Guild of Truth 01 - Silent as the Grave

by Mary K. Norris

  “Anyway,” Joel continued eagerly. “I figured when he turns invisible it’s like he’s pulling a veil over himself, so why not call him a Veiler?”

  Niella shook her head behind the reception desk. Joel didn’t seem to notice — he was too invested with Cali’s reaction. And when she really thought about it, the name did fit him. It was pretty cool too.

  “I like it,” she told him honestly.

  Joel beamed at her.

  “Is Veiler even a word?” asked Felix.

  “Nope.” Niella stuffed some papers into a file.

  “Perfect.” Felix slapped Joel on the back. “We’re defining our own words.”

  Cali took one of the seats in the lobby. “I have a question. You guys made up all the terms, right? So where did the term Mirror Mate come from?”

  Joel and Felix stared at each other for a few seconds before sharing a shrug. “It just makes sense,” said Felix. “If you really think about it, souls that truly reflect one another are destined to find each other eventually.”

  The way he looked at her with those blue-green eyes left her breathless. She knew he was thinking about her. Them. Being Mirror Mates.

  But no one in their guild knew very much about how they were supposed to bond. Or when it would happen. Was it possible they weren’t soul mates? The idea made her sick.

  Car doors slammed outside.

  Everyone turned toward the front of the clinic. “What was that?”

  Felix raced to the glass door and swore. “Everyone up. Now! Sydney!” He called to the back to warn her then swiveled back to the rest of the group. “Joel, Lock this door. Hurry.”

  Joel was seated next to Cali. He tried to rise but his chair got caught with hers and he nearly fell. He cursed. Cali jumped out of the way but it was too late.

  The door shook.

  Sydney came hauling ass from the back of her clinic, hair tied back, a flimsy hospital mask pulled down around her neck. She’d obviously been busy cleaning. Her green eyes spotted whoever was on the other side of the door and she screamed.

  Glass shattered.

  “Felix,” Sydney cried, motioning for everyone to make a run to her. “They have weapons.”

  “I’m on it.” Instead of heading to the back of the clinic like a sane person would, he stepped toward the assailants as they came through the door. They were dressed as regular people, probably so they wouldn’t draw attention, and even had a large stuffed dog. Cali tried to get to Felix but Joel pushed her toward the back hallway and Sydney, forcing her to move. She could only catch glimpses of their attackers, but she saw enough to know they were armed with guns. A chill made its way down her spine at the sight of the weapons, but she needn’t have worried. One second they were there, the next the guns were gone.

  Felix.

  Sydney must have dropped her Shield. Felix had started disarming the men as soon as he saw what they were packing. They didn’t look all that startled to find their weapons magically gone, which meant they had to be Vander’s men.

  Sydney practically pulled Cali’s arm off as she dragged her toward her office. “Come on,” she yelled.

  Cali hesitated. She couldn’t leave Felix.

  “He’ll be fine,” Sydney reassured. “He’s just waiting to make sure all the weapons are disposed of. Now head down the hall toward the kennels. There’s a back emergency exit. These guys are after you, remember? Not us.”

  Joel hung back in the lobby, and before her view was completely blocked she saw him throw a punch.

  “Wait.” Cali stopped Sydney. “What about Niella?”

  They’d left her by herself behind the reception desk.

  Sydney looked pained. “She’ll be okay, Joel and Felix will protect her. She has the counter to use as a shield. You’re our first priority.”

  The emergency exit at the end of the hall flew open. Sydney screeched to a halt, Cali running into her. Two more men must have run around the back of the building to block them.

  “Shit.” Cali backpedaled, bringing Sydney with her.

  They made their way to the front where Felix and Joel were engaging two combatants each.

  Joel caught sight of Sydney. “There you are. Turn off your powers. These guys were trained for hand to hand.” As if to prove his point he got clipped in the jaw and went stumbling.

  Sydney called out. “I’m not using my powers.” She turned to Cali, her look beseeching. “I’m not using my powers,” she repeated in a low, scared voice. Her brilliant green eyes were wide as saucers.

