by Elle Klass
High-pitched shrieks resonated through the air, forcing Alison to curl in pain.
Rodham opened the door. “We need to go. We have Slayer back up.”
Gran’s eyebrows arched. “We do?”
“Indigo,” answered Rodham.
Gran eyed him with curiosity, then smiled.
Cautiously, they slipped out of the shed and proceeded towards the house, halting behind a set of bushes viewing the Seeker bloodbath. He’ll hold them off. Rodham shot his green eyes towards Alison, wrapping his arms around her and brushing his lips against her mouth in a kiss. This is it. I’m fighting the battle, get inside and turn them to ash!
Alison melted in his grip and wrapped her arms around him in return, enjoying the slight electric tingle. As he moved away from her and towards the Seekers she gulped, her anxiety piquing, yet ready to take on her role.
A Slayer with an indigo glow barely visible in the night tossed a shining silver sword with a glowing emerald handle towards Rodham. Alison cringed as she watched. Rodham caught the handle and a short quick burst of light ashed the Bloodseekers in his proximity. More and more Seekers flooded towards them. Swords slashed through the air and stakes crunched into their dark hearts.
“He is an old and strong Slayer, but not strong enough to hold off the Seekers forever. We need to move.” Gran grasped Alison’s hand and concentrated as she guided her towards the house. Alison’s eyes wide as saucers as she watched the battle in front of her.
Gran and Alison went to the back of the house, hoping it would be empty. The house’s white paint was peeling and cracked, a fenced skirting surrounded the foundation. Alison took ginger moves up the three steps on the backside of the house. A small creak as she touched the third step made her stop and listen. When she heard nothing, she continued and lifted her second leg onto the step. Grasping the door handle, she twisted it, slow and calculated, avoiding making more noise. When no Seekers rushed towards the door she pushed it open, an empty room before them.
A touch on Gran’s shoulder sent tingles through her arm and made her jump.
Rodham
Rodham kept Alison’s channel open. Listening in as he wielded his sword in one hand and clutched his wooden stake in the other. He sliced clean through the neck of a Bloodseeker, her head dropped to the ground while he thrust his stake through another’s heart. Surrounded on all sides, he fought with the skill the amulet gave him, slashing and stabbing, Seeker blood oozing from their bodies and covering his hand. No matter how many he took down, hordes more rushed towards him.
As he slashed through the neck of a Seeker, another grabbed his stake and ripped it from his hand. She clutched his arm and, with incredible strength, pulled him towards her. Pointed fangs seized his neck as he kicked her away and lunged his sword into her neck, pinning her to the ground. He placed his foot on her chest and withdrew his sword. The Indigo Slayer dropped his sword across her neck, severing her head.
A brilliant light enveloped his body. The Indigo Slayer inside the light with him, holding onto his hand.
We’re teleporting outside the circle of Seekers, there are too many, said Indigo’s voice inside Rodham’s head.
The next thing they knew, their bodies were outside the Seeker sphere. Teleportation is instant, they haven’t noticed we’re gone. Contact Garnet, let them know to keep going. There is an underground room, they need to find it. Now, we’re going use our position to our advantage as we rush in from the outside. And I will teleport us around their cluster, it confuses them. Ready?
Let’s do it! agreed Rodham.
From outside the sphere they attacked, swords drawn, wielding their swords and teleporting to various spots outside the Seeker cluster. Indigo’s skill made it possible for him to teleport to a Seeker, slice off its head and teleport out before any others caught on. They kept this going, buying precious time.
Alison
The slight electric shock on her shoulder made Gran turn around. A young blonde girl stood behind her. Gran twisted Alison’s hand as she turned around. Keeping her voice low Alison said, “Lacey? You need to get out of here. It’s not safe.”
Lacey smiled and whispered, “I’m here to help.” She lifted a velvet bag out of her pocket and pulled the drawstring open, a shining beryl amulet inside.
“What… how…” Alison stumbled over her barely audible words, utterly confused.
“It doesn’t matter. Take my hand, Lacey, so I can cloak you,” ordered Gran.
