by Zile Elliven
“Them being here is a good thing, sis. I promise.”
She looked at where her brother sat next to their traitorous grandmother, his body language announcing his readiness to pounce if she moved wrong. “How long can you keep this shield up? It isn’t going to hurt you, is it?”
“Nah, with what Guardian Adelle gave me, I feel like I could do this all day. It’s awesome. His eyes burned with excitement. “I wonder if the Guard accepts sixteen-year-olds?”
“I’m the wrong person to ask.” Aeyli watched nervously as the rim above them filled with more people. Some of them shone with a wrongness similar to Sekt’s, though none of them were as terrible as the thing that had set up shop inside generations of Blaike women. “Are you sure they can’t get through?”
“They’d be down here already if they could. They can’t touch us.” Sterling said with all the bravado of a teenage boy.
The earth underneath them began to tremble giving lie to his words. As a single unit, the crowd above them stepped away from the ledge as the sides of the crater began to collapse around them. Massive boulders began to pound against Sterling’s shield, causing him to wince as more and more struck. Aeyli barely noticed their own predicament, instead watching horror-struck as the hole Fourteen and the guardians were in filled with tons of rock and dirt.
“Can they get out of that? Do guardians have shields as good as yours?” Her voice sounded far away.
Shaken, Sterling sounded just as faint. “They must have. They must . . .”
Witches began to pour over the edges of the newly widened crater.
“They know you’re down here with us, right?” Sterling yelled, panicked at Hester.
“He’ll come back for me. He always does.” Hester said to her hands, but when spells began crashing against their shield with a renewed frenzy she flinched and shrank down further, hiding behind the fall of her once-pristine hair.
“What do we do?”
“Do what you did in the cemetery!”
“I can’t! You saw what happened there. The gods know what would happen if I did it on top of our friends!” More than half of the oncoming horde was running over the rubble covering Fourteen and the guardians. In order to be effective, her attack would have to be right on top of them.
“Then point it that way!” Sterling pointed at the dozen or so people climbing down the walls on the other side of them.
“Can you keep up the shield if I manage an attack?”
“I doubt it. The rock fall seriously weakened me.” Sterling had begun to look sweaty and pale again.
“Then I’ll save it as a last resort.” She resolved to take out the entire base if anything happened to Fourteen or Sterling. “Can you make it smaller? It could give us more time.”
Aeyli eyed the advancing horde and realized at least two or three terrible creatures were mixed in among the witches clambering toward them. It looked as though everyone from the compound had called a friend, then invited some of them to bring a pet monster along just for fun.
Sterling looked pained. “It would buy us more time, but you and I would have to get a lot closer than we are now.” The shame on his face was devastating. “I’m sorry, sis, but I still remember how it felt the last time I got hit by your power. I would be useless to you if it takes me over again.”
“Oh.” She had forgotten for a minute, the terrible burden of her gift. “If anyone should be sorry, Sterling, it should be me. I’m sorry I can’t control it. You’re too young to have to put up with any of this. I’m so sorry you are here with me.” Tears began to roll down her face.
“Oh for the gods’ sake, let down the shield so we can finish this. If I have to listen to one more sappy monologue, my dinner is going to make a second appearance.” Astin’s caustic voice cut in.
Hastily Aeyli wiped her tears away. She was grateful for her cousin’s arrival; anger was easier territory to navigate than shame. “I’m surprised you didn’t get eaten after Fourteen shot you, cousin. The demon realm isn’t known for going soft on easy prey.” Or so she imagined.
Fourteen had clearly managed to do some damage, she could see spellpatches peeking out from under the sleeve on one of her cousin’s arms.
Astin ignored her and called out, “Sterling, you little shit, cut this out right now, and we’ll let you live. Your sister is too far gone to save, she needs to be put down.”
“Like hell you will!” Sterling said angrily. “You forget that I know you.”
Astin sighed. “I locked you in a cupboard one time, kid.”
“For two days!”
