Unholy Sundering

by DeAnna Browne

  With a single command, they were up and rushing to the cliff side. Leon had removed his magazine and reloaded in one fluid movement. With the power of a bull, he charged up the steep trail. When they approached the first attacker, Leon had him on the ground in less than a minute. The next soldier was tossed over the side, and the party continued up the switchbacks. The next attacker didn’t have any chance to figure out Leon’s unique gift before he flew over the edge. Unfortunately on the next turn where the path widened, a small group waited for them.

  Shots flew as Leon continued to charge with Caleb right behind him. Becca, knife in one hand, followed after. Caleb tackled a nearby man, and the next one in line came after her. He attacked her shield, but she easily defended herself and swung out at him.

  Her knife sliced along his forearm, and she turned to avoid his punch. Before she could strike out again, someone grabbed her from behind. She slammed her knife into his leg, and he threw her into the wall. Her shield shattered, and the night spun around her. Not waiting for her vision to clear, she ducked low and reached out to the minds around her. She instantly recognized Leon and Caleb, but it would be hard to differentiate the others. Off to the side where the path narrowed, she glimpsed a wizard in the shadows focused on a man howling in pain. Keeping low, she rushed him and kicked out his knee. He crumpled to the ground.

  Someone or something struck at her from behind. Pain reverberated down her back, and she lashed out. Her attacker stumbled near the edge of the cliff and grabbed Becca’s arm. She struggled to break free, but he remained locked onto her.

  A shot rang out behind her, striking the man in the chest. He began to pull her backwards over the cliff.

  Let go. She drove the thought with her mind. Let go!

  Finally, he released his grip. The momentum dragged him over the edge. She scraped the side of the cliff to find purchase. His screams carried into the oblivion below. She pulled herself up and crouched down, trying to steady her breath. There weren’t many men left standing.

  Caleb appeared and offered Becca a hand. “You all right?”

  “Yeah.” She stood up and shook out her hands. “Do you have another knife?”

  “You always loved your blades.” Caleb’s casual tone told her the immediate threat was diffused.

  “I can take your gun if you want,” she said sarcastically.

  “You know I’m the better aim.” He handed over the knife, and they joined the others.

  Leon motioned with his hand, and they continued up the path. Near the back of the group, Becca faced less conflict on the trail but stepped over several dead attackers on the way up.

  “Spread out to make sure we’re not missing anyone,” Leon told the group as they climbed over the ridge.

  Becca tried pushing her magic out to sense anyone. Unless they were under a great shield, she sensed nothing. Becca sucked in a lungful of cold air and stared into the night sky. A good mile or two off, someone stood on the cliff’s edge, jacket flapping in the wind. She blinked and he was gone.

  “We need to head back and check on the others,” Leon told them.

  They began the fast run back. Flashlights pointed on the ground lit the path. The corpses along the way haunted Becca. So pointless. Why would someone light a fire and attack them on a cliff? Was this connected to the previous attack when they left for town? This wasn’t a big enough force to win.

  “Leon, did you see this?” Becca stopped the group and bent over one of the injured men whose shirt was torn open. His chest was tattooed, a partially done pentagram with a unique symbol inscribed inside. She’d seen these before in some of the cities. It marked those indentured to the coven, magicians and Mundanes alike.

  “Yeah. It’s the nearby city’s coven, Arturo’s. Didn’t think he was stupid enough to start this. Marco,” he said to the man in the front of the lines, “pick up the pace.”

  Becca looked once more at the top of the cliff, searching for the cloaked observer. Maybe she imagined it? Whatever this was, it didn’t feel finished.

  CHAPTER 27

  B ack on the beach, Becca found Elizabeth asleep on Nikki’s lap. “Is she okay?”

  “Yeah. She was up for a while mumbling but crashed again when the gunshots stopped.”

  Becca needed to get her sister back inside. The cold ocean breeze assaulted them as if angry it was being controlled by Andre. The cave appeared clear of smoke. Hopefully they could go back in.

  “Thanks for watching her.” Becca kneeled beside Liz.

