by Ciara Graves
“Just get ready.” Brogan spread his hands wide.
Lightning crackled, pulling on our combined energy. It came naturally now with us. If there had been any lingering doubts about her as our fourth, they were quickly put to rest.
The elevator dinged and as the doors parted, a man shouted, and gunfire exploded.
The three of us were faster.
Brunie’s light deflected the hits. A tidal wave of vines, moss, and lightning rose up before the elevator, blocking the rest of the bullets, and crashed toward the guards. Brogan was the driving force behind it. All I did was guide it, sticking to the floor then striking down each side corridor until there were no more screams from the enemy.
Brogan’s lightning receded. He was shaking from the exertion.
“Take care of him,” I told Brunie after we stepped off the elevator. “I’m going to check it out.”
“Watch your back.” Brogan tossed me the small bag slung over his back. “Just in case.”
There were a few more of those electrical grenades in the bag. I slung it across my body, then set off. Magic swirled around my fingertips at the ready.
I turned a corner down the second corridor.
I froze.
“Shit,” I whispered. “Brogan! Brunie!”
This had to be a nightmare of some kind. I was going to wake up back at the outpost with Rori and Brogan and Brunie. Because never in my mind did I imagine this level of cruelty could exist.
The walls were lined with cages and inside every single one was a magic-user. Their hands and feet were bound, strapped into cuffs that appeared to have wires running through them. Most were unconscious, but a had their unfocused gazes set on me.
“We’re going to get you out of here,” I said. “All of you, just hold on.”
“You’re… you’re real?” a man whispered, face haggard and eyes filled with disbelief
“I’m real, and I’m not the only one here.”
“Oh my god,” Brunie gasped as she and Brogan caught up to me.
Tears shimmered in her eyes then with an angry yell, she slammed her staff into the ground, and a bright flash of white light smashed into the locks on the cage doors. They all swung open as the electrical system shorted out.
She turned to me. “I’m going to find Moran.”
Brogan and I went to work on the prisoners, starting at one end and worked our way down. A few fought against us, screaming and yelling that we were there to kill them, but we managed to calm them down and release them.
We helped them to the elevators so that when Brunie had more priests, they could get to healing them.
I turned to one. The one who’d asked me if I was real. “How long were you down here?”
“Too long,” was all he said as he held the hand of the woman beside him, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fell into his side. “Too damned long.”
Insides knotted with fury and anguish, I hurried down the next corridor, but the cages there were empty.
We tore apart that basement, finding files and research notes, but nothing else.
At the end of the last corridor was another cage. In it was a single person. A shadow kept me from seeing a face, and my heart leapt, believing it had to be Rori. It had to be her.
I raced down the hall, Brogan right behind me. He shocked the cage, and it shorted out, popping the lock.
Hesitating for a second, I caught my breath then walked inside.
“Rori?” I whispered.
The second I saw the dark red hair, I knew it wasn’t her.
“Can you hear me?” I asked the girl who was about our age, head hanging low.
Brogan and I worked at the bonds holding her when she raised her head. She blinked, then kicked and screamed, flailing violently until we both had to restrain her before she hurt herself.
“We’re rescuing you! Calm down, alright?”
“No, you’re not! It’s lies, all lies!” she ranted. “Get off me, get off!”
I shot a look at Brogan over her head, both of us thinking the exact same thing. Whatever they’d done to this girl was probably being done to Rori, and we still had no idea where she was.
“We are not with the Cleansers,” I said firmly. “We’re magic-users, just like you.”
“So were they!” she screeched, and I froze.
“Wait, what?”
She was fighting us too much, and I had no choice, but to knock her out. Brogan frowned at me for that.
I shrugged. We didn’t have time to keep standing in front of this cage. She was in desperate need of a healing touch. I picked her up and carefully maneuvered her out of the cage to where the others were being tended to by Brunie, Agnes, and some other priests.
“Is this all of them?” Moran grunted.
“Yeah, but Rori’s not here,” I muttered. “Trevor Griffith isn’t either.”
“And from the look of it, this is not their main headquarters.” He shook his head disgusted, staring over the prisoners. “How many more properties did they have their name on?”
“A dozen, maybe more. You don’t think it’ll be that easy to find their main location.”
“I don’t. Sadly, they’re too smart for that.”
“The redhaired girl said something about magic-users,” I told him quietly. “You don’t think the Bogards are, do you?”
“If they were, they never registered with anyone.” He eyed the girl. “When she wakes, ask her more, see what she’ll tell you.” He squeezed my shoulder. “We’ll find Rori. Keep holding onto hope. She’s strong. She’ll make it.”
We loaded the people in the elevator a few at a time, and then out to the waiting trucks.
Agnes called ahead to ensure the infirmary was well prepared for an influx of so many. There was a handful of our own hurt, one dead.
We captured many. Guards and people in white coats. I glared fiercely at each and every one as they were loaded into an armored truck to be processed and questioned, then handed over to the government. They’d all been labeled as terrorists and would be treated as such.