“I got busy and forgot. I said I was sorry.”
“Forget it. I don’t care what’s inside her. She’s my sister, and you can go fuck yourself.”
Shrugging his shoulders theatrically, Astin said to the crowd around him, “You heard him. Kill them both.”
“So your orders are back to killing me? What happened to needing my body?” Aeyli didn’t expect an answer.
Astin winked at her, making her blood boil. He knew the whole thing was a charade. It wouldn’t surprise her if she found out he had been in on the whole thing from the day she had been first locked up. How many of her family members facing them knew the whole truth? And for those who didn’t, what lies had they been told that could have convinced them to fight on the side of monsters?
Once more the ground rumbled ominously. One look at Sterling’s face, now devoid of any color, had her convinced. The next attack that came for them would be the end.
Then the world beneath her erupted.
Chapter Nineteen
Fourteen
There was a loud cracking sound, followed by a lot of screaming. Then there was nothing.
Then there was pain.
Fourteen didn’t know how long he had been out, but he did what he always did following unplanned unconsciousness—a full system diagnostic. His face had two abrasions, one across the temple, one on his left cheek, the first one potentially serious, the second one minor. There was also a low throbbing in his shoulder from when he had damaged it during the fight at the warehouse. A pile of small to medium rocks were pinning his lower body, but neither of his legs were more than superficially damaged. He detected a bruise on his sternum—the exact area where he had removed a plate in his armor. It wasn’t an ideal spot to leave exposed, but it was the only plate that came loose when he had the idea to see what would happen if he used his armor offensively. It had been exceptionally useful in hand-to-hand combat during his rescue of Aeyli.
Aeyli.
He blamed his head wound for addling his mind enough to forget where he was and what he was in the middle of. He tried to locate her but couldn’t see for shit. From the sounds above, there was still a battle going on above him, and he needed to get to it. Aeyli was damaged and had nothing but her questionable brother to help her. Hopefully, she could recreate the godforsaken spell she had managed in the cemetery—he had a feeling they were going to need it tonight.
He worked on removing the rocks on his legs and was halfway done when he heard something heavy landing behind him. He whipped his body out the rest of the way, going for expedience over caution, and ignored the pain as fresh lacerations bloomed down the side of his left leg. He rolled to his feet and whirled around, wielding the plate from his armor in one hand and a sharp rock in the other.
“Whoa, buddy, whoa! I come in peace!” A soft light appeared in front of a familiar face.
Fourteen relaxed his stance minutely. “Guardian,” he said cautiously.
“I’m touched you remember, but I mostly go by Jack. Aeyliana sent me to fetch you topside so we can all get out of here, but if you don’t mind, I’d like to give you a few upgrades first.”
Upgrades? What the hell was that supposed to mean? “Call me skeptical, but I’m not taking something from the person who trapped me the last time we encountered each other.”
“Fair, but in my defense, you tried to kill me and mine. A lot.” Jack rubbed at an
eyebrow with the palm of his hand and sighed dramatically. “I don’t have time for the trust exercises and therapy necessary to get you to let me touch you, so why don’t I just show you the severity of your situation.”
The light grew to expose the hole Fourteen had fallen into. Immediately, he saw what Jack meant. The bottom of the hole could have accommodated three of his SUVs with just enough room to open the doors on one of them. Five meters from the floor, irritatingly smooth walls closed in to form a wide gash with rough walls that appeared scalable if only he could reach them. He walked forward to examine the glossy surface of his prison and hissed in pain on the first step. The ambient light showed a small rock imbedded in his calf. He pulled it out and flicked it to the floor. Further examination showed the blood flow from the wound to be within acceptable parameters, so he ignored it and limped to the wall.
It was smooth to the touch, like glass, and continued through the entire base of the hole. Even with his considerable climbing skills, he couldn’t get himself out. Panic rose, but he didn’t have time for it, so he told it to piss off until later. Surprisingly, it worked.
He turned to Jack. “This doesn’t look natural to me.”
