Bridget tried the sneak attack again, but Eren was ready. Pissed off or not, she knew Bridget was trying to distract her and she was determined not to let it cost her the match.
“Since you haven’t been spending much time with him lately, I have,” Bridget said as they circled one another.
That hit a little too close to home. The thought of Aiden spending time alone with her made Eren’s stomach turn. In her eagerness to fight the one person who challenged her for Aiden’s affection, was it possible she had lost him?
Bridget exploded with a volley of punches that brought her in close to Eren again. None of Bridget’s strikes got through, but they came close. A red haze was starting to form around the edges of Eren’s vision.
“Thanks for not taking care of his needs, it gave me the chance to do it,” Bridget whispered with a horrible, lascivious grin on her face.
A terrible image of Aiden and Bridget tangled together in his sheets came into Eren’s mind. Things between her and Aiden had been put on the back burner to simmer for a while. Eren couldn’t deny that she’d left him wanting all too often. The red haze around her vision spread and the fight was forgotten. All she could think about was blowing that look right off Bridget’s face and making her pay for touching Aiden.
Vibrations shook through Eren’s body, becoming so bad she could barely stand. The air grew hotter until she felt like she was boiling inside her own skin. Her power had never been this hard to stop before, not even during the full moon. The anger was too great. Hoping to alleviate a tiny bit of it, Eren channeled a bit down her arm and out her palm, hitting Bridget in the face. The loud crack of the girl’s nose breaking echoed in Eren’s ears.
Gasping and holding her bleeding nose, Bridget stumbled back and looked at Eren with such fear that it snapped her control. Despite her struggle to stop it, Eren’s walls around her power came down. But it wasn’t quite right, her power didn’t flow out. Instead, it felt like the core that was her power was taking a massive breath in, bringing with it not only Bridget’s power, but everyone it could reach.
People standing around the ring fell to their knees, the judges—many of which were Rectors—sprawled out on the gym floor, their power drained. Even more people in the bleachers started to collapse. Their power was like a tsunami rushing into her, filling her beyond her capacity to hold it. It hurt, but it was also wonderful, like holding the reins of the universe. But she couldn’t hang on, there was no way. Screaming, she threw her head back and thrust her hands up to the ceiling, hoping at least that way she wouldn’t hit anyone with it.
Her body shook as the power flowed out her hands and exploded into the roof, creating a gaping hole that she could see the night sky through. Though the power was gone, the anger remained, and with it the desire to draw more power, and to hurt Bridget. She vaguely heard people calling her name, Fane and Caitlin. Their names floated in the rage that was her mind and meant nothing. She couldn’t focus on anything but Bridget. The rage screamed at her to destroy. Crying out, Bridget fell to the ground as her power poured into Eren.
It wasn’t enough. She moved toward her. Someone stepped in her way, someone whose power sang to her, reverberating off her very bones.
“Eren stop,” Aiden said, his hazel eyes pleading.
He was standing over Bridget with his arms spread wide, hiding her from Eren’s view, protecting her. Eren’s hands convulsed, making her power surge into them. Aiden’s face was slack with awe and she thought she detected a bit of fear in his eyes. And why shouldn’t there be? She had just sucked the power out of every channeler around her and blown the roof off the gym, impossible, horrible things. That thought crashed through Eren’s anger and swept it away with the force of a hurricane wind, leaving shame and a crushing sorrow in its place.
She turned from the heart-rending sight of Aiden protecting Bridget and ran out of the gym. No one stopped her or followed her. In only moments, the night air was blowing through her hair, drying the tears that streamed into it.
“Members of a Society must be open
and honest with each other. Without honesty,
even a Society can be rendered apart.”
~from Life In A Society.
Chapter 33
A fist hit Aiden in his solar plexus hard enough to send pain shooting all the way into his back. He peeled his eyes from the door Eren had disappeared through to look down at the top of Caitlin’s head. She was swinging again and he didn’t move to stop her, but Fane did. Encased in his arms and power, she writhed and fought, still trying to hit Aiden. Panting and red-faced, she finally stopped and glared. The vicious look made him feel lucky that she was a healer channeler and couldn’t hurt him with her power.
