by Dora Blume
“No, I only saw Jolene since we got here. Speaking of Jolene, I haven’t seen her in a while. She bandaged up Sloane and disappeared.” Mike ran a hand down Sloane’s face before standing. “We should find her. See where Magnus is, and if we can get some help from the Shikari here in Denver.” Mike strode down the hallway. He opened doors along the way looking for Jolene.
“Jolene?” Jessie called down the stairway. “Isn’t Magnus’ study down here? We should check for him here.” She turned toward Erik.
“Yes, we’ll check downstairs. Mike, you want to head upstairs.”
“Yeah.” He turned around and left.
“Magnus, Jolene? Anyone down here?” Erik called as they walked down the hallway.
“Well, where the hell did, they go. I know Jolene and Penelope were here when we got here. Jolene took care of Sloane. Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re upstairs. Hopefully, Mike had more luck than we did.”
“Oh yeah, didn’t you come with Caroline? Where is she? You didn’t come in with her.”
“She was checking in on her daughter. She attends school here. I’m not sure what’s taking her so long. She said she was just going to make a quick call.” They reached the kitchen and went back into the living room. Caroline was standing over Sloane. She looked up when they walked in. “Hey, did you get ahold of your daughter?” Erik asked.
“No, I haven’t been able to reach Nick or Nicole. Neither of them is answering their cell phones, which isn’t like them at all. I’m going to try again in a few minutes. If I have to, I’ll drive over to the house, then the school.” She clenched and unclenched her fists.
Mike and Jolene walked down the stairs. “So, we need to make a plan to go back and get the guy at the warehouse. Jolene, do you know where Magnus, is and can we get any help to go back?” Jessie asked.
“I can certainly call him, dear. I didn’t realize there were pressing matters such as these. I will call Magnus straight away and see what he can spare to help. If you’ll excuse me.” She walked into the kitchen.
“Caroline, do you think you could help, too? You and Erik have the power to hear thoughts, so we would know where everyone is before we go in. Last time it was just Mike and I, and we didn’t have an advantage.” She studied Caroline.
“I don’t see why not. I do agree with you that we need to get him out of there. Did you find out anything about the man while you were there?” Caroline asked.
“I know he has power over the elements, but that’s about it,” Mike explained.
“What? That’s a unique power to have. I only know of one person to have that particular gift.” She pulled her phone out again.
“Who do you know who has that power?” Erik asked.
Caroline dialed a number into her phone. She met Erik’s eyes and said “Nick.” She turned away from the group and began pacing, the phone pressed to her ear.
“Oh shit,” Erik said. “Okay, time to wake up Sloane.” Erik looked to Mike. He nodded and knelt next to Sloane. Mike reached his hand to shake Sloane’s shoulder lightly. “Sloane, love, Sloane wake-up. Sloane?” he called, leaning over her. He had one arm on her shoulder, the other he ran down her bare arm.
Sloane bolted upright in an instant colliding with Mike. “What the hell? Where am I?”
Mike lifted his hand to his head where Sloane had just connected with it. “Love, you’re at Magnus’ with us. You’re safe.” He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips.
“Oh shit, sorry babe. Are you okay?” She scooted closer to him, placing her hand on his cheek, and examining his head.
“I’m fine. I should’ve expected it. At least you didn’t wake up swinging this time.” He curved up the side of his mouth, and she blinked. “You okay?” he asked.
“I think so. My head hurts like hell. How did you guys get me out of there? It was a trap. Mr. Hall wanted Jessie, bad. He was going to get a demon to possess me.” Sloane lifted her wrists to examine them. “When he threatened to have a demon possess me, I tried to get free. I would rather die than be possessed.” She looked into Mike’s eyes. “Thank you for coming for me.”
“Of course, love.” He lifted her wrist to his lips placing a gentle kiss on the bandage. “My life would be boring without you in it,” he whispered.