The three walked inside, holding hands, forming a train, Gran in the lead. They slipped through the near empty room and proceeded around a corner, gauging the direction of Bloodseeker voices and avoiding them. Finding a hallway they slid along the wall, hovering close to each other. Gran slipped her head inside the open rooms, searching for Seekers and stairs leading under the house. Crashing footsteps sounded in front of them and Gran pasted herself along the wall. Alison and Lacey did the same.
A large Bloodseeker walked towards them. Alison held her breath as he passed. To her, he looked like a large-built man with a beautiful face, his size menacing but otherwise not scary. Gran motioned for them to move again and pointed towards the room the Seeker exited at the end of the hall.
I hear you. Keep going. Look for a room that goes underground, we’ll meet you there. The sound of Rodham’s mindtalk soothed and comforted Alison as they continued through the long hallway towards the direction from which the large Seeker came from.
The door open a crack, they listened, hearing several mumbled voices. Gran slipped through the crack in the doorway, holding tight to Alison’s who slipped through next. Lacey and Alison held hands in near death grips, as they were both nervous and scared.
They maneuvered around the sparse furnishings, no stairs obvious before them. Two doors were poised on either side of the room. Gran motioned towards the one to their left and eased it open, the closet was empty. Gran nodded towards Lacey and pointed towards the other door. They drifted towards it and Lacey pushed it open. Another closet with wood shelves from the floor up.
The girls looked towards Gran, who twisted her lips, then proceeded towards the first closet. Once there, she went inside and pushed the walls, one at a time. The second wall moved and stairs spread out before them. She put her finger to her mouth, motioning for them to continue as quietly as possible. Then she pointed down the stairs. As they eased forward, one step at a time, the Seekers’ voices grew louder.
Lacey tripped on a step, plowing forward into Alison. Gran looked backwards, hearing the tussle, and the Seeker voices became quiet. She pasted her body along the wall, the girls did the same. Seekers flew towards and passed them as they stood stock still. Once the horde passed, Alison moved, Gran squeezed her hand and pushed it against her leg, forcing her against the wall.
Several seconds later, the Seekers returned, sniffing the air around them, searching. Alison closed her eyes, unable to look at the Seeker standing inches from her. After a few seconds, the Bloodseekers traipsed down the stairs, still searching, noses in the air.
The girls waited for Gran’s lead, too scared to do anything else. Minutes later, when the Seekers were out of eyeshot, Gran moved away from the wall. Hands still clutched, the group moved slowly until they reached the bottom.
We’re here, Alison said in her mind, hoping Rodham was listening.
Gran directed them beneath the stairs. In a whisper, she said, “We do it now, right here.”
Rodham are you there? Please say something! No response.
Alison and Lacey nodded their heads at Gran’s request. Lacey withdrew the velvet bag from her pocket with her free hand. Gran let go of Alison’s hand, the girls no longer cloaked. She lifted the amulet from her neck.
Lacey grasped the silver chain of hers, and Gran motioned for her to drop it over her head on the count of three. The girls clutched each other’s hands as Gran motioned one… two… Within a split second Seekers were on them, rushing towards them. Three… Another hand grasped Alison’s
vacant one as the amulet fell against her chest.
She turned her head to see Adrian on one side of her and Lacey on the other, Rodham holding tight to Lacey’s hand. A surge of electricity charged through her body and red, yellow and indigo light engulfed them. It spread throughout the room, swirling into a partial rainbow, morphing into an array of colorful flames that lapped across the room, licking at each Seeker trying to escape, and ashing them. More Bloodseekers came at extraordinary speeds but not quicker than the speed of light. The Bloodseekers’ screams ricocheted throughout the room as their bodies disintegrated, covering the cement floor in ashes.
Alison felt her muscles bulge inside her skin, rippling throughout her body, power surging through her, not only hers but Adrian and Lacey’s too. Her thoughts on Gran as she searched through the eddying flames for her, panicked when she couldn’t find her. The ground around them began to shake, and a light opened up, dragging them inside it. She felt Adrian and Lacey’s grasps as they all got sucked into the hole.