  “They are directing people back in. Let’s get her in the med unit.” Nikki gently lifted Liz up.

  A couple guys helped carry Liz back inside. Becca searched for Darion to make sure he was okay. An odd stench still hung in the cave’s tunnels, but there was no sign of smoke or Darion.

  Back in the med unit, Becca tucked Liz into bed, her skin icy to touch.

  “I’ll grab a couple more blankets.” Nikki went to the cabinets. “It’ll take her a bit to warm up.”

  “Maybe I can help?” Darion entered the room, his face covered with dirt and soot, but no blood.

  Becca turned at the sound of his voice and gripped him into a tight embrace. He was whole, safe, and with her. After a second, her rational brain caught up with her and realized the scene she’d created. He was with Andre during the fight, chose to be with Andre, and she shouldn’t worry. He probably didn’t.

  She stepped back and avoided his gaze. “You’re okay. I didn’t see you on the beach.”

  “Yeah, I was working with Andre. You all right?” He looked her up and down as if searching for injuries.

  “Yeah.”

  He grabbed onto the metal bed frame. “Let me warm things up a bit before I go take a shower.” It didn’t take long before she could feel the warmth radiating off of her sister’s bed.

  “You’re a great heater.” Nikki placed a couple blankets on Liz.

  “One of my many parlor tricks.”

  “So did Andre figure out what happened? Or who started the fire?” Becca remembered the lone figure on the cliff’s edge, and the gnawing sensation in her gut grew.

  “Someone was pumping smoke through the air vents in the kitchen. Andre stopped them, but they took off.” Darion rubbed his face, streaking the dirt.

  Becca probably looked the same. She felt grimy and exhausted. “We got most of them on the beach.”

  “What?” Darion cocked his head to the side. Evidently, he hadn’t heard of the fight on the beach.

  “It was a trap. They smoked everyone out and attacked the beach.”

  His lips formed a grim line, and his face darkened as Becca briefed him on what had happened outside.

  “He didn’t tell me.” Darion’s voice tightened with anger.

  Becca gave a brief exhale. It now made sense why Darion never made it to the beach. And as much as they could have used them, Darion was probably more useful in dealing with the fire.

  “Andre needed you,” she told Darion. “They were easily outnumbered. It didn’t make sense really. They should have been able to sense us. Instead, they walked into a slaughter.” Becca glanced at Nikki, but she busied herself in the cabinets.

  Darion said nothing. His exhaustion etched into his dark eyes.

  Nikki came over to check Elizabeth’s vitals. “Have you told him about Elizabeth?”

  “What?” Darion looked between the two of them.

  Nikki didn’t give Becca a chance to answer. “Her premonition. She’d been speaking about smoke for days and warned us before we smelled the smoke. She may be a seer.” She tucked the blankets around Liz. “Her blood pressure is good. She’s warming up.”

  Elizabeth’s color was returning, and the pressure in Becca’s chest lessened slightly. Though she couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that her sister may be a seer.

  “I need to talk with Andre.” Darion stood, fists clenched.

  “I’m coming with you.” She turned to Nikki. “Can you watch her?”

  Nik
ki nodded. “I’ll have an easier time with Elizabeth than you will with my dad. Good luck.”

  They headed out into the tunnels. Even though it was still the middle of the night, people littered the halls: security, magicians, and Mundanes. It would take a while before people felt comfortable sleeping.

  Darion walked close to her and spoke in a low voice laced with fury. “Andre had no right to keep the attack on the beach from me.”

  “He needed you.”

  “No, he didn’t, and it was not his call to make.” Warmth emanated off of him as his anger grew. “He’s blind if he thinks my reinforcements are going to stop what’s coming.”

  Once they arrived at Andre’s office, Darion banged on the door. “He knows we’re here and probably not happy.” Darion waited stone-faced.

  During the silence, Becca wondered if this happy community was as good as it appeared. Every family held secrets, and Andre had more than his share. If Ryma knew Becca and Darion were here, he wouldn’t stop until he saw their dead bodies. Her stomach sank at the idea that they were putting this community in danger. It didn’t help that they hadn’t asked to come here. Not that she regretted the decision. She couldn’t have saved Liz without Andre’s help. No family came without its drama.