Sloane blushed and captured his lips with hers in a fiery kiss. She curled her fingers in his hair pulling him to her. She kissed him wildly for several seconds before Erik said, “Ahem, do you two mind? We have some pressing matters to attend to.”
“Oh, of course.” Mike moved to sit next to Sloane on the couch, taking her hand in his as he went. Jessie smiled at the closeness of the two. She was genuinely happy for her friends. She glanced over to Erik, and the look of pain on his face surprised her.
“Sorry Sloane, we have to go back to the warehouse. There was another Shikari member there. We think it may be Caroline’s ex-husband Nick. He has power over the elements, so we need to save him. Are you up for that?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, I want a piece of the asshole who got me. I’m going to have a bruise on my head for weeks. I’m in; I’m always in for a fight. Do you have to ask?” She huffed and touched her head.
“Love, you were just unconscious. Are you sure you’re up for it? No one would fault you if you sat this one out.” Mike reached his hand to cup her cheek and looked into her eyes.
“Hell no, I’m not staying here. I’m going. I want to get my hands-on Mr. Hall. That bastard deserves a good beating. I wanted a chance at him back at the warehouse. Now, I get one.” She rubbed her hands together, eyes alight with glee.
“Sloane, you scare me sometimes.” Jessie shook her head.
“Sloane, you always want to charge in. We need to think this through. You guys already charged in without thinking about what could happen.” Erik eyed Jessie. “We need to have a plan.”
“I don’t feel right leaving that guy in there. He’s one of us. We need to try to get him out of there if we can.” Jessie glanced to Erik and held his eye. “You’d do it for one of us.” She whispered.
“You’re right; I would.” Erik took Jessie’s hand.
“Okay, so we’re going. Hopefully, Magnus will come through with some help for us.” She looked over to the kitchen door. She was wondering what was taking Jolene so long. “I’m going to check on Jolene.” Jessie strode into the kitchen. Jolene was dropping the phone from her ear. She turned and jumped.
“Oh dear, Jessie you startled me.” She raised her hand to her chest.
“I’m sorry. I was just checking on you. What did Magnus say?” she asked.
“He said he would have a car of four head over to the warehouse to meet you there. He was hoping with you four it would be enough. He has another matter going on of some urgency, and that’s all the men he can spare. Bryant will be with them, I believe.” Jolene set the phone back on the counter. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to fetch something for Magnus. Will that be all?”
“Okay, is he sending them now?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, he said they would be on their way, but they’re coming from the other side of town, so it might be about fifteen minutes before they arrive.” Jolene turned and walked down the stairs.
“Okay,” Jessie went back to the living room. “Magnus is sending four guys to the warehouse to help us. Bryant will be with them. They’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Is everyone ready to go?” Jessie looked to each of them. Caroline was still pacing with her phone in her hand. She took a step toward Erik and lowered her voice. “Has she gotten ahold of either of them, yet?”
“No, not yet. We need to go to the warehouse. If it is her ex, we need to get him.” Erik laced his fingers with Jessie’s.
Sloane stood with Mike. “We’re ready.” She turned to Mike. “Do you have weapons in the car or should we load up here?”
“I have everything you need, love.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a kiss. She pulled back and laughed
.
“So, we’re ready.” She looked to Jessie and Erik. “Let’s do this.” Her eyes were alighted with anticipation. Jessie knew Sloane loved the fight. Jessie knew they were necessary but didn’t get nearly as excited as Sloane did. She was like a little kid every time a battle presented itself. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t been doing any fighting for years like Jessie had. She’d been heading into battle since she was a teen. As soon as the order knew what her power was, they would use her to defeat demons whenever they could. Jessie just wanted a break from all the fighting. Maybe when all this was over, she’d convince Erik to take a vacation to a secluded cabin where they could be alone together without any thoughts about demons. She smiled at the thought. She looked up and met Erik’s curious gaze.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Erik asked.
“Nothing, just thinking about what it’d be like to have a break from demons.”
