by Ciara Graves
I passed several of our soldiers busy at work repairing the outer walls and fortifying the main entrance. I turned right at the next intersection and heard Blade’s voice echoing up from the lower level. Peering over the railing, I spotted him leading the guards from the warehouse to the cells where the other prisoner was being held. The one who’d given us only a tiny bit of information so far. I’d pleaded with Moran to let me go down there and talk with him, but he seemed to believe I would kill the man before I even asked him any questions.
Sadly, he was probably right.
I would’ve beaten the man within an inch of his life until he told me what I needed to hear. We would get Rori back, I never doubted Brogan wanted to rescue her as much as I did, but it was like an ache in my chest I wasn’t able to get rid of ever since I learned she was taken. All I wanted was to see her again, alive and well, and be able to tell myself I did not fail her.
Brogan was alone in the temple with the door open. I was going to walk away and leave him to his meditating, but his eyes opened. “You coming in or what?”
I ground my teeth, stepped inside, wishing I could close the door.
“How’s your face?” he asked.
“Hurts, but I deserved it. Listen, Brogan,” I started to say.
He held up his hand to stop me. “No, let me get this out first,” he said in a rush. “I care for Rori a lot, but… if I'm honest with myself, and with you, the relationship we started to have was over the night the Cleansers attacked Four Point. All of us have turned into different people, and I don’t think we would’ve lasted much longer, not like I think you two can.”
I looked at him, sure my jaw had dropped at some point. This was not what I expected to hear. I waited for him to laugh and say he was kidding, and he was pissed at me after all, waited for him to throw another punch, but he got up instead and held his hand out to me.
“Seriously, Chas, I had a feeling it wouldn’t work out. Not like we’d been dating for years or anything,” he reminded me. “Not like we ever really had much of a chance, but if you two somehow managed to find that connection in the midst of this shit, then I think it’s right.”
I took his hand, shaking it as I shook my head. “You sure you don’t want to deck me again?”
“No. I wasn’t even that upset about what you two did. But we can’t lie to each other,” he said, gripping my hand tighter. “That will get us all killed.”
“Not the easiest thing to tell your friend.”
“No, but what would’ve happened if it came out during a more serious fight?”
“Trust me, already got the brief lecture from Agnes about emotions affecting our powers and so on.” I took my hand back and slowly walked the perimeter of the room. “It’s all confusing, being so close. And now we’ve got another person we’re dragging into this mess.”
“Good thing we can’t see what’s in each other’s heads, right?”
I laughed with him, and it felt good to have this moment… for about five seconds. Then I was right back to worrying what Rori was going through. Brogan’s dark look said his mind went to the same and he nodded toward the door.
“We should find Brunie, see if we can’t all get a better handle on fighting together.”
“Or we could track down Blade and see if those guards spilled anything else yet.”
“They just got here, give the man some time. Brunie, first. You two haven’t even had a conversation yet.”
And it wasn’t for lack of trying on her part. I’d been too wrapped in worrying about tracking down Rori to stop for five seconds to realize we had found our fourth. And she was incredible so far. I followed Brogan out of the temple and for the first time in a week, we were able to have a conversation. Despite the seriousness of our current predicament, we found a few things to laugh about, mostly my idiocy of rushing in to confront those guards. By the time we tracked down Brunie, who was with one of her fighting buddies, Jackson, we were guffawing so hard she eyed us like we had a few screws loose. Which to be fair at this point, we probably did.
“Alright, Brunie, what do you say the three of us get some good old fashion sparring in? At the same time, visiting, so you two can get to know one another?” Brogan suggested.
“Sounds like a good plan to me.” She smiled sadly as she shook my hand. “Look, I’m sorry about Rori getting taken, but I’ll be here to help you guys get her back. Looking forward to meeting her, really. A necromancer. Who would’ve thought?”
“Yeah, not us,” I said with a bitter laugh. “And sorry for not being very hospitable.”
“Actually, he’s been nicer to you than he was to me and Rori the first time,” Brogan chimed in.
I glowered at him.
Brunie laughed. “Well, then I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You should,” I said. “Brogan here just doesn’t know when to quit while he’s ahead.”
“It’s a gift,” Brogan said with a broad grin. He led the way out of the mess hall and deeper into the outpost to the training room.
“Agnes said she trained you,” I said to Brunie as we walked.
“Trained you too from what I hear,” she replied. “She’s definitely a hard teacher, but I learned a few tricks from her.”
“I have no worries after what I’ve seen so far.”
“Good.” She hesitated. And as Brogan moved on ahead of us, she slowed down.
I frowned as I matched her slower pace until he was way ahead of us. “This is kind of embarrassing, but I just want to know for my benefit,” she whispered.
“Know what?” I asked, wondering what was that bad she wanted to ask.
“When I tapped into the connection with you and Brogan and Rori during that first fight, everyone’s emotions were all over the place,” she said.
I nodded, remembering exactly how I’d felt the first time I’d joined with Rori and Brogan.
“But… I don’t know. I can’t decide if it’s just the connection or me… but, never mind.”
