by ID Johnson
Cadence broke into another fit of laughter. “You were in an urn, silly. I had to leave the urn when I brought you here because I had to trick Aaron. It’s complicated.”
“If you say so,” Elliott replied, shaking his head again. “So you think Aaron’s gonna be pissed?”
Cadence considered the question. “He’ll be happy to see you. He’ll be pissed that I tricked him and that I didn’t do what he said. And he’ll definitely be pissed if he was right and the portal allowed something else to come through, too.”
“Well, nothing came through here,” Elliott reminded her, glancing around as if to emphasize that point.
“Oh, I know,” she replied, “but he said it could be anywhere in the world.”
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and it will have spawned in the middle of a silver mine.”
Cadence couldn’t help but laugh out loud again as she pulled herself up off of him and clambered to her feet. “I doubt we’d get that lucky.” She offered him a hand and pulled him up beside her. “I just hope that, if something came through, it’s not nearly as powerful as Aaron said it would be.”
“Whatever it is, I’m sure we can take it,” Elliott assured her.
Cadence nodded, but in the back of her mind, she couldn’t help but feel as if something had shifted, like the world was beginning to slide askew. She couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was, and she hoped it was just the remnants of those dancing lights in the atmosphere, but her gut was telling her that this veil was not the only one torn asunder.
Chapter Thirteen
There was a zap of electricity, and the fresh smell of ozone being released into the air. Every part of her body began to tingle the moment she’d thrust her hand through the opening, but after having waited for over a year for such an occurrence, she had to take this chance, no matter what may lay on the other side.
The depths of hell had been precisely what one might have guessed if they’d been privy to even one rough sermon from the pulpit of any branch or denomination of Christianity. She hadn’t had a moment of mercy since she found herself cast into fire and brimstone at the hand of that neophyte Huntress so many months ago, the same one who had destroyed her beloved and much of her family. At that moment, she had sworn should she ever have the opportunity to return, she would make her pay in every way possible.
Having spent so much time haunting the earth before her demise, she was no stranger to the possibility that escape was achievable, so she endured the agony of each day, always looking for a way out.
It had only been there a moment, and some distance away, but once she recognized a shift in the air and dancing blue lights, she’d propelled herself through the portal, finding herself seconds later lying face down in the sand, her clothing still emitting steam from the heat of damnation. She was dressed once again in her favorite white dress, her long red hair billowing around her as she pulled herself up off of the ground and had a look around.
The place was unfamiliar; desert landscape, but the beasts of the night had heard her. And as she looked into the shadows, figures formed, creatures with crimson eyes and spindly fingers shifted in her direction from near and far. They heard the battle cry within her soul, and they would unite to help her seek her vengeance.
No longer the ancient Vampire queen, she had returned, reborn, and now, she would stop at nothing to destroy those who had sent her to damnation, no matter what it took. Looking up at the stars above her in the night sky, she said aloud for all the world to hear, “I was once your queen. Now, I shall be your goddess. I shall reign for a thousand lifetimes. No one will escape the fear and chaos I shall bring in my wake. I am terror incarnate, and you shall call me Asteria!”
Chapter Fourteen
Cadence had hesitated at the prospect of being driven across the desert back to Reno by a man who had been dead for over half a year, but when Elliott insisted the bike would not be balanced correctly with him on the back of it (something she knew to be untrue) she had given in. Now, she could hardly believe she was holding the waist of the friend she’d thought only a week ago she’d never see again.
Without the IAC, it was difficult to give him directions as they roared along well above any reasonable speed limit, but once she’d pointed him back to the highway, he signaled that he knew how to get to Cale’s office, where they’d decided to spend the night. At this rate, they’d arrive well before midnight.
She’d let Cale know she was coming but hadn’t answered his question as to whether or not she was alone. She needed to let Aaron know what she had done first, so once she was certain Elliott was capable of driving and navigating to their destination, she made the call.