“Oh, that’s all? Hopefully, we’ll get to find out soon.” He placed a kiss on her hand, keeping their fingers intertwined.
Jessie and Erik followed the other two to the car. Caroline came up a minute later. “I’m going to follow you in a separate car. I may need to take off if I can get a hold of Nicole. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it.”
“Okay, do you want us to ride with you?” Jessie asked.
“No, it’s fine I want to be able to run if I need to. You understand?”
“Of course, your daughter is the most important thing. If you have to go to her, we understand completely.” Jessie reached out and took her hand.
“Thank you, Jessie. You always have such a kind heart. I will meet you at the warehouse.” She turned and walked to her car. Jessie and Erik got in the backseat behind Sloane and Mike.
“Ready?” Sloane turned and asked.
“Yeah, Caroline took a car in case she has to dart off for her daughter. She’s meeting us there.” Jessie explained. She reached to take Erik’s hand. He squeezed her hand when she took his hand, and she could see the worry lines around his eyes. She still had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she also knew they couldn’t leave one of their behind. She hoped she was right to push everyone into going back to the warehouse.
“Okay, and you said Bryant would be with the others?” Sloane asked.
“Yes, Jolene said he would be one of the four Magnus was sending. They are meeting us there but were driving from the other side of Denver.” She looked down at her phone. It was between rush hours, so hopefully, they would get there around the same time.
“So, what’s our plan once we get there?” Erik asked.
“We planned to go around back. We know that’s where they are holding him. Mike could sense both Sloane and him in the back. It should be the third door down on the left.” Jessie said.
“Okay, so our best bet would be to split up. Half going through the back to locate the guy. The other half was going through the front and dispossessing as we go. We need to find whatever they have affected our powers. We do much better in a fight when we’re at full capacity.” Erik explained.
“We also know that at least a few of the guys who’ve been possessed are Shikari. I could still sense them even though Jessie’s power didn’t work, so whatever they are using is ineffective against my tracking ability.” Mike explained.
“So, it may not affect my ability, either. That could be an advantage if I can still hear their thoughts. I know I was able to hear the couple in Minneapolis even though they had the amulets. We need to talk with a leader of the order. Someone who knows the extent of these amulets and how in the hell they could’ve gotten this information.” Erik shook his head. Jessie reached a hand to cup his cheek. She could tell he was worried about everything going on. The worry lines on his forehead softened when he looked at her.
“Let’s focus on one thing at a time. Once we get this guy out of there, we can focus on what’s next.” Jessie rubbed his cheek. She dropped her hand to take his.
“Okay, I agree we need to split up. Let’s send the others through the front, and we focus on getting to the guy. He’s our priority. Caroline can join the other group, so we have someone who can listen to thoughts at both entrances.” Erik put his finger on his mouth, thinking.
“We’ll need to fill in the other group before we go in. We have a layout of the building. We’ve seen some of it when we rescued Sloane. We need to let them know how many are in there.” Mike glanced back in the window and met Jessie’s eyes. She nodded.
“Okay, can you call Bryant? He’s with the other group. It’d be good if we were all set to go when we got there.” Jessie asked.
Erik looked down at his phone. “Ah, he’s calling me,” he said in surprise. He hit the button and raised it to his ear. “What's going on?” Erik listened. He raised his hand and ran it through his hair. “Shit, okay,” he nodded. “Okay, I'll tell them. Yeah, we'll figure it out.” He dropped the phone to his lap. His voice dropped in surprise. “Bryant and the others aren’t coming.” He stared forward for a few moments.
“Wait, what? Are they not coming? How can they not be coming?” Jessie blurted.
“Something’s going on. It must be big. Bryant didn’t give much of an explanation, just said that they couldn’t come. He said there was an emergency, and they had to go.”
“Okay,” Jess spoke slowly as she processed what that meant for them. “So, we have to go in there with the five of us.” She nodded, wrapping her mind around the idea.
