The Fire of Hestia

by Shannon Reber

  “Madison. Look at me. Come on. Look at me.”

  I blinked. I didn’t understand why the raspy voice was there in the closet with me. I was supposed to be alone. Stupid, worthless girls didn’t deserve to be outside the box.

  A hand took hold of mine. “Madison, listen to me, okay. You’re fine. You are just fine. You’re here with your quasi-brother, remember? It’s you and me, little sister. We’re all good. All you need to do is breathe. Count to three like you do to calm yourself down and you’ll be okay.”

  Counting. Right. I remembered. If I relaxed and counted to three, it would help. Sometimes. I was so stupid, though. I deserved to be in the closet.

  No. I wasn’t. I was not stupid. I had known it even as a child when Mom was screaming it at me. I knew I was intelligent. Yes. I was intelligent.

  I closed my eyes and thought about the last time I had felt truly happy. I had been with Ian. It had been a simple moment where our eyes had met and everything had felt right. He always made me feel that way. Ian Gregory was my happy place.

  And as the thought registered in my mind, a little of the panic eased back. I was eighteen years old. I had not lived with my mom in an entire year. I was not a helpless child any longer.

  Slowly, my eyes came open. It annoyed me a little to find Daw crouching over me. What annoyed me more was that there was a group of guys standing on the other side of the glass wall staring at me.

  My skin tingled as I saw a guy whose eyes glowed. It wasn’t Luken. It was a middle aged guy I’d never seen. The glow of his eyes gave me a guess as to why my mind had gone to those memories I tried not to think about.

  He had made it happen. He’d somehow reached inside my mind and brought up the things that made me want to give up. It was time for me to nut up. No more cringing on the floor.

  I got to my feet and pointed at the guy through the glass. “I’d suggest running because when I’m out of here, I will come for you,” I promised, red hot anger rolling off me in waves.

  I didn’t care what it took. I didn’t care how long it took. I would get out of there and I would hurt that thing for making me relive the most degrading times of my life. No one else would ever be put through that again.

  TWENTY

  Plans A, B, C, and now D were all defunct. The only thing that had gone right was that Dawson wasn’t in the same cell as Daw and I. It was possible he hadn’t been caught. Not probable but possible.

  What I needed to do was find a way to open the door. The problem was, there was nothing in the room to control the opening and closing of it. I still had a few tricks up my sleeve . . . or in my shoes.

  Without hesitation, I untied the laces and started the process. I needed to short circuit the door. Fortunately, I had planned for something like that.

  Daw sat down on one of the benches and leaned his elbows on his knees. “You want to know what I saw?” he asked, going on before I could answer. “I spent the first fourteen years of my life with a woman who was driven crazy by these people. She would go from treating me like her doll to thinking I was trying to kill her. If it wasn’t for Kelton, I probably would have gone crazy too.”

  I stopped, turning to look at him. “You . . . saw your childhood too?” I asked, horrified by the idea that he had been forced to endure traumas of his own and I had been too selfish to even notice.

  He shrugged. “The only reason I’m here is because I want justice for Angelica. Or it was my reason before. Now I’m here because my family needs me here. I can handle whatever they throw at me because of my parents. They’re my safety net. So are you, Madison. You’re part of my family now. I’m yours too.”

  I shifted a little, fixing my eyes on the floor. “I worked so hard to get over my mom but I’m not over it at all. I spent my whole life telling people who asked that Mom never laid a hand on me. And she didn’t, technically. I worded it that way just so I didn’t have to admit the ways she hurt me.”

  “She locked you up, didn’t she?” Daw asked, his voice quiet like he was afraid of spooking me.

  I took in a shaky breath and started removing the batteries and wires hidden in my shoe. “I don’t usually freak out that badly. It was like the guy made me see myself as a little girl. He took away all the progress I made.”

  Daw blew out a long breath. “That’s not true. Your progress is still there and you should be proud of it. Having something like that happen only affects you if you let it. You’re safe. You have people who love you. The past hit us both over the head today but we’re still standing.”

  I shot him a snide little smirk. “We’re both sitting, Daw,” I teased, relief filling me up.

  He was right. A lot of people had crappy childhoods to look back on. And yeah. Mine was crappy. I was an adult, though.

  I had made it through and succeeded. Yes, I had made mistakes. I had also done good things, things that had saved lives.

  I turned my attention back to the batteries, nodding when the wires were in place. It should only take a few seconds before . . . and sparks came from the door. Smoke came next yet it was the click of the door as the locking mechanism released that really got my attention.

  I pulled my shoes back on and rose, making a beckoning gesture to Daw. “Let’s see what we can find,” I said, eager to get out of the cage.

  He got to his feet, shaking his head as he stepped over to the door. “You ever see that old TV show, MacGyver?” he nodded before I could answer. “That’s you, Madison. The genius who can save the world with a toothpick and a toenail. You’re MacGyver.”

  I rolled my eyes a little. “Don’t say that in front of Gabe or that’ll be my new name.”

  He stuck his fingers in the gap to push the door open more. “That IS your new name. Get used to it,” he said, lifting a finger to his lips as he stepped into the hallway.