“Brunie, wait.” I caught her arm when she made to walk away. “Just ask. We’re a team now, and whether you like it or not, we’re going to be close. We can’t afford to hide anything from each other. Trust me.”
She blew out a breath, and for the first time since meeting her, she appeared nervous. “I have a feeling I know what your guys’ fight today at the warehouse was about, but can you clarify for me what’s going on? I just want to know and make sure I’m not going to say anything out of turn, step on any toes you know? Help a girl out here.”
I glanced ahead of us, but Brogan was out of sight. “Before this war broke out, back when the fall semester started for new recruits, Rori and Brogan began dating,” I explained, not exactly comfortable talking about it, but she had a point. She had a right to know. “They—uh, they were together, but now they’ve just… they’re not anymore,” I finished lamely.
“And you’re the reason for that?” She cringed like she would rather be asking me anything but that.
“And Rori and Brogan,” I said with a light laugh. “Honestly, the three of us have changed so much since that first major battle.”
“The one at the outpost,” she said as we started walking again, “that was my first.”
“What? No way,” I argued, but she was nodding. “You fight like it’s second nature.”
“Agnes is not the only teacher I’ve had. I was transferred to another Four Point facility to try and see if I was compatible with anyone there. I remember you vaguely, but you tend to keep to yourself, or well, you used to.”
I studied her face, then remembered seeing her a few times with Agnes in the workshop. “I thought you looked familiar. Yeah, I was a loner before Rori and Brogan.”
“Nice to see someone was able to bring you around and make you sociable.”
I laughed with her. “Yeah, guess running around in the woods as a bear most of the time wasn’t really a life.”
“You two coming or what?” Brogan called bac
k, finally having stopped for us to catch up.
“Yeah, we’re coming. Keep your panties on,” I teased, and Brunie laughed even harder as Brogan rolled his eyes. “What? You’re not the only one who can crack jokes around here.”
“Maybe, maybe not, but,” he said as he leaned in and whispered, “who said I was wearing panties?”
“Oh, man. Come on!” I gave him a shove as he cackled in glee.
Brunie sighed, no doubt wondering what she had just gotten herself into.
I let them go on ahead of me, taking a second to pause and think of Rori.
My smile fell, and I sent her whatever strength I could, willing her to hold on.
I swiped my forearm across my forehead, wiping up the sweat.
“You were definitely trained by Agnes, what with that damned staff of yours,” I muttered as Brunie and Brogan sat on either side of me against the back wall. “Damn. I don’t know how many of those moves she’s used against me.”
“Then you should’ve seen them coming, given me some warning,” Brogan complained.
“How would you learn if I warned you?” I pushed to my feet and stretched. “I’m going to hit the showers—”
Blade and Moran walked into the room, eyeing the three of us.
“… or not.” Quick mind change, courtesy of those two.
They eyed the three of us.
“What? Did the guards say something?” I asked eagerly, heart leaping at the chance to finally go for Rori.
“No,” Moran said, “which is why I am going to ask you to come with me. All of you.” He turned on his heel and walked away. When none of us moved, he whipped back around. “Right now.”
Blade gave nothing away but motioned for us to get a move on.
The three of us fell in line behind Moran, Blade bringing up the rear. We marched through the outpost until we were down in the holding cells.
The guards and the soldier from the attack were crammed into one room, glaring at us through the glass.
“I am asking you to give them some motivation to speak,” Moran told me.
“You’re going to let me question them?”
“One or two questions, yes. But Chas, if for any second you believe you will not be able to control yourself, you tell me now.”
I headed toward the glass. “I can control myself.”
Moran breathed out heavily but nodded to Blade. “One guard and the soldier.”
Blade seemed ready to argue, but gave the order for one of ours to grab the two prisoners from the room. They were dragged out and taken down the hall to a smaller room with three chairs and nothing else.
“Do not harm them,” Moran warned me. “But our tactics do not seem to work.”
“You want me to scare the shit out of them?”
“Essentially, yes. If you want to find Rori before it’s too late, we need them to talk. And we need them alive. Got it? Do not kill either one of them, Chas. I’m trusting you here.”
The notion of tearing them limb from limb did sound appealing, but he was right. If I was ever to control my temper, it had to be now. I said nothing else, just walked to the room, passed Blade, then shut the door behind me. I sat down, but the two men remained standing, both across from me. The soldier glared. The guard shook, his eyes darting wildly around the room.
“We need you to tell us where Simon and Tabitha are keeping several prisoners,” I said.
The guard looked to the soldier as he opened his mouth, but the other man hissed at him to stay quiet. “We are not telling you anything.”
“It would be better if you did,” I suggested.
“I said nothing to your leader. What makes you think I’ll tell you anything, boy?” the soldier with the buzzcut snapped. “I hope they’ve killed your friends already, just like we’ll do to the rest of you. Well past time to get rid of magic. It has no place in this world.”
I rolled my shoulders as blue and green magic swirled around my hands, moss spread out from beneath my chair. “Boy, huh?”
Buzzcut’s eyes narrowed.
