Director Wells backed away. “I won’t do it.” Zara grabbed Wells’s arm and held him.
Heff moved past my cage, stopping by the metal working tools. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Florence and Jo scuttling further behind the crates.
“What’s this called again?” Heff touched the body of the plasma cutter.
“It’s a plasma cutter,” Jonesy said.
“How does it work.”
“Press the red button on the body of the main machine, then pick up the torch and press the trigger.”
Heff pressed the indicated button. “This is the torch?” he asked, picking up the handle with a nozzle on it at the end of a long tube.
Jonesy nodded.
“What temperature does it go up to?”
“Twenty thousand degrees,” Jonesy said.
“Hot enough to cut titanium.” Heff pressed the trigger, and a red flame flared. “How does it work on human flesh? What’s the melting point of skin and bone?”
Jonesy smirked. “I couldn’t say for sure.”
“Maybe we should do some experimentation.” Heff pointed the torch in Director Wells’s direction. “Or perhaps you’d prefer to demonstrate that crystal of yours instead?”
Director Wells looked wildly around, then tried to run away. Zara yanked him back so hard that he fell to the ground. She then bent and picked him up and shoved him toward Heff and his flame.
“There’s no escape.” Heff released the trigger and the flame of the plasma cutter disappeared. He dropped the torch. “Repeat after me: I will do as I’m told.”
“Can we try it on someone else? I had considered a fourth orphan.”
Heff grabbed the director’s throat. “Repeat after me.”
“I will do as I’m told,” Director Wells mumbled.
“Louder.”
“I will do as I’m told.”
“That wasn’t too hard. Now come on.” Heff walked over Alex and put a hand on his chest to hold him down. Zara shoved Wells forward.
I glanced back toward the crates behind me again. Florence’s head was peeking out. She nodded toward the plasma cutter, a questioning look in her face.
It took me a moment to figure out the question and when I did, I grimaced. Was she really thinking of trying to cut the cage open with me inside it?
“What do you need beside the crystal?” Heff asked Wells.
“Just a strong flashlight.”
“Where’s the one you used previously?” Heff asked.
“In my office. Front left desk drawer.”
“Jonesy, go get the flashlight from the director’s office,” Heff said.
Florence ducked her head back behind the crate, and I turned to see Heff looking in my direction. I held my breath, but he gave no indication that he had seen Florence. “It was pure luck that we found out about Director Wells today,” Heff told me. “Like everyone else, I presumed a rogue sentinel was causing the possessions.”
“I thought you met him when you were giving a speech?” I said, willing him to concentrate on me and not look at the crates behind.
“We followed Alex when he left the Collier estate, mainly hoping to find the source of the titanium. We hit a bullseye when he led us here. We found the titanium, were able to grab Alex and throw him in a cell with the crazy shade—just for kicks—plus when I recognized the good director as someone who had been to one of our meetings, I realized he was involved in the possessions, and he wasn’t long in telling us the truth. Now we get to see this fire summoning crystal in action.”
“If we get a few of these crystals, we’ll have no need for the sentinels.” Zara scowled in my direction. “We’ll be able to kill them all.”
“What did I ever do to you?” I asked her.
“Sentinels are our enemies.”
“Don’t take it personally,” Heff said. “I sleep with one eye open when Zara’s around. I’m worried she’ll decide that fire shades are her enemy too.”
“I miss Brimstone,” Zara said. “Things were easier there. We fought, and the better elemental won. None of the underhanded stuff that happens in this world.”
Each shade seemed different in how much of their personality came from the human, and how much came from Brimstone. Zara was all elemental.
Jonesy returned with the flashlight and handed it to Director Wells.
Wells took it, then held up the summoning crystal. He paused, scrunching up his face, his eyes blinking rapidly once more.
“If I have to turn on the plasma cutter again, it will taste flesh,” Heff said.
“Forgive me.” Wells said to Alex, then placed the crystal on Alex’s chest.
