The black mass beneath him fizzled away, swirling in the air around him as it pulled quickly out the door.
Joran stared out at the blackness as it retreated. He’d won and defeated the monster, but he was under no delusion he’d killed Erebus. This wasn’t over. It was likely far from over, but walking away from the current battle was all he could hope for at the moment.
His gaze shifted across the room. He half expected to find Nicole there by the door waiting for him. Instead he found nothing.
“Nicole?” he called out to her. Nothing. “Nicole!” His voice now rattled the window panes.
Still no reply.
Nicole was gone.
Chapter Eighteen
Something was calling her. Nicole wasn’t sure just what it was, but there was something telling her to move toward it.
She had glanced over at the fight and knew Joran would win. There was a certainty about the way he moved that hadn’t been there before. But more than that, whatever was calling her told her that he would win.
Nicole stood from the floor and moved toward the thing that called her. Unlike when Erebus had her under his spell, she was free to do as she wanted. But she had to know just what it was. What sort of thing could draw her in like a moth to a flame.
The door was closed when she stepped up to it. She placed the palm of her hand carefully against the wood. It practically vibrated with the energy behind it.
This was it.
Nicole twisted the knob and was surprised to find herself inside a small office. A couch lined one wall while the other held an old desk and some metal filing cabinets.
Whatever was calling to her was calling from inside one of the metal cabinets. The sound was so loud it was almost deafening. Nicole took a step toward the cabinet before she came to a sudden stop as the door closed behind her.
She turned to see the woman from before step in. Up close, Nicole could see the deep burn on her face as the woman twisted around with a frown, her blood red eyes searching, as if the woman knew she wasn’t alone but couldn’t quite place where the intruder was.
After a few moments, the frowning woman stepped over to the humming cabinet. She wore a key around her neck. She pulled it off.
The key slipped easily into the rusty lock and squeaked open. A bright blue glow shone from inside.
“Still here,” the woman whispered. She reached in and picked up the stone. The vibration noise grew louder. Before it had sounded like it was almost singing. Now, in this woman’s hands, the stone cried. Nicole could feel it down to her very core, and it made her heart nearly break to think it.
Corrupted and evil. That’s what this woman was. That much was already certain by the way Joran had reacted to her earlier. She was the reason for those monsters in the other room, and she was the reason for the blue dome. She had to be stopped.
Nicole took a step closer, each time pausing to make sure she really wasn’t visible. When she was nearly in front of the woman, she stopped.
Could she just take the stone? What would happen? Nicole existed in the blue space and the other woman in the natural world. Whether that was the real world was a question she didn’t know the answer to. Whatever the truth, there was a chance Nicole wouldn’t be able to do anything at all.
The stone cried out to her, and she knew she had to do something though.
“It knows you’re here,” the woman said.
Nicole froze, arm still outstretched for the stone. The woman stared in her direction but still didn’t focus directly.
“I don’t know who you are, but the stone is mine,” the woman hissed.
The stone only cried louder in her hands. Nicole couldn’t let this woman continue tainting the stone with her evil. Not only that, even ignoring Erebus, the Glycons and the dome had killed people.
It was the deputy’s duty to protect the town, and she would do whatever was necessary for that. Not only would she protect the town, she would protect the hybrids. Hell, she would protect the whole damn world from these monsters.
Nicole lunged and gripped the stone hard.
The other woman screamed. The stone burned. Not like fire but like ice. The sensation shot from the surface of Nicole’s hand to her veins and muscles, but she still held on.
She could hear Joran as he called her name, but no voice came out. Instead it was as if her whole body was singing the tune of the blue stone, almost as if it were urging her on.
Nicole knew, deep inside, the stone wanted her to win. She saw the sorrow and pain and hatred it had suffered through the years. The stone wanted to be with light, and that was exactly what she was to it.
The evil woman reached out and clawed at the air around her until she made contact with Nicole. Her claws dug deeply into Nicole’s arm, and yet the Vestal still held on.
“It is mine!” the woman screamed.
The sound echoed in the room, and Nicole wondered if the woman was like Erebus, given how similar their sounds were.
Nicole gasped as the claws at her arm moved away and wrapped firmly around her neck, squeezing off all air.
The woman cackled. “You will be just another sacrifice to the stone and my cause. You’re nothing. You’re just a tool.”
Outside the door, Nicole could hear Joran shout for her again, this time much closer. If she didn’t do something, it would be too late. Already she was getting light headed. Her eyes fluttered slightly as the woman only squeezed harder.
Nicole was out of options. She wasn’t going to last. She needed to do something, so she did the only thing she could think of. With all the strength she had left in her body, she slammed the hand with the stone hard against the cabinet.
The sound from it was deafening. The stone was screaming.
The woman let go of her death grip on Nicole’s neck, and the Vestal breathed in deeply as the door opened.
“Agatha!” Joran growled.
So that was her name.
