Evie stayed put and focused on the rope at her wrists. She shot a quick glance in Frank’s direction, saw his lids flutter with short, speedy blinks, and wondered when Parker would step in. He must be close by–a hidden wildcard–ready to pounce when the timing was right.
Spider lay in the dirt, looking dazed and groggy, while Calvin continued to fight Red almost robotically, attacking and defending in movements that looked choreographed to perfection. Though her fingers worked frantically to loosen the impossible knot, Evie kept her eyes pasted on the brawl.
A thick gust of air hit the back of her throat as a twisted root caused Calvin to lose balance. The stumble, coupled with a shove from his opponent, sent Calvin to the dry, powdery dirt below. Red pounced. His arms, thick as anaconda snakes, coiled around Calvin’s upper arms, forcing him to a stand while pinning his hands behind his back. He then looked toward the remaining guards.
As if he’d related some unspoken command, the three of them strode in a trio toward Calvin as he struggled to free himself. Evie had nearly forgotten all about the others. They’d been as still and silent as the mountain wall.
Calvin glanced at Evie, desperation causing her to yank against the rope at her wrists with brutal disregard for the skin beneath. He watched the action while shaking his head, an intense sternness in his eyes. “Stay there, Evie,” he mouthed.
As the other guards strode across the clearing, marching in a zombie-like fashion, a strange pause took place. Their movements became slower, sluggish. It looked as if they were tracking through neck-high quicksand. Even the swing of their arms was subtle and immeasurably slow. Evie felt it too, something stifling her movement as she worked to free her hands. An odd noise accompanied this strange, new occurrence, or lack of noise was more like it. A thick sort of hum taking its place. She wondered if Calvin had frozen time, or at least tried to, and it didn’t fully work. Perhaps it wouldn’t stop the happenings around him, only delay them instead.
With great effort, Evie turned her gaze back to Calvin, frustrated by her slowed mobility. She caught sight just in time to see him burst off the ground. Calvin’s movements weren’t slowed at all. In fact, compared to the hampered mobility of the dark guards, his actions appeared impossibly fast. With all the ease of a skilled acrobat, Calvin tucked his knees to his chest, rounded the four-foot distance behind him with a backflip, and landed just in back of the red-haired giant who’d had him pinned just seconds ago. Red’s face slowly took on a baffled appearance as he labored at the simple task of turning his head.
In the suspended moment, Calvin seemed to defy gravity. Evie watched in awe as he lifted both feet off the ground once more, thrust his legs forward and, with one lithe kick, hurled Red toward the slowly approaching guards. She inwardly cheered as the cluster of enemies tumbled like a set of human dominos.
With a menacing groan rumbling deep in his throat, the giant shot to his feet and gave his head a dizzying shake. He was moving quickly again, and so were the others, working to untangle themselves from the myriad of twisted limbs. In a pink-fleshed fury, Red started swinging his massive fists once Calvin was in reach. Calvin dodged the first two attempts with what looked like little effort, but the third swing hit him hard.
The remaining guards stood one by one, striding toward the scuffle. The young one took the lead, his pallid face finally coming to life. Even Spider managed to peel himself off the ground and join the attack. Evie’s heart sunk like a stone.
A cloud of dust kicked up as Calvin fought all five pawns at once. Full of strength and fury, his movements became impossibly fast. It was hard to keep up with the action. Too many fighters were in the ring. Evie knew she could only take in a small portion of what actually occurred, but it was obvious Calvin’s training had paid off. His ability to fight several men at once was impressive, and lent Evie some much needed encouragement. She held her breath a lot, scrutinizing each body that hit the dirt, sighing in relief when it wasn’t Calvin.
Suddenly, the young one, who’d been knocked to the ground, caught Evie’s attention as he crawled behind Calvin and came to a stand. She gasped, hollering his name just before the kid could loop his pale arm around Calvin’s neck. With the same accelerated pace, her rescuer spun, sweeping his leg behind him and put the youngster down. Astonishment replaced the threatening look of fury on Calvin’s face, and he flinched back, staring at the kid as if it were the first time he’d laid eyes on him. He shook his head absently, blinking back the shock.
