by Aidy Award
She took his hand, so soft and smooth like his little hedgehog belly. “Which is why I need you to stay.”
Percy stood little bit taller. “You need me to be Bill Munny.”
“Yeah, because if I don’t come back, I need you to make those TFO bad guys Unforgiven.”
“I will, Kaden. Well, I guess they have it comin'. Anybody who don’t wanna get killed better head on out the back.”
She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
Russet signaled to her to board the ship. “Frost and Stark have agreed to stay and be the clean-up team.”
Frost glared at Russet, and Kady doubted agree was the right word. They boarded the ship and right before the door closed, a broom swooped in.
Kady grabbed it mid-air and the force of its forward momentum pushed her back and plopped her down on a bench attached to the interior wall of the ship.
The wood grain of his handle shimmered and transformed to match the metal of the walls around her. His bristles turned black and swirled like a tiny black hole. Kady reached out to touch it, but when her hand got close a sparkling blue shield zapped her finger.
“Whoa.” Dunn examined Herbie. “Your broom is a miniature replica of our singularity drive. How did you do that?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t. Herbie did.”
“Who is Herbie?”
She held the shiny new Herbie up and at the same time, the spaceship lifted into the air. That had to be a coincidence.
Dunn didn’t seem to notice. “I gotta get me a Herbie. He should come in handy on this op. Titian will be point, so follow his lead. He’s sneaky as a fox in a hen house.”
They accelerated, but Kady hardly felt the movement. She wouldn’t have known if she couldn’t see out the front. A few days ago, her only knowledge of spaceships were the Millennium Falcon, the Enterprise, and the Serenity. Now she was in one, on the way to rescue her soul mate with her magic. It was every geek-girl’s dream.
But, this was no dream. Kady was scared. She swallowed and tried to adopt the same get-shit-done attitude of the Star Rangers around her. It didn’t work, but she tried.
Titian pulled a vest and some weaponry looking gear out of a locker. “I heard that, you fucker. You only wish you could get into all the hen houses I do.”
“Do you guys even know what a hen house is?”
All three of them gave her that look guys get when you ask them if they watch porn.
Russet sat at the controls of the ship and punched at buttons. “We’ve made contact with Fedelis inside the base. ETA seven minutes to his location.”
God, that didn’t give her much time. Maybe she had the ability to slow down time? That would be awesome.
She closed her eyes and concentrated, asking the Universe to help. Someone sat on the bench next to her.
“You look like you’re going to throw up.” Dunn’s voice was gentle.
She wondered for a second about who his mate would be. A lucky guy or girl. Not as lucky as Kady, but still, Dunn had an air of calming grace. An alpha male who knew exactly who he was and what he wanted, no need to be a dick about it. She liked that about him.
She kept her eyes closed and absorbed that energy from him. “I might. Then I could spew all over the men in black. That would stop them in their tracks.”
“You know, if you hadn’t been matched to Black, our soul embers might have shined for you. You’re quite a woman, Kady.”
She popped her eyes open and stared at Dunn. So many things swirled in her mind. She should say thank you, she should ask about the plan, and she sure as shinola should ask if he meant what she thought he did with ‘our soul embers.’ The one question she cared about the answer to popped out. “What happens if we can’t get his soul back?”
“You will, little warrior witch.”
“What if that isn’t our fate, Black’s and mine? What if we’re those star-crossed lovers who are meant for the tragedy and not the romance?”
“The Fates are twisted, so screw them. Make your own fate.” He winked at her.
The ship landed behind an old tin building and the door swished open. The guys all stood, Dunn extending his hand to her.
Never had she wanted to run and hide more in her entire life. For the first time ever, she wouldn’t do that. She’d fight for what she wanted and deserved.
She took a deep breath, gathering herself and the soul of her magic into the fierce warrior she was fated to be. “Fate or not, I’m ready.”
“Fuck the Fates,” Titian said, “let’s go get your mate.”
Chapter
Nineteen: The Power is in You
Kady had her hand on Titian shoulder. He led her around the side of the metal hangar building. Russet and Dunn sandwiched her in from behind. They had goggles on, techy guns raised, and grim faces that were so focused she actually felt safe.
None of them said a word, communicating only in hand signals. When Titian jogged, she jogged, when he crouched, she crouched, and promised herself to start doing yoga, Pilates, and kung-fu when this was all over.
Titian glanced back at her from their hiding spot behind an open door. He jerked his chin and indicated with two fingers toward a filing cabinet.
She looked, but didn’t see anything. Dunn popped his goggles off and placed them over her eyes. A full-grown lion, big ole mane and everything, crouched next to the filing cabinet.
“Crikies,” she whispered.
Dunn pressed his lips to her ear and said, “Fedele.”
As if that explained anything.
Titian moved their group across the darkened hanger to meet up with the lion. When they got there, the lion shoved the filing cabinet aside with its hip, revealing a trapdoor, not a whole lot wider than her butt.
“Black is down there?”
Dunn covered her mouth with his fingers, shushing her.