“What’s going on?” he asked, clearly agitated at having been disconnected so abruptly earlier.
Cadence had considered several options for breaking the news, but in the end, bluntness seemed to be the most practical. “I did it. He’s here.”
Aaron didn’t say anything for a very long time, but when he finally did it was simply, “Okay.”
Not knowing exactly sure what to make of that, Cadence leaned her head against Elliott’s back and continued on, as if “okay” really meant “okay.” She was sure that it meant something else, though exactly what that might be, she still wasn’t sure. “We are headed to Reno. I’ll let you know when we get there. He doesn’t have his IAC. Maybe I can borrow a cell phone and he can call you.”
“All right.”
Again, she was certain things were not quite “all right.” She was tempted to remind him that they had agreed not to be mad at each other, but she got the distinct feeling that now was not the time for such a reminder, so she decided to terminate the IAC call and give him some time to process. “I’ll let you know when we get there.”
“Sounds good. Bye.”
“Bye,” she said, but she was pretty sure he hadn’t waited for her to respond before he disconnected her call. She absolutely hated it when Aaron was upset with her, especially when she wasn’t equally agitated at him, but Elliott’s reassuring pat on her hands where they lay clasped around his waist was enough to assure her she had done the right thing. Eventually, Aaron would get over it. She was fairly certain of that. He had to—didn’t he?
The next call she made went much better as she got Jamie and Christian on the IAC at the same time to let them know her venture had been successful. They were both ecstatic to know that Elliott would be back with them soon, and when she’d reminded them that Aaron was pissed, they assured her he would come around in a day or two. Cadence hoped it wouldn’t take too much longer; after all, if he was right, they would need to figure out quickly if anything else had come through the portal and work together to defeat it.
After assuring her friends that she’d be in touch soon, she turned her IAC completely off and tried to focus on the nightscape as it flew by around her. She had done something she didn’t think possible—again. There were always consequences to her actions, and while she knew this situation might be more serious than others in the past, she still felt confident that she had made the right decision.
Cadence didn’t bother to try and hide her bike this time when Elliott pulled into the parking garage that adjoined Cale’s office building. Now that Aaron couldn’t try to stop her, it didn’t matter that everyone would see her—and Elliott. They would have a lot of explaining to do, and she realized that others might want to try and open the portal for various reasons if rumor got out how this was accomplished. She thought it best to tell everyone that Elliott was back but there would be no explanation of how it was accomplished and leave it at that.
Walking through the reception area of Cale’s office was a bit awkward. Clearly, some of the workers recognized Elliott and weren’t sure what to make of his presence. Cadence stopped at the receptionist’s desk and asked where Cale might be. The girl there, one Cadence knew well, could hardly speak. She only gestured at Cale’s office, which was down the hall, her brow furrowed. Cadence thanked her and made
her way down the hallway.
Cale met her a few feet away from his office door. “Ah! If it isn’t the Hunter Leader and the walking dead who’ve selected my area to dazzle and amaze with their fantastic death-defying feats,” he said, a sarcastic grin plastered on his handsome face.
“Hey, Cale! Nice to see you,” Elliott replied, ignoring his remarks and clasping his hand. Cale pulled him into a half-hug. Even though they didn’t know each other well, Cale had been involved in the Sierraville campaign, as it was known before it became an “incident.”
“Surprise!” Cadence said, awkwardly standing next to them, her helmet in her hand. She was also still wearing the backpack, though it seemed to have lessened in importance dramatically over the last couple of hours.
“I wouldn’t be more surprised if I awoke to Queen Elizabeth I sitting at the end of my bed,” Cale nodded. “I was just about to head up to my apartment. Would the pair of you care to join me?”
“Sure,” Cadence nodded, and Cale put his arm around her shoulders and led them to the elevator, a gesture she found a bit odd but also quite comforting. It was as if he could tell this entire process had left her head spinning.