  Shit.

  What to do, what to do?

  Was it possible Sydney really was using her powers and she simply didn’t know it? Cali remembered during her training sessions with Felix that when emotions ran high, it was harder to control them.

  It was worth a try. She grabbed Sydney by the shoulders. “Listen, just take it easy. Try and calm down. You might be using your powers without even knowing it.”

  Sydney’s blonde ponytail swung as she shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. I’m not using them. I’d know. I get this sensation.” Her hand fluttered uselessly behind her neck.

  The tingling at the back of the neck. Cali knew all about it.

  There went that idea. So if Sydney wasn’t using her powers that had to mean one of the men had an ability.

  “There’s another Shielder,” Cali told Sydney.

  “You think?”

  “Has to be.” She tried to think as they stayed huddled between the main hallway and the lobby. Then it hit her. The men at the emergency exit. They weren’t coming after them. “Chill here,” she told Sydney.

  “Where are you going?”

  “Technically, nowhere. I need to look around the corner to see if those guys are still guarding the exit. If they are, then our best guess is that one of them is the Shielder.”

  Understanding dawned on Sydney. “You’re right, because he’d need his concentration to keep the Shield going.”

  Cali tapped her chin. “Then all we need to do is cause a distraction?”

  Sydney smiled. “A big one.”

  “We have to move fast.” Cali winced as she heard another pained grunt from the front. She hoped it wasn’t Felix or Joel. Or, lord forbid, Niella.

  Sydney’s demeanor changed instantly. Gone was the scared little vet. “Into my office, now. I have an idea.”

  They flew across the hall to her office. The men at the door fell into defensive positions at the sight of them but still didn’t give chase. Cali slammed the office door. Sydney dove beneath her futon. A few seconds later she pulled out a wicked looking golf club. Cali wasn’t a golfer by any means, but she was pretty positive Sydney held a driver.

  Shit, she’d never beamed someone with a golf club before.

  “You didn’t tell me you had that under there,” she said to Sydney. It would have gone a long way in soothing her nerves that first night she’d slept there, knowing that was under the futon.

  “My bad,” she said without remorse. “Turn around.”

  Cali faced the office entrance. “Why am I turned around?” she asked over her shoulder.

  Sydney held the club face up and approached her. “Because we’re going to pretend to surrender. Now, I need to position this so you or I can reach it easily without it falling through your clothes.”

  It took a few seconds before she understood what Sydney meant. “Shove it down my shorts but keep it on the outside of my tee,” she instructed.

  Sydney started to get to work. “What if the club tips to the side from the weight at the top?”

  “Counteract that weight by shoving the majority of the handle down so it rests along the back of my thigh.”

  “Are you going to be able to walk like this?”

  “We’re about to find out.” Cali grabbed the knob. “Joel and Felix can’t hold out indefinitely. You ready?”

  Sydney pulled her hands back from the club and held them out as they both waited to see if the club would tip out from be
hind her body.

  It tilted, but not by much.

  “Good enough,” said Cali. “Stay behind me. My height should keep you relatively hidden.”

  Sydney nodded. “Wait.” She sprinted to the mini fridge at the back of her office, grabbed something, and raced back to Cali. She held up two syringes. “Tranquilizers.”

  Cali couldn’t quite mask her surprise. “Damn, Sydney,” she said in approval. “Let’s go.”

  They started down the hall toward the emergency exit. Both men eyed them suspiciously.

  If you only knew what we had in store for you, Cali thought smugly.

  The guard on the left straightened as they continued their advance. Cali kept her pace slow. She didn’t want to startle them or jostle the golf club that was shifting precariously in her pants. Once or twice she felt Sydney reach out and steady the club.

  Less than twenty feet from the exit, Sydney peaked out around Cali and whispered up to her, “I think the Shielder is the one on the right. Notice how he’s distracted, not completely focused on us?”

  Cali nodded once to let her know she’d heard.