“Help me hold him down,” Heff said, grabbing Alex’s left arm. Zara took his right hand side, and Jonesy wrapped his arms around Alex’s knees.
I twisted my head around to look for Florence and Jo. Florence had stuck her head out again, and I nodded her forward. Jo followed. They tried to keep my cage between Heff and them so they weren’t being totally obvious. We really had to hope that he remained distracted though.
Director Wells was shining the flashlight at the crystal. The center of the crystal glowed red. We had little time. Florence crouched close to me, and I pointed a finger toward the torch of the plasma cutter and nodded my head. Even though I’d given my permission for what was about to happen, my lips twisted as Florence’s finger closed on the trigger of the torch.
When I’d walked through the fire and out of Yarley’s bar, I’d been able to use my magic to protect me. But I was inside titanium now, so I couldn’t do that, and even if I could, I dare not risk using magic.
I sensed a rift opening, and I glanced up at Alex. The red glow had expanded beyond the crystal. Alex stared wildly at the magic light eating into his chest. He didn’t show evidence of pain; the fiery light didn’t burn—the danger came from beyond. In Brimstone, the elementals were beginning to sense the rift.
I had little room to maneuver, but I crammed my body toward the front of the cage as much as possible. It was a delicate balance, getting as far away from the plasma cutter as I could without tipping the cage over and alerting Heff to what we were doing.
Florence aimed the plasma cutter at the bars of the cage.
Will I survive that? I thought to Jerome.
Perhaps, but you’ll always smell like sear-grilled burger afterward.
This isn’t funny.
I squeezed my eyes shut and prepared for the pain. When a few second passed with nothing happening, I opened them again. Florence’s hands trembled, her finger hesitating on the trigger. She shook her head. She couldn’t do it.
On the crate, Alex’s body shuddered several times.
Jo leaned forward, wrapped her hands around Florence’s and guided the other woman’s finger to press the trigger. The flame on the torch flared into life, and as the flame met the titanium, a torrent of sparks shot into the cage. I turned my face away. Although sparks stung my neck and cheeks, I didn’t feel the immediate burning pain I expected. I wasn’t in the direct path of the plasma flame, and my leather jacket provided some protection against the sparks.
Heff and the others were still bent over Alex, none of them having heard the plasma cutter. Through the rift, I could sense what was happening on the other side of the veil. This time was slightly different than the last time I had experienced Brimstone. Only the fire elementals were becoming aware of the rift.
Within the cage, the heat was fast becoming unbearable. Sweat popped up all over my body. The worse part, though, was the bars which I was gripping. They pulsed with heat, searing my hands. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to release them. However, that was the one thing I couldn’t do. My grip on the bars was keeping my body close to the front of the cage and away from the flame of the plasma cutter.
The acrid smell of burning leather and flesh filled my nostrils. The bars changed color as the heat continued to rise. Tears of agony dripped from my eyes, and my forearms shuddered with the effort
of holding on in the face of unbearable pain. I desperately needed to know how close Florence and Jo were to cutting through but I dared not turn around for fear of the sparks blinding me.
I screamed then, unable to hold it in any longer. It was a scream of pure agony that came not from my throat but from deep within my soul.
Heff and the others would know by now I was trying to escape, but I couldn’t find it in me to care. My watery eyes saw red and orange sparks and black smoke and nothing else.
“Is it done?” I shouted. My voice was a ragged thing, emerging from my parched throat in a rasp.
“Nearly,” Florence said.
“Now, now, now,” I roared. I couldn’t take any more; I was being cooked to death.
“Go!” Jo shouted. “Do it.”
I kicked backward with my legs. A section of the cage came free, and my legs escaped the heat. I shoved away from the bars, springing free of the cage. Being released from the red-hot bars felt like the most blissful pleasure imaginable.
I remained where I landed for a brief moment while my vision cleared. The rift to Brimstone was still open, though nothing had yet passed through. I jumped to my feet, tucked my burning palms under my armpits, and jumped over the overturned cage, crashing straight into Director Wells. Wells hit the crate, sending Alex falling to the floor. The crystal went flying across the room.