Just as Evie feared, the others seized the moment, each taking position to attack in a deadly quad-force. Evie cringed, dreading what they might do to him, when suddenly the group went from rigid to lax. Ink dropped his readied fist and took two steps back. Red, who’d been poised for a hefty kick, straightened up and backed off as well. Arms dropped to sides. Shoulders slumped. Everyone’s but Calvin’s. He remained in his defensive stance, eyeing each one of his opponents as he circled slowly in place. Full circle once. Twice.
And then, before Evie could see it coming, Red came to life and reached for Calvin’s neck with blinding speed. Two more guards shot forward as well, grabbing hold of Calvin’s arms and wrenching them behind his back. Their movements were so cohesive, so connected, it was as if all three bodies were of one mind. And Calvin was trapped. Though Red’s meaty hands were in place at Calvin’s neck, it was easy to see he wasn’t choking him, only holding him in place. But for whom? The youngster only stood by, along with Spider, watching blankly while Red, Ink, and the crazed woman resisted Calvin’s furious attempt to break free.
It wasn’t until Calvin paused for breath, exhausted by his efforts, that the guards attention shifted to one single spot just beyond the altar.
It was then Evie recalled Frank’s presence–his existence, really. Following the gaze of the guards, Evie caught sight of her captor. In quick, frenzied movements, Frank pressed away from the dirt and came to a stand, swaying like a drunken lush. Dirt clung to his shirt, his hair, and the sweat dripping down his face; he looked crazier than ever.
The dark guards looked to Frank as he smeared clumsy fingers over his eyes. For the first time since she’d seen it, Evie wondered about the dagger. Where had it gone? She scanned the dirt where Frank and Calvin had landed, her heart hammering to a painful degree. A large, grimy hand clenched around the ivory base just as her gaze rested on the dagger, a few feet away from the altar. Frank secured his grip on the weapon and bolted toward the men, an utter look of hysteria in his eyes.
“No!” A long cry tore from Evie’s throat. Panic and fear, the sheer horror of the moment took over. She wedged her rope-bound wrists between her knees and yanked, tearing at the skin on her knuckles, twisting one of her hands free. She staggered to her feet, the jagged rocks shifting beneath her, and lunged toward Frank, unwilling to let the long, hindering skirt thwart her attack. Arms reaching, body stretching, Evie landed solidly on his back. She gripped handfuls of his shirt to steady herself, flinging the blonde strands of her hair out of her face with the flick of her head.
“Evie, no,” Calvin cried out, voice tense with fear.
Everything turned sluggish and slow once more. Calvin must’ve attempted to freeze time again. With her thwarted movement, she climbed into position where she took fistfuls of Frank’s hair and pulled, yanking his head back with the force of her weight.
Frank’s body bent backward as he struggled to stay upright, reaching for any part of Evie he could grasp onto. She leaned to one side, avoiding his searching hand, still tugging on the man’s hair. She was just about to jump down when he finally succeeded. With all the force one hand could possibly hold, Frank grabbed her upper arm, tearing her off his back and hurling her across the landing.
Evie braced herself as she hit the ground, her arms taking the brunt of the impact. Small rocks burrowed into her skin as she skidded toward the large stump she’d been tied to. The massive tree seemed to speed toward her at an alarming rate, and Evie realized she would hit it head-on. She flin
ched, tucking a shoulder beneath her, and rolled, exposing the back of her head instead of her face.
The rough, peeling bark made a crunching noise as she smacked the tree, the inside of her head pulsing heavily.
“Stay there, Evie,” Calvin hollered, his voice strained. “Don’t move!”
Her labored breaths muffled the sound of his voice, but she still heard the frustration in his tone. She watched in a dizzied haze as Calvin thrashed to free himself while Frank marched closer with the blade. Evie focused on the action as best she could, chanting a silent prayer. After one short blink, the lighting above her changed. Just enough to gain her attention. She looked up to the yellow spot of sunlight.
There, centered high in the brilliant star of the sun’s ray, loomed a silhouette, the figure of a man. He stood high above them on the edge of a jagged peak.
Parker had come. But was it too late? Her eyes fell back to Frank. He stood in front of Calvin, just a foot or two away, smiling while petting the blade with one quivering hand.
Parker dove head first, rushing toward the earth, a colossal eagle in flight. The speed of his journey made him no more than a blur, heading straight for the action. Evie watched the contrasting worlds collide, good and evil, as Parker crashed into Frank, knocking him flat in a blink.