“You idiot! Why did you do that?” she demanded.
“Because she was going to kill Bridget,” Aiden said.
“So?”
The weight of her accusing eyes was too much combined with the guilt he felt and Aiden looked away. It had been such a shock to feel Eren do what she had done that it scared him a bit and he was afraid she had seen his fear.
Such a thing wasn’t supposed to be possible. Rectors could draw on the power of those in their Society but not other channelers. At least that’s what he’d always been told.
“She’d regret it later,” he tried to explain.
It hadn’t bothered him at all to watch Eren hurt Bridget; he believed she’d had it coming. But breaking her nose was one thing, killing her was something altogether different. Eren would have been banished from Spruce Knoll at the very least.
Mumbling curses, Caitlin shrugged free of Fane’s grip.
“You know how it looks, don’t you?” she demanded of Aiden.
“What do you mean?”
“It looks like you chose Bridget over her because you were horrified by her. I’m going to go after her,” Caitlin said. She pulled free of Fane and stormed off to the locker room.
“What? No!” Aiden practically screamed as he stepped away from Bridget.
She sat up and was holding her nose as she cried and shook. Just looking at her made Aiden’s stomach turn. She was so pathetic. Though he had the ability to heal her, there was no way he was going to. The idea of his power going into her made bile sting the back of his throat. He spun away from the pleading look she gave him.
Following Eren’s energy trail, Aiden ran for the door. Nothing mattered but her. He had to find her and explain that. Seeing her channel all that energy had been a surprise, and though it had scared him a bit, he hadn’t been horrified by it. It was fearsome and impressive. She was a fighter more powerful than anything he’d ever imagined. That was why he had jumped in. He was sure she would have killed Bridget with the flick of a wrist and barely realized it.
Thunder shook the sky overhead and a strong wind whipped against him as he stepped out into the dark night. Her trail was gone.
Eren didn’t even make it off school grounds before she collapsed from trying to run on legs that had gone numb. She knelt in the shadows of the trees and wept, knowing there was no way she could go back. Looking down at the glowing orbs that were her hands, she willed herself to pull back her energy. Less than a heartbeat later she was looking down at her delicate, tanned hands, no trace of blue left. Wind whipped her long hair about her. It felt like a million strands of silk against her bare skin.
Oh God, what have I done? she thought as her head dropped into her hands.
The tears wouldn’t stop flowing. They became so thick in her throat that she practically choked on them. A noise distracted her; someone approaching through the trees. Sniffling, she jumped to her feet and turned to face whoever it was, power glowing around her fists once again.
It completely threw her off guard when Caitlin stepped through the trees. She had something in her hands; Eren’s clothes. Seeing her brought fresh tears to Eren’s eyes and forced her to stifle a sob. After what she’d done—all those people collapsing—she hadn’t expected such kindness, not even from her b
est friend.
“We should have guessed something like this might happen. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, Eren,” Fane said.
He sounded like he was somewhere behind Caitlin. His words struck her. They knew nothing about channelers with the ability to use both sides of the power. How many times had her grandfather told her that power came with responsibility? By ignoring the fact that she was different and trying so hard to be whatever passed for normal for a channeler, she practically guaranteed an accident like this. Realizing it made her feel worse, not better.
“Hell no you shouldn’t be ashamed, that was awesome! You’re the biggest badass ever,” Caitlin said.
Eren managed a half smile. If only everyone could be as brutally honest as Caitlin. It led her to think about what Bridget had said about Aiden, and her smile melted away. Who was being honest there? It tortured her to think about questioning Aiden. He’d been acting so weird today. Considering how she had been putting the brakes on their relationship it sort of made sense in a horrible way.
“Come on. Let’s get you home,” Caitlin said as she tossed the clothing at her.
When Fane turned his back Eren pulled her t-shirt and jeans on and walked to Caitlin’s side. She’d have to face Aiden and find out the truth eventually.
