“We have to do something, they are going to die if they try to fight, Dakota. I don’t have enough weapons on me to arm them and still be armed myself, and if the Brutes don’t get them, they will starve.” She heard the baby start crying and her head whipped around when she heard the cellar door splinter down the hall.
“They found us!” One of the men yelled.
Robbie came running from the kitchen and Anastasia looked at Dakota.
“Do it.” He said and she gripped the vial.
“Gather your people! When you step through ask for Tony. Tell him that Anastasia sent you and that the Brute’s have destroyed Seattle.”
“Step through where? Tony who?”
The heavy footfalls were getting closer and she and Dakota unsheathed their swords. She threw the portal and Robbie’s eyes widened.
“You will die if you stay!” She yelled as two-dozen Brutes barreled into the room.
Robbie stood for a second weighing his options, unsure if he could trust this girl he had just met.
“It won’t stay open long! It’s your only chance!” She yelled and lunged into battle. She fought as she had been taught and was relieved to see Robbie and his people pouring into the portal. He was the last to go and she saw the nod he gave her before he stepped through.
“Ana!” Dakota yelled and she dodged just in time to miss the knife a Brute had stabbed at her with.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
What seemed like hours later they sat amongst the bodies of the Brutes.
Bruised and a little bloody, they drug themselves through the room checking for anyone who might have been left behind. The place was empty so they gathered what supplies they could and crept out into the dark.
“Ana, we have to find someplace to rest for the night.” Dakota whispered to her as they walked along the outskirts of the city.
They had been searching for the Brute hideout for hours and she had to admit, her feet were killing her. She knew he was right but she wasn’t ready to give up yet.
“A little bit longer.” She replied thankful that he hadn’t noticed the direction she was heading in yet.
They walked for another hour before he realized where she was taking them.
“Why are we going back here? Ana, he found you the last time we were here.”
“I have to see if the damage was spared here.” They turned the corner onto Sycamore Street and she stopped. Just as she had thought, the entire street had been spared. She knew no one would be in the other houses, knew that they would have been rounded up, but each place was still standing. Mitch’s car sat in the driveway just as if nothing was going on.
She began to shake with rage and Dakota’s hand on her arm brought her back.
“Come on. At least we should be able to hole up in one of these houses for the night.”
“We’re going to your house.”
“Ana, that is to close. He will see us!” He urged her in a loud whisper.
“I want to be close to him, I want to know what is going on in his house. The son of a bitch is a big player in this. This-” She motioned to the damage behind them and the unaffected street in front of them “is proof that he is.”
“I don’t like it.”
“Please, just trust me. They won’t suspect that I would have come back here, and I will cloak us so Vincent won’t be able to sense us.”
“You can do that like he can?”
“My father taught me how to when I first started using my magic. It’s fairly light so it won’t pull too much from me.” She left out the fact that she hadn’t mastered it just yet. “It’s not like I will be cloaking an entire city.” She added half-jokingly.
Dakota nodded. “Fine, but I still think this is a bad idea.”
“Noted.” She smiled lightly and held her hand out.
He took it and they walked hand in hand down the street they had walked down since childhood.
It was dark so they were able to creep into Dakota’s childhood home with no issue. The lights in Mitch’s house were on so she knew he was staying there. Once they were inside and had searched the house for any uninvited guests, she peeked through the blinds and into the open dining room window.
Mitch sat, glass in hand sipping his usual drink. He was reading something and when he smiled, Anastasia ground her teeth together. People were dying and he was sitting there as if he wasn’t one of the bastards who had caused it.
Dakota lightly tapped her shoulder and she turned to him.
“I should have done something to stop this.”
“There’s nothing you could have done, Ana.”
“He warned me.”
“Doesn’t make you responsible. You couldn’t ever have known the damage that would have been caused.” He said throwing her earlier thoughts back at her. “All we can do now is move forward and put an end to these assholes.” He handed her a bottle of water and a protein bar. “Sorry, it’s not much, we hadn’t been here in a while.”
“It’s perfect, thanks.” She smiled and felt the butterflies in her stomach when he gripped the back of her neck and pulled her in for a deep kiss.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all day.”
She smiled and took a drink. “I'm glad that you did.”
“Do you think Robbie and his people got there safely?”
“Tony will take care of them. It will be quite an adjustment for them though.”
Dakota nodded smiling.
“Dakota, that was our last portal.”
“I know.” He responded so quickly that it caught her off guard.
“And you didn’t care that I used it for people we had only just met?”
“Ana, they would have died. Even though we eventually took the Brutes down, if they had stayed, there would have been distractions for us and others would have tried to fight with us. I’ll choose saving innocent people over anything, any day of the week.” He smiled. “I'm quite noble that way.”
“You definitely are. And are very aware of it.” She joked back. Anastasia yawned and felt the exhaustion set in. She took one more peek through the window and saw Mitch stand and turn off the lights.
