The White Knight & Black Valentine Series (Book 3): Almost Invincible

by Brand, Kristen

  The screaming had mostly stopped, and the people in the car had grown more still, heads craned as they watched Elisa slowly climb behind them. I had to remind myself to breathe. She was so high, higher than I thought she could survive if she fell, even with her super-strength. My foot tapped against the ground, and I resisted the urge to try to climb after her. Emphasis on the “try,” because I probably wouldn’t make it more than a few yards before falling and embarrassing myself—and adding to my injuries.

  When she slipped, my heart stopped. She held tightly to the track and moved her legs until she found her footing again. “Come on,” I whispered. “Come back down.” But she kept going, her movements slow and careful.

  I heard a footstep crunch grass behind me and turned. Julio? No.

  Tidal Wave.

  He stood on the grass behind me, and he had an angry red welt on his forehead that I hadn’t noticed before and was happy to see. “I’ve been looking for you.” He glanced down. “Nice umbrella.”

  How long ago had he woken up? Did that mean Treat was conscious, too? Not good. I squared my stance and gripped the umbrella more tightly, forcing myself not to look up at the rollercoaster. If I could keep Tidal Wave’s attention on me, maybe he wouldn’t attack them. My stomach constricted at the thought of what he could do to Elisa if he put his mind to it. A strong blast of water would knock her right off the track.

  “So how’s it gonna be?” I asked. “I never took you for the revenge type.”

  “Oh, it’s not about revenge.” He stretched his arms in anticipation of the fight. “A guy my age fresh out of jail… there aren’t many job options, you know? My reputation took a hit after our fights, but if I kill you, well, the syndicate will be begging to take me back.”

  “Good to know.” I slowly circled him, wanting to get where Elisa and the others weren’t behind me. If Tidal Wave missed, I didn’t want any water hitting them.

  “Yeah, nothing personal,” he said cheerily, moving in the opposite direction to keep distance between us.

  The ground rumbled, but it wasn’t Mother Earth this time. A geyser erupted right under my feet. I went flying and collided with the ground a few feet away. It sent a shock through my injuries, and I couldn’t stop a cry from bursting out of my mouth. I’d lost track of how many times I’d been knocked off my feet today. At least the grass was softer than pavement.

  Tidal Wave must be pulling water from underground pipes. That wasn’t good. How much water was down there?

  Before I could push myself up, another surge of water hit me. It knocked me into a tree, and I sincerely hoped the crack I heard was the tree and not me.

  “You sure this isn’t personal?” I grunted.

  “Pretty sure.” He made the last surge of water that had hit me rise from the grass, gather together, and hit me again. The water was muddied now, holding leaves and blades of grass as it sprayed me in the face. I braced my back against the tree, unable to breathe until he let up. Then I coughed, spitting muck, and clenched my teeth as I thought of how much I wanted to get my hands around his neck. I was really sick of getting drenched by him.

  He gathered the water for round three.

  I drove my elbow into the tree trunk, cutting it in half. Before the tree could fall, I grabbed it and swung.

  It was a sloppy swing, but it didn’t matter. The leafy tip of the tree smacked into Tidal Wave and knocked him down. His concentration shot, the water that he’d been about to hit me with splashed harmlessly to the ground. Take that, you bastard!

  I dropped the tree and picked up my umbrella, hobbling toward him as fast as I could. My legs felt weak and shaky, and I struggled to make them carry me more quickly. I couldn’t give him time to resume his attack. If I got hit in the face with mucky water one more time, I was going to kill someone.

  He scrambled up and made a motion like an underhand baseball pitch. Some of the water on the ground shot up at me, but I opened my umbrella and held it out like a shield. The water bounced off the pink surface, sending a jolt up my arm. This was it. Three more steps, and I was close enough to fight back. I closed the umbrella and jabbed the tip into his stomach.

  He made a satisfying sort of “oomf” sound and bent over. I flipped the umbrella, hooked the curved handle around his lower leg, and pulled. He hit the ground with a grunt, and I pointed the umbrella’s tip at his neck like a sword.

  “What was that you were saying about my umbrella?” I asked.

  He groaned and didn’t answer.