The red glow disappeared, and the rift to Brimstone snapped shut.
In a whirlwind of smoke and fire, Heff transformed into a red and yellow feathered giant phoenix, and Jonesy changed into a grey-haired wolf. I stumbled back away from them, and my left elbow hugged tight to my side. I looked down and saw part of my leather jacket half-hanging off and a hole in my T-shirt revealing a nasty gash on my side. I must have cut myself emerging from the cage. Strangely enough I felt no pain there.
Or perhaps not so strangely. I raised my hands in front of me. Red blisters, raw and weeping, covered my palms and fingers. Agony throbbed through them. I shrieked; I wanted to just fall to my knees and cry until the pain passed.
Jonesy was bounding toward me on four legs. I curled my fingers and summoned my fireswords, fearing that gripping them would prove impossible. The pain in my palms didn’t worsen though.
I swung my left firesword at Jonesy’s head. He leaped to the side and away. I pulled my right arm back, but when I tried to strike, my arm didn’t cooperate. I glanced behind. My right wrist was held tight in a cord of black smoke.
I brought my left firesword forward to cut myself free, then found my left wrist also caught tight. Zara pulled on the cords, sending me stumbling forward. Jonesy jumped onto a crate and used it to send himself high, springing toward me.
His claws swung for me. I threw myself low, diving under him. I rolled away from Jonesy, and because that also brought me closer to Zara, the tension in the cords slackened. I flicked my wrists forward in a crossing motion, each fireswords cutting the cord attached to the opposite hand. Once they were separated from Zara, the parts of the cord attached to my wrist changed into wisps of smoke, then dispersed.
I sensed a movement of air to my left and turned just in time to raise my left firesword and block the fire gushing toward me. Heff soared past me, the fire creating a trail of fire beneath him. Several crates continued to burned as Heff flew up into the rafters.
Jonesy leaped for me again, his claws and teeth bared. I let myself fall onto my back, swinging both fireswords at the same time. Jonesy blocked my swords with the claws on his hands and thrust his legs downward, aiming for my midriff.
I rolled aside, letting Jonesy fall where I’d just been. As I did so, I spotted the summoning crystal lying on the floor twenty paces away. I leaped to my feet and ran for it. The crystal couldn’t be allowed to remain in Heff’s hands, or he would use it to create an army of shades.
My legs were yanked out from under me, and I slammed face first on the concrete. I twisted around to see Zara’s cords wrapped around my legs. She dragged me toward her.
I crunched into a sitting position, reached forward to slashing through the cords with my fireswords, then jumped back to my feet. Zara whipped her hands in front of her, and the cords of smoke came for me again, but this time they subdivided into thinner tendrils, dozens of black threads seeking me out.
I jumped high out of their reach, somersaulting on top a crate. As I landed, a spike of pain jabbed down from the wound and into my gut, doubling me over. That caused me to remember my other wounds, especially my palms. They were on fire, and not due to the swords they held.
I couldn’t let my injuries affect me. The part of the pain that the adrenaline of battle didn’t dim would simply have to be endured. I straightened and jumped to a stack of crates piled three high. Heff was circling around the rafters, but the height of the crates got me close to him. I leaped, striking out with my fireswords. Heff swerved away, and I landed on another stack of crates.
Jonesy scrambled up the sides of the crates, cat-like in his agility. I leaped away from him, letting my fireswords disappear, and grasped one of the rafters with the undersides of my arms. Making sure not to let my palms touch anything, I swung around until my legs hooked onto the rafter, then I scrambled up.
I tightrope-walked along the top of the rafters, hopping from one to another, trying to get above Heff. Below, Jonesy jumped from one stack of crates to another, stalking me. Heff dived lower to put distance between us. I dived for him anyway, spreading my arms wide and summoning the fireswords once more.
I had judged my jump well, my dive bringing me right into Heff’s path. His wings beat furiously as he tried to swerve. He couldn’t change direction quickly enough, though. I tensed, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Then a cord snaked around my chest and yanked me backward. Falling away, I flailed out with both fireswords, and one of them made the barest of contact. Red and yellow feathers floated free.
