Everlasting Flame

by Katelyn Anderson

  Chapter Thirty

  There was no bright light, only darkness.

  My pendant burned against my skin. Magic washed through me, bringing me back to life. The bodies covering me muffled my gasps as I desperately filled my lungs with oxygen. An ocean stirred inside of me, pushing out every bullet. The bullets tinkered on the floor with the quietest of hushes. The sound was swallowed up by the blood that drenched the tiles. Power continued to flow through me like an overflown river; the current was strong. Magic mended my shattered bones and my wounds. Magic couldn’t fix my heartbreak.

  Damian’s magic had brought me back to life. My team hadn’t been so lucky. I felt my eyes burn with tears and my throat constrict. I tried to remember the last thing I said to my team. I never got the chance to say goodbye. I trapped my sobs tightly in my chest. This wasn’t the time to break down and cry. I was still in danger.

  All I could smell was the metallic scent of blood and Matt’s cologne. His arms and the arms of my other protector were still wrapped around me. They hadn’t loosened their grip at all, even in their last moments. They protected me without hesitation. I was truly grateful. I never knew just how much I meant to Matt, not until he threw himself at me and became a human shield. He always teased me but in the end, he had cared enough about me to give up his life to keep me safe.

  Red hair was trapped between my fingers. I couldn’t work out if it was mine that was soaked in blood or if Ruby had been the other person who protected me. When I discreetly moved my hand, I didn’t feel a tugging sensation on my head. It was Ruby. Ruby and Matt sacrificed themselves to protect me.

  I stayed still. If I broke free, Oliver would know I was alive. I would be gunned down the moment I revealed myself. I just waited, lying in my own blood and the blood of my fallen comrades. My eardrums were still ringing. Sound was faint but I could still make out what was being said if I concentrated hard enough.

  “Find Sky, Stevens, and any leftover agents that came to their aid. Kill them all. Once you’re done, continue slaughtering each other. I’m going to start over and don’t need reminders of my mistakes. Get out,” Oliver bellowed.

  I was going to kill him. I was going to bloody kill him.

  Marching feet mingled with the ringing in my ears. I felt the floor vibrate with their heavy steps as they filed out of the room like good little soldiers.

  I tried to remember if Oliver was armed. I needed to wait a lot longer before I made my move. The hoard of mindless drones had to be far away. Oliver would call them back to finish the job if I revealed myself too soon.

  There was a loud thud, which I could only imagine to be Oliver kicking down his barricade. The sound of footsteps drew closer, like a steady heartbeat.

  My fingers crept towards my spare gun. I couldn’t reach it. I was at the wrong angle. It took every nerve in my body not to freak out and panic. I was proud of myself for lasting this long. All I wanted to do was kill that bastard and get the hell out from underneath the bodies of my friends who were keeping me hidden. This was awful.

  “Leroy? Leroy?” I heard Claire whisper, the emotional choke visible in her voice. “Oh, god. Come back to me, please. Please, Leroy, please.”

  My heart broke into further pieces. Screw being subtle. I had to protect Claire.

  “He can’t hear you. Not to worry, you’ll be joining him soon. I have no need for a nearly dead human. Pitiful species,” Oliver said. “I won’t grant you a quick death. I’ll let your wounds take their toll.”

  I pushed Matt off me with what little strength I had left, heaving him with a quiet huff. He was heavy but I was desperate to get to Claire. I had to try and save someone, even if it wasn’t possible to rescue her. No one should die alone. If I couldn’t save her, I wanted to be there for her.

  I had my gun in my grasp when I stood, unsteady on my feet. I couldn’t get a clear shot. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. It was as if I held an earthquake in the palm of my hands. I’m sure I looked as pretty as a picture. My trousers were completely shredded from the firing squad. I think the blood was the only thing making the fabric cling to my skin.

  Oliver was kneeling by Claire and had his back to me, unaware I was up and moving. Perhaps his immortal ears were still ringing from the earlier firing squad.

  Claire was trapped under Winters’s body and was struggling to squirm her way out. He had more muscle than Matt and was undoubtedly heavier. Claire was tiny and didn’t have the strength to push him off. She was frantic to get away. Having the deadweight of her deceased lover pinning her down wasn’t something she wanted to continue experiencing. She was whimpering.

  “Stay the hell away from her,” I yelled at Oliver when his hand reached out to touch her.

  My gun was aimed at Oliver. I couldn’t stop the shakes. I wanted to shoot him but I didn’t want to risk shooting Claire by accident. They were too close to each other.

  “Joan, help me. Please help me,” Claire sobbed. “Please.”

  “Oh?” Oliver questioned, staying where he was. I think he worked out it was safer for him to stay close to Claire. “And how are you still alive? Your legs got shredded to a pulp, and there you are, standing on two feet.”

  “I’m resilient. It wasn’t my legs. Matt and Ruby kept me alive and in one piece. They gave up their lives to protect me, giving me the chance to kill you.”

  Oliver roared with laughter. “How do you plan on killing me with trembling hands? You can’t even keep your gun steady.”

  Oliver left Claire and began pacing around the room. The lion stalked his prey but didn’t seem interested in killing either of us. There had been a gun within arm’s reach and Oliver didn’t use it to shoot us. All it took was two seconds. He had chosen not to. Maybe he was too preoccupied with controlling his army.