“Whoever cast the spell was trying to trap you, probably so they could kill her.” At Fourteen’s murderous growl, he threw up his hands defensively. “Which they aren’t! Her brother has a decent shield around them, and my partner Adelle, who you’ve already met, is with them. They are completely safe right now. Mostly.”
If Fourteen wanted to get back to Aeyli’s side, he was going to have to sacrifice his need for control of the situation. “What did you have in mind?”
A broad smile formed on Jack’s face. “This is going to be fun, but I’m going to need Adelle for this. She has a Crafted object I’m going to need.” The man’s dark eyes went unfocused, and Fourteen was caught briefly by their swirling depths. Something about them made him feel restless, and he was forced to look away until Jack snapped back to attention. “Okay, Adelle’s made your group as safe as she can for the moment, and she’ll be right down.”
Had he hit his head harder than he’d thought? Fourteen touched the abrasion on his temple gingerly.
“Oh hey, I can help you with that if you like. Um, I think I can anyway, just . . . uh, don’t hit me, okay?” Jack reach out a tentative hand in offering.
“What are you going to do?” Wariness laced each word.
“Heal you, I hope. I’m going to need to touch your skin to do it, to get past your shield. It’s going to feel weird, but it won’t hurt.” Jack waggled his fingers expectantly.
Should he trust this man? He appeared friendly and helpful, but Fourteen had been betrayed by friendly types before. He could always kill him if he tried something. Jack had at least six inches on him and was built like a tank, but Fourteen would be inside the man’s shield, so he felt confident of his odds. At least one of the ten different ways he could think of to kill this guardian would do the job. He cocked his head, examining Jack, and added three more to the list.
He stripped a glove off and offered his nondominant hand to Jack. He could do a lot with either hand, but it paid to be cautious.
Jack took it in his and closed his eyes. “Huh. You got a lot going on in here, don’t you?”
“Is commentary necessary for this task?”
“No, but it passes the time.” Several heartbeats passed. “Adelle’s coming down, don’t freak out.”
An arm’s length to his left, a tall, blonde woman landed lightly on the floor in a crouch. Fourteen silently approved of her black-on-black ensemble—it would suit her well for the evening’s operation. When she stood, she moved with the agility of a warrior.
Fourteen met her eyes and nodded curtly.
She gave him the ghost of a smile. “Good to see you again, too. I’m glad you two are managing to play nicely.”
“You wouldn’t believe what he’s got going on in here. Fascinating!”
“Stop sightseeing and finish up. The sooner we get them out of here, the sooner we can get to Marshall.”
The ever-present smile on Jack’s face faded. “No need to nag, I’m nearly done.”
Done? As far as he could tell, Jack had done nothing, everything still hurt the same as before . . .Then Fourteen felt a buildup of pressure in his head. It felt like his brain was expanding, but his skull had chosen to remain the same size.
Jack had lied. It hurt. Fourteen wasn’t surprised.
Before the pain grew to intolerable levels, he felt something in his head pop, and a cooling sensation flowed through his body, easing pain as it went.
“Okay, done.” Jack opened his eyes, let go of his hand, and stepped back with an expectant look on his face. “Better, yes?”
Fourteen’s eyelid twitched. The guy may have lied about the pain, but his results were undeniable—a quick self-diagnostic showed all injuries to be healed, including several old aches and pains he had long ago grown accustomed to.
He decided not to punch him.
“Better. Yes.” Fourteen agreed and then frowned. Everything around him appeared different than it had before Jack had healed him. Everything seemed sharper and more vibrant. The walls surrounding him pulsed with a subtle light they hadn’t had earlier. He blinked, but the effect continued.
“I, uh, also tinkered with your sight while I was in there. I thought it would be a good idea if you could see magic—just for a little while!” The big man said hastily. “It will wear off by the end of the night. You’ll need every advantage you can get.”
