Scorched Ice

by Erica Stevens

  “You never have to worry about that.”

  He kept her hand in his as they slipped into the woods behind Vern. Quinn searched for any hint of danger amid the thick pines surrounding them. The scent of the trees hung heavily in the air, as did the rich aroma of the earth and rotting pine needles beneath her feet. Accustomed to the myriad of scents from the desert, this new influx of aromas overwhelmed her senses.

  She wanted to take a minute to acclimate herself to the unfamiliar environment, but she couldn’t slow everyone down simply because she felt overwhelmed right now. Sorting through the aromas of pine, earth, animals, and decaying wood, she finally focused on the scents of the Guardians and Hunters with them, as well as the vampires surrounding her.

  Julian stopped at the side of a downed tree, released her hand, and swung himself over it. Turning back to her, he settled his hands on her hips to lift her over. When he held her close for a moment longer than necessary, she felt the tension in his taut muscles. His eyes were a red so vibrant they would make a ruby look dull.

  “Stay with me,” she whispered afraid of what he would do when they came into contact with any member of The Commission, and she had no doubt they would. He wouldn’t be denied this.

  “Always,” he said, and blue of his eyes briefly broke through the red when he kissed her. As soon as he stepped away from her, the blue swiftly faded away again.

  “Julian—”

  “You are number one, Quinn. I won’t do anything reckless, not when your life is entwined with mine.”

  She threaded her fingers through his before they continued through the forest. After another quarter mile, Vern stopped and turned to face them. “About fifty feet ahead is the fence,” he said to Julian. “There’s barbwire running across the top, and I’m assuming what is electrical wire running throughout the chains. I wasn’t going to grab hold of it in order to find out.”

  “I can take care of the electricity,” Dani said. “Short circuit it if necessary.”

  “We’ll be able to tear through the fence afterward,” Julian replied.

  “They’ll have something more than electricity and barbwire,” Melissa said. “They know what Dani and other Grounders are capable of when it comes to manipulating electricity.”

  “They will,” Julian agreed. “But one step at a time. And through the fence is the first step.”

  He turned away from them and walked beside Vern as they all made their way through the trees. At the edge of the woods, Quinn knelt beside Julian and rested her fingers on the ground.

  Her heart plummeted into her feet as she gazed at the easily twenty-foot-high chain-link fence before them. Barbwire surrounded the top of it in looping coils that looked like they could slice someone in half. Poles stuck out from the tops of the fence and stretched a good two feet toward the tree line. More barbwire and what she assumed was electrical wire ran around the poles, making it impossible for anyone to climb beyond that point.

  Looking at the chain links of the fence, she spotted more wires running through them. She was certain Vern had been right, and the whole fence was electrified. The fence ran at least two hundred feet in either direction from where they knelt. It formed a square around the single story, concrete building in the center of the fenced-in area. Thick bars covered the two windows facing them. The large satellite dish and solar panels perched on the roof reflected the glow of the full moon rising high in the sky. Nothing moved around the building, but Quinn sensed something there, waiting for them.

  “It’s a small building,” one of the vamps commented.

  “It is,” Julian agreed. “I wasn’t able to see what it’s like on the inside, but these bastards like to go underground too. I’m willing to bet most of this compound is buried beneath the earth.”

  He turned to face Dani. “How close do you have to get to the fence to knock out the electricity?”

  “I’m close enough now,” she replied. “Are you ready for me?”

  “Yes.”

  Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and rested her hands on the ground. Quinn felt a vibration beneath her feet as the earth swelled and dirt rose up around them when Dani began to draw from the electrical pulses running through it. Sparks raced across Dani’s fingers, and the vampires closest to her all stepped away. The ground heaved before something broke free of Dani in a zigzagging line that scorched the earth as it raced toward the fence.