Chapter 17
Abruptly, Alison’s body dropped to the ground, thick grass padding her fall. Gran, Adrian, Lacey, and the Indigo Slayer collapsed on the grass beside her. Clutching her chest and jumping to her feet, she folded her arms around Gran with relief, then noticed Rodham wasn’t with them. She took in the length of the field. They were at the high school football stadium. Confused and worried, panic worked its way into her soul. Rodham!
She’d grown used to his presence and their mind conversations. The only presence within her mind was her. She continued to call him, hoping he was somewhere on the huge football field, but she knew in her gut he wasn’t with them. He hadn’t made it.
Adrian clutched his face, dragging his hands across it while confronting the Indigo Slayer. “No, no. You said if we all hold hands and I think of a place and concentrate, everyone would make it! Where’s Rodham?!”
The Indigo Slayer placed his hands on Adrian’s shoulders. “He must have let go.”
Enraged, that Adrian the “new” indigo Slayer didn’t bring back his best friend, and frustrated that something as important as teleportation was left to a newborn Slayer, Alison charged towards them. In unison Alison and Adrian asked, “How do we get him back?” Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Their eyes pleading with him to make everything OK, and bring Rodham back.
The Indigo Slayer licked his lips. “Adrian, the power has passed to you.”
“What are you saying? Is he trapped? He’s still inside that morbid house!” Alison’s voice spanned several octaves as she spoke.
“I’m sorry, Alison, he’s my best friend and I don’t know how to get him out!”
“You have an ex-Indigo Slayer standing beside you and a journal, start reading and take a few lessons!” She huffed off, needing to regroup her thoughts, leaving Adrian to bear his guilt alone.
Lacey strutted to Adrian’s side and rested her palm on his shoulder. “She’s upset, it wasn’t your fault. We’ll get him back, but we aren’t going to do it standing on the football field.” She did her best to lift Adrian’s spirits.
Gran took a seat next to Alison on the bench. “Ally, it’s not that boy’s fault and we’ll find Rodham.”
“We lost Veronica and now he’s trapped in that house.” She stood and wiped her tears. “I can’t help Veronica, but I can help Rodham. I’m going back!” Running towards Adrian she shouted, “Teleport me to the house. I’m going back to find him.” The directness in her voice startled her.
“Take my hand,” said Adrian.
“No, wait. You’re putting yourselves in danger. Someone needs to be the voice of reason so I’m going to be it,” chimed Lacey.
“Hold up!” The ex-Indigo Slayer raised his hand to halt them. “I’m Gile, Adrian’s great uncle. Cara and I have done this for years. You can’t go in there half-cocked. Bloodseekers are about as smart as Zombies and move in Zombie hordes but they are quick, especially under the new moon and they have ultrasonic hearing. You have to use the power the amulets give you wisely.”
“You know already if you hold hands you can share your powers. You can all disappear, teleport, talk and move objects. Individually you can only use your own power, but you’re baby Slayers, all of you.” Gran’s stern eyes searched each of the new Slayers.
“Be wise, be careful. The Seekers left alive are buried in the house, don’t go in there without a plan.” Gile urged. “And don’t go in there without your swords.” From the heavy leather belt across his waist he handed a silver sword each bearing the appropriate stone. Light curled from the swords as each clutched the hilts and claimed it as their own.
Alison clenched hers inside her fist, electricity buzzing through her body. “How did you get these and how did you know which swords to get?”
“The magic of teleportation.” Gile looked towards Adrian. “One day, you will be as skilled as I was, but right now you have much to learn. Be wise, and go get your fellow Slayer.”
Adrian glanced at his Slayer family, all brand new and none had had the chance yet to let it sink in that they were Slayers, destroyers with the power to obliterate Bloodseekers. The three clutched hands and disappeared in a blazing light tunnel, leaving Gran and Gile on the football field.
The newbie Slayers landed outside the house, crashing to the cement street. Alison stood, rubbing her buttocks. “Adrian, you need to work on these landings.”
