by A. S. Oren
Paden leaps from his chair. "Have you fucking lost it, Lon? What would you have done if you found them? What if he took you or something worse? We wouldn't have known what had happened to you or where to look!"
Maverick stands also. "Den, calm down. Let's hear her reason."
"I know I shouldn't have kept it from you guys but searching the passages alone was something I felt I needed to do on my own. I found the way down to it this morning, I also had a conversation with Headmaster Perlow. He said Rosemen needs to be stopped before midnight tomorrow, or else, he’ll leave Spearwood with the Knights and kidnap me, to take his experiments to a place with more space. Perlow said that the only way to stop him is to kill him. He also gave me this."
I hold up the glass tube with the chip in it.
Horace leans across Amr. "May I see that? It looks like a microchip. That technology is archaic for us now. Everything is done through liquid data. Why did he give you something so old? I don't even know how I'm going to read this thing. The P.A.s aren't equipped to handle something like this."
I bite at my lip hard enough to cut it. No, he has to know something about it. "Perlow said you would know what to do with it. It might be able to help us with tomorrow."
Paden frowns. "What do you think is going to happen tomorrow?"
I frown in return. He can't be serious right now. "We go and stop Rosemen, of course. After, making a plan of action tonight."
He raises an eyebrow. "When did I ever say that we were going to do that? We're going to stay here, where we have a better chance of keeping you safe and out of his clutches until he's gone for good."
I rise from the couch. "Jericho's in there. You know that, right? He joined the Knights. What about Dante's brother? He doesn't want to be there. You're just going to continue to let them be lab rats for Rosemen’s sick hybrid experiments? Have you not seen Jericho the past couple of weeks? He's on the edge, and I can't stand it!"
He turns his body to face the fireplace, ramming his fist into the stone. His knuckles come back bloody as he spins to face me again. "You're more important to me than Jericho in the long run of things. He got himself into that mess, he can get himself out of it."
I swallow hard and close my eyes. "I'm going, with or without you." I open my eyes to stare into his.
Blood from his knuckles drips onto the floor. "Over my dead body."
"Until you know how to use the Voice to control me, you can't. I don't normally go against you, but on this matter, you're leaving me no choice."
Dante nods. "If she goes, I'm going too. I need to help my brother. I didn't know he was being forced to do those awful things. He needs help to get out of there."
Maverick sighs. "I can't let them go in there without back up. Who knows what kind of things they could be up against?"
Amr stands and takes my hand. "I follow my sister."
Horace nods. "I stick with Amr."
Paden grinds his teeth. "Fine. We'll do it your way. We need to start planning something, and Horace, you need to see if there's anything on that chip that will help us out."
"But I don't even know how to access this thing." Horace holds up the tube with the chip.
The Cabin rumbles, and a door slams over and over. We all run to the long hallway of doors and to the one slamming open and closed. What is it going to show us now? Paden's the first one to stop the door and open it.
Horace nudges past us. "It's a control centre. This thing could read the chip."
My mouth falls open. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie. Multiple monitors hang on the wall, with a desk of buttons and switches below it.
Paden clears his throat. "You try to figure out what information that chip has for us. The rest of us need to come up with a plan."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
I shake out my hands. It's the afternoon of Yule. We have twelve hours to implement our plan. We’re going to try our best to sneak past the ward detections that may be on Rosemen's labs and get inside. Once there, we’ll have to analyse the situation. Horace has cracked the chip, but none of the information makes sense for what's happening right now. I was hoping for a blueprint of his labs or some weakness of his but so far, nothing.
Our plan right now is to get inside and figure the place out at a glance. I want to get Jericho and Minos out of there before stopping Rosemen. Killing him will be the last option. We've decided that we will try to apprehend him first. Once we have him in our custody, we will find somewhere that he can be tried for what he's done. If we can't get the Families to listen, then we will find someone who will.
"We're going to do great, Avalon. I just know it. We'll be back here before midnight to exchange gifts and eat yummy food." Amr rubs my upper back.
We’ve all gathered in a new room we found last night, and now the others are playing video games. Somehow, this place also has updated game consoles from the Norm world and a computer old enough to read microchip data.
Maverick sighs as he loses the round of whatever game they’re playing, something with a lot of fighting and shooting. "Yeah. I have faith we’ll be able to get him before he can get you or get away. I doubt those Knights guys will want to fight against us when they realise we have no qualm with them."
Paden starts up a new game session. "I still say we leave her here, rescue them, and come back."
I fold my arms over my chest. "That's not going to happen. So get that option out of your head right now, Den. I'm coming along. I'm the only one that can do a full shift, and who knows if we’ll need that kind of power or not. I need something to drink.” Rising from one of the game chairs, I leave the room and head for the kitchen. Dante stands at the counter next to an air popper. It revs with noise, but no corn kernels bounce around in the chamber. A bowl sits in front of it, filled with popcorn. He stares at the living room, with a far off look in his amber eyes.