  A sizzling bang resonated across the clearing. The hair on Quinn’s arms rose as the air around her became electrified. Golden bursts of electricity shot from the fence before exploding across the top of it in a ring of arcing sparks that erupted around the entire structure. Dani lifted her hands from the ground and swayed on her feet. Julian grasped her shoulder, steadying her before she could fall over.

  “Thank you,” she murmured.

  “Any time,” Julian replied.

  Dani smiled at him before hesitatingly brushing her fingers over his. Tears shimmered in her eyes before she blinked them back. “It should be safe now, but I’ll go first to make sure,” Dani said.

  “I’m coming with you,” Julian replied.

  Quinn rose to her feet once more and followed them out of the woods toward the fence. Her gaze constantly swung over everything as Dani paused near the fence. The feeling of eyes watching her every move hadn’t eased with the cameras being taken down. Her gaze swung back to the windows of the building, and she knew the watchful eyes were beyond those barred panes.

  Dani wiped her hands on her jeans before clutching two of the chain links. Quinn half expected sparks to start shooting out around Dani and her body to start jerking as she was electrocuted, but everything remained the same.

  “The electricity is down,” Dani said when she stepped back.

  Julian grabbed two of the links in the fence. His corded muscles bulged and flexed, causing his shirt to pull taut across his back as he wrenched a section of the fence open. He peeled the metal back until a three-foot-wide section had been torn into the fence. Stepping back, he surveyed the fence before looking toward the building.

  “It’s almost too easy,” Dani said.

  “That’s because it is,” Julian confirmed.

  Quinn moved closer to peer through the hole at the building. “Did you get any impressions from touching the fence?” she asked him.

  “Only glimpses into the lives of those who put it up. Most of them were Hunters, a few were Guardians in training. They’re most likely here too.”

  “Fun,” Chris muttered. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Julian went through the fence first and rose to his full height. Quinn almost yanked him back when he brazenly turned to face the building. His chest and heart were completely exposed as he stood before the hole, offering protection to all those who followed him. Quinn scrambled inside the fence and rose to stand beside him. She held her ground when he gripped her arm and tried to tug her back.

  “No!” she hissed. “I’m not going to hide behind you.”

  Those vibrant red eyes met and held hers. He gave up on trying to maneuver her behind him, but he drew her closer as they waited for all of the others to come through the fence. They spread out across the fence as they came through, most of them staying low to the ground while they surveyed their surroundings.

  “That’s a pretty wide-open space between here and the building,” Melissa said as she stepped forward to stand beside Quinn. Chris moved to Melissa’s other side. Vern, Hadie, and Prue appeared on the other side of Chris while Luther and Lou stood on the other side of Julian. The vampire she recognized as Carla, the one who Julian believed needed this in her life, flanked Luther.

  “It is,” Quinn agreed.

  At least two hundred yards separated them from the building, and none of the land offered cover for them. She still saw no movement in the windows, but The Commission was most likely waiting until they were all closer before making their move. Knowing that he was outnumbered, Herb never would have attacked them until
Julian had discovered his hiding place, but The Commission would.

  “Maybe we can get the vehicles and drive them across,” Chris suggested. “They’ll at least offer some protection for all of us.”

  Quinn turned to look at the gate a hundred feet away from them. The dirt lane they’d traveled on to get here approached the gate from the other side. Beyond the gate, the dirt drive continued to the front door of the building.

  “If something happens to the vehicles, we have nowhere to retreat to if this isn’t over before the sun comes up,” Hadie said.

  Julian gazed between them and the roadway before turning to face the group again. “It doesn’t have to be all of the vehicles. We can use the van and one of the other larger vehicles as cover. Not the RV, we’ll need it if the other two vehicles get destroyed. What is everyone else driving?”

  A small woman stepped forward and lifted a set of keys into the air. “Jeep Cherokee.”

  “That will do. Hadie, go back with her and get the van.”

  “You got it,” Hadie replied.

  “We’ll have the gate open for when you get back,” Julian told them.