  “Just so we’re clear,” I said, “you try anything, and I can’t make any guarantees about your windpipe.”

  Tidal Wave made a pained expression, but then his eyes focused on something behind me, and he smirked. Wary of a trick, I glanced slowly back while keeping most of my attention on Tidal Wave. If he moved, I’d make good on my threat. I didn’t like lethal force, but without any other resources to hold him with, I didn’t have much of a choice.

  I saw who was behind me and felt every droplet of water on my body turn chill.

  Bloodbath and Mother Earth came toward me. He was limping and had to be supported by her, and she looked even dirtier and more tired than before, but still they came. Tidal Wave took advantage of my distraction to roll away. He got to his feet and backed up, smirk firmly on his face. I clenched the handle of my umbrella more tightly as a deathly chill went through me. I was beaten, broken, and could barely stay on my feet, and I faced the two of them—no, the three of them—alone.

  There was no way I’d walk away from this.

  Chapter 19

  “White Knight.” Bloodbath’s usual smirk was more of a grimace, his voice pained. “It’s long past time I killed you.”

  “Randall,” Mother Earth said warningly.

  “It’s okay.” He sounded out of breath. “I’ll finish this quick, and we can get out of here.”

  His eyes glowed, and I limped as fast as I could toward him, hoping to stop him before he powered up. But it was too late. Randall Nash collapsed as his towering form of light took shape before me. At least he seemed to have run out of whatever drugs Dr. Sweet had given him, and he didn’t seem as bright as before, but it was a small comfort.

  I hadn’t gotten close enough to stop him in time, but I’d put myself in optimum punching range—for him, not me. A giant fist clobbered the side of my head, and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the grass. My body gave out. I’d been beaten up, knocked down, and nearly killed so many times today that my muscles turned to lead. I couldn’t move, and my brain was making a stealthy retreat into unconsciousness.

  “No, you don’t,” I muttered to myself. I refused to die yet. I started small, just wiggling my fingers and toes experimentally. When they worked, I tried to move my arms and legs. They protested painfully, but I dragged them into position to get up.

  I never got the chance. Bloodbath’s foot collided with my ribs, knocking my breath out and sending me rolling several feet. The pain from the kick went straight through my ribs to the pit of my stomach, and I gripped my side and wheezed. He’d already hit me there today. The second time felt infinitely worse.

  Before I could even think about getting up, he kicked me again. And again. And again. I curled up in an instinctive attempt to protect my ribs, but he just kicked my back instead. With my jaw clenched, each blow rattled my teeth. Distant screaming penetrated the haze of agony around my skull. The woman on the coaster must be having a panic attack again. Or else it was Elisa.

  I didn’t realize when the kicking stopped, since my torso was just a mess of pain. Then Bloodbath’s giant hand wrapped around my head and lifted me into the air. I groped blindly and grabbed his wrist, trying to relieve some of the pressure from my neck. I must have dropped my trusty umbrella at some point. It would’ve been nice to bash Bloodbath over the head with it right about now. His other fist plunged into my unprotected stomach. I vomited, tasting watery stomach acid and a half-digested breakfast bar tinged with blood. It dribbled from my mouth, la
nding on Bloodbath’s glowing arm, where it sizzled like batter on a frying pan.

  Bloodbath flung me away, the motion jerking my neck and sending agony through my tendons to my shoulders. I slammed into something hard with a metallic clang, and more screaming reached my ears. The rollercoaster. My vision swimming, I craned my aching neck upward. I was almost directly below the stuck car, so I couldn’t see the people in it very well. Where was Elisa? Had she fallen? I looked desperately around, fearing I’d spot her body on the ground.

  My distraction cost me any chance to defend against Bloodbath. He grabbed me by the front of my shirt instead of my head this time and slammed me into the metal pillar again. I felt the metal bend, and above me, the rollercoaster the pillar was supporting groaned and shifted. The screaming grew louder. Elisa. I had to get Bloodbath away from the coaster before he brought the whole thing down.

