by H. M. Clarke
“This is not right. We should have run into something by now. The Sharda never leave any entrance unprotected or un-alarmed. It is as if they want us to go this way.”
“Or they could just have been sloppy when setting up this place.”
“One thing about The Sharda that you should never forget Kaitlyn is that they are never sloppy.”
“Okay. I get the point, George. Are you going to radio David for help?”
As soon as the words left her lips, Kaitlyn knew it was the wrong thing to say. George’s back stiffened and what she could see of his face set like stone.
“No. We do not need Wheeler. Just be careful and keep one eye on me.”
“Yes, George.”
“If we do run into anything, retreat back to the exit. I will be close behind.”
“Yes, George,” Kaitlyn repeated. “I do know how to handle myself. I’m not the Pell everyone is making me out to be.”
Without warning, the staff on George’s shoulder flashed away, making Kaitlyn step back up the stairs in surprise. It spun through the air around its Master as George controlled it with the deft movements of his slender fingers.
“You did that on purpose!” Kaitlyn hissed.
The smug smile on George’s face disappeared.
“Come on. Wheeler will be checking on us soon.” Ignoring Kaitlyn’s glare, he moved to the door leading from the landing.
Kaitlyn made sure that she was only two steps behind him. If something bad was behind that door it would pay to stay close to the Mage when he threw up his protective wards.
“Patefacio.” George hissed the word and the landing door clicked unlocked and opened slowly into the lower basement. The man did not move, George still stock still.
Kaitlyn tried to do the same, straining her ears to hear the slightest sound of anything existing beyond that door. What she could see of the area beyond the door was pure darkness. There was no aura of sheltered light anywhere. Not even the red/white glow of the regulation exit and emergency lights.
Pointing his staff before him, George stepped quickly through the door. Kaitlyn moved a moment after he did, making herself his shadow—if he was able to cast one in this place.
Once they were both inside Kaitlyn thought George would release his spell and let the door shut. Instead, he left it open. The light coming in from the landing made them perfect targets for anyone, or anything, waiting in here. Though, on the other hand, it made a nice exit beacon if they had to leave in a hurry.
Restraining the urge to fish out her torch, Kaitlyn wondered how she was going to shadow George once they moved into the darkness, where the light from the door did not touch. George’s penchant for wearing black did not help matters.
Kaitlyn’s eyes bored into George’s back, waiting for him to move. He just stood still and silent. If he moved, she had no hope of staying with him. Before she could talk herself out of it, Kaitlyn’s left hand shot out and grabbed the back of George’s coat.
He glanced at her over his shoulder. Kaitlyn gave George a weak smile and then whispered. “I won’t be able to see where you are in the dark.” She saw the shadow of a smile on his lips and he nodded.
“Hold on then. I am going to be moving to the center of the room.”
Kaitlyn could barely hear his whisper and firmed her grip just as she felt the coat tug forwards. Then they were both moving into the darkness. As they moved away from the light, Kaitlyn felt what she could only call a ‘black cloud’ descend about her. It was like all hope and joy was slowly being sucked out of her, leaving only her worry, lack of confidence and despair.
Kaitlyn could no longer see George, could no longer see her hand clutching his coat. She could only feel the soft wool under her fingers leading her forwards. The Sig Sauer in her right hand weighed it down as if it was trying to pull her with its mass to the floor. She firmed her grip around the pistol grip and tried to shake off the negative feelings that had quickly enveloped her.
George had been right to have been careful. Something malevolent was at work here, and it was not very friendly.
Kaitlyn’s hand abruptly ran into the hard muscle of George’s back. He had stopped and through her grip, she felt him move his arms to raise his staff to a better position. She could not see or hear anything, but George obviously could. Kaitlyn would think them alone in this room if it wasn’t for the oppressive dark cloud that had quickly descended around her.
Suddenly Kaitlyn was jerked forward as George moved and she felt a blast of air and heard a high whiz as George’s staff spun near her.
He struck again, and this time Kaitlyn heard a solid thunk as wood hit flesh. George moved again and the sound of tearing cloth was loud in the darkness. A flurry of movement followed and Kaitlyn was pulled along blindly as George’s coat jerked her forwards and sideways. The disorientation was beginning to make her feel nauseous. Closing her eyes and just using her ears did not work as with each tug of the coat, Kaitlyn’s eyes instinctively opened.
She could not even see what was attacking them. Whatever it was used the darkness as a weapon and was both solid and smoke. The ‘thwack’ of George’s staff showed that it could be hit.
Roaring flame suddenly pushed back the inky blackness and George’s staff moved back and forth, the flowing fire streaming from it like water into the darkness. The orange brightness hurt her night adjusted eyes.
Just as Kaitlyn turned, she heard a whistling sound coming towards her. Before she had time to react, George threw himself in front of her and something sharp slashed open the sleeve of his coat, letting forth a spray of blood that hit her across the face.
The iron taste of George’s blood on Kaitlyn’s tongue, mingled with the fear, sparked a strange sensation within her. Kaitlyn stilled as she felt something unknown respond within her to the taste of blood. She felt a tingling sensation start at the back of her mind, as if something was struggling to free itself.