The force of the blow sent the dagger out of Frank’s hand where it skidded across the dirt in her direction. Evie forced herself to sit upright and stomp her shoe over the blade of the dagger, keeping it in place. She leaned against the stump, willing herself out of the dizzy haze, and tried to focus on Calvin and the guards. It wasn’t easy. Her head spun in sickening waves of dark and light, fast and slow, the pounding in her head like an angry pulse. She saw Frank’s face hovering over her, and flinched, thumping her head against the tree once more.
She forced her eyes to open, and realized she’d been in some sort of daze. Frank wasn’t before her at all. He was fighting. They were all fighting. All but the boy. He lay flat on the ground. Whether he was dead, or simply near death, Evie couldn’t be sure. Her gaze flew to Parker. Spider had pinned his hands behind his back while Red kicked him in the gut again and again. He thrust a knee to his face next, and Evie’s stomach lurched from the thick, fleshy sound of it. Things slowed again, sluggish movements on everyone’s part with the exception of the Knight men. Calvin glanced at Parker in the urgent moment, and then, in a fast flurry of movement, took down the manly woman, followed by Ink.
Evie was startled when the dagger wiggled and twisted under her foot; she’d forgotten it was there. Mimicking the movements of an athlete’s javelin, the weapon arrowed through the air. The sharp edge of the deadly blade breezed past Calvin’s rounded palm just before he caught the ivory base. He clenched it backward in his hand, then spun it upright with a blinding motion. Bolting toward the guard who held Parker, Calvin forced a strong knee to his lower back, making him arch back and release his brother. Parker fell to his knees. Calvin turned to stop the red giant when Ink, coming up from behind, seized his attention with the swing of his fist. Red thrust his foot into Parker’s gut. Repeating the action without pausing for breath.
It seemed as if time had slowed once more, only it wasn’t as effective. It slowed the red giant only slightly. For Parker, it didn’t seem to be enough of an advantage. He lay curled up on the ground, trying to block the persistent attack.
Calvin scooted toward Parker, dragging Ink in a firm headlock, desperation showing in his eyes. His ability to freeze time had been thwarted, there were five more pawns than he’d expected, and his brother was taking a beating that could end his life. Suddenly he released the old man and disappeared in a shot toward the sky, landing behind the ox of a man pounding on Parker. Without hesitation, Calvin sunk the steel blade deep into the back of his neck. Red’s body folded in half, before collapsing in a crumpled mound.
Evie gasped; it was excruciating to witness. She knew how Calvin had been dreading this moment, taking the life of another man. With his foot pressed against the body, Calvin yanked the blade free and resumed defense. Evie scanned the area, trying to place each of the other guards while keeping up with the action. Spider, amazingly still in the fight, lunged toward Parker as he got to his feet. Ink and the woman started in on Calvin, fearless of the crimson-soaked blade he held in his fist. Showing an extreme amount of restraint, he fought without using the weapon to pierce his opponents.
She counted it out in her head: Red was down, the young boy was, too. And that just left… Before she could even think his name, a rustling noise alerted Evie to the presence of the missing man. The one who seemed to go missing each time the fists began to fly. As she spun to look behind her, Evie felt the familiar frenzied heat of Frank’s body close by. She flinched away from him as he hunched next to her, clamping a filthy hand over her mouth while scooping his arm beneath her.
Evie thrashed as he lifted her, screaming as she shook her head, hoping to break away from his clammy hand. In a sudden jolt, Frank’s weight shifted beneath her. His muscles stiffened, and his head flew back, an olive-toned fist meeting with his face. Seizing the moment, Evie squirmed out of his arms and tumbled to the dirt with a thud, dodging the clumsy clomp of Frank’s dusty shoes.
Once on the ground, she bunched up the soiled fabric of the skirt, yanking it out of her way, and broke into a run. She planned to circle the clearing, get out of Frank’s path, and find a rock or something to hurl at him.
She didn’t get far. Within seconds Frank was upon her, lunging across the dirt where he grabbed her leg. The action sent her to the ground once more, mimicking their encounter the night before. Gasping for breath, Evie looked over her shoulder. She could see, beyond the tattered fabric of her sheer top, and the dirt-stained folds of her flowing skirt, Frank Pilger’s face, the look of desperation etched in every crevice. Beyond him, another figure came into view, rising from the dirt with a menacing glare. Calvin.
