My vision blacked out for a moment.
The bald man's woman companion shoved Danny off Quan; the teen tumbling to the floor and rolling into the shelves. The woman had the mop in her hand and I had a feeling I was about to get another head injury. Pins of light were already fogging my vision as Quan throttled me. I struggled, trying to knock him off balance.
My vision blacked out again, it felt momentary, but when it returned the woman had swung the mop handle under Quan's chin and was now yanking back. I gasped in a grateful, but painful, breath and scrambled back, hoping to get out of reach long enough to get to my feet. Quan tried to duck down to get out of her hold, but she backed up to the wall near the door and used it to brace herself. I could see her muscles strain as Quan bucked and twisted. The look in her eyes wasn't crazed or hateful, her expression was rigid with determination. Then I realised…
She was going to kill him.
I gathered the two other girls with us to one side and turned them away, huddling them in the corner. I heard Quan's body slump to the ground, he was still rasping in ragged breaths, though. I almost let the girls go, but as I turned my head, I saw the woman change her grip on the mop and start hitting him on the head. As the metal fitting that attached the mop head to the handle struck, I flinched away and focused on the two girls.
'Look at me,' I told them. Tears streaked their faces, but I had their attention. 'You know any songs, rhymes?'
They nodded.
'Turn to face the corner, close your eyes and block your ears, and keep saying your favourite rhyme until I get you. Don't look, no matter what you hear.' I gave them a gentle nudge, checked they were complying, then looked back over at the woman. She was still hitting him.
Danny was cowering in the opposite corner, her arms about Cassie's head, muffling the sound and blocking her vision, but the teen watched as our unexpected benefactor made absolutely sure the slave trader would never rise. Her movements were not angry, just thorough. I was surprised at how much effort it seemed to take as she finished one swing and stood back trying to catch her breath. She dropped the mop to the floor, the clatter of it hitting the ground sounded abnormally loud.
Unbelievably, Quan moved, a muffled groan reaching us. Panic and dread replaced the anxious, distraught expression on the woman's face. Then she spotted Quan's dropped gun. As she snatched it up, I flicked a glance at the girls, making sure they hadn't turned around. They were still huddled together, their eyes squeezed tightly shut, their hands over their ears, but they were sobbing, rather than reciting any rhymes.
For a moment, the woman looked at the gun as if she wasn't sure what it was and then a deep, terrified sob escaped her. I could see that it was only by a force of will that was she able to stop herself from dissolving into tears. A moment later, she straightened up, moved over to Quan, pointed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger. The movement itself was almost spasmodic as she fired three times. She then walked over to the balding man, who was starting to come to. She moved almost as if she was in a trance, placing a foot on his back to stop him from rolling over, and fired twice in quick succession. After a pause, she fired a third time. Tears streaked her face and I will never forget the terror in her eyes as she looked up and met my gaze. 'Once I disobeyed, I had to kill them. You don't disobey them if you want to live, if you want your family to live.'
I pushed myself to my feet and searched for something to cover the bodies. No one had come running in yet, which was puzzling because those gunshots had sounded like booming cracks of thunder. Right now, I was more worried about those girls turning around and seeing the bloodied mess of bodies and never being able to forget the sight. I found a large roll of brown paper and used it to cover them. When I finished, I found the woman watching me, the gun still in her hand, she was covered in blood spatter. She saw my gaze focus on the gun, looked at it herself and then her hand jerked open, releasing it.
'How long did they have you?' I asked.
'Eight years,' she breathed out shakily. Her accent sounded South-east Asian, possibly Filipino. 'He killed my brother, beat him to death for trying to escape. He said he knew where my parents were. He said he'd kill them if I misbehaved.' She looked at the door. 'They'll probably kill us now, but at least these two won't do any more harm.'