Vaguely Kaitlyn was aware of George in front of her, talking to her. Then she felt heat wash over her face, and she knew that George had let loose another stream of fire from his staff at their attacker. Kaitlyn could feel the Sig Sauer hanging loosely in her hand, knew that she should try to use it, but the sensation in her head had paralyzed her.
Suddenly she felt muscular arms around her and George’s voice was murmuring in her ear.
“Kaitlyn, can you hear me? Kaitlyn, I have to get you out of here.”
George’s injured arm was close to her face, the smell of the fresh blood saturated her nostrils. Then the sensation suddenly burst asunder and her head was suddenly filled with knowledge and power.
Kaitlyn automatically reached out and placed her hand over the upper arm wound and felt the blood slowly seep over her fingers, but instead of being repelled by it her body craved it. As it flowed between her fingers, her skin tingled as if absorbing it, hungering for something contained within the hemoglobin. As the blood soaked into her skin, her senses suddenly heightened. Kaitlyn felt the rush of input as she felt the life force of everything in the house around her.
Outside in the truck Kaitlyn could feel Mark and Chris. On the floors above her were David and John and before her she could sense George. But strangely, his life force felt intermingled with hers, George was hard to pick out. Behind George, Kaitlyn sensed their attacker. She felt the heat of his lifeblood burning thickly in the far corner to her right.
It burned differently to her friends. Theirs was full of life and energy, while the thing in front of her ebbed and wallowed and felt dark and dying. As George continued to whisper in her ear, Kaitlyn sensed it move.
Her hand tightened over George’s wound and felt the rush of blood soak into her skin and with that blood came a flood of power, a power that the new opening in her mind knew how to shape and wield.
The ‘thing’ in the corner stood motionless, yet her usual senses told her that there was movement all around them. Kaitlyn felt George turn and swing at something as it moved past, but apart
from themselves, she could detect nothing else except the ‘thing’ in the corner.
‘It’s using phantasms to wear us down,’ Kaitlyn thought. ‘I have to stop it.’
Drawing on the power contained in George’s blood, Kaitlyn used it to touch the strange life force in the corner. It felt different to her friends, but it still had a beating heart. Kaitlyn used her power to burrow in and wrap itself around its decaying heart and squeezed.
The muscle struggled against her, she felt it fighting to pump and survive. Kaitlyn continued the pressure on her vice like hold, using the power flowing to her from the blood seeping under her hand.
The heart fluttered and Kaitlyn gave one last squeeze. The opposing forces shredded the heart muscle and across the link Kaitlyn felt the life force flowing through the creature abruptly disappear.
Kaitlyn pulled her power back as the thing slumped to the ground. As she felt her own force flow back into her, Kaitlyn’s knees buckled and releasing her grip on George’s arm, she dropped to the ground.
CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN
◆◆◆
“Kaitlyn!”
Kaitlyn felt George’s arms around her, taking her weight as she fell. Her body felt utterly drained, like a giant sponge that had every single drop of water squeezed out of it. It was a horrible feeling, and Kaitlyn vowed to herself that she would never do that to a sponge again.
“Are you okay?”
She felt squeezed and drained, but otherwise fine. Kaitlyn nodded. “What happened?” That was the foremost question on her mind. “Did you use me for a spell?”
Kaitlyn watched George’s eyes widen in shock. “No. No, I did not. I think you used me.”
That quickly bought Kaitlyn out of her stupor. “Me? But I’m not a mage. I’m a straight. I’m as straight at it comes.”
The gentle smile that appeared on gruff, stern George’s lips made her even more unsure of what was going on.
“Are you okay?” Finding George’s arms still locked about her, Kaitlyn pushed against them. “Did that thing give you a whack on the head before you finished it?”
“No, Kaitlyn. Listen to me.” George’s hands moved to rest warmly on her shoulders.
“The creature is dead. You killed it. You used the power in my blood to kill it. You, my girl, are a Sanguine Mage.”
“A Sanguine Mage?”
“We’ll talk about it later. First thing we need to do is get out of here.”
Kaitlyn nodded. Whatever had attacked them meant there could be more about. The room now looked and felt more ‘normal’. No oppressive blackness, no light sucking inky darkness. It was now only the gray and black shadows of an unlit room.
George clasped Kaitlyn’s arm, and the two began to back cautiously to the door.
“David,” George hissed into his throat mike. “You and the team better get back here pronto. Kaitlyn and I were just attacked.”
Kaitlyn could not hear David’s response, but from the look on George’s face it must have been colorful.
“Look, David. At this time, I do not know how many of the Sharda there are here; just get back here as quick as you can.”
When they reached the open door George held his staff upright, muttering as he lifted it before bringing it down hard against the floor of the landing. The brass end rang like a gong on the treated cement of the landing, and Kaitlyn clutched awkwardly at her ears in an effort to block out the sound.
“Sorry, Kaitlyn. I need to set up a moving ward around us both,” he said, noting her reaction.
Kaitlyn nodded as she drew her hands away and inwardly cursed herself for forgetting her gun was in her hand. She had clunked herself in the temple while covering her ears.
