didn’t pan out, I was going to decide how to deal with him on my own.
“The Hollow is no place for you.”
“I don’t care, she’s my family and I won’t leave her to be used by those bastards. And I kind of made a deal with Dante to get the Doorknob Society’s help.”
“What?” Rosalita’s mouth dropped open in surprise.
“If I can get the Guild to join us, he’ll switch sides.”
“No small task then.”
“Exactly.”
Rosalita grabbed my chin and pulled my head down examining my nose with a critical eye. She poked at my cheek and I flinched.
“This is going to hurt.”
It was the only warning I got before she took my nose between her thumb and forefinger and twisted. My nose made a cracking noise and I gritted my teeth instead of screaming like I wanted to. Hurt wasn’t the word for it. It felt like I’d been kicked in the face all over again. She lifted a small vial of liquid and poured it onto a rag and rubbed it on both sides of my face. “That should help with bruising.”
“Thanks.”
“Now, about the Hollow, don’t be stupid. You can’t go rushing in and getting yourself caught or killed. You need a plan if you want to get your sister.”
“That’s why I came looking for you, I need you to guide me.”
Rosalita stepped backed, her glance going from my head to my toes and back again. I took a deep gulp letting her size me up. Then she cupped her chin with her hand and stared into my eyes. “You joined the Guild.” It was a statement not a question.
“Yes, I was taken to the Boneyard and they said a non-Guilder wasn’t allowed in so...” I let my voice trail off, knowing she could figure out the rest.
“A Polymorph is a rare thing. One who is actually a member of two Societies is even rarer.”
“So people tell me.”
“This doesn’t mean the Guilders in the Hollow will accept you with open arms.”
“I know that and I have no idea how to get around the place or make it to the Old Sections of the Hollow. Will you help me?”
“Of course I will. We need to come up with a plan. They’re obviously coming after people close to you, so make sure everyone knows to be on alert.”
If they had come for Rosalita when they hadn’t been sure if she was involved with me, then that meant they would go after anyone they thought was connected to me. Tower wasn’t taking any chances. He wanted to flush me out now that he had Uncle Thomas and Erin. I was a loose end that he was looking to tie up. We had all decided it was safer at the Reliquary, and I’d made sure Gran was safe and gotten a message to Uncle Archie to take precautions as well. But I needed to warn them things had once again changed.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket and tapped the screen waking it. Slade had added some new functions, including an alert for everyone who was close to us. I pushed the button and a signal went out.
“Okay, I warned our people.”
“Let me make some calls. I might be able to find out more about what’s going on at the Hollow.” Rosalita stepped away, the phone to her ear.
My hand hovered in the air as I activated a small portal in my own pocket dimension. I slipped my hand in and pulled out my Polymorph case. I set it on the ground, flipping it open and saw my image reflected in the Looking Glass. I wondered if Hawk could see everything I was doing from the In Between or if he could only access the Looking Glass when I activated it. I’d have to remember that the next time I took a shower and was using it. Gavin had tried to convince me to leave it at the Reliquary, but I refused and I was glad I had.
Dried blood clung to my nose and around my upper lip, while my left eye had a nasty blue bruise underneath it. I imagined it must have been much worse before Rosalita worked on me. I took a hand towel and wiped away the blood and dirt.
This was the closest I’d gotten to finding Erin since my mother had first told me about her. I had no idea how she would react to me when I did find her. I was going into this blind. But I couldn’t get the image of my mother, with her last bit of life, begging me to find and protect my sister. Tower and the rest of the First Kind had ruined my family. She was the only thing I had left even if she didn’t know it. I had to rescue her. I just hoped she knew that she needed to be rescued.
Then there was Uncle Thomas. I had a pretty good idea what Tower planned to do with him and it would include my sister, so when I found Erin, I was confident he’d be there as well. I dropped the towel back into my case and closed it, returning it to my pocket dimension. I was annoyed with myself for letting Faith kick my ass. I hated to admit that she had had me on the ropes, and if Rosalita hadn’t distracted her, I would have lost the fight. Faith was ready for this... I wasn’t. I had been too busy to keep training to reach a higher level, and it had cost me. I couldn’t let that happen again. I had to make time and concentrate on my training. This wasn’t a game the First Kind was playing. They were playing for keeps. And as far as Faith was concerned, we were far from being done. I needed to be ready for the next match— the end match—where I finally finished Faith off for good.
My phone buzzed and I snatched it up and tapped the screen, the alert I had sent out had worked. When it was finished it sent back a reply that it had been received. I scrolled down the list nonchalantly; Edgar,Val, Slade, Jess, and Nightshade. But next to his name was ablinking red light.
Message failed.
My heart caught in my throat. Slade’s tech was the best in this dimension or the next. It was beyond rare for something he created not to be able to reach its destination. I didn’t like this at all.
My finger hovered over Nightshade’s name. I was only being cautious, I was sure he must be fine. I mean how much trouble could he get himself into? My finger shook and I tapped his name to call him. I brought the phone to my ear and the sound of the call disconnecting echoed in my ear. I told myself it was a mistake and tried the number again and the same thing happened.
I brought the phone back down and looked at the list of my friends’ names. One of them might know where he was or why he might not be able to receive messages. The
re was one in particular. I hit the name and connected the call.
“I’m already at the Library and working on it,” Edgar said as he answered the phone.
“This isn’t about the Bridge,” I said.
“Oh, then what?”
“Nightshade, where is he?”
“That,” he said and stopped talking.
“Edgar, whats going on?”
“What do you mean?”
“The alert I sent out didn’t reach him. What do you know?”
“Chloe, he’s attempting to reach the Guild members who are in opposition to Mr. Tower.”
“I know that,” I said trying to keep the frustration out of my voice. “So why isn’t he getting the alert.”
“Well, according to the intel he got, there are a decent amount of Guilders opposed to Tower, but they’re in hiding.”
“Where?”
“They’re hiding from Tower and the Council,” he said.
“Stop avoiding the question, where?”
“The Collapsing Expanse,” he all but whispered and from that and the name alone I was unhappy.
“What the hell is that?”
“It’s a dimension that is slowly being consumed by entropy,” he piped up momentarily happy to be able to explain. “It’s one of the most dangerous of all dimensions.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Um, no, not at all. I gave him a Map.”
I knew he was only trying to help, but I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs. Yet I was the one who had told Nightshade to contact the Guild. This was all my fault and now my boyfriend was in a dangerous place where I couldn’t even reach him to warn him of yet more danger. Way to go Chloe.
“Damn it,” I said.
“Sorry, Chloe.”
“It’s not your fault, Edgar.”
“He did say once he was done there he was headed to the Hollow.” Edgar sounded hopeful.
“That’s where I’m headed. I’ll keep an eye out for him. Get back to your research, we’ll talk soon.”
I tapped the screen disconnecting the call. My chin drooped and I took a deep breath. I didn’t— no—coudn’t think about what would happen if I lost Nightshade. I’d gone through that once and it had nearly ended me and that was before we were together like we were now. If I lost him again, I didn’t know what the hell I would do.