As we climbed into our truck for the long drive back to the outpost, Moran set up a shield around the property to ensure no one could get back inside unless they had heavy-duty firepower. I looked in the side mirror, watching the place get smaller, wishing Rori had been inside.
Why couldn’t life ever be easy?
Chapter 5
Brogan
After returning to the outpost, Chas and I helped unload the prisoners to be processed as Brunie assisted Agnes with the wounded.
I wouldn’t lie and say a few of the prisoners weren’t roughed up between the trucks and their holding cells.
Chas decked at least one guard and shoved another so hard he was thrown into the back wall, breaking his nose.
Blade’s face had darkened, but he said nothing and locked the man away, not caring his face was covered in blood. Tensions in the outpost were higher than ever, and my anger was beyond where I ever thought it could be.
Rori had not been there, and it was eating away at Chas and me. He muttered something about getting fresh air, and I took the few minutes to disappear into my room, so I could get a handle on my raw emotions.
I cleaned myself up from the fighting, washed my face, and pressed a towel to it. Taking the building had been easier than I expected. But the place had been lightly guarded.
When we did find Rori, how much harder would it be to take that place down? The second we saw that last cage, I’d been thinking the same as Chas, certain that Rori had to be in there. And when it hadn’t been her, I feared we’d never find her. At least not the Rori we knew. That redheaded girl, we had no way of knowing how long she’d been there yet, but she’d been broken down. And what she’d said about other magic-users, we had to understand what she meant by that.
My hands shook, and I held them in front of my face. Seeing so many people trapped like animals, knowing they’d been tortured… I wanted to go down to the cells and
punch them all, shock a few of them. See how they liked it. I used to be the happy guy of the group, but now all I thought of was violence. Of hurting, killing.
“Brogan? You in there?” Brunie knocked lightly on my door.
“Yeah, just give me a minute,” I replied, splashing more water on my face, but it did nothing to calm the storm raging in my eyes as I stared at my reflection.
As much as I’d told Rori she’d changed since the war started, I had just as much. Parts of me were slipping away every time we were confronted the bastards. How much longer until there was nothing of the old me left? Until I was a heartless soldier out for revenge? If I couldn’t find an outlet for this anger, I’d end up taking it out on someone else by accident. Chas or Brunie. Anyone else besides me. Even as I stood there, lightning crackled at my fingertips, striking against the sink and mirror.
“Brogan?” Brunie called out. “You alright?”
I hung my head, giving it a shake. I was clearly not alright, not even close.
I forced myself to the door, and as soon as Brunie saw me, she grabbed my hand and ordered me to follow her.
I opened my mouth to ask what we were doing, but the words were lodged behind a roar of rage that clawed to get free. For the first time, I was jealous of Chas’s ability to shift into a bear. To have a way to let his rage out in the woods, where no one could see his breakdown, to crash through the wilderness and be a wild beast, if only for a few minutes.
Brunie guided us outside to the courtyard then finally came to a stop.
“What are we doing out here?”
“We are releasing pent-up anger before either one of us self-combusts.”
“You look fine to me,” I pointed out.
She laughed bitterly, and the golden glow to her eyes darkened.
“I didn’t even think—I’m sorry.”
“For what? Did you attack our people? Throw them in cages and torture them?” she snapped then took a deep breath and let it out. “Sorry, but no, I’m not alright. I doubt anyone in there is, but the three of us can’t be unstable if another attack comes. You know it as much as I do. Chas, too. Which is why he’s out there running around somewhere probably terrorizing all the poor rabbits in the area.”
“Not sure what you want me to do here.”
“Let it out, all your anger. Channel it into a storm and unleash it. Let it go.”
“Not sure that’s such a good idea.”
“Brogan, you have a storm raging in your eyes and if you don’t let it out, what’s going to happen the next time we’re attacked? You’ll lose control. You’ll take out everyone around you, including us. You have to let it go now before you hurt someone which we both know you’d regret for the rest of your life.”
“And you? What are you doing to do?”
She shrugged. “Figured I’d let out a good scream or two with you.”
I looked at the sky, clear and blue with a few white fluffy clouds. The air was cold, but there was no sign of snow in the forecast for a while yet. I just stood there until Brunie told me to close my eyes and breathe in deeply through my nose, then let it out my mouth.
Was I angry? Sure, I’d been angry since Four Point was attacked. Actually, before then. I was angry when we learned we were the only Elite Guard team to be formed in years because of those bastards. That now we were one of the only hopes for bringing them down.
Lightning crackled along my fingertips as I tilted my head back and opened my eyes. More clouds rolled in, slowly blocking out the sun. More anger flowed through me as I recalled the fight that nearly ended with all of us being captured and thrown in cages. Just like the ones we saw this morning. The lightning flowed over my body in an endless wave as my hands curled into fists. So much pain and suffering, so much death because of those people.
Rori was lost to us and still going through hell, with no way of our knowing if we’d get to her in time. Had she given up hope yet? Was she even herself anymore?
A whirlwind of emotions burst from me, forming a tornado that whipped my hair back from my face. I expected Brunie to run for cover, but instead, she reached out and grabbed hold of my hand.