“Man, I told you,” the guard with blonde hair whispered.
“Shut up!”
“But he’s not like the others! Just tell him!”
Blondie had seen me in bear form, but I didn’t recognize the other soldier. In the chaos, I doubted he saw me. I pulled on more magic until it flowed out from me in steady pulses.
“Answer my question,” I said again, my voice tinged with power.
Blondie looked more than ready to talk, but Buzzcut kept shaking his head. I shot a glance to Moran, on the other side of the glass, and subtly nodded my head, trying to let him know no matter what he saw next, I was very much in control.
Which was a real pity.
Spilling a good amount of blood would be what they deserved. I jumped to my feet with a yell that turned into an earsplitting roar, shaking the panes of glass. Both men cowered when my bear form emerged and towered over them, filling the cramped space.
I roared again, baring fangs. I raised my paw, ready to swipe Buzzcut and easily slice open his face. He pressed himself back into the wall as my paw came crashing down.
“Wait!” Blondie yelled. “Utah. Alright? It’s in Utah!”
Buzzcut shot him a glare and looked ready to hit his own man, but I smacked him across the face with my paw, and he flew into the glass, breaking his nose with a grunt as he slid to the floor in a heap. I shifted back to find Moran giving me a look, but I shrugged, then turned back to Blondie.
I shifted into my bear. “I want an exact location, or you’ll wind up with worse than a broken nose, got it?”
“Get me a map,” he said, nodding his head. “Get me a map, and I’ll show you where they are.”
I glared at him, but he seemed to be telling the truth. “Wait here.” I stepped over Buzzcut’s feet, and exited the room. “He needs a map.”
Moran yelled for one to be brought, then clapped me on the shoulder. “Thought I said not to hurt them.”
“To be fair, he was about to hurt Blondie there.”
Moran’s pursed lips said that was not a good enough reason, but ordered Buzzcut to be cleaned up, then thrown back in with the others. “The second we have this location, we’re moving out. Brogan, Chas, Brunie, get ready to fight. If we’re going after our people, we are not going in quietly.”
There was nothing left to say.
The three of us hurried through the outpost back to our rooms to get ready. We’d find this place and rescue Rori and whoever else they had captive there. Her dad, other Elite Guard members.
We’d get them all out and with any luck kill Simon and Tabitha in the process and end this war before we lost any more of our own.
Chapter 3
Rori
A door slammed open, and I flinched, squinting against the sudden flash of lights flickering around me. I grunted at the soreness I knew was going to be a constant part of my life now. My arms, my legs, everything screamed in agony from being in the same damned position for what, a week? More? My wrists were raw as were my ankles, and all I wanted to do was lay down on the floor and cry.
I had yet to do that though, and I was damned proud of myself for it. It was coming. I couldn’t hold out forever.
“Rori.” Tabitha approached my cage with that damned leer on her face.
“Bitch,” I replied, forcing my lips into a sneer with all the strength I had left. “What’s on the torture roster for today?”
If only Chas could hear me now. Pretty sure he’d be smirking at the mouth on me.
Brogan, he’d be begging me to keep my mouth shut. My heart ached thinking of how I left both of them. I glanced past Tabitha toward the door, but no one came bursting in to save me. Didn’t stop me from dreaming of it anyway.
Tabitha followed my gaze. She sneered as she walked around my cage slowly, holding that damned remote in her hand. “No one’s coming to save you, Rori.”
“Says you.”
“Yes, says me. Bec
ause no one knows where you are. But you know where the other members of your team are.”
I scoffed. “Seriously? You attacked the outpost. They’ve probably moved by now.”
Her grin made my skin crawl, and I tugged absently at my wrists, waiting for them to eventually break free. Another dream that had yet to happen. “Our sources say they have not, so you are in luck.” She stopped suddenly, pressing herself closer to the cage. “If you would just cooperate, you would be getting out of here sooner rather than later.”
“You know where they are.” I was confused. “What do you want from me?”
“It’s clear you are quite an interesting hybrid. Necromancer and frost mage.”
“So what? I barely know what I’m doing.”
“For the moment, but that is about to change. All of this was to see how much you can take, to see if what runs in another’s blood runs in yours. I’m happy to report it does.” She pressed her finger on the remote, and I gritted my teeth, waiting for the electrical shocks to course through my body and leave me screaming until I was hoarse.
Instead, the bindings around my wrists popped free, and I toppled over, smacking into the hard floor beneath me with a curse. My ankles were freed next.
Confused, I watched Tabitha walk to the front of my cage and unlock the door. She held it open and motioned for me to get out.
I feared I was too weak to rise. Too weak to do anything. I pushed up on my forearms, gasping at muscles that were finally able to relax.
“Well, come on. I don’t have all day.” Tabitha sighed.
“I can’t, you dumbass,” I snapped.
“You will either walk out of this cage right now, or I will send a guard in to drag you out by the hair.” She shrugged one shoulder as two men in black uniforms stepped forward, scowls on their faces. “Or maybe I was wrong about you, and you need more time in the cage. Your choice.”