Fourteen felt dizzy as his eyes tried to make sense of the kaleidoscope of colors emanating from Jack’s body. He didn’t like surprises, nor did he feel confident that seeing magic qualified as an advantage—it was far more likely to distract him than help. “My eyes worked fine the way they were.” He growled. “If you have any more upgrades, you can keep them to yourself.”
“You’re going to need them to get out of here, so stop giving me death glares. Let me do my job, okay?”
“Upgrades? Jack . . .” Adelle said, warning flashing in her eyes. She had an orangeness about her, which quivered and leapt when she spoke.
“Seriously, Adelle, we have some leeway, I slowed time down in here, didn’t you notice?”
“Great, so Marshall has twice as long before he goes and gets himself killed, very comforting,” she snapped, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “What are you planning?” The orange light around her twitched like an angry cat’s tail.
“Don’t worry, this is going to be awesome. I can actually do the first part alone, just let me . . . ouch!” Jack snatched his hand back and stuck his injured finger in his mouth. “Why did you slap my hand away?”
“Why were you groping me?” Fourteen wasn’t about to allow someone he barely knew to touch him without permission, no matter what he was selling. Especially if merely looking at the man made Fourteen want to heave.
Jack smacked his forehead, and small rainbows splashed out from between his fingers, “Right, right, trust issues. There was a whole mess of them in that captivating brain of yours. Sorry, I get carried away sometimes.”
Adelle tapped her foot impatiently and cleared her throat. Fourteen tried to ignore the way the color around her writhed, but he failed miserably. He was finding it difficult to function at all right now, let alone well enough to fight. Desperately, he touched one of the cold places inside his head, trying to find his equilibrium.
The effect was instantaneous: the conditioning wrapped around him and allowed him enough space to process the new information his eyes were giving him. Now he could attend to the situation at hand.
Jack gave Adelle the stink-eye and continued. “May I touch your clothes? I need to examine them to see what I can attach my spell to. Your shield makes this sort of thing tricky.”
“Please say yes before we all die of old age,” Adelle pleaded, her eyes turned toward the battle raging overhead. The orange around her was little more than an i
rritant for him now.
The part of Fourteen that wasn’t wrapped in cold screamed in protest. Allowing Jack to touch his hand was one thing, but to be poked and prodded was another. And for what? Another magical surprise that may or may not distract him while he was trying to fight? He hated this. Everything about the situation he was in either pissed him off, scared him, or made him feel out of control.
But he couldn’t do this alone. Harper had most likely buggered off by this point—he’d only agreed to stay long enough to be a distraction. Fourteen needed these damned guardians to get him out of this stupid pit. Not to mention Aeyli didn’t have the time for him to indulge his fears right now—he had no choice.
He gritted his teeth and ground out, “Just do it.”
Fourteen watched with barely leashed tension as Jack put a hand on his chest armor. Jack’s body froze the moment his fingers contacted the material.
“Huh,” he muttered, and his face grew thoughtful. Jack continued his exploration, running his hands lightly over the leather of Fourteen’s jacket. “I, ah, need to touch your pants too.”
“I said do it. What, do you need an engraved invitation?”
“Just trying not to get stabbed.” Jack eyed the metal plate still clenched tightly in Fourteen’s fist. He explored the pants quickly and efficiently, occasionally nodding to himself as he went. When he reached Fourteen’s boots he slowed and looked up. “You didn’t armor your boots?”
Fourteen felt his face heat up. “I lose my shoes a lot. No point in wasting expensive materials.”
“Ooookay. I think I can work with this, but”—Jack paused with a strange expression on his face—“in order for the spell to take, I think I need your permission to do it. When I healed you, I was touching your skin. That was enough permission to breach your protections, but anything I place on your boots is going to slide off like water.”
Fourteen could hear shouting overhead, but it sounded distorted and slow, making it impossible to understand what was being said. He couldn’t hear the one voice he wanted to, and that was enough to quell any reservations he had about giving Jack permission. “You have my permission, do your thing and get me back up there.”