  I gripped his wrist, jamming my thumb into a pressure point and twisting. Normally, that would force someone to let go, but Bloodbath was just too strong. All I managed to do was hurt my thumb. He smashed me into the pillar once more, bruising my spine and sending a dangerous jolt through the rollercoaster. Then he lifted me higher and threw me to the ground. The impact rattled my skull, and Bloodbath lifted his foot to stomp on me.

  Not this time, pal. As his foot descended, I grabbed it and yanked. Bloodbath waved his arms wildly but couldn’t stop himself from falling. With a rush of frantic energy, I twisted myself around his leg and put him in an ankle lock. Only an idiot would think that would hold him for long, but any second I could buy Elisa to get those people down was worth the risk. Sure enough, it was like trying to hold back an avalanche. Bloodbath’s muscles—if a being made of pure light even had muscles—pulled against me with incredible force, but I held on with all my might.

  A blast of water hit me, sending me tumbling across the grass. It must have glanced off Bloodbath, too, but its purpose was obviously to knock us apart. Dizzy, I tried to push myself up from the wet grass before he did.

  “Sorry, White Knight!” Tidal Wave called. “But that wrestling match was getting a little too erotic. I had to cool you off.”

  He laughed, motivating me to stand up faster so I could punch him. But then his laughter abruptly cut off.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He backed up as Bloodbath charged toward him, fist raised threateningly. “Sorry! I get it! This is your fight, so stay out of it. Message received loud and clear. You can back off.”

  Bloodbath lowered his fist, though his glowing shoulders were still taut with anger. He turned back to me, and Tidal Wave exhaled, letting the hands he’d raised in a gesture of surrender fall to his sides.

  Bloodbath spun back around and punched him in the face.

  I watched as Tidal Wave’s skull crumbled inward. His neck snapped back, and his body went flying. He was dead before he hit the ground.

  Mother Earth, who was cradling the head of Bloodbath’s flesh-and-blood body in her lap, turned her face from Tidal Wave’s corpse. I closed my eyes in a moment of silence. I didn’t pretend to like Tidal Wave, but he hadn’t deserved that.

  I didn’t have long to pay my respects, because Bloodbath came for me next. I’d gotten to my feet, but without my cane or umbrella, I wasn’t exactly steady. The ground seemed to sway beneath me, but Mother Earth wasn’t using her powers. I blinked to get my vision to stop wavering and raised shaky fists. My gaze went behind Bloodbath to the rollercoaster, and what I saw gave me hope for the first time.

  The car was no longer trapped at the peak of the slope. It was slowly making its way down, pushed from behind by a figure walking on the track. Elisa. She was getting the car to a lower point where the people could climb out without danger. I didn’t have to win this fight. I just had to keep Bloodbath occupied until they got to safety. Then, once Bloodbath killed me, he and Mother Earth would hopefully leave without hurting anyone else.

  Bloodbath followed my gaze. His face was like a statue, too perfect to be real and not very expressive. But when he figured out I was worried about the rollercoaster car, his lips twisted into a smile. My throat tightened. I was an idiot. I’d practically pointed him in the direction where he could hurt the most people. My precarious balance wobbled, and I tried to keep the panic from my face, to make Bloodbath think my gaze had fallen on the coaster just by chance. It didn’t work. Giving me one last look, he turned and strode toward it.

  “No.” Without my cane, I couldn’t move fast, but I pushed my broken body as hard as I could. Elisa was making steady progress pushing the car, but it was too slow. Bloodbath would reach them before they got down. I limped, each uneven step sending a jolt of pain up my body. My frenzied pace was enough to catch up with Bloodbath’s leisurely one, and I balled my fists as I neared him.

  He elbowed me effortlessly, barely glancing back. I hit the ground yet again, and as I waited for my head to stop spinning, my stomach clenched in horror. I couldn’t stop him. At this rate, I couldn’t even slow him down. There was just no way in my current condition. I moaned and leaned my head back to alleviate the pounding behind my eyes. My gaze fell on Bloodbath’s real body, still cradled in Mother Earth’s lap.

  That was it: his weakness. I should have thought of it sooner. If Washington had taught me anything, it was that taking out his real body meant no more of his glowing projection. There were no snipers here, but my fists would do the job just as well. I needed to get to his body and end this once and for all.