Therion
[Outrunning Karma – Alec Benjamin]
I felt alarm spark through me. It was not my own emotion, it was Riley. He must have arrived at the farm. I accessed my link with him, my view shifting from the room I was in with my newest charge to one where I was looking through a windscreen. Riley's senses were being overloaded. He was trying to take in the scene, but he was also being shouted at and fear was flooding his system. Before him was an open shed, in which was the vehicle of the woman they had kidnapped, he knew her name from looking through her purse, but he thought of Jayden Emerline Thaneton as the woman Lena had hit. Several police officers were crowded into the shed, but that was not what had triggered the surge of fear. Twice as many police officers were rushing towards the truck, which Riley had just brought to a halt. They had their guns drawn and they were shouting at him, but he was not registering the words. His natural instincts were fighting with the instructions I'd given him. My influence was strong enough to prevent him putting the truck into reverse and fleeing. As his initial shock faded, my influence settled over him more heavily. He took his hands off the steering wheel and held them up, palms open, to the police, who were still approaching.
Once they positioned themselves, two police officers came up to the door. As one opened it, Riley said, 'I won't resist, just don't shoot.'
He was wrenched from the vehicle and slammed into the ground. Through my link, I felt the flaring agony of a knee being shoved into his back as they went through the process of securing him. They pulled him upright and sat him against the front tyre of the truck. They had taken his wallet from his back pocket and a male police officer with blond hair and blue eyes flipped it open.
'I'm Sergeant Ivan Onutchenko. You are Riley Exeter, correct?'
Riley nodded vigorously.
'Well, Riley, can you explain what you're doing here and what you know about the vehicle in the shed over there?'
'You hafta help me, I need protection.'
The officer frowned. 'From whom?'
'I don' know his name, but I'm tellin' you, he's gotta be some kind of demon. I've never been into that Satan-devil scene, but I c'n see where those nutters get it from— well, maybe they're not as nuts as ya think because this guy… He just appears, from nowhere. He's got fangs, but I don't think he's a vampire, cause his eyes are crazy-weird and he's got these, like… some kind of scales on his arms— Anyway, he tells me I gotta tell ya everything or he's gonna torture me and—'
The two closest officers exchanged a look of doubt.
'I swear to God, it's true. I'm not makin' it up. He told me I hafta tell you where to find Jayden Thaneton, well, not tell, I hafta show ya, 'cause it's not an address, really…'
The blond-haired officer's eyes narrowed. 'You know where Jayden Thaneton is?'
'Yeah, he told me, the demon guy. He said if I didn't show ya, he'd kill me. So, you hafta protect me.'
The officer next to the one doing the questioning gave him a brief smile. 'Well, if you show us where Miss Thaneton is, you won't need protection, will you?'
'Uh, no, well, maybe. Actually, yeah, I will. 'Cause Kerrigan Archmore is gonna kill me when he finds out I was the one to tell ya.'
'Archmore!' the first officer exclaimed and then looked back at his colleague. 'Call Stuart, he's going to want to be here.'
'Tien's already called him, just before she called us. He's already on his way.'
Em
'Em. Em, they got him.'
Tien dashed aside the hospital curtain and came to a sudden stop as she almost bowled me over. I was gingerly manoeuvring myself into a shirt.
'You're being discharged already?'
Ignoring the disapp
roval in her tone I shrugged the shirt over my shoulders with barely a grimace. 'Jay?'
Tien gestured to the chair. 'Sit. First, Jay is alive. I'm going to give you the concise version. Stuart sent our guys out.' Stuart was our taskforce leader. 'They found her car hidden in a shed on a farm. The place was empty. They waited for someone to come back. They did. In a truck. It was empty. They questioned him.' Tien glanced at her phone. 'Still are.' Tien shook her head, her expression bemused. 'He was going on about a demon, believe it or not, who told him to confess— he was terrified. It's been a bit of work getting sense out him with all his ravings and demanding protection.'
I frowned. 'Drugs, you think?'
In the back of my mind of was aware of a voice I often supressed saying: or angels. I'd seen them, not for a long time, but… I pushed the thought away and re-focused on Tien.
My sister snorted. 'Without doubt.'
I'd never had the courage to ask her if she saw them too, the angels…
'But, not only did he say he knows where Jay is,' Tien was saying, 'he says he works for Archmore.'