The woman turned, and Nicole wondered if she’d heard him. Either way, it was all the distraction she needed.
Again, Nicole slammed the stone against the cabinet.
“Show her what she did to you,” Nicole whispered to the stone. “Let her feel your anger.”
She spotted Joran from the corner of her eye as he raced into the room.
“Don’t touch me,” Nicole shouted.
Joran stopped in his tracks.
This was between her and Agatha. And she was winning.
The other woman dropped to the floor, writhing in pain as the stone delivered all the hurt and evil it had been forced to endure. Agatha screamed again, but still held onto the stone.
“It’s mine,” she said as she shivered. “I will kill you. I will kill you all. Everyone will know my wrath.”
Nicole’s hand balled into a fist. She’d had just about enough of the people she loved being put in danger. The Vestal lunged and slammed her fist hard into the woman’s face.
Agatha’s hand on the stone went slack as she slipped unconscious to the floor.
Nicole turned to Joran and took one step, her legs caved under her, but instead of hitting the floor, she found herself in his arms.
“You could have been killed,” he growled at her.
Nicole gave a small smile and placed a weak palm against his cheek. “So could you.”
Around them the blue haze began to fade. It wasn’t just that they’d left Erebus’s world. The dome was disappearing.
With the stone against her chest, Nicole slipped into a deep sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Joran looked around as the blue haze around them faded and then down to the small woman resting in his arms. Nicole was responsible. She’d done something none of them had been able to do or even had a clue how to do. She also held the blue stone in her hand.
A loud roar ripped through the air, and Joran gritted his teeth. With the dome down, the new Glycons must have been waking, and the barn was the last place he wanted to be. He could only hope t
hey would still be groggy from their prolonged sleep until he made it to his car.
Joran moved to the door and peered around the corner. He could already hear their movement and knew he would have to leave the place in a dead run.
He glanced down again at the woman in his arms. She shifted slightly.
“What’s wrong?” Nicole asked.
He shook his head. Making less noise was best.
It would be a hard run with his wounds, but he would just have to make it. If not for his own sake, then for the sake of his Vestal.
Not allowing himself time to think on it longer, Joran took off outside of the room. He sprinted down the small hall and back to the open area where he had just fought Erebus.
Two Glycons near the door stirred. Their eyes barely followed him, and he breathed a small sigh of relief. He could do this. He could escape.
A loud roar tore through the room.
Joran spotted a Glycon in the back. The monster’s sharp red eyes fixed on Joran as he made his way to the door. This one was different from the others he’d dealt with. There was something in the way the Glycon looked at him. Something intelligent, as if he were thinking.
There was no time to analyze the enemy. Joran was already bleeding out and was in no shape to fight again. Today he would run.
The hybrid raced through the door and was surprised to see the darkened sky just as they had left it. It was the only time he had to process anything before continuing the dead run. Behind him, he could hear the new Glycon as it tore through the room to reach him.
“You can’t escape!” the Glycon called out.
Joran glanced behind him, and despite the lead he had, he could see the Glycon was quickly gaining.
“Your weak hybrid body is no match for us. We, the godsons, will destroy your kind.”
A few more seconds passed before Joran’s brain caught up with what had just happened. Thrax was more intelligent than most Glycons, and he could barely string two words together, but this new Glycon was obviously just as intelligent as a hybrid.
Still, Joran didn’t have time to worry about the future. His heart hammered in his chest and already he could feel the fatigue starting to set in. They had just reached the line of the forest when he felt Nicole move.
“There are dozens of them now” Nicole said. “Don’t stop running,”
The loud bang of her gun was the only indication he needed to know what she was doing. Over and over she fired. He only knew she’d hit her targets by the roars that came.
He spotted Alec and Rem as they sprinted toward them.
“Run,” he shouted to his comrades.
Joran could see by their faces that they saw the men hot on their trail, no doubt the new intelligent leader just moments behind.
“Start the car,” Rem shouted ahead.
It wasn’t until Joran made his way up the hill to the road that he saw the old sheriff sitting in the car. The hybrid threw open the door and slipped easily inside, Rem and Alec close behind.
“Just what the hell—” Frank tried to say, but the talking Glycon came bursting into the area, his deep-set red eyes staring at the man from behind the car.
“Drive, Frank!” Nicole shouted. “Or we all die!”
Much to Joran surprise, the old man punched the gas instead of panicking, and they shot forward. The Glycon stopped at the road and stared at them as they sped away.
Joran turned to look at him. The creature had the same knowing look on his face that had been there earlier.
If this had been a test, it was clear who the winner was.
“Jesus, you’re bleeding,” Frank said.
Joran’s eyes had trouble focusing on the man in the front. He’d lost too much blood. He knew that when he’d been fighting, but it hadn’t mattered as long as Nicole was safe.
The hybrid turned and found her concerned face as she stared at him. His breathing was already labored.
“I love you,” he whispered.
Just once he wanted to say it. One time before he couldn’t anymore.