Has he been spacing out this entire time? He came down a good thirty minutes ago, but I guess we didn't notice because the game makes time pass by faster.
I touch his arm. He jumps and refocuses his eyes on me. "Oh, hey Fire. I was just about to bring the popcorn up after it’s done.” He turns to look at the bowl of popcorn and unplugs the machine. Silence envelopes the room. “I must’ve zoned out for a second.”
I reach behind him for a piece of popcorn. “Penny for your thoughts?”
He shakes his head. “I don’t know. I guess I just can’t believe I actually thought Minos would poison you willingly. We’ve never been close, but we’re still brothers. I should’ve sought him out harder, pressed for answers when he pushed me away. I wish I knew what Rosemen used against him to make him stay with a madman.”
I wrap my arms around his waist, pull him into a hug and press my cheek against his chest. “We’ll get him back tonight. Then he won’t have to go through those horrible experiments anymore. He’ll be safe, and you two can start to build a new relationship.”
He kisses the top of my head. “Thank you for the words of encouragement.”
I lift my check and smile up at him. Whilst on my toes, I give him a simple kiss. He grins at me before kissing my head as well. “I think I may be falling in love with you, Fire.”
Warmth floods my body. “I think I may be falling in love with you, too.”
I lead the way down the passageway with a fireball in my hand. Dante takes the place at the back of our line with a flame in his hand as well. I motion with my chin. “We should be there any second now. Don’t run into me, or I’ll fall over the edge.”
The hole of darkness lies out in front of us, as wide as the passage.
Paden places a hand on my shoulder as he peers down into it. “I can’t see anything. Who knows what we will land on.”
“Well, there’s only one way to find out.” Maverick comes to stand on my other side.
Paden sighs. “We can’t scream. They may or may not know we’re coming, No need to alert them to our entry point.”
I nod. “Let’s line up
along it. We all need to jump at the same time. Perlow made it sound as if the thing will shut the second we enter it. No one can be left behind.” Dante, Horace, and Amr, take their places down the line of the opening, I extinguish my fireball, and we grasp hands.
Paden grips my hand tighter. “I can’t believe I’m letting you do this. Don’t let yourself get caught, and don’t die down there. Do you understand me?”
I nod again. “I have no plans to allow either thing to happen, Den.”
He nods. “On the count of three, we all jump at once. One, Two, Three.”
We leap into the hole. I press my lips together to keep myself from making any noise. Cold air rushes past us. When will it end?
With a thump, we hit something metal and land on our backs. My grip on Paden’s and Maverick’s hands tightens as we slide down a long chute. Fluorescent lights shine down upon us making me squint. Coloured dots and lines float in my vision when we come to a stop. I can’t see well. Where are we now?
I let go of the guys’ hands and rub at my eyes. They do the same. Still struggling, I peer around. We sit on the edge of some kind of chute that comes out at the floor of a massive, warehouse-like room. Tall, orange, metal shelves line up like dominoes, wooden crates taking up space upon them.
“Well, we’re somewhere.” Amr keeps his voice at a whisper.
A roar rumbles from somewhere in the room.
Paden rises to his feet. “I guess we follow the noise. Keep your eyes and ears open. Be ready for anything.”
He leads us in a line toward the other side of the room. Counters, computers, and chemistry stations stretch out in front of us.
Well, at least we found his labs. We're in the right part of the school and not some weird dungeon basement. The sour scent of rotten eggs rides the air. My stomach tumbles. So far, there's no sign of Rosemen or any of the Knights.
Another roar fills the room, the vibrations echoing in my chest. We all turn at once toward the sound. A massive, clear cage stands in the far corner of the room. Inside lays a black dragon. His obsidian eyes stare at us. Thick tubes stick out of his body from every angle. My eyes widen. "Dear Sun god! It's Minos!"
"What? Brother!" Dante runs for the cage.
Paden reaches out to stop him and misses by a hair. "Shit! We've got to stay together, Dante!”
Dante presses his hands to the cage, and Minos leans his dragon head forward. His spiralled black horns touch the glass.
The rest of us watch the room, searching for evidence of Rosemen or anyone else that may be lurking, whilst inching our way toward them. Why isn't he using thought speak to communicate with us?
We surround Dante, our hands at the ready for an attack. Paden, Maverick, and Amr surround me on all sides while Horace takes a stance near Dante. They want to make sure no one can reach out and grab me at random without them sensing it first.
"Brother, what has he done to you? We need to get you out of here."
Minos huffs; a cloud of grey smoke trails out of his nose.
I frown. "Why isn't he using thought speak with us? I don't understand."
Paden shifts his head to do another scan of the room. "Maybe he is, but we can't hear him. There could be some type of magic blocking him from communicating."