Archmore! I was about to ask her for more information, but Tien was distracted by a text alert tone from her phone. 'One sec.' She read the text and shoved the phone in her jacket pocket. 'That was Stuart. They can't get an address. Apparently the place is so rural the roads aren't signed, but he's going to show us the way. Which means I've got to go, they may need a translator, but I'll—'
'Tien.' I said it softly, but my expression was enough to get her attention.
'Em, I can't take you. Not with—'
'I'll sit in the car, but when you find Jay… Tien—' I took a steadying breath, trying to keep the desperation from my voice. '—I want,' I closed my eyes. 'I need to be on scene… Please.'
My sister swore in Vietnamese, rather vehemently. She heaved a sigh, and swore again, this time in English. Then, finally, she said, 'I have your iron-clad word, you'll make no attempt to get out of the car until it's all over?'
I nodded. 'I'll wrap it in titanium, if that will convince you.'
Tien ducked through the curtains, and I thought I'd become confused and she'd left without me, but a moment later she pushed a wheelchair in. She held up a hand. 'I know you don't need a wheelchair to get to the car, but it'll be faster, and we don't have time to waste.'
I half sat, half fell into the chair. 'Grab my jacket, please.'
Therion
[Scars to Your Beautiful – Alessia Cara cover by Peter Hollens featuring Nadia Khristean]
Curled up in the middle of the bed behind me, the child, Maya, slept peacefully. I was looking out the window as I kept guard. This was a serviced apartment run by a hotel. The organisation we hide behind, Envoy, owns this building, among many others. This floor is reserved for the use of Envoy members, who have to have a special chip to access this level. In the elevator, the button panel has a small scanner disguised as a light. The Envoy member just waves their chip near it for it to register. Often the chip is installed in a ring, or keyring, or similar item, mine is in a dragon ring with a shadow stone in it; one of the few things I had taken with me when I left the Dark Realm. Once registered, the elevator takes them to this floor.
Aurealis started assigning guardians to protect certain spirits several centuries ago, after what she calls the Venturi War. Once, there was no need for Envoy, guardians came and went as invisibly as the wind. As the population grew and societies advanced, they found the need to be able to explain some things to authorities as well as having other staff to help those they were protecting in the earthly realm. Thus, Envoy was created. It has grown into a multi-national organisation that represents youth rights. Generally, they promote their legal work, but they make it known they have a social arm to assist youth and their families. The guardians and those who work for Envoy have built up the networks and funds to cover all of Envoy's needs and I have found it exceedingly helpful as my role grows more complex. For instance, the concierge here knows my human persona and has proved quite useful in organising new clothes for my newest charge, saving me the onerous task of dealing with sales staff. I do not enjoy the custom of making 'small talk'. I also find the crowded, noisy environments of large stores and malls quite disagreeable.
The sound of the elevator down the hall drew my attention. I'd been listening out for it. My charge needed sustenance. I turned away from the window and the view I had not taken in. Closing the door to the bedroom softly, I opened the main door a few steps ahead of the person coming down the hall. The room attendant gave me a startled look as I opened the door before he could knock.
'Your room service, sir.'
I gestured for him to push the trolley in. Once he had positioned it near the dining alcove, I gave him a nod of approval. 'Thank you, that will be all.'
He bowed slightly, frowned to himself as he wondered what made him do so and then backed out of the room. I have that effect on many people.
I turned to see bright-green eyes staring up at me with wonder.
I remembered to smile as I commented, 'You have good timing, Maya, the food has just arrived. However,' I gestured behind her to some bags by the bed, 'I suggest you get dressed first.'
When we first arrived, Maya had bathed without objection. She had acquired a reek worthy of a sewer rat and the first thing she'd asked for was a bath— a task I was grateful she was happy to undertake on her own. It had been exhausting for her. I had ameliorated the sickness that usually affects humans when you shift them through planes using the remnants of the energy stores I had accumulated— I had not only brought Maya back from death, but saved two others from dying. Maya, having been so critically harmed in the first place, was likely to be plagued by fatigue for a few more weeks, but she would eventually recover fully. Her clothes were little more than rags and so I put her to bed wearing one of my shirts, which hung off her small, bony frame like a nightgown several sizes too big.