“I’ll go tell my parents and grandfather we found you,” Fane said as they stepped out of the trees.
Eren checked his face closely for any sign of fear or disgust and found none. Of all people, she should have known Fane wouldn’t be repulsed by her, no matter what. She smiled her thanks at him. Fane’s eyes lingered on her tears before he smiled sadly at her and turned to jog away.
Taking a deep breath, Eren tried to muster up any lingering webs of her strength as she and Caitlin set out to find Aiden.
Without being able to see Eren’s energy, Aiden searched blindly for her until it occurred to him to try and feel her energy. Cursing his own stupidity, he followed the gentle pull that he knew would lead to her. He had to find her and explain he’d stepped in the way for her sake, not Bridget’s, and that he wasn’t scared of her. Things had spun so horribly out of control so fast that his head was still reeling from it. Which was why he didn’t hear or feel Bridget until she stepped right in front of him.
His fists doubled up and he had to swallow a surge of burning energy as he moved to go around her. Whatever she had to say, he had no intention of hearing it. Apparently she was stubborn and stupid because she moved to block him. It took a lot of control not to just slap her aside. He hated that she brought him so close to losing control of his anger.
“Eren’s in danger,” she said.
He stopped trying to go around her and really looked at her for the first time. Her energy was filled with fear but there was no hint of a lie in it. A deep sadness sagged her features and he thought he detected a hint of regret.
“Are you threatening her?” he demanded.
It would be just like her to think she could get Eren in trouble for what happened. But there was no way he was going to allow that. It had been Bridget’s fault.
“No! I never wanted to do any of this, but Luke said if I didn’t he’d let his Society hurt me,” Bridget said in a small, frightened voice.
The name hit Aiden like a splash of frigid water. His mind tried to wrap around how Luke could be involved and why.
“Luke is in Romania. What are you talking about?”
Watching Bridget flinch under the sting of his angry energy was satisfying but it wouldn’t get him any answers. Taking a deep breath, he shoved his anger down and pulled his energy back. Bridget breathed a sigh of relief and gave him a weak smile. While he could stop hurting her, he wasn’t about to smile back.
“Not for long. He’s coming to Spruce Knoll this summer. He’s coming after Eren,” Bridget whispered.
Aiden leaned in close, not wanting to miss a word of what she said. He didn’t see her move until it was too late. Bridget threw herself into his arms, pressing her body as close to his as it could get. Repulsed, he froze.
“He made me do it Aiden. I really like you. I never wanted to see you get hurt. But the things he threatened to do to me were horrible,” she whispered, her breath hot on his neck.
Footsteps sounded in the grass off to their right. When the steps stopped an anguished gasp filled the still night. Looking over Bridget’s head, Aiden saw Eren flanked by Fane and Caitlin. The devastation in Eren’s eyes made it feel like his heart was going to explode. As she whipped around and ran back into the trees, Aiden shoved Bridget away and moved to follow Eren. Caitlin stepped in his way and slapped him so hard it made his teeth hurt. She spun away and ran after Eren before he could recover from the shock.
“That better not be what it looked like, Bro,” Fane said before dashing after the girls.
Aiden was too stunned to take another step. He turned back to look at Bridget who was picking herself up off the ground.
“You meant for her to see that,” he said.
His distaste for raising his hand against a woman was swiftly fading. He forcibly stopped himself from taking a step forward. No matter what, he would not let it come to that. In spite of how he’d been raised he wouldn’t become that kind of guy. Besides, if anyone was going to hit Bridget it should be Eren.
“I never wanted to do any of it,” Bridget mumbled with a distant look on her face.
She started to crab crawl back from him. Her fear-filled eyes weren’t looking at him, though; they were looking beyond him into the trees.