  Quinn watched as the two women walked away and blended seamlessly in with the woods. Julian took hold of her hand again and gave it a subtle tug. Quinn turned away from the forest to follow him across the inside of the fence toward the gate. This time, at least he didn’t walk as brazenly as if he owned the place but moved in a crouched-over position that she duplicated. They were open targets no matter what out here, but that didn’t mean she wanted to offer them a bigger target.

  The others all moved noiselessly behind them, in the same crouched-over position until they’d reached the gateway. On both sides of the gate was a keypad with numbers on it. More barbwire ran along the top while electrical wire entwined with the chain links.

  Dani rested her fingers against the gate. “It’s safe,” she confirmed and stepped away from it.

  Julian glanced at the building before walking across the drive to the other side of the gateway. Quinn followed behind and watched as he wrapped his fingers around the edge of the large pole on the end of the gate and gave it a hard jerk. The lock gave way with a snap. The Commission already knew they were here, but the noise grated like sandpaper on Quinn’s already frazzled nerves.

  The gate rattled and clanked on its sliding track when Julian flung it open. He caught hold of it and held it open when it hit the end of its track and slid toward him once more.

  “I hate this place,” Chris muttered from beside her.

  “Me too,” she admitted.

  Julian stared down the roadway toward where they’d left the vehicles before looking at the building again. Quinn braced herself before focusing on it once more too. It was a simple structure made of concrete and metal, yet she couldn’t help but feel as if it were a living, breathing entity waiting patiently for its moment to pounce on them.

  Don’t get carried away. She couldn’t help it though, not when it continued to feel as if eyes were boring into her neck.

  A low rumbling drew her attention back to the road as the van materialized over the top of a small hill with the Jeep right behind it. Bits of dust kicked up beneath the tires of the vehicles, marking the trail of their passing as they approached the gate.

  “How are we going to do this?” Luther asked.

  “We’ll have the vehicles stay next to each other and lead the way. We’ll stay by them, using them for whatever cover they provide. We’re going to have to go in low and fast, it will present less of a target if we do,” Julian replied. “You and Lou can ride with Hadie if you’d prefer.”

  “On this, I would prefer to be free to move around,” Luther said.

  The two Guardians may not be able to move as fast as the rest of them, but Quinn understood why they wouldn’t want to be in the van. She’d rather be slower and free instead of trapped in the vehicle if something did happen.

  “I agree with you on that.” Julian turned away from him. He rested his hand on the open window of the driver’s side door when Hadie pulled the van up beside him. “Are you up for doing this?” he asked her.

  Hadie’s hands tightened their death grip on the wheel before she replied, “Yes.”

  Julian slapped his hand on the door before walking around the front of the van and over to the Jeep. Quinn kept one eye on Julian as he spoke with the woman driving the Jeep and the other on the building. The woman remained behind the wheel when Julian stepped away and walked over to stand beside her again.

  Quinn’s nails dug into her palms as she tried to steady the riot of emotions tumbling through her. She’d give anything to have this over and done with. She didn’t enjoy killing, but she couldn’t deny the thrill of excitement creeping up her spine at the possibility of ending those who had tormented Julian and countless others so brutally over the years.

  “We have no idea what’s in between here and that building,” Vern said.

  “No, we don’t,” Julian agreed. “Let’s hope the roadway is mostly clear of anything. They might not have taken the chances of accidentally killing themselves by trapping the drive. It’s unlikely, but one never knows with The Commission.”

  “What do you think we could run into?” Quinn asked.

  Julian’s extended fangs glistened in the moonlight when he spoke. “Anything.”

  “Wonderful.”

  Julian took hold of her hand. “Stay by my side.”

  “I will,” she promised.

  “We’ll get in between and behind the vehicles,” he said to the other vamps. “Use them as cover the best we can.”

  Quinn moved beside him until they were situated next to the passenger’s side of the van and the driver’s side of the Jeep. She gazed back and forth between the vehicles and the pale vamps sitting behind the steering wheels.