Tomorrow she would be confronting him and she knew she needed all the energy she could get.
She and Dakota walked up the stairs and into his old bedroom.
Anastasia saw the pain in his eyes as he tried to not look at the photos of George that still hung on the walls. She laced her fingers through his and smiled reassuringly at him.
“Dakota?” She asked later as they lay in bed.
“Mmhmm?” His voice was sleepy and she smiled.
“Do you remember that last night I slept over here?”
“I do.” He would never forget that, it was a memory he had clung to after she had disappeared.
“I wanted you to kiss me that night.”
He propped himself up and looked down at her. “Seriously? So we could have avoided the last ten years had I only manned up and kissed you as I had always wanted to?” She saw the amusement in his eyes but knew that there was truth behind his words.
“I was so afraid that if I told you how I felt then I wouldn’t have the strength to leave after graduation.”
“I would have gone with you anywhere.”
“I know, but that wouldn’t have been fair to you or your parents.”
“It would have worked out.”
“Always so optimistic.”
“Always.” He agreed.
“Would you still?” She wondered aloud.
“Still what?”
“Follow me.”
“Haven’t I proven that?”
She smiled into the dark. He definitely had.
The fear she had been working so hard to bury crept into her mind. “If things go bad, Dakota, you may have to leave me.”
“Never.”
“Dakota, I mean it. If I can’t control myself, if I turn, you have to promise me that you will leave. Run as fast as you can, as far away
from me as you can. I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you.”
“Ana.” He touched her face. “Everything is going to be fine. I will never leave you, I will be the one who brings you back.”
“My light.” She said remembering Gregory’s letter.
“Just as you are mine.” He kissed her deeply and she allowed herself to be lost in him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Anastasia shot out of the bed, alarms in her head going off. She could sense that something was off and when she crept to the door, the sounds had her fears being confirmed.
“Search the house, she’s here.” The voice had the blood draining from her face. She gripped the hilt of her sword and rushed to Dakota.
“Dakota we have to go. Wake up.” She shook him but he wasn’t budging. “Dakota you have to wake up!” She yelled in a hushed whisper. “Please wake up.” The footsteps outside the door had her turning to face the intruders.
“Anastasia, isn’t this a lovely surprise?” Mitch smiled at her and his grin widened when he saw her protecting Dakota. “No need for that, he’s already gone. You saw to that.”
She turned back to him and cried out. Dakota’s eyes were frozen open as they could only be in death.
“No! Dakota!” She fell to her knees and shook him.
“This is your fault, Anastasia, it’s all your fault.” Mitch laughed and the tears streamed down Anastasia’s face.
“Ana.” She heard Dakota’s voice, but it was impossible! Some game that Mitch was playing on her.
“I'm sorry, Dakota.” She cried and buried her head in his chest.
“Ana, come back, baby, I’m here.”
Anastasia opened her eyes to see Dakota staring at her. She threw her arms around him and held on, her entire body shaking.
“It’s okay, Ana, just a bad dream.”
He held her while she tried to gain control over her body.
“Want to tell me what happened?”
Anastasia closed her eyes, not wanting to relive the nightmare but she knew she had to tell him something.
“Mitch and some Brutes found us.”
“He was here?” Dakota shot up from the bed and went to the window.
“No, not like before. I don’t think he knows where we are, it was just him playing with my head.”
“I'm going to kill him.” Dakotas hands clenched into fists at his sides.
“He’s mine.” She grit her teeth. “I’ve about had it with him messing with my head.”
“Agreed.” Dakota nodded. “I’m going to go and rummage for some instant coffee and see what I can do about hot water. I’ll be back.” He turned and headed for the door.
Dakota was having trouble keeping a level head. The simple fact that he was sleeping one house over from the man who had ruined his life and the lives of those he considered family was enough. Now he had to worry that the bastard could still get to Ana.
He crept through the house searching for the instant coffee his mom had always kept on hand in case of a power outage. “Son of a bitch.” He said and ran his hands over his face. He wanted to believe that they would be able to put an end to this, to finally bring Mitch and this Vincent guy down for good but he was seriously beginning to wonder if they even stood a chance.
“Well, isn’t this a sight.”
Dakota’s back straightened and he turned to face Mitch.
“Vincent didn’t think you would be stupid enough to come back here, I on the other hand, can attest to what a jackass you can be.”
Dakota backed up against the counter and grabbed at the knife block that sat there.
“Don’t prove me completely right boy. You stand no chance against us.”
“Us? I only see you, and I’ve been dying to put you in the ground since I was a teenager.”
Mitch laughed and Dakota’s hand closed over the handle of a butcher knife.
“You can’t be dying too soon, we have use for you yet.”
Dakota saw the Brute’s out of the corner of his eyes but as he spun to evade, another grabbed him from the side.