  I pushed myself up, but dizziness and pain dropped me right back to my knees. I flinched. My eyes squeezed shut and took several deep breaths through my nose. Then I heaved myself back up and staggered toward Bloodbath’s real body. It wasn’t far. I could make it. I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

  Mother Earth’s left hand clutched Bloodbath more tightly. She flung her right hand out at me, and the ground beneath me jerked sharply and knocked me down. My back hit the ground, air expelling from my mouth. I felt as if my bruises went all the way down to the bone. My lungs had compressed; I couldn’t seem to fill them with air again. Enough. My body went limp, surrendering to the agony. The ground felt like a moving coaster, and I kept my eyes closed until I finally inhaled.

  A sudden spike of screams made my eyes snap open. Bloodbath had reached the rollercoaster and shoved one of the pillars. The whole track wobbled with a metallic groan.

  “Stop!” I tried to stand, but my muscles spasmed. I rolled onto my stomach and started to crawl. “Bloodbath! I’m right here. Kill me. Those people are innocent. There are children up there!”

  Shouting was a waste of energy. Bloodbath had never cared about civilian casualties. He pushed the pillar until it snapped. The rollercoaster swayed, and Elisa clung to the car to keep from falling.

  “Randall!”

  Mother Earth had stood, Bloodbath’s real body lying at her feet. She peered up at the car before turning to Bloodbath’s glowing form. “Stop it. He’s right. Children are up there.”

  Bloodbath stepped back from the next pillar he’d been about to destroy and stared at her. He pointed a huge glowing finger in my direction.

  “I don’t care.” Mother Earth crossed her arms. “You know my rule. No children.”

  In all my desperate hope, I hadn’t considered Mother Earth, a woman who’d turned supervillain to avenge her children. Bloodbath’s towering form stared her down, but she held firm. The rollercoaster had stopped swaying, and even the air was still, no wind able to get through the wall. The screaming still came from the car above, and Elisa wasted no time in pushing again. I didn’t move, worried that reminding Bloodbath of my presence would keep him from changing his mind.

  He shook his head and stomped away from the pillar. Mother Earth smiled gratefully and started to walk up to him.

  Bloodbath spun back around and slammed his fist into the pillar.

  Chapter 20

  The metal column crumpled inward, and the coaster’s track careened to the side.

 
; “Randall!” Mother Earth shouted.

  He ignored her and smashed through the next column. The coaster could handle losing two pillars, but three was too much. The track listed like a sinking ship with the car atop it. The screaming reached a fever pitch. I shouted as the whole thing began to fall. Elisa clutched tightly to the back of the car, but it wouldn’t save her. She was still so high.

  Mother Earth shoved her hands into the air, and columns of solid earth shot up from the ground. They hit the bottom of the track, bracing it and stopping the fall. Bloodbath tore through another pillar, sending a jolt through the broken coaster. Mother Earth waved her hand, and a slab of earth shot out and knocked Bloodbath away from the ride.

  “Stop it, Randall!” she shouted.

  Bloodbath pushed himself up, his light flashing momentarily brighter. After a murderous glare at Mother Earth, he turned his back on her and stormed toward the rollercoaster. Mother Earth jerked her hand, and another chunk of earth flew up and shattered against his chest, knocking him back a step.

  “I mean it!” she warned.

  Bloodbath’s chest heaved as if he was taking a deep breath. (Did he even need to breathe as pure light?) He took slow steps toward her at first, then each stride grew longer, quicker. Every inch of his body made his intent perfectly clear. Mother Earth widened her stance and clenched her hands into fists. A shockwave shot through the ground toward Bloodbath, strong enough that I felt it under my shoes even off to the side. Bloodbath stumbled but didn’t fall.

  Mother Earth jabbed her hands left and right, and the perfectly landscaped lawn broke apart as spikes of rock, and earth shot at Bloodbath. They stopped him, sure, but they weren’t any more effective at hurting him than I’d been. Lowering his head and leading with his shoulder, he forced his way through them like a tank rolling through walls. Broken chunks of dirt fell to the ground around him, and his feet continued their unstoppable charge.