  Jemi finally opened the door. “Come in.”

  They walked in. Andre paced by the bookshelf while Leon stood with his arms crossed on the other side of the room. He didn’t look happy. Jemi took a spot near Andre.

  “When are you planning to evacuate?” Darion glared at Andre.

  Andre kept pacing. “What evacuation?”

  “The evacuation to save everyone’s lives when Ryma comes back with reinforcements.”

  “I’m not afraid of Ryma.” Andre brushed away the concern with his hand.

  “You should be. He has over a hundred magicians in his coven.”

  “Are you done?” Leon stepped forward. “We’re wasting time.”

  Andre stopped and looked at the both of them. “We’re more concerned about how Ryma knows about this place. If we have a spy, then it’s pointless to run.”

  Jemi sat on the edge of the desk. “We didn’t have a problem until you three came here, especially after your little trip to the city.”

  “You guys dragged us here, remember?” Becca snapped. “The whole kidnapping and whatnot. And we’re running from Ryma, not informing him. You searched our minds. Or was all that just for fun?” She remembered the invasive combing of her memories that left a sick feeling crawling along her skin.

  Jemi’s icy lips turned up into a sneer.

  “If that is true, then it means we may have had an informer for some time. Ryma let us be until this group arrived.” Andre stared off into space as if trying to entangle Ryma’s intentions.

  “So we throw them to the wolves and be done with it,” Jemi offered with a flick of her hand.

  Andre frowned. “You know better.”

  “I thought Jemi could search everyone for answers,” Becca pushed. “Don’t you know who is keeping secrets or has a past?”

  Silence settled in the room as anger shot from Jemi’s eyes.

  “It’s not an exact science,” Andre explained. “We have over a hundred people here, many Mundane.”

  “And no one is tied to you?” Darion asked, though they both knew the answer.

  “I’m not stooping to create a coven. I won’t.”

  Hence the problem, Becca thought. How to help control and protect a people while keeping them free of magic? That was why the cities were cesspools for demons, Soultorns, and bloody magicians.

  “My sister is a seer, I think,” Becca said, changing the subject. “She’d been talking about the smoke for almost two days before it happened.”

  “Really?” Andre’s face lifted in surprise.

  Jemi sneered, doubt evident on her face. “I can look around her mind and see what I find.”

  “I’m not letting you pick and pry around my sister’s head because you can’t do your job and find a spy among your people.”

  Jemi’s face turned red, and she looked at Andre for a decision.

  “I have a better connection with my sister,” Becca said to Andre. “We share dreams. I can help her more than a stranger.”

  “Truly?” Andre leaned against the chair.

  “She can do it,” Darion said. “There’s a connection between them I can’t explain.”

  “Old magic,” Andre said. “Lately most magicians focus on collecting mass power, but people forget the strength in old magic.”

  “Andre,” Jemi said. “We can’t chance this to beginners. If you want to stay, we have to be prepared.”

  “And have an exit plan,” Leon said. “I won’t agree to any plan that doesn’t leave us a back door.”

  “To run like wild dogs, living as scavengers,” Andre practically spit. “You can have your exit plan, Leon. Darion, you’ll work defense with me. Jemi, work with Becca and her sister, and keep searching for our culprit. They could be anyone not born here, or who spent time in the cities. Leon, we’ll need to go to the city again for supplies and to listen to the rumors. If they’re going to attack again, they will need men, more than before. And they’ll probably pay them greatly to go to their deaths.”

  Images of the dead men flashed through Becca’s mind. She’d long ago learned to bury regret and guilt for her actions. Their deaths were caused by their own hands. She’d fought in self-defense. They all had. But the anger of whoever sent those men to fight, to die, burned in her gut.

  Leon must have felt the same as his arms tightened, ready to fight. “I don’t want to leave you short on men.”

  “Me either. But we need the information. Hopefully Elizabeth can help. Or Jemi, but there is no guarantee.”