‘We are near your current location,’ David’s voice buzzed in Kaitlyn’s ear piece. ‘We will meet you in the ground floor corridor.’
“Roger that,” Kaitlyn replied as she and George started back up the stairs.
As they came back into the Hallway, Kaitlyn caught sight of David and John coming towards them.
“What happened?”
George quickly muttered and Kaitlyn felt a tickle of power around her. She then knew that George had increased his ward to house both David and John.
“We had unwanted company in the basement levels.”
“Remy?”
Kaitlyn scowled and shook her head as George replied to David.
“No, we were attacked by an Infernum.”
“An Infernum! How did you-”
“Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn destroyed it.”
“Kaitlyn?”
She watched as David’s and John’s eyes swiveled towards her.
“You killed an Infernum?” John asked with enough disbelief in his voice to give Kaitlyn a twinge of annoyance.
“I don’t know what it was that attacked us, but George is right. I dealt with it.”
The two men continued staring uncomfortably at her, and Kaitlyn felt like she must have two horns growing from her forehead.
“David.” George’s voice drew David’s attention slowly away from Kaitlyn. John still continued to stare at her.
Once George had David’s attention, he continued. “They know we are here. Is the plan still to capture? Or are we now clearing out a nest?”
“For all we know this could just have been a setup to get their hands on one of us,” John said, dragging his attention to the conversation at hand.
“It most probably is a setup. Everything they’ve done today feels planned. And it looks to be focused on me.” Kaitlyn drove her thumb hard into her chest as she spoke, emphasizing the ‘me.’
“There could be something else waiting for us right now. The Sharda know that we aren’t going to leave until we’ve cleared every centimetre of this place.” Kaitlyn was building her anger and turned her now furious eyes onto David.
“We should use what we have to our advantage. And what we have is me.”
“Kate. We talked about this-”
“There was no ‘talk’, just you telling. We know they are out to get me. Use me as bait to lure them in and then we’ll have them.”
David just stared at her.
“George. How did she kill the Infernum?”
Anger began to burn like fire in Kaitlyn’s eyes. How dare he talk around her!
“Using my blood,” George replied to him. “She is a Sanguine Mage.”
“Jesus Christ!” John muttered and gave an involuntary step back.
David scowled at John. “Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.”
“I crushed its heart like an over ripe tomato,” Kaitlyn said, her words full of spite. She saw David twitch, and Kaitlyn knew him well enough that he had used his force of will to stop himself from stepping away from her.
David, her so called best friend, did not believe that she had been able to defend herself. Kaitlyn still had not quite got her head around George’s statement that she was a Sanguine Mage. She did not know what to think about that. All she had heard or knew about Sanguine Magi was that they were powerful. And feared.
“Both you and Chris will have to watch yourselves now,” John said to George before snidely adding. “Especially Chris.”
Kaitlyn caught the grimace that crossed George’s face before he gave his attention back to David.
“Maybe we should let her drain Gisbourne to stop his interference,” David muttered as he glanced back down the corridor. He sighed and turned his attention back to the three of them.
“We are going to thoroughly search the rest of this building. I have contacted Munroe to send whatever available agents to help. Mark and Chris will meet them and send them in.”
“Here’s your chance to set Kaitlyn onto Gisbourne.”
“Shut up, Summerby,” David snapped.
John just grinned. He was enjoying this.
“What would you have us do?” George asked, indicating both himself and Kaitlyn.
“Both of you are to check the ground floor. John and I will chec
k the basement level and the new groups can check the first and second floors.”
It was Kaitlyn’s turn to grimace. David and John had already cleared this floor and only gave it to them because of that. But at least he was not sending her away to the truck.
“Tag and collect anything that might be of use to us and if you find a hostile body. Call for backup. Try not to kill them.”
Kaitlyn saw the ‘meaningful’ look David shot to George. George gave no indication that he noticed it. He just tapped his staff on the floor and started walking down the corridor.
David opened the access door and he and John disappeared down into the stairwell.
Kaitlyn hurried to catch George up.
CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
◆◆◆
A hand on her shoulder made Kaitlyn turn, her Sig Sauer racked and ready to fire. And it was pointed directly at Richard’s chest.
The rush of adrenalin held her for a moment. Richard had his hands up and that smug smile of his plastered across his face.
“I could have shot you!” Kaitlyn said as her heartbeat calmed to a more normal rate as the rush left her. She could see George standing to one side of her, watching them.
“Only if I let you.”
“Your Talents are not that good Gisbourne,” George broke in from the sidelines. “Freezing a bullet at that close a range would not slow it enough to stop it penetrating your chest.”
Richard tsked.
“You’re assuming that I have no other defenses in place.”
“Do you?” George pushed.
Richard gave George a hard stare before letting that smug smile come back to his lips.
“No. I dropped it when I stepped into the boundary of your ward, George. No use wasting energy that I don’t need to.”
“Shouldn’t you be checking the floors above us?” Kaitlyn interjected before this battle of witty comebacks could take hold.
“Yes. I just thought to come and see you on the way up. The Old Man wanted me to ensure you are here doing your job.”