Titian dropped into the hole, sliding down a ladder, all sexy fireman style. Kady was no fireman. She stepped on the ladder and went down one rung, then two. They’d never get to Black’s soul at this rate.
She took a deep breath, channeled the spirit of She-ra, Wonder Woman, and Princess Leia and jumped.
She landed right on her ass on a concrete floor about six feet down. Ouch. That was going to bruise.
Titian lay sprawled on the floor a few feet away, breathing, but unconscious. Oh, no. Had his soul been stolen?
“Russet, Dunn, hel—” Before she finished screaming for Black’s brothers the trap door slammed shut and she heard the sound of weapons being fired.
“Hello, witch.”
Agent Douchecanoe stood across from her in a weird space that was half maintenance room and half cave. She expected a Snidely Whiplash evil laugh from him, but he stepped out of the darkness and stared her down.
“You saved me a lot of time and energy coming to me.”
Several spectral warriors hovered around him, but none of them were the right one. The hatred and animosity flowed from them, filling the room. Only her light inside kept her from buckling under the darkness.
She stood, rubbed the dirt off her pants, trying to stall while she came up with a plan. “Yeah, I didn’t do it for you. Where’s Black?”
“There is no Black, unless you mean his now black soul.”
That she would never believe. “His soul is beautiful and strong and mine.”
Agent Douchecanoe flung his arm, pointing to her and a wave of spectral warriors screeched and flew toward her, but not fast like before. They weren’t there for her soul.
She threw up her shield, pushing it out to a good yard around her, encompassing Titian too. The asshole stared at where she’d been, invisible to him now.
She had maybe ten seconds before he figured out she hadn’t moved. Her magic had thrown Russet and Dunn to the ground when she’d blasted them in the canyon, but they hadn’t been hurt.
The spectrals barraged her shield, tearing at it, each time losing a limb to its effects. So many attacking all at the same time
felt like she was being punched with spiky brass knuckles.
She brought balls of soul powered light into each of her hands, planning to fend them off. If she flung them now, they would evade like that had before. What else could she do?
A spark of a plan formed in her mind. She would need them to get much closer.
The agent approached her shield, still trying to see through it to her. “You and your kind are standing in the way of progress, witch.”
Each bite of the spectrals to her shield decreased her power, but also their own. That power had to be going somewhere. “How is this progress, you asshat?”
Finally figuring out where she was, Agent Douchecanoe strode across the room like he owned it. Maybe he did. He wasn’t scared of her even a little bit with the spectrals at his beck and call. Their scratching and clawing at her shield grew harder, hurting her deeper.
“The spectral warriors will allow us to have dominance in the galaxy. We will be able to control the resources and the people. We may be behind in the space race in technology, but we won’t be for long.”
He reached out and touched the shimmering wall of her shield. His fingers skimmed it and Kady felt something different. Something she could harness.
“We’ve made a few connections since Roswell, ones that will help us eliminate these damn Space Rangers. America will become the superpower in space that it is here on Earth.”
Oh. My. Gerrrrd. What a dumbass. But, a dumbass with a soul. Even if he didn’t know how to use it properly. But, she did. She reduced her shield’s range to have the space, drawing the spectrals in, hoping the agent would follow. They did, and redoubled their attacks. Scratched filled with blood appeared on her arms and neck. They stung and she almost pushed them all back again.
She had to get them closer though. Centimeter by centimeter she drew them all in, talking to as a distraction both to them and herself.
“Are you for real? You’re doing this for America? There’s a whole entire Universe out there.”
That’s it, a little bit closer. She could feel the light of his soul, scarily dim. But, there was some. With each inch they gained, the burns to his skin intensified. Much more and she’d be on fire.
“Don’t be stupid, the Universe has always been there, but with the alliances we’ve made, now it’s ours for the taking.”
How did one make alliances with hatred and evil? Probably why this guy’s soul was so dim. A little more. Please, Universe, don’t let her collapse before they got to her.
“Either you’re with us, or you’re against us, witch. I’ve seen what your powers can do, how you can interact with the spectral force. Join Task Force Omega, and you’ll be a key player in keeping America strong.”
His soul wasn’t enough. She needed more. The only one she’d ever drawn on was Black’s. Agent Douchecanoe’s felt slightly slimy and was hard for her to work with.
The spectral’s souls floating around her, beating at her, had no light. She couldn’t get anything put pain and despair from them.
She examined the horrible beings looking for one in particular. Titian’s wasn’t there. Which meant he was still alive with an intact soul.
“I don’t think so. You’re a bully, your agency is a bully. I don’t like bullies.”
He pulled something out of his pocket and clasped it in his hand. “I like that. Bully. Suits me.”
She reached out and found a soul that was soft like silk, almost slippery, but that burned hot and bright.
Yes. Kady threw gratitude out into the universe and drew Titian’s soul out in swirls of orange and cream.
The balls of light in her hands grew bright, then faltered for a moment. A slash cut through the shield, hitting her right over her heart. One more hit like that, and she was toast.
“You’re the stupid one if you think you can control the spectrals without losing your own soul.