Dante pounds his fist against the glass. "How do we get him out of here? There has to be a way, he got in there after all. What are those tubes doing in his body?"
Horace adjusts his glasses. "I'm more worried about the fact that we haven't run into anyone yet."
I nod. "That is weird. Wasn't Rosemen expecting us?"
"I was expecting you.” Rosemen voice reverberates off the walls, coming from everywhere at once. “I didn't think it would be so easy to get you in here, Avalon. I guess you're more like your father, more brawn than brain."
Paden growls. "Show yourself!"
Rosemen chuckles. "Oh, I have no plans of actually facing you tonight. But, I will be taking Avalon with me to the next phase of my experiments. There's no way you will be able to beat the Knights I've created over the last few weeks!"
Footsteps pound on the white tile as Jericho and the meek boy, Triton--who held up the air barrier during the survival test--enter the room.
"Where's Mirren?" Rosemen’s voice booms.
Triton's hands shake. "He didn't show, sir."
"He'll regret going against me. His body won't be able to handle the side effects of not being weaned off my serum. Get the girl, and put her in the cage with Mathis."
Jericho lifts his arms above his head with his palms facing each other. A water ball forms between them whilst his eyes glow yellow. Black sludge floats inside of it just before he hurls it at Amr, hitting him directly in the stomach.
Amr crashes back into me as we both double over from the pain of the attack. It's as if I've been punched in the gut as well. But how? I've never felt his pain before, and he's certainly not felt mine.
Amr struggles to get off me, and I groan. "Jericho, stop this. You don't have to work for him. He's a madman. Whatever he threatened you with, it's not worth it!"
Triton blows a twister at Dante and Horace. Horace blocks it with one of his own.
I stand, fireballs ignite in both of my hands.
"I told you to stay away, Avalon, you didn't listen. Now you have to pay the price." Black sludge forms balls in his hands before he hurls them both at me. Just before they hit, Paden jumps in front of me. Both of the sludge balls hit him at the same time.
He screams.
My blood runs cold. I wind my arms to create a fire twister. It rushes for Jericho as I kneel beside Paden. He's out cold, but I can still hear a steady pulse.
Amr places his hands on the ground. It shakes and cracks as he sends both guys off their feet and onto their backs.
Both of them growl as they somersault back onto their feet. Their bodies grow into long, black figures with talons longer than their fingers and alligator snouts. Patchy hair grows all over their bodies, like werewolves with mange.
My hands go over my face. "Dear Sun god, what has he done to you?" Hot tears stream down my cheeks.
They rush at us, and Maverick, Amr, and Horace step in front of me. They plough through the boys as if they are nothing. Jericho's claws reach out for my face, tearing at the flesh of my cheek.
His body rams me into the glass cage; the walls disappear. Together, we fall inside.
"Excellent!" Rosemen's voice thunders in my ears. "I'm starting the transportation now."
Sharp teeth grasp at my hair. This will hurt, I'm sorry. Mino's voice rings in my head.
My body flies before it makes contact with something hard. All the air leaves my lungs in one single gasp as my skull cracks against stone. My vision blurs as, from far away, I watch the black dragon disappear. "Jericho." Darkness covers my vision as I'm pulled into a numb place.
"You're going to have to be patient, Mr. Hansen. I can't force her awake without causing her any further damage." Quinn’s voice reaches me through the fog of darkness.
"Fucking hell!" Maverick yells.
Blood rushes around my ears, playing a salsa beat. I clench my eyes even tighter closed. Sun god, I want to be back in that numb place.
Amr gasps. "I think she's waking up."
I peek my eyes open before shutting them. "It's too bright." The blood rushes around my skull with more force and pain.
Someone claps their hands, and the lights go out. "That should help, Miss Radcliffe." A hand comes out to touch my forehead, and I shy away from it.
"What's happening? Where am I?" I try opening my eye again; this time, I can do it without as much pain.
Maverick's smiling face greets me as he reaches for my hand. The pain lessens with his touch. "You're in the infirmary of the school."
"But we were fighting Jericho and that other guy."
His ocean-blue eyes stare at the blanket covering my body. "We lost, but at least they didn't get you. Thanks to Dante’s brother. If he hadn't thrown you while th
e glass shield was still down, who knows where you would be right now."
I try to sit up, but pain forces me to stay on my back. "Jericho, where is he?"
Amr clears his throat. "He left with them."
My mouth falls open. "No, you're lying!"
Amr grabs my other hand. "I wish I was."
Hot tears blur my vision again as I try to peer around the room. "Where’s Den, Dante, and Horace?" My heart picks up. "He didn't take them, too, did he?"
Maverick's thumb rubs circles into my skin. "Horace will be back soon. We haven't seen Dante since we got back here, and Paden...Paden hasn't woken up yet." He glances over his shoulder at one of the other beds.