  The brown-haired guard on the left shifted nervously. “Stop right there.” She expected the command to be followed by the raising of a gun, but luckily Felix had gotten to these two before the Shielder could take away his power.

  She held her arms up in surrender. “We want to turn ourselves in. Please, call off the men in the front.”

  The man had the audacity to smirk. Arrogant bastard. “Are you Cali?”

  She continued to step forward.

  Just a little closer.

  “That’s me,” she said.

  His eyes shifted to Sydney, taking in her scared, cowardly appearance as she hid behind Cali. He dismissed her easily enough. Cali assumed a lot of men didn’t take the short blonde seriously. Their mistake.

  Her hands shot behind her body to grab the golf club. Cali pulled it straight up and swung straight down.

  The guard on the left yelped as she twisted to snag the head of the club around the back of his knee. His leg buckled. Meanwhile, Sydney jumped out from behind her like a bright blonde jack-in-the-box.

  “Surprise,” she said cheerfully, before jamming both needles into both men’s thighs and shoving the plungers down with enough force to make Cali wince.

  The guards stared at them in surprise, their eyes already glazing. A few seconds later they fell over.

  “Shit, Sydney, how much drug did you shoot into their veins?”

  She gave a delicate shrug. “Enough,” she said cryptically before yelling to the others. “Hey guys, power’s back on.” As if they’d been experiencing nothing more bothersome than a blackout.

  There was a tired, “Finally,” from the front. Cali and Sydney booked it to make sure everyone was okay.

  Cali stumbled to a halt when she made it into the lobby, her sneakers slipping on blood. Her stomach twisted. The puddle was small but she still scanned for Felix. He didn’t seem to have any major injuries.

  Joel, on the other hand, was bleeding pretty badly from his nose. She guessed he wasn’t used to fighting as much as Felix. Where Felix dodged oncoming punches with a dancer’s grace, Joel waited until the punch was nearly upon him before making his move.

  It didn’t take long for Cali to realize that Joel wasn’t a horrible fighter, he just had to take bigger chances to favor his powers. She watched in fascination as he waited for a punch to be thrown. At the last minute he shifted his weight to avoid it and grabbed the attacker’s wrist at the same time. He kicked a leg out from under the man and he stumbled to one knee. Joel slammed his opponent’s hand palm down on the linoleum. Cali waited for him to crush the hand under his shoe or something, but all he did was hold on for a second and let go.

  The man tried to pull his hand from the floor. He couldn’t.

  Cali’s eyebrows shot into her hairline.

  He was Locked to the floor.

  Whoa.

  She turned to Sydney and found the Shielder watching her boyfriend with admiration.

  Cali had to give it to Joel and Felix, once they were able to use their powers they worked really well together. Felix took the brunt of the fighting, mostly to distract the others as Joel snuck between them to Lock their feet to the floor. He even got one guy with his hands Locked together. Within a few minutes all the men were incapacitated.

  “Are you okay?” She ran to Felix and gave him the once over. He had a few hits that were going to bruise but otherwise he looked well enough.

  Felix rubbed a tender spot on the back of his head. “Never better. Were you guys harmed at all?” His eyes briefly touched on Sydney but his attention was all for Cali.

  Warmth bloomed in her chest.

  And then in regular Felix fashion he had to go and ruin it by opening his mouth. “I saw you guys running to the back. I have to say, Cali, I didn’t take you for the retreating type.”

  He gave her a teasing smile, and she punched him in the arm.

  “We weren’t hiding. We took care of the two bastards in the back. One of whom was a Shielder.”

  Some of the humor left his eyes. “We need to get out of here.”

  “Where’s Niella?”

  She wheeled around the reception desk. “I’m here. Don’t worry, no one came after the cripple.” Her voice dripped with bitterness.

  Cali frowned.

  “There could be more on the way.” Joel’s stuffy voice came from the corner where Sydney was busy patching up his bloody nose.

  Felix nodded in agreement. “And that could mean more with powers too. We should hole u at one of our places.”