He laughed like she’d just told the most hilarious joke ever. “I don’t control the Spectrals. Someone else does that. But, she could use your help. Your powers are too valuable for us not to possess.”
It was now, or never.
“Your spectrals, and your boss can kiss my curvy ass. I’m getting my mate back.” Kady dropped her shield and drug all the power and light around the spectrals. The orbs she created were slow to move, but they bubbled through the air and divided. She encased one spectral while another lashed out at her, knocking her to her knees.
She reached inside, to the place no one, not even Black had ever touched. It was the place she kept the truest part of herself, the one that wanted to be a warrior and a lover and shining light for the world.
Kady tapped into that most authentic piece of her soul and added its power to this battle.
She was a warrior.
Each spectral was sucked into a bubble of light. Their shadows shrunk, cowering and faded to nothing more than the shadow of a rat.
Agent Douchecanoe recoiled and stumbled, first putting his hand over his heart, staring at the dark green swirls coming off his skin.
“What are you doing to me, you bitch?” He held his clasped hand out and Black’s soul ember dropped and dangled. It glowed like a star in the sky.
Kady reached out for it. That was hers and this guy was defiling it just by touching it.
He grasped the pendant in his hand and closed his eyes. Sweat beaded on his forehead and Black’s spectral warrior rose beside him, vibrating with hatred and dark power.
“Black.” A terrible sadness rushed over Kady, smashing against her, dragging her own soul into darkness.
Agent Douchecanoe thrust his fist forward and the spectral warrior that was Black charged at her, screaming louder the closer it got.
The bitter taste of fear blistered the back of her throat. She pushed it down and closed her eyes. She called up that power inside, the part that was the lover, that the soul of her true love brought to the surface.
She wrapped the charging warrior in a field of it, stopping him mere centimeters from her.
“Black, are you in there? Can you hear me?”
It screamed and screeched, lashing out at her. So much pain prickled across their connection that it stole her breath away.
“Fool, it can’t understand you, they are stupid barely conscious bastards.”
Kady shot her hand out, releasing one of the spectrals. It charged the agent and engulfed him. His gray green soul rose from his chest and his body dropped to the floor. The spectral didn’t relent, continuing to scratch and pull and bite until a fine dusting of ash was all that was left of Agent Douchecanoe and his soul.
Before she could envelop the remaining spectral warrior, it streaked past her and through the rock wall of the cave, disappearing.
The cord and pendant that contained Black’s soul ember sat on the ground next to the ash. Kady crawled across the floor and picked it up. The golden fire inside was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.
She slipped the cord around her neck. The pendant fell between her breasts, resting over her heart. A warmth like a fire on a cold winter’s night pooled inside of her and her skin glowed with light and heat.
The trapped spectrals shrieked, cowering from her light.
All except one.
Black’s spectral warrior stared transfixed on her and the light emanating from her, lighting up the room.
The words of a spell whispered into her mind. She held the pendant in her open hand.
“I am yours and you are mine. Together, forever, will we shine. The ember of your soul, over my heart will lay. Come and be with me now, in your heart I will stay.”
Black’s soul pulsed with a luminescence, fluctuating from and empty dark absence of light, to purple, then blue, green, to yellow, then back to the rich golden tones that matched his skin. She pulled him into the pendant, barely containing all the light inside.
“Kady?” Titian propped himself up on and elbow and looked around at the fiery orbs of light containing the remains of the spectr
als. “Fucking hell, woman. Is that my soul magic?”
She nodded. The orbs swirled and the orange light that was the part of his soul she’d borrowed for the battle danced and jumped across the room and back into Titian’s body.
The form of his fox shimmered and then receded. “Fates above. Glad you’re on our team.”
“I have his soul, Titian. Can you move? We need to get to Black.”
“Yeah, I can, but how is the question. We aren’t going back out the same way we came in.” He stood and pointed to the tunnel they’d dropped down. The metal was mangled and in some parts melted to the side of the wall.
“I don’t remember doing that.”
“No, that’s the effects of a pulse grenade. Looks like the Barrett boys had quite a battle while we were down here. I don’t know what we’ll find up top.”
A rumble began on one side of the cave and rocks fell from the ceiling. Titian grabbed her and pulled her back. “Take cover.”
They ducked and crouched next to the nearest wall, and the room shattered. Light streamed in from the outside and a full-size tank crashed into the room.
Russet and Dunn stood on the sides, weapons at the ready. Another man, built like a god with blond waves of hair rode on top. He must be Fedele, the lion.
“Nice timing dickheads. Kady already saved the day. Where the fuck did you get a tank?”
Russet jumped down and rushed to Kady’s side. “Did you find Black?”
She nodded and smiled, grasping the ember in her hand.
“Then let’s get you to Magic. Herbie?”
In a blink, Kady’s old red and white pickup truck appeared where the tank had been. The guys dropped down into the truck bed.
“I seriously have got to get me a Herbie,” Dunn said shaking his head.
“What about those guys?” Titian asked, indicating over his shoulder with his thumb, pointing toward the trapped specks of spectrals.
“I’m pretty sure those cages will hold them until we are away. I can’t hold them forever, but long enough.”