“Let it out,” she yelled over the howling winds. “Let your anger go!”
I lowered my head as I remembered feeling what it was like to almost die, knowing what Rori sacrificed to bring me back, what it had done to her. Pushing her over a ledge she hadn’t been ready for. How Chas’s fate was tied to what would be the outcome of our final battle against the Cleansers.
Unable to hold back any longer, I threw my head back and bellowed my rage as clouds covered the blue sky, and the storm within me took to the heavens. I sucked in a deep breath and yelled again, as lightning struck the ground around us.
Brunie squeezed my hand, and soon her own yells of fury and pain joined mine, the golden light from her body lighting up the storm’s intense darkness that surrounded us. All the pent-up agony and anger flowed out of me and into that storm, until finally the wind died down and the clouds rolled toward the east, thunder rumbling every now and again until it was silent once more.
Blue sky appeared beneath the black clouds.
Brunie was holding my hand still, and when I turned to her, she was grinning.
“Feel better?” she asked.
“Yeah, I do. I didn’t realize that was even in me.”
“I felt it the first time I met you,” she admitted, “felt it getting worse each time something happened. Part of my job you know, taking care of the team.” She frowned, closing her eyes for a second, but gave her head a shake. “I wish I could sense Rori. Find where she is.”
“We’ll get her back,” I said, now surer than ever we would do just that, no matter how long it took or however many assholes we had to fight through to get to her. “Thank you for this.” I gave her hand another squeeze.
She cleared her throat, taking a step back, and releasing her grip on my hand.
“Yeah, sure, any time.” She smiled nervously. “I’m going to go inside and see if Agnes needs me for anything.”
My stomach was suddenly filled with a strange fluttering sensation.
A grunt sounded behind me as Chas lumbered out of the woods, tilting his head to the side as he glanced to the sky.
“What? Not all of us can turn into a raging bear.”
Blue and green light swirled around him. He rose up on his hind legs, and his growl turned into a groan as Chas emerged.
“No, we can’t,” he replied. “Looked like quite a show.”
“It was.”
Brunie was called out from the balcony on the second floor of the outpost. “That girl is awake. She’s calmed down if you want to try and talk to her!”
“Might as well,” I said.
Chas nodded, falling in beside me as we entered the outpost.
We were almost to the infirmary when Chas suddenly grabbed his head and fell into the wall.
I caught his arm, holding him upright, and asked him what was wrong.
“Nothing, just a bad headache,” he muttered. “I’m good, really.”
“You sure? You can go back to your room if you want and I’ll talk to her.”
“No.” He got himself upright, squinting at the overhead lights. “I’m good. Let’s go get some answers, hopefully.”
He walked off before I could argue with him. He hadn’t been hurt during the fight. Had he run into a tree in the woods? I watched him the entire walk to the infirmary where Brunie waited for us outside the door. Chas nodded to her then walked on in.
I gave her a worried frown.
Her brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?”
“Not sure,” I whispered. “Can you feel any wounds in him? His head?”
She closed her eyes, and I sensed her reaching out gently toward Chas. His answering growl said he felt it and then he was back at our side.
Brunie beamed at him.
He glared. “What are you doing?”
“Brogan was worried you hit your
head.”
“I didn’t, and I’m fine. Can we talk to her now?” He shot me a warning look, but there was something wrong with him. He kept squinting against the pain and rubbing rolling his head as if trying to relieve pressure.
We slowly approached the girl in the bed at the far end of the room.
Her hair was wet from a shower. Now that she was cleaned up, the bruises on her face, arms, neck were all too visible.
Chas’s hands closed into fists as he shook with anger.
The girl smiled, seeming maybe a year or two younger than I assumed. Her eyes were light blue, just like Rori’s, and a flicker of the storm I unleashed outside rushed right back to me.
Brunie stood at the foot of the bed and introduced herself with a soft smile. “Can you tell me your name?”
“Macy,” she replied quietly.
“Do you remember what happened to you? When you were taken?”
Her face paled, and she picked at the sheet. “I was with my parents and brother,” she whispered. “We were out at the park by our house.” She rubbed her hand over the back of her right where the mark of a frost mage was evident. “Dad was teaching me some tricks. I was to go off to Four Point in a few years. My brother was already a recruit but had come home for a visit.” She gulped loudly and shut her eyes, her face scrunched. “These men, they just showed up, yelling at my parents. Mom tried to hold them back, but then there was this electrical surge and pain. So much pain. My parents, my brother—I don’t know what happened to them, but the men took me away.”
“Just you?” I asked.
“I never saw my family again. This woman kept saying something about tracking down all frost mage girls. Searching for someone… I had no idea what she was talking about.”
I frowned as I glanced at Chas. Tabitha had been searching for Rori and was taking any girl who was a frost mage to see if she was the right one. “How long ago were you taken, do you remember?”
She wiped at her eyes hastily, and Brunie hurried to find a box of tissues for the girl.
“Six months? Maybe longer. I don’t remember much. Everything’s fuzzy after… after…” She rubbed her raw wrists.