  “How’d they know about my clinic?” Sydney leaned into Joel once she finished with him. “Felix, you’ve never told Collette about it.”

  Cali knew all too well who’d given up their location. “It was Jente. He’s been here and he’s also been to your place,” she said to Felix, “which means we’re not safe there.”

  Felix looked like he really wanted to punch someone out. Too bad all the thugs were already unconscious. “You’re right. Where should we go?”

  “Anywhere but here,” Niella spoke up as she pulled her attention from the window. “I just saw another black SUV pull into the plaza parking lot.”

  Sydney and Joel shot to their feet.

  “To the back,” Felix ordered. The familiar sound of car doors slamming came through the broken glass of the front door. “Now.”

  Cali ran to Niella but she slapped her hands away when Cali tried to grasp the handles of her wheelchair. “Leave me. I’d only slow you down.”

  Cali couldn’t help the growl of frustration that rose up from her throat. “You have to be fucking kidding me. We’re not leaving you, Niella, so you can stop trying to martyr yourself. Now shut the hell up and let me push you. You’re just as much a part of this horribly named guild as I am.”

  Niella stopped resisting. The look in her eyes could have passed for gratitude, but Cali didn’t bother trying to figure it out. She wheeled her the hell out of there.

  Felix waited for her in the hall. Joel and Sydney had gone ahead to try to clear the two guards from blocking the back entrance. “Jesus, Syd,” Joel was saying. “Remind me never to piss you off.”

  Sydney flashed her teeth like a shark, admiring her handiwork. Felix darted around Cali to help with the bodies and together the three of them locked the men in the dog kennels. Footsteps could be heard from the front.

  Cali shot through the back into the cooling evening heat. Dusk was setting in, the ocean breeze kicking up enough to raise goose bumps on her bare legs and arms. She steered Niella to the left to give everyone room behind her to get out. They needed to find their way back to the front of the clinic so they could get to the cars.

  Joel was the last one out. He placed his hand on the door to Lock the new arrivals inside.

  “No, wait,” said Felix. “Leave it unlocked. We need them to chase us. Hopefully, it’ll give us some extra tim
e to make it around front without being spotted.”

  Joel dropped his hand.

  “This way.” Sydney took the lead and sprinted along the back of the plaza. Her clinic was on the corner, but she didn’t lead them through the quick and easy route. There were too many windows on the side of the clinic, and they couldn’t risk being seen if anyone was left in the lobby watching over the other men.

  Instead they made their way toward the center of the little strip mall. They passed the back exit to Tom’s Pizzeria — unfortunately closed — a grooming store, and a Laundromat before there was a narrow break in the buildings where they could run to the front.

  Shouts erupted behind them as their pursuers gave chase. Cali could hardly hear their progress over the pounding of everyone’s feet.

  “Wait a second,” she mumbled to herself, then called louder, “Felix, I need you to take Niella.”

  He was already halfway down the small alley. He paused. “What are you doing?”

  Sydney came out of nowhere. “I got her.” She took the wheelchair from Cali and high-tailed it down the narrow strip of concrete.

  Cali stopped running so she could clear her mind. The back of her neck prickled instantly. She focused on the pounding footsteps of her guild.

  Make it go away. Hush the sound.

  The noise faded.

  “You hear them?” Cali heard a man yell from behind the buildings.

  A curse came from another one.

  She allowed herself a smug smile and turned to catch up with the others.

  Strong fingers dug into her upper arm, wrenching her backwards. “Got you.”

  Felix’s fist came flying into her peripheral vision. “I don’t think so.”

  Their attacker went down hard.

  Felix spun to face her, grinning. “Is that four or five, now?”

  “That so does not count.”

  “You’re falling behind, Cali,” he said as they ran.

  “And I just told you — ”

  “Not now,” he interrupted as they poured out of the little alley. “You can bitch at me later.”

  “Oh, I’m going to bitch at you, all right,” she told his back as they raced to the Hummer. “I’m going to make your life a fucking misery.”