“Don’t say that,” Nicole whispered. “Don’t say it like you’re never going to say it again.”
Already the light was starting to fade. He closed his eyes as she shouted at him.
“Joran, look at me! You can’t go. Just hold on.”
It was warm. So warm. That was the last thought he had as he slipped away.
Joran was going to leave her. After everything they had been through, she was going to lose him just like that.
“No,” Nicole whispered as his eyes closed.
It wasn’t instinct this time that guided her but knowledge. She would use every last drop of power she had if it would save him.
Bright blue light filled the car as she pulled out the stone from her pocket.
“What the fuck is going on?” Frank shouted.
“Interesting.” Rem arched a brow. “Now that I didn’t expect.”
Nicole ignored them both. She shut out everyone but the man slumped against the door holding on just by a thread.
“Please,” she whispered as she placed her palm inside his shirt on the tattoo. “Please save him.”
Warm blinding heat blasted through her, burning her palm on the spot where she touched him but still she held on.
She could feel his heart beat under her fingers. Their two hearts beat as one and pulsed with the stone. They were connected. Not just together but with the energy from the stone.
It was like opening the door to a room she never knew existed. All at once, her world expanded.
“Nicole,” someone called out to her.
She opened her eyes and found it was Joran who had spoken.
“Nicole, you have to stop. You have to move away. Please, for me.”
His words were so simple, and with that, she dropped the stone from her palm and slumped against him.
“I did it,” Nicole whispered.
Joran kissed the top of her head, but already she could feel exhaustion setting in. Within moments, she was deep in sleep.
Chapter Twenty
Joran felt Nicole stir beside him on the bed and watched as she opened her eyes to look around. Her heart hammered in her chest until her eyes stopped on his. Their hearts beat as one again, and a calm seemed to pass over her.
He smiled down at her. They’d done it. They’d not only escaped, but they’d even managed to escape with the source of Agatha’s power and destroy the dome. The balance of strength was finally on their side. For once, the situation didn’t seem hopeless.
It was late in the day now. Nearly night again. When they had gotten back to the compound, Joran had tucked Nicole safely into his bed and told the group their story. He was surprised by the old sheriff and how well he was handling things.
Only after he’d explained his side of the story did Joran learn that their reinforcements had only just arrived when he and Nicole ran into them. What had been a long time for the Vestal and hybrid had been but a few moments outside the blue haze. None of them could explain it, but he supposed that was just another thing to add to the list of things they might never understand. Some things were beyond science.
Nicole sat up a little. She leaned against his side, and Joran winced slightly.
“Are you still hurt?” she asked slowly.
Joran nodded. “You healed most of it, but I was in bad shape. You saved my life.”
Nicole looked around the room. “Where’s the stone?”
He swallowed. They had debated the best course of action. It was clear the stone had powers, but it had nearly killed Nicole when she used it to heal him. That didn’t even take into account the dark side of the stone they’d seen when it’d been used to reduce people to liquid as part of taking their lifeforce.
“Rem has it locked away for now,” the hybrid said. “Just so nothing happens to it.”
Nicole opened her mouth and then closed it again before nodding. “It needed me,” she said, struggling to find the right words.
“It was crying out for me. I had to save it.”
A tear trailed down her face, and he reached out to swipe it off.
“It’s okay,” he said. “It’s safe. We’re safe.”
She shook her head. “Those things, they are coming for us all. Aren’t they?”
Joran frowned. Godsons is what the intelligent Glycon had said. The hybrid’s only guess was that maybe they were operating on a different level with more exposure to the true power fueling Erebus and the stone. No one could be sure, but whatever the truth was, it didn’t bode well for the people of Eagle Ridge or the hybrids.
He reached out and pulled Nicole hard against him, ignoring the pain it caused.
“We’re working with Frank now,” Joran said. “We have a duty to this town. We’ll find a way to protect everyone.”
“You’re damn right we will.”
They both looked over to the door where Frank stood. He stepped in and walked over to the side of Nicole’s bed.
“You gave me a hell of a scare,” the sheriff said softly.
Nicole nodded, but Joran wondered just how much she even remembered.
Rem followed close behind the sheriff. “If we all work together, we can stop them,” he said. The conviction in his voice was so strong, Joran couldn’t even doubt it.
“I want you to rest,” Frank said to Nicole before he returned to the door. “You were a fine deputy today. Now I’ve got to call Ted’s wife and figure out just what the hell I’m going to tell her.” He shook his head. “We have to be careful. From what Rem told me, if word gets out, those Horatius people will show up, and a lot more innocent people could be killed just like Ted.”
Nicole and Frank both looked down. Ted might have been an asshole, but that didn’t mean they took pleasure in his death.
“Should I come?” Nicole asked.
Frank cut her with a sharp look. “Two days off. I want you to rest.” He looked over to where Joran sat next to her. “I’m counting on you, son.”
The hybrid nodded as Frank slipped out the door.
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