“I’m not sure we should go in there with only us. We needed back-up, and now we have none. If something happens, we’ve got no one else coming to help. It must be pretty damn bad for them not to be coming to help.” Mike said shaking his head in disbelief.
“Well, there are only ten of them since our last visit. Does that help?” Jessie shrugged. She was grasping at straws, and she knew it. They needed to save the guy.
“You’re counting on them not bringing in anyone else. If they called in help, we’re screwed. They will get us with our collection of powers, and the rest of the Shikari would be fucked. I don’t think this is a good idea.” Erik ran his hand through his hair again.
“Erik, we have to save him. We can still pull off the same plan as before, but we split up. Our focus is on getting the guy in the back. Maybe, we don’t dispossess them. Maybe we just focus on getting him out of there. We worry about the rest later.” Jessie knew she was rambling, but she needed to convince them to still go through with the plan.
“Okay, okay, maybe we all go in a back way. I think splitting up would be a bad idea. We need to stick together. We’re better as a group. Sloane could you focus on getting some vision of what we’re walking in to. I know you’re weak, but anything could help us.” Erik looked to Sloane.
“I can try.” Sloane settled into the front seat and closed her eyes.
“Mike since your power still worked, you need to tell us what we’re walking into. When we get there, focus on how many are in there, and what powers we might be facing. I will do the same. I’m going to try to pick up any thoughts about the amulets. Maybe we can deactivate them, so Jessie can freeze again as we go.” Erik reached for Jessie’s hand. “We could use you, so we need to see if there’s any way for you to be able to use your power.” Jessie nodded.
“I overheard they were loading up amulets for other areas in the warehouse. I forgot about that part. If we can locate those, we can stop this from happening to others. That would put a huge dent in their plan.” Sloane said, darting up in her seat.
“Yeah, it would. Okay, so we need to locate the amulets while we’re there. Our priority is to get to the guy. If he’s conscious, we could use his help. Then, we move on to the amulets,” Erik said.
“Well, we’re about there, time to start praying to whatever God you believe in.” Sloane slapped Mike playfully on the arm. “What? It’s a good idea. We’re about to go into a warehouse full of demons that outnumber us. I’ll take all the help we can
get.” Mike shrugged.
‘We don’t need help. I’m all the help we need. Now, let me focus will you.” Sloane relaxed back.
“Ever the humble one, huh sis.” Erik shook his head.
“Shut it, I’m amazing, you know this.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“I know no such thing. Although, if you get a vision before we go in, I might change my mind.”
“No pressure or anything,” Sloane said and held her hand up for silence.
Mike parked a half a block down from the building. Jessie took Erik’s hand as he focused on the thoughts in the building. It felt as though everyone in the car was holding their breath while concentrating. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jessie waited but began drumming her fingers against the door.
Erik’s eyes snapped open, and he placed his hand over hers on the door. “Jess please.”
“What? You guys ready, yet?” Her tone was biting, and she bit her lip after she’d said it. “Sorry, I just hate waiting in here when we need to be in there.” She clasped her hands together.
“We need to know what we’re getting into before we go charging in, Jess.” Erik placed his hands over hers, and she unclasped her hands to take his.
“Okay, I know. I’ll be patient.” She blew out a breath.
“That hard, huh?” Mike joked. “I’m ready; there are still only about twelve in there. They didn’t call in reinforcements which are good for us. I can’t sense any special powers beyond the guy who’s still being held in the back. How about you, Erik? What do you get?”
“I agree with you. There are twelve in there. They didn’t call for back-up. They didn’t think they needed it since Sloane was gone. I guess you guys are taking her spoiled their plans.” He looked to Sloane. “I have bad news for you, Sloane. Mr. Hall isn’t here. He left before they even got to you. Something else is going on, but I don’t know what for sure. It has to do with a school here. That’s all I know. I think if we go in through the back like we planned, we should be fine. There’s no one back there right now, so we’d be smart to go now.”