“So, what was it like, coming back from the dead?” Cale asked as he pushed the proper button.
Elliott was standing behind them, and Cadence turned her head to look at him as he answered. She was still having trouble believing he was actually there. “Honestly?” he asked with a chuckle, “it was a bit underrated. I mean, I was expecting some sort of magical pulsating, the feeling of electricity coursing through my veins, you know, like when the beast turns back into a prince. But really, I just stepped through the portal and the next thing I knew, I was all put back together again.”
“Hmm,” Cale said, with a nod. “Interesting. So all of the ashes from the… the…”
“KFC bucket,” Elliott supplied for him.
Cale’s eyebrows arched, and Cadence began to giggle, as if it was the most hilarious thing she’d ever heard in her life; it all seemed so surreal. “Okay… the ashes just came back together?”
Cale was staring at her, and she had no answer for him, because unfortunately she hadn’t been looking during the reconstruction process. Cadence shrugged her shoulders. “Something like that. I just looked up and he was sitting next to me on the ground.”
“Next to the KFC bucket,” Elliott reminded her. Cadence punched him in the arm, harder than she intended, and he rubbed it, saying, “Hey, take it easy. I’m still a little fragile. I’ve been mostly dead all day.”
“He wasn’t in the bucket,” Cadence attempted to explain, shaking her head at Elliott’s ridiculousness as she followed Cale out of the elevator and into the hallway near his apartment. She was glad she didn’t need to be sneaky this time. “He was in a plastic bag.”
“Oh, that’s better,” Cale replied as he opened his door, his tone implying that he didn’t really think it was better at all.
“And the bag was inside the bucket,” Elliott reminded her as they entered the apartment. “Damn! You must have employed one hell of a Merry Maid.”
“Oh, yeah,” Cale shrugged, possibly a bit embarrassed. “I like to keep things tidy.”
“Not me,” Elliott said, stepping through the door and pulling off his jacket, slinging it onto a nearby chair. “I ain’t got time for all that. Besides, even if I tried, I’d probably just leave little trails of ash wherever I go… or chicken batter crumbs.”
“All right! Knock it off!” Cadence insisted, plopping herself down on the white sofa much less gracefully than she had a few days ago. “I get it. You didn’t find my choice of container as humorous as I’d hoped.”
Elliott took a seat in a chair across from her as Cale picked up his jacket and hung it by the door. “I did find it humorous. I’m just messing with you,” he assured her, patting her on the leg.
“Can I get either of you anything?” Cale asked, standing in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen area.
“I’m starving,” Elliott replied, as if he had just come to the realization.
“Let me guess, you want some fried chicken?” Cadence asked, running a hand through her hair and noticing it was a bit dusty.
“Fresh out,” Cale interjected before Elliott could even hurl another insult at her. “But I do have some fresh sushi. I had to replenish most of my groceries recently.” He narrowed his eyes and smiled at Cadence, who could feel her face flushing under his close scrutiny.
“Did you clean out the doctor’s fridge?” Elliott asked, stifling a laugh.
“Bringing back the dead makes me hungry,” Cadence shrugged, averting her gaze from Cale’s handsome face.
“Sounds good to me,” Elliott called to their host, who disappeared into the kitchen. “You okay?” he asked her, giving her boot a gentle nudge.
Cadence hesitated to answer. She wasn’t exactly sure how she felt. After a few moments of reflection, she replied, “I’m okay. I just feel… odd. I don’t like having Aaron mad at me, and I still can’t believe you’re sitting here.” He was sitting in his chair leaning forward, his hands clasped together over his lap, and the familiarity of his expression and his presence washed over her all at once. She knew she wouldn’t be able to accept this had really happened for at least a day or two.
“I understand it’s got to be an adjustment,” he replied, quietly. “I honestly feel like I never left. I mean, I can’t remember what it was like… over there. And I don’t really remember much about right before I left. I do remember we were supposed to be moving in on Giovani, that Laura and Sam said they had him cornered in an old barn or something. And then… the rest is a bit hazy.”