  I fired twice but missed him. My gun jammed on the third attempt and my hands were too slippery to fix it. I threw the gun away in frustration and wordlessly yelled. I still had a knife tucked in the front of my Kevlar. I would use it when I could get closer to Oliver and when my hands quit shaking. I was too emotional and didn’t know how to switch off my heartbreak.

  Oliver tilted his head to the side, letting his golden brown locks fall. “How ironic that agents who killed Tainted Beings for a living gave up their lives to protect one from death. Your lies don’t fool me, girl. I can see you and your torn clothes.”

  Claire’s blue eyes were swimming with emotion. She gazed up at me, finding it hard to believe what Oliver was saying. She took a good look at my appearance through her tears. It was hard to tell what was going through her head.

  “Joan? Is this true?” Claire asked; her voice cracked.

  I wish I had the strength to steady my hands. I had an excellent aim. All it took was a simple squeeze of the trigger to finish Oliver off. I was a mess and I no longer had my gun. I wasn’t sure how I was still functioning.

  I didn’t want to be here. I didn’t want any of this to be real. I wanted someone to pinch me and wake me from this nightmare. My team had been slaughtered. My friends. My comrades. Gone.

  I nodded twice to answer Claire’s previous question. There was no point in denying it, especially when the evidence stacked up against me.

  “This whole time?” she practically screamed it.

  “Yes,” I answered in a mere whisper.

  “How could you? We were your family! We were your friends!” she spluttered. She was too weak to be arguing but that didn’t stop her from using her last breaths to yell at me.

  “You still are,” I breathed, my sentence choked with emotion. “Please, Claire. Stop this–”

  “No! You lied to all of us! We vouched for you! We protected you!”

  The world came crashing down, pushing endless gravity onto me, making my knees buckle. I knelt on the floor. I wish I had stayed dead, that way I wouldn’t have heard such hatred.

  “I don’t care anymore. I’ve lost everything,” Claire confessed; that made me glance up. The anger in her voice was
gone. Only sadness remained. “I’m glad we met you. You gave our team purpose. You made life worth living again,” she paused for air, struggling to breathe. She started coughing up too much blood. “Continue living for us, Joan, don’t let our deaths be in vain. I hope I meet you again in my next life. I’ll miss you. You were a true friend, despite your flaws. I wish we had more time...” she started to slump forwards.

  “Claire!” I cried out, scrambling to get to her.

  “Give them hell. You’re our last hope... to end this war...”

  “Claire!” I exclaimed, heaving Winters’s body off of her so she was no longer pinned.

  The back of Claire’s Kevlar was dotted with dozens of bullets. She probably had cracked ribs and was bleeding internally. Relieving the pressure from Winters’s weight may have made it worse.

  I turned her over so she wasn’t facedown. Her head was resting on my lap. I cradled her face in my hands, crying. My tears fell on her cheeks. She raised a trembling hand to touch my face but she didn’t have the strength to lift it that high. I held her hand and lowered it to her chest. I didn’t let her go.

  “I’m sorry, Joan. I’m sorry you had to hide. I hope the day comes where you no longer have to. I wish I could stick around and see it...” her voice trailed off and she smiled. “I can hear Leroy’s voice. Can you hear him, too?”

  “Yes, I can hear him,” I replied, voice cracking. I didn’t lie often but it was something Claire needed to hear.

  “I’m scared.”

  “Don’t be afraid. Leroy will greet you with open arms and keep you safe. You’ll be in good hands.”

  “Ok... Joan, promise me something...”

  “Anything.”

  “Stay alive.”

  “I can’t–”

  “Promise me,” she repeated adamantly, weakly squeezing my hand.

  “Ok. I promise.”

  “Good...” she said, closing her eyes. “Good...”

  I felt her life slip away in my hands.

  I leaned forward, resting my forehead on hers. I couldn’t stop crying. The sobbing was relentless. I clung to her lifeless body, hugging her as tightly as I could, crying out, begging for her to come back, for all of them to come back. I was alone, again. I had lost my family, again. They were gone. They were all gone.

  “I do enjoy the sweet sound of a sobbing woman,” Oliver stated, tone cold and harsh.

  I had nearly forgotten that I wasn’t alone until I heard Oliver’s voice. I was going to kill him. I needed to pull myself together if I was going to avenge my fallen comrades. The sobbing stopped. The tears continued to flow but were silent. My hands were coated in blood but were no longer trembling.

  I let go of Claire, gently lowering her head on the ground. I rose up from the bloodied floor and rolled back my shoulders, clicking my neck from side to side. I filled my face with as much hate as I could when I set my sights on Oliver.

  I grasped the hilt of my dagger and charged at Oliver, screaming harsh words. I threw him up against the far wall. My sudden burst of momentum had pushed us that far. My blade went through his chest, piercing his heart. His body didn’t shudder or fall forward. He was still alive and kicking. His fingers wrapped around my throat. He turned the tables, throwing me into the wall, making me dangle in mid-air. The blade was still lodged in his chest.

  “How are you still alive?” I gasped, trying to tear his