With a sheepish grin, he stood and took Lacey’s hands, lifting her from the pavement. “No kidding, Adrian. Two crash landings and I feel like my body was dropped from a twenty story building.”
Ignoring the girls’ comments, Adrian wasted no time in getting down to business. “Here’s my plan. We split up, Alison you go around back since you’re invisible, Lacey, you head left and I head right. Lacey, how well can you use your powers?”
In a telekinetic display, Lacey wiggled her fingers above her head and the branches in the tree above them stirred. She moved her pointer finger down and a single branch moved towards Adrian’s hand, wrapping itself around his arm.
Uneasy about being tied up in a tree, he said, “OK, you can let go. I’m convinced.”
Lacey dropped her hands and with pride in her face said, “I’ve had a year to read my journal. I know all about harnessing my power.”
Alison gasped. “While you’re playing games, I’m going around back.”
Adrian nodded in response. He and Lacey split up as they searched around the front of the house and street.
The house stood, although it looked like it should be condemned. It leaned to the left, the columns holding the roof on the porch were cracked. The eerie sight made her gut ache, she shoved it down and moved around the side as directed, calling Rodham inside her mind.
Alison traipsed around the house, conscious of every crunching branch beneath her feet. Not one street light shone from above her, instead she used the light from her amulet to guide her. Something sticking out from beneath a leafy bush caught her attention.
As she drew closer, she recognized it was a hand. Her gut screamed for her to rush towards it. Every cell in her body propelled her forward. Her mind chanting Rodham. But her Slayer instincts warned her to use caution. It could be a trick. Edging closer, the hand didn’t move.
“Rodham,” she whispered. She pulled the branches away from the hand and gasped, covering her mouth. The hand was attached to a severed appendage, pulled from its body at the elbow, caked blood covered the rest of the arm. She stumbled backwards, falling onto someone.
Immediately she withdrew her sword and spun.
“Jeez, Alison. It’s me -- Lacey.”
She gulped and sheathed her sword. “I… uh…” the words stuck in her throat, she pointed to the bush.
Lacey walked towards it. Alison, working up her courage, followed. The two teens stood above the severed hand. Alison knew she needed to look at it again. The bloody image flashing through her mind wasn’t enough to determine if it was Rodham’s.
L
acey bent down, tilting her head as she studied the hand. Then she pushed the bush away from it. “This is a Bloodseeker hand.”
Alison bent on her haunches and joined Lacey. Looking at it a second time, Lacey was right. The exorbitant amount of decay, it had to be a Bloodseeker. “I freaked, I thought…”
“You thought it was Rodham.”
She nodded in agreement. “I saw the hand, the blood and my mind… We need to get inside that house. Rodham’s in trouble. I feel it.”
They stood, matched glances and strode towards the back door. Alison grabbed Lacey’s hand, a large surge of electricity buzzed through them, and focused her mind, hoping to make Lacey invisible too. One step at a time, they drew closer to the back door. Lacey moved a finger on her available hand towards the door, and it creaked open.
Alison felt the sweat between her and Lacey’s wrapped fingers, telling Alison that Lacey was every bit as scared. One step at a time, they climbed to the open doorway. A rustling bush halted them in their steps.
Rodham
Surrounded by dark, damp air Rodham stirred, slowly opening his eyes. Silence surrounded him everywhere. The constant babble of thoughts broadcasting through his head was absent. After two weeks of listening, the quiet was the first thing he noticed. Horror settled in his gut and he clutched at his chest for the amulet, all he felt was his budding chest hair - no amulet.
Panicking, he sat up and hit his head on something hard. A sharp pain cannon-balled through his body, down to his toes and he collapsed into blackness. His hand resting on his amulet-bare chest.
Chapter 18
Lacey
The girls’ huge eyes stared as a glow, much like a black light, barely seen in the darkness, except for the white glow around it, turned the corner. Adrian came into view and each girl let out the breath they were holding in. He joined them, grasping Alison’s free hand. Jolts of electricity buzzed through her neural networks. She concentrated as hard as she could, praying they were invisible. With luck, they destroyed all the Bloodseekers and it wouldn’t matter.