  Julian slapped his hand on the side of the van, and Hadie hit the gas. On the other side, he knocked on the door of the Jeep. They remained in between the two vehicles when they started down the road, steadily increasing in speed. Quinn crouched over and ran as fast as she could in the hunched-over position.

  “Wait, Melissa!” Chris cried from behind Julian when they’d only traveled a hundred feet.

  Unprepared for Julian’s spinning movement, Quinn’s hand was torn from his. The rapid speed of her forward momentum, and that of some of the vampires around her, had all of them nearly ten feet away from Julian before she was able to slow. One of the vamps behind her jostled her further forward as they tried to remain protected by the vehicles.

  Craning her head, Quinn looked back at what had captured Julian and Chris’s attention. Melissa remained near the fence, her body completely still as something held her within its grip. Luther and Lou stood near her, their eyes troubled as they watched her. Quinn’s step faltered when she realized Melissa was having a vision.

  She stretched her hands out to smack them against the still moving vehicles, but the vehicles had traveled beyond her reach. The color drained from Melissa’s face, and she lifted her head to look at them.

  “Wait!” Melissa screamed.

  Hadie, realizing almost everyone else had stopped, hit the brakes. The Jeep kept going with a few vampires still beside it. They were nearly three-quarters of the way to the building now. Quinn lunged forward and hit the back quarter panel of the Jeep. The woman at the wheel brought it to a halt with a small squeal of the brakes that turned Julian’s head in her direction.

  “Quinn!” he shouted.

  She turned and took a step toward him when she heard something click beneath the foot of one of the vampires in front of her. The vampire’s mouth dropped, and the color drained from his face. Quinn barely had time to register the noise before the world exploded around her. Searing heat and pain lanced through her body as she was flung backward.

  CHAPTER 22

  A wave of fire washed over Julian as screams reverberated through the air. He didn’t recall hitting the ground, but he realized he was lying on i
t when he felt a rock digging into his back. Turning over, he saw it wasn’t a rock after all; it was someone’s foot.

  “Shit,” he snarled and threw the bloody appendage away from him.

  He shoved himself upright to search for Quinn. He’d thought she’d been right beside him when he’d stopped. She should have been right beside him, but he’d let go of her when he’d realized Melissa was having a vision. Quinn had moved beyond him before the blast had exploded his eardrums and set the world on fire.

  Now, he all he could see was the scorched earth around him and the flames consuming the Jeep. The vehicle had been launched into the air and rested on its roof only ten feet away from him. Through the snapping flames and curling smoke, he saw the woman inside was little more than bones as the fire had already consumed most of her flesh.

  Hadie pulled herself out of the passenger window of the van and perched on the door. The vehicle was thirty feet away from him and resting on its driver’s side. The sole of a shoe faced him as someone’s leg poked out from under the van. Julian’s deadened heart leapt into his throat at the possibility that it was Quinn trapped beneath the vehicle. It took him a second to realize the sole belonged to a sneaker instead of the black boots Quinn was wearing.

  Hadie dropped down from the van and flattened herself against its undercarriage. Unlike the Jeep, he saw no hint of fire or smoke from the van. Hadie used the back of her arm to wipe away the blood trickling from a jagged gash on her forehead.

  “I’m going to kill these assholes!” she shouted over the crackling flames and the screams of the mutilated and dying.

  Julian ignored the twisted bone of his ankle as he rose to his feet and searched through the crackling flames and debris around him. “Quinn!” he bellowed.

  Smoke seared his nostrils and clogged his throat, but already the fires were fading away as the grass did little to fuel the flames. Broken bodies littered the ground, many were still alive, unwilling to move as they lay on what he now realized was a mine field. Others remained on their feet, uninjured but reluctant to take another step. Prue and Carla were five feet away from the van, unable to see around the obstacle in their way.