“You’re going to die, Mitch. Very, very painfully.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that Dakota. And I’d keep your mouth shut if I were you. You call her down here and she may not live to serve her purpose with Vincent.” He nodded to one of the Brutes. “Better yet, we should just make sure you can’t talk.” Dakota felt the contact with the Brute and everything went black.
Anastasia came down the stairs fifteen minutes later searching for Dakota. She caught the scent of the Brutes the second she reached the lower level of the house and she immediately went on guard, fear gripping her heart.
“Dakota!” She whispered through the house.
“No need for that.” Vincent appeared in front of her and she held her sword at him.
“Where is he?”
“He’s alive if that’s what you’re worried about.” Vincent’s form was lit from behind and she knew he had only projected himself there.
“What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted, my family back. I only wanted to be part of your life.”
“You have a funny way of showing that.” She muttered disgusted. “You kidnapped your niece, let her spend her life being beaten, killed your sister in law, had your brother killed and that’s only the beginning of the list of crap you have flung.”
“Gregory brought that all upon himself. I only wanted to get to know you, he wasn’t going to let that happen so I took matters into my own hands.” The lack of emotion in his voice had Anastasia worried. Anger she could deal with but this detachment was something she wasn’t used to.
“Then give me back Dakota.”
“What happens to him is up to you.”
“How’s that?”
“You come to me willingly, and I might be persuaded to leave him alive. But you had better be quick, Anastasia, patience is not something I possess in spades.” He began to fade and Anastasia lunged towards him.
“Where are you?” She yelled as he disappeared from her sight.
“Go to the docks.”
Anastasia fell to her knees, tears welling in her eyes. The nightmare had been a distraction. It had been meant to rock her so that she would believe her instincts were off about the intrusion into the house. Had she been paying closer attention, she would have noticed it for what it was.
“DAMMIT!” She yelled into the dark and bolted up the stairs to gather their belongings. Why did she insist on coming back here? She should have listened to Dakota and found somewhere else to lay low. They could have checked the street and houses out early in the morning, together. Then she wouldn’t have allowed herself anytime to relax, she would have stayed on guard. “UGH!” She yelled into the empty house.
Anastasia knew it was a trap, knew that it was unlikely either of them would make it out of Vincent’s grasp, but she was still going to save Dakota, she had to. She would rescue him, or die trying.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Anastasia headed out into the light sky. She was armed to the teeth and had a pack with Dakota’s clothes and weapons at her back. She began the long walk to the docks stripping away each memory of Mitch with every step she took. She wouldn’t lock up when she saw him next, she would instead drive her sword through his chest. He was going to die for what he had done to her, and to Dakota’s family.
For Annabelle. For Gregory. For George. For Monica and for every other damn person in the city of Seattle who had fallen at the hands of he and Vincent. It was time that she put an end to the bastard and everything he had done. She would kill him, and then Vincent, and then somehow she and Dakota would find a way to put everything back together the way it had been.
She came up on a small group of Brutes rummaging through a car. Without much difficulty she sliced through them and kept moving. She would reach the docks in time to save Dakota.
As she walked she thought back on all the times she had spent with Dako
ta. From when they had only been young kids playing at the park, to teenagers who spent every chance they could together.
He had been her best friend, her rock, and the love of her life for as long as she could remember and she would make sure she got the chance to tell him everything.
“Stop!” She heard the screams and broke into a sprint. As she rounded the corner she saw a small blonde woman clutching a screaming toddler to her chest. “Please stop!” The woman yelled again and Anastasia saw a man fighting off three Brute’s while the other headed for the woman.
Anastasia threw herself into the fight, dispatching the one by the woman first, and then the others.
“Zoey, are you okay?” The man knelt in front of her and kissed her lightly. “It’s okay Izzie, it’s okay, baby, shhh.” He kissed the toddler and then stood to face Anastasia. The recognition was instant.
“Gage?”
“Anastasia?”
“Well, isn’t this the damndest thing!” Gage laughed and pulled her in for a hug. “We all thought you were dead!” he released her quickly and then turned to the woman. “Zoey, this is Anastasia, the girl who disappeared ten years ago. Anastasia, this is my wife, Zoey, and our daughter, Isabella.”
“Thank you so much.” Zoey gripped her hand, the tears still stinging her eyes. “If you hadn’t come along we wouldn’t have made it.”
“You’re welcome.” Anastasia smiled. “I'm afraid I have to go though.”
“Wait, why? What’s going on? Where have you been?” Gage asked her.
“It’s a long story, you have to get off the streets though, get away from the dead ones, the other Brutes will come to collect the bodies.”
“How did you kill them?”
“Platinum coated blades.” She removed her short blade from her back and handed it to him. “They can’t tolerate it.”
He warily accepted it. “Where are you going? We have a camp nearby, we were just out gathering supplies and our little one followed us.” He smiled at the young girl who couldn’t have been any older than six.
“I have to put an end to this.”
The Phoenix (The Prophecy #1) Page 19