I slammed down against the concrete. I ignored the shudder of pain, and immediately cut myself free of the cord. Heff’s bird-like screams thrilled, and he flew back above the rafters. With Jonesy still high on top of the crates, Zara was isolated. I charged her.
She retreated rapidly, her hands twisting before her. Black tentacles reached for me. My fireswords moved rapidly through the air before me, slicing through the black smoke. As fast as I cut through them, they reformed even quicker. The closer I got to Zara, the more tendrils that protected her.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jonesy jumping from crate to crate, getting closer. Heff still screeched as he flew close to the ceiling. I ignored them both, concentrating on Zara. Sweat ran down her forehead, and her movements took on a jerky desperation.
Jonesy leaped off a high crate, diving down in my direction. I couldn’t continue to fight all three and expect to survive; I was already tiring. Instead of dodging Jonesy or blocking him, I let the wolf shifter attack envelope me. My fireswords disappeared. I stepped in between his claws, my face touching his chest, breathing in his rank odor.
I held him upright and turned him so his back faced Zara. His teeth and claws reached for me, then he stiffened as cords of black smoke wrapped themselves around him. As I had hoped, Zara’s magic trapped Jonesy instead of me.
Taking advantage of their entanglement, I summoned my right firesword once more and sliced it through the wolf shifter's neck. Zara's tendrils of black smoke, still wrapped around the Jonesy’s corpse, began to disperse, and she frantically started to create new ones. I didn’t give her the chance.
I thrust my left firesword through her heart and she too, fell dead. Jonesy, in death, transformed back to human form. I looked up at where Heff still circled. I stretched my arms wide, pointing my fireswords upward. “I’m ready for you, you bastard!” I shouted. “It ends now.”
Heff had other ideas. He swooped down but not toward me, instead diving for the door. I raced after him. By the time I reached the doorway, the phoenix had exited and already risen high into the sky, his short wings vibrating rapidly.<
br />
“Come back, you coward!” I shouted after him.
I let out a deep sigh, letting my fireswords disappear. As frustrating as seeing him fly away was, at least I had the satisfaction of knowing I had won. Or had I? The crystal, I thought, and dashed back inside. To my great relief, it still lay where I had last seen it. I bent to pick it up.
A chilling scream rang out.
Chapter 26
Thursday 19:35
I quickly scanned the area. Florence was crouched against a crate with Jo under her arm. Alex hadn’t risen from where he’d fallen, lying face down. The scream had come from elsewhere.
Had I been in time to stop an elemental from taking Alex? I put the crystal in my pocket and rushed over to him. I put my arm on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
He groaned and rolled over. When he saw me, his covered his eyes with an arm. “Get away from me.”
“Do you feel different?” I asked him.
“Don’t look at me,” he screamed. He dragged himself into a corner and curled into a ball. “Don’t look at me,” he repeated, this time his words becoming sobs.
None of the elementals made it through the rift this time, Jerome thought.
I released a long breath. You sure? I had no idea what I could do if Alex had been possessed.
I’m kind of an expert on elementals, Jerome thought. Being one and all.
Something going well for once. That was kind of amazing.
“Rune!” I swiveled at the shout from Jo.
Florence held the torch of the plasma cutter in front of her with the flame on. Her other arm was behind her, holding Jo back. In front of her stood Katie. The girl was hunched over, staring wild-eyed at Florence and Jo.
I ran. “Hey, get away!”
Katie dashed past Florence, trying to grab Jo’s arm, but Florence forced the girl back with the plasma cutter.
I stopped at Florence’s side, my fireswords flaring to life.
Katie snarled at me, then glanced in Alex’s direction.
“Don’t even think about it.” I shifted to the side, ready to block any attempt for her to get to Alex. “Why don’t you return to your room? We’ll figure out how to help you.”
Fire Summoning (The Sentinels Book 2) Page 16