  I followed him, pleased that we had at least considered it a possibility we wouldn’t make it in with our bags. Daw and I both wore running belts hidden under our shirts, each holding things we thought might help us. Mine was equipped with the thing I KNEW would help. My phone.

  Because we were in another realm, my cell plan wasn’t exactly going to be effective. I had saved the password to the PSA’s network in my phone. All I had to do was find a computer and it would be on like donkey kong.

  The problem right then was that we didn’t know anything about the layout of the place. The hallways were all very similar. And there was no handy map on the wall telling us which direction the contracts were in.

  I pulled Daw to a stop with my finger on my lips. We couldn’t just wander around hoping to find something. We had to figure out where we needed to go and come up with another plan.

  I peeked through a slightly open door and found what looked like a doctor’s exam room. The next door was the same. Okay, so if our cage was on the same floor as the clinic, there would have to be labs nearby.

  Labs would have computers. They would also have people. Or would they? It was late. The people who worked in those areas might have gone home for the day.

  There hadn’t been very many people around, so it probably was the case. All we had to do was find the labs.

  My heart skittered in my chest as I heard footsteps coming from an intersecting hallway. I yanked Daw into the exam room and slunk behind the door. I left the door in the same position it was in before, hoping to give no sign we’d been present.

  It left a crack between the wall and the hinges that was large enough to see through. I leaned close to it, my hands balled into tight fists. I was in the mood for a fight.

  The figure who passed the door was seriously tall, so it had to be Luken. If he was heading toward the cells, we were in for it.

  I’m on your side, a voice said in my mind.

  I jerked, whipping my head to the side to look for whoever had spoken.

  There are cameras in the hallways, so they probably know you’re out of your cell. Dawson is going to make you invisible so I can take you to Quinn.
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br />   I looked at the back of the figure who was almost out of sight and marveled. It was Luken’s voice. And Dawson was with him. Holy blue screen of death.

  I wasn’t sure if Luken had passed the same message to Daw, so I reached up and pressed my finger to my lips.

  He raised his brows and nodded.

  I nodded in return, though still jerked in surprise when something touched my arm. Not seeing anything at all and suddenly having a hand on my arm was a truly disconcerting thing.

  Even more disconcerting was that, as soon as Dawson’s hand was on my arm, I was invisible. It was like my eyes floated midair. I could still feel my body, yet it wasn’t there. The fact I couldn’t seen Daw or Dawson either did nothing to make me feel more at ease.

  The hand on my arm tugged me toward the door, so I swallowed back my creeped out feeling and followed along. I kind of wanted to close my eyes. That would be stupid, though. No matter how weird it felt, I needed to see where my floating eyeballs were taking me.

  As we stepped out into the hall, the sound of voices came from one of the other passages. “You should have strip searched the girl. Did you see that? She took two batteries and some wire and shorted the door out.”

  “You know the doc’s going to be pissed.”

  “He’s always pissed these days. Let’s just get them into another cage.”

  “Naked girls in cages sounds like something out of a porno,” and the guy let out a perverted laugh.

  Dawson’s hand pulled us back toward the wall right when four men stepped around a corner. Since they couldn’t see us, they walked on, unaware we were anywhere near them.

  When their voices were out of hearing range, we started walking in the direction Luken had been heading. I didn’t know what to make of the idea he was on our side. Erramun had implied he was good. How could I know that for sure, though? How could I really trust anyone who worked for the PSA?

  The contract bound them. Ian had acted like he was being hurt when he’d delayed in obeying an order. Their choices weren’t their own.

  We walked down those deserted hallways until we got to an area that made me want to sing. It was a computer lab. And it was the most impressive sight I had ever seen.

  A large screen was at the front of the room with twenty desks all facing the screen setup. Each computer was top of the line. What made my heart start pounding was the room visible behind those supercomputers where the most amazing processor station I had ever seen was.

  It was the size of a building. I had never seen or even imagined anything similar to it. The place was my idea of what heaven would look like.

  I blinked, realizing someone was in the room. I turned to look and my mouth fell open. Quinn sat at one of the computers, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

  She and I looked a lot alike. Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy knot at the base of her neck, her mouth set in a hard line. Everything from her freckles, to her brown eyes, to the shape of her face was just like me.

  She stopped, glancing over her shoulder. It was obvious she couldn’t see us but she did see Luken and it was clear as day she was not happy he was there. She leaned back in her chair, folded her arms and glowered at him.

  Luken didn’t flinch, just making a small motion toward us.

  And as he did, Dawson let go of my arm. Quinn’s eyes bugged when she saw the three of us, then they filled with tears. She jumped to her feet so fast, her rolling chair flew back, crashing into another.

  None of us cared. All of a sudden, the four of us were wrapped in a group hug. It was the most amazing feeling I’d ever had. My sister was there. She was okay. It was all that mattered.

  TWENTY-ONE

  “You shouldn’t be here,” were the first words out of Quinn’s mouth.

  Dawson snorted. “You are so full of crap, Quinn. You had to know we were coming,” he said in a little brother tone that almost made me laugh.