Evie kicked as Frank clung onto her ankle. He clenched his other hand around her shin and pulled. In the distance, swift, deliberate steps brought Calvin closer. Surely he had realized Evie’s captor was Frank Pilger, the man who’d attacked Evie at the track. The profound hatred he harbored for the monster poured from his eyes like a deadly promise.
Spider, looking like an over-sized black widow, scurried into Calvin’s path. Without taking his gaze off Frank, Calvin caught him by the long strands of his hair and thrust his head into one knee. The injured man let out a groan. Calvin didn’t pause, didn’t flinch. He let Spider’s body drop, limp by the wayside and continued to walk in long, uninterrupted strides.
With the persistent kicking of her legs, Evie managed to free herself from Frank’s grasp just as Calvin approached. In short, quick movements, Calvin reached down and grabbed hold of Frank, lifting him off the ground. Evie noticed the dagger tucked into a leather loop at Calvin’s belt as he hurled Frank toward the altar.
Frank, after rolling to a stop on the dirt, set his focus back on Evie. He began crawling toward her like a crazed animal. “I’ll take her with me,” he warned. “I’ll take her.”
“No, you won’t,” Calvin growled, determination set on his face. With the stomp of his boot to the man’s back, Calvin sent him flat to the ground. Evie shot a quick glance at Parker who had the female down and was fighting off Ink, the ever-resilient old man. Spider still lay unconscious.
Calvin lifted Frank off the ground once more, jerked him to his feet, and forced him against the altar of his own making. Frank lay back, beaten and weak, awaiting his final sentence. Once Calvin hovered over the possessed body and soul that was Frank Pilger, he looked him fierce in the eyes and plunged the blood-covered dagger into his heart. He pulled the knife free, still glaring at the wicked man when Parker hollered for help.
The manly female had rejoined the scene, and now had Parker pinned while Ink unleashed his fury on his weakened frame. Evie felt the strain of thwarted mobility grip hold of her again, time turning to a sluggish crawl. Calvin used th
e altar to press off and speed like a dart toward the fight. The crash of bodies had each man struggling for advantage. Calvin wrestled with the old man while still trying to hinder the oversized woman. Ink grabbed Calvin by the shirt, shoved him against the mountain wall, and thrust his tattooed elbow into his face.
Evie pressed her eyes closed, flinching at the sight of it, nauseous from the noise it made. She opened them again to see the old man deliver another blow, to his stomach this time. She looked at the blade, willing him to use it, when the old man grabbed Calvin’s wrist and slammed it against the rock. The dagger flew from his grip.
Ink reached down to secure the weapon, but groaned when it slid across the dirt toward Parker, who was back to his feet and wrestling with the woman. Calvin must’ve forced it to move with his mind.
The old man shoved Calvin to the ground, wrapped a tattooed arm around his neck, and cinched it tight as Calvin, looking weaker than ever, fought to free himself. Panic consumed Evie once more. How many times would she see Calvin near death?
To make matters worse, Spider had come to. He stepped right over the fallen dagger and began taking sloppy swings at Parker, who was literally dragging the woman across the dirt in an effort to get to his brother.
Calvin lay gasping for air beneath the abnormal strength of the possessed stranger.
Just as Evie eyed the dagger, began moving in a crawl toward it, Parker managed to break away and speed toward the weapon. He seized it within his fist, sped to the old man, and plunged it into his back. Ink thrashed and flipped over, giving Parker a clear shot at his heart. He took it by thrusting the blade into his chest. The vicious man went limp, landing on Calvin in a lifeless slump.
Calvin forced the man’s corpse away and joined Parker, who was already wrestling with the final two guards. Only Spider and the man-like female remained, but Parker and Calvin were in worse shape than ever. The dark guards seemed to possess abilities of their own. Just pressing beyond natural human strength. It was a discouraging thought. Nobody had mentioned that Jocelyn’s pawn, or pawns, as it were, would have superhuman strength like Calvin and Parker. Alone, Evie was certain they wouldn’t hold a torch to the Knight brothers. But together they were fierce, and successfully draining their strength blow by blow.
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