  The weight of the task ahead lay heavy among them. Andre planned on taking on a coven. Granted, she wasn’t sure if Ryma himself would come down here. If he did, they would all pay. Her heart went out to Navina and the other young magicians who would be forced into servitude or imprisonment. They could never beat him.

  Should she stay with a sinking ship, or flee? Maybe this was the time to run, but this was the closest to a community she’d ever known. The one hope she’d found that maybe humanity could right itself. She couldn’t let Ryma tear it apart.

  Darion reached for her hand, a warm comfort in the darkness of her mind.

  Andre must have sensed her thoughts. “None of our tasks are easy. Necessary, yes, but not easy. A life of freedom never is.”

  CHAPTER 28

  B ecca spent the next day trying to search her sister’s mind to no avail. Elizabeth slept most of the day, which should have made it easier for Becca to connect to Liz’s subconscious, but Becca sensed nothing. Doc and Nikki reminded Becca that Elizabeth needed sleep to heal. Through the night, Becca caught glimpses of Liz’s dreams, but the brief pictures didn’t make sense.

  After fruitlessly spending another early morning with Liz, Becca headed down to training with Lance in hopes of finding some help, and also because Andre wanted her to train more with Lance and Jemi. Becca would pick Lance first in hopes to avoid the latter. Inside the training room, she spotted Navina, who was busy rolling her eyes at her partner.

  Lance approached in his usual fitted athletic gear. “About time you strolled in here. You’re supposed to do some mind work down here, not that I have time to help.” Dark circles and a three-day beard covered his face. The recent attack must’ve been putting extra pressure on everyone.

  Becca shifted from one foot to another and tugged the wool cap she got this morning over the tips of her ears. “I’ll stay out of your way.”

  “Not unless you want to spend the morning with cats.” He grinned at her.

  “Is controlling others a specialty of yours?” Becca often wondered since Lance appeared competent in most areas of magic.

  “Not really. I’m a jack of all trades, dearie. It’s not about who has the most strength to move a mountain, but who is clever
enough to manipulate what they got.”

  She often thought of people as focused in one or two branches of magic, and forgot that most competent magicians excelled in all mediums.

  “So, do I get to dive into your crazy mind?” She was curious on how she’d be working.

  He flinched back ever so slightly, and then gave a short laugh. “Nah, I’ll have you working with the twins today.” He hollered across the room to the guys in the back and then turned to her. “They’re working on their elemental magic. You can practice screwing with their brains. Not much harm can be done there.” He walked off.

  Apprehension and fear struck her mute for a minute. What had she become? What used to repulse her she now found herself embracing. This was for the greater good, she justified. The ounce of fear, hiding in the recesses of her mind, said otherwise.

  The rest of the morning passed in a blur. After a late lunch, she headed back to the med unit and found Jemi.

  If Becca thought Lance was on edge, Jemi was worse, snipping and correcting her every step of the way. In this world, though, teachers didn’t have the luxury of patience.

  In ripped jeans and a brown coat that doubled her size, Jemi perched in Doc’s chair. “Don’t force your way in like a battering ram. Find your center, connect your magic, and then seep into her unconsciousness. When people feel threatened, they build more walls to force you out.”

  Becca shook out her hands and tried again, placing her palms on either side of Elizabeth’s head. This time, Becca tried to relax and reached out to her sister. The connection they had was so strong before the demon Bael had possessed Liz. Now, any connection took a lot of energy on her part. When she’d dared to mention it, Jemi wasn’t sure if it would return or not.

  “I’m seeing glimpses,” Becca whispered. “A forest.”

  “Don’t tell me,” Jemi instructed. “Just move towards it. Focus on the connection.”

  Becca didn’t recognize the forest. Large leaves and vines painted the trees bright green. She tried to follow her sister, who hurried ahead. Pictures of death, of fire and blood flashed amongst the trees, but the images fled too fast to really understand. The cold air played with Liz’s long unbound golden hair, the hospital gown billowing around her. The harder Becca ran towards her, the faster Liz went.