  She rolled her eyes at him, reaching out to tug on a lock of my hair. “Your hair looks amazing like this, Madison. I love it,” she said, flicking her eyes around the area like she expected to find guards rushing in.

  Daw snapped his fingers. “I knew there was something different about you,” he said, eyeing my hair in an almost quizzical way.

  “You are so oblivious,” Quinn accused him, hooking her arm through mine to guide me over to her workstation.

  I pulled her to a stop, turning to look at Luken. “So, hi,” I said stupidly, not sure what to make of him.

  He nodded, fidgeting a little as he stood there.

  I stepped closer, offering my hand to him. “I’m Madison,” I said, unsure why he looked so unsure of himself.

  He took my hand, not squeezing it at all before he released it. “Luken,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

  “Thank you,” I said simply, seeing clearly that something was making him nervous.

  He glanced at me, shrugging a little before he looked away again.

  I turned back to Quinn. “Do you know where the contracts are kept?” I asked, eager to get the job done and get out of there.

  She narrowed her eyes at me and nodded. “Uh, yeah. Why?” she asked, folding her arms again.

  Dawson shook his head. “Just tell us where,” he said, the little brother tone gone from his voice.

  Quinn scowled at him before she jabbed a finger at the floor. “They’re in the vault. You can’t do anything with them, though. The vault can’t be opened by anyone other than Dr. Renat or Lanac.”

  None of us said anything. We weren’t sure what type of security was in the room, so we had decided not to share any details of any of our plans.

  Quinn flicked her eyes up toward the corner of the room and gave me a subtle wink. Okay. Looked like we had been right about them watching. Good to know.

  After a second, Quinn turned back to her workstation and motioned the guys over. “Come look at this,” she told them, making it clear Luken and I were supposed to go and deal with the contracts.

  I glanced at him, not sure if he was in the game or not.

  Luken turned toward the door without a word.

  Can I talk to you in my head? I asked silently, not sure if he was telepathic or simply able to project his voice into someone else’s mind.

  You can but I wish you wouldn’t. I need to concentrate to make sure no one knows what we’re doing.

  I was okay with that, so simply fell into step next to him. I wanted to ask him questions, to find out what kind of person he was. Then again, I had already seen what kind of person he was.

  He was a prisoner just as much as Quinn, Ian, and Erkens were. From what I’d seen, he worked at remaining unimportant to the PSA. If we failed to deal with the contracts, they would know he’d been working against them. He was putting himself in a dangerous position.

  He didn’t shy away from it. That was what told me most about him. He knew the consequences of helping us and wasn’t flinching away from it.

  Not far from the computer lab was a door leading to a set of stairs. It looked like any ordinary set of stairs in any ordinary office building. I supposed it should be a comfort in some way. It wasn’t.

  Everything ordinary seemed ominous. The whole place was ominous.

  You have a very loud mind, Luken’s voice said in my head.

  I glanced at him, seeing a slight smirk on his face. Mentally, I stuck out my tongue just to see if he’d be able to pick up on it.

  His grin widened and he rolled his eyes, telling me he had seen it.

  Wow. The idea of being able to read people’s minds weirded me out. Nothing would be private with him around. It was a slightly disconcerting idea.

  We walked quickly down those steps, both of us moving quietly. An urgency built inside me. I was so close to freeing everyone the PSA was holding.

  Spencer was already free. It was obvious Gabe and Aetos would get him somewhere safe. We had one win already.

  My stomach fluttered as my mind turned back to the de
mons I had let into the world. The fire of Hestia was indeed pure. Had I tainted the ash simply by the deal I had made with the shaman? Would it even work?

  A shiver of terror passed over me. The world was in a state of chaos. I was responsible for it. No matter what, I had to fix it.

  Luken motioned to a door, opening it as quietly as possible. It was fairly quiet although it wasn’t silent in the least. The slight squeak of the hinges sounded like an alarm to my overwrought mind.

  Luken didn’t look bothered at all, so I assumed he couldn’t hear anyone else’s mind close to us.

  We walked down a hall that looked more like a business office than a clinic. It was a far larger place than I had originally thought. I wanted to bombard Luken with questions about the place, though kept my mouth shut and tried to quiet my mind.

  Okay, so quieting my mind didn’t work very well. Fear had begun to pulse inside me. Like always, when I was afraid, my mind spun. It ran through all the possibilities of things that could happen, showing me in vivid detail all the ways I might fail.

  I tried to stop. I tried to push back all my negative thoughts. I tried to keep myself from thinking at all. It didn’t work.

  Luken looked ready to throttle me by the time he stopped in front of one of the doors. It wasn’t marked in any way, just being one more door in a sea of doors around us.

  He opened it and stepped back to let me walk in ahead of him, his expression more than slightly grumpy. The funny thing was, that look made him resemble Erkens . . . A LOT.

  An image of Luken as an old man passed through my mind, grumping out like Erkens was so fond of doing. It was such a funny image, I almost busted out laughing. I held it back and stepped into the office, pulling my phone from the running belt.

  In front of me was a far more impressive door than I had expected. It looked a lot like a bank vault, with armoured walls and a lock that looked like it could withstand a nuclear blast. It probably could. I would guess it could withstand any weapon at all.