The child tore into the bags, pulling everything out at once, before finding the pyjamas. In the midst of pulling the top on, I heard a muffled query.
Moving over to sit on the bed, I helped her get her head through the top and started assisting with the arms. 'I did not hear you.'
'Did I get an omelette?'
'Two. Precisely how you ordered them as well as the, uh,' I frowned, 'tomato sauce.' I do not know much about human food, but I generally know what to order for the children. Twice an Envoy representative, Lìxúe, had met me in a café for lunch— I do not eat, but Lìxúe is a shape-shifter and quite willing to eat both meals, most shifters have very fast metabolisms. The idea of tomato sauce on anything had clearly been repugnant to Lìxúe when the waiter had offered her some. Not Maya, though. But who was I to question the wishes of a starved child whose mother had made her omelettes every Sunday before her abduction?
'The child' almost dashed off, but I was still holding onto a sleeve, trying to get a hand through. 'Calm, calm, Maya, the food will stay warm a while, and you will feel better in clean clothing, yes?'
I got a reluctant nod.
I helped her finish getting dressed to prevent her tripping herself up in her rush to get her legs into the pyjama pants, which, combined with her distraction when she realised those very pants had unicorns on them, took an extra minute. I gathered the discarded shirt on the floor and tossed it onto the bench in front of the bed as Maya pulled on slipper-socks that matched her pyjamas. I've been told that girls love pink. Not Maya, she had asked, very shyly, if she could have green clothes. The pyjamas were more an aqua-blue, but the concierge had added a set of green-beaded, elastic bracelets that now delighted Maya as she came upon them. The fact that they lit up elicited giggles.
Finally, Maya pulled on her second slipper. 'Finished!' she announced, looking at me for confirmation.
I nodded towards the small dining alcove and followed the eager child. 'Wait, wait,' I told her.
She paused long enough to let me remove the price tag hanging from the back of her top
and then raced ahead. As I passed the service trolley, I picked up the heated plate and a napkin of cutlery. Removing the plate cover, I placed it in front of her, before turning the nearest dining chair side on to sit. It was habit, I realised, because with my wings de-manifested I could sit in the chair just as Maya did.
'Where's the tomato sauce?'
I got up and returned to the service trolley to retrieve the sauce bottle. I had barely placed it on the table before Maya grabbed it, turned it upside down, and squeezed a very generous amount of the red sauce onto her eggs. She paused, considering the red puddle, and then gave the sauce bottle another hefty squeeze.
'When will I go home?' she asked between mouthfuls of egg.
At eight years old, Maya was small for her age. Her green eyes, framed by brown, curly hair, were fixed on me, even though she continued to scoop up spoonfuls of egg. When she was not underfed, she would have a round face. The lack of weight made her eyes look sunken. She was quick, intelligent, had an affable nature, and an engaging smile. I was not prone to feel one way or another about my charges. I had not hated Archmore, even knowing the depth of his crimes, but disapproving of a person's actions is not the same as hating them. Many humans, I have learned, love people who have committed what are abhorrent crimes in the earthly realm. Equally, I did not find myself liking those of my charges that were not guilty of such crimes.
This girl, this girl I liked.
When I first saw Maya, her spirit had started to separate from her vessel, her weak heartbeat fading into silence. Without thinking, I used all of Archmore's spirit to restore her. Normally, I would keep some for myself, to keep up my reserves, as I had already brought two others back from the brink of death before revealing myself to Jayden and retrieving Maya. I had enough energy to keep going, but my excursion to see Riley had cost me and I was feeling a strain in my back and shoulders from de-manifesting my wings. Humanising my face so as not to frighten Maya was another expenditure I could have done without. Strangely, though, I did not resent the child for it. Another thing I found unusual was my ability to almost effortlessly curb my natural instinct to prey on a soul such as Maya's when it was vulnerable. Aurealis would be pleased.
Soul Taker's Redemption Page 10