As he spun around Aiden expected—hoped—to see Luke standing there in the darkness, but it wasn’t Luke, it was the four jerks who called themselves his Society. One of them he’d never seen before, but he knew the boy’s energy from somewhere. Before he could place it, the boy he recognized as Nick, Luke’s best friend, stepped in front of the others. His smirk was so malicious when he looked at Bridget that Aiden realized she’d been telling the truth. While the realization mustered up a bit of sympathy, Aiden wasn’t about to forgive her. Afraid or not, she’d had a choice and she’d made the wrong one.
“Sense something familiar?” Nick asked as he turned that smirk on Aiden.
Anger flashed through him, clearing his thoughts. Dammit, she’d almost distracted him again. He placed where he knew the fourth boy’s energy from; the college pamphlet from Eren’s room. He was the one who’d been following her. Green and gold energy poured from his hands as he stepped toward the new guy.
“What’s your name?” he demanded.
The boy had a sharp chin and eyes that were set a little too deep. His dark hair was slicked back like he was trying to emulate a 1950’s movie star. Aiden put his face to memory in case he had to hunt him down later.
“Greg Florescu, hunter extraordinaire. Why?” the boy said as he executed an exaggerated bow.
His lack of fear would make breaking him all the sweeter. Aiden smiled. He would break every one of them down until they submitted, he had to. It was the only way to ensure they’d never bother him and Eren again. And he couldn’t allow anything to threaten her, especially when Luke was behind it. What kind of Rector would he be if he couldn’t protect her?
“So I can tell the elders who you are if they can’t identify your body,” Aiden said.
Greg’s eyes widened and began to dart back and forth between his friends. Aiden didn’t really plan on killing them. But since he knew they weren’t above it, it didn’t hurt to make them think he wasn’t either. He was a good fighter but four against one wasn’t going to be easy.
Nick laughed and swept his arms wide. “Says the guy who stands alone.”
“Yeah, where’s your Society now, Aiden?” Claud said.
That hit a nerve and Aiden struggled not to let it show on his face. His Society was where he should be, chasing after Eren. His eyes flashed in the direction she had run. But he couldn’t go yet. He had to make sure these jerks never bothered them again. If Luke really was coming to Spruce Knoll, Aiden wanted him to a
rrive to find his Society already defeated and submissive to his enemy.
“Thanks for your concern, Claud, but I can take care of the four of you on my own,” Aiden said.
Aiden had seen Nick and Claud compete in the tournament, they were pretty good fighters. There was a good chance they would pummel him unless he came up with something spectacular. Swallowing his doubt, he smiled and beckoned for them to bring it on.
They surrounded him and moved in all at once. Two swung high and two kicked low, making it almost impossible for him to block all four. Using his energy to launch him, he jumped up and over Claud, kicking him in the side of the face on the way. He punched him once in the back of the neck and twice in the left kidney, all before his feet touched the ground. Claud fell into Greg and another guy, tripping them up for a few precious seconds.
Nick threw a spinning back kick that nearly broke through Aiden’s defenses. It came too fast for Aiden to use its momentum against Nick, so instead he grabbed the leg, twisted it, and drove it knee first into the ground. To finish him quickly he knew he should follow him to the ground, but he couldn’t, not with three other opponents to deal with. He delivered a hard kick to Nick’s ribs instead—hoping he’d stay down for a bit—then kicked backwards with the same foot to catch an advancing Greg in the stomach. A punch swung at him from the other side. Aiden blocked it mostly by instinct and jabbed out with a punch that caught the fourth guy right on the chin. He stumbled away but didn’t go down.
They were good at fighting as a team, too good. It made Aiden think that he and his Society should practice together. First he had to get out of this. It wouldn’t take them long to wear him down. It was now or never.
He thought back to what Eren had done in the gym, the way her power had worked like a vacuum, sucking in the others. No, a vacuum wasn’t quite right. It had felt vampiric, drawing strength and weakening the others. Dropping the walls around his power, he concentrated on pulling instead of pushing. It felt like a switch inside him flipped. With the switch rose a rage that had long fed off the horrible things Luke and Virgil forced him to endure. That rage wanted to devour the energy of the boys in his path and he fought hard to control it.
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