Cadence nodded. “He was supposed to be holed up in an old abandoned house. But it was a trap. Laura, Sam, Finn, and Camille turned on us. Aaron and I both realized it about two seconds too late. By then, Finn had wounded Christian and Camille had shot Jamie pretty badly. Sam took a shot at Meagan and missed. You stepped in to protect her, and without even hesitating a moment, he shot you in the head before shooting Meagan twice. She recovered, though.” Retelling the story was still difficult, even after all of these months, even when she realized she was talking to the only casualty of the evening.
Elliott was quiet for a long time, and Cale returned with the sushi and some drinks, looking from one of them to the other before setting the wares down on the coffee table and taking a seat next to Cadence on the couch. “Everything all right?”
“I was just recounting Sierraville,” Cadence answered.
“Oh, I see,” the doctor nodded in understanding. “That’s one night I definitely don’t like to talk about.”
“Right,” Cadence agreed.
“So what happened after that?” Elliott asked, finally having processed all that she’d already told him.
“Well,” Cadence began, taking the lid off of a bottle of water, “I beat the shit out of Laura, and we chased Camille down with the help of Cale’s choppers. Aaron shot her with one of the titanium bullets they’d used on us.”
“Really?” Elliott asked, perking back up. “A Guardian killed a Hunter?”
“Yep,” Cadence confirmed. “There’s been a few changes since you died.”
“I’ll say,” Cale muttered, and Cadence elbowed him, not wanting to dump everything on Elliott all at once.
The dead man had recovered his appetite and dug into Cale’s sushi. “What happened to the rest of them?”
“Finn got away for a few months, but we tracked him down, and Jamie and Christian both got a shot in on him. So he’s out of the picture. It was harder to get to Sam, but we found him in Texas back in September. After an airplane chase that resulted in two crashed airplanes, let’s just say he’s a little broken up about the whole thing.”
Elliott looked at her for a moment, as if he didn’t quite understand, and then his deep laughter filled the room. “You mean, he was in a plane crash, and Jamie wouldn’t fix him?”
“Yep.”
Still laughing, and shoveling sushi into his mouth, Elliott managed, “Now that’s funny. Where’s he at now?”
“In a jail cell beneath one of the office buildings at headquarters. Next to Laura.”
“And who crashed the other plane?”
“Aaron did,” Cadence replied, thoughts of those few moments when she wasn’t sure if he was all right making her shudder. “He walked away.”
Elliott nodded. “Well, that’s quite a story. What else did I miss? You still haven’t told me what’s going on with Cass.”
Cadence and Cale exchanged knowing glances, and she swallowed the lump in her throat. “Well, that’s kind of a long story. I was thinking maybe you should borrow Cale’s phone and give Aaron a call. Maybe you should do that first.”
Elliott was serious now. He wiped his hands on a napkin and leaned back in his chair. “Cadence, what happened to your sister?”
Chewing the inside of her mouth for a moment, Cadence considered how best to explain what had happened in Philadelphia only a few months before. His brown eyes continued to pierce through her until she could take it no more. With a deep breath, she began. “We were tracking Giovani. Cass and her friends helped us figure out that he was actually in Philadelphia. He’d kidnapped a serial killer named Gibbon, and we thought he was in the process of turning him. So… Aaron and I assembled our best team and went to Philadelphia to get Giovani, Zabrina, and Gibbon. I left Cassidy at headquarters with… a new Guardian.” She couldn’t spring everything on him all at once; Brandon would have to wait a few minutes more. “She somehow managed to convince this guy to take her to Philly via train. So when we got there, and we’d pinpointed Giovani’s location, we found out Giovani had actually had one of his minions track Cass to the station, and Zabrina grabbed her. They were holding her until I got there so they could trade. Which I did—immediately. But… she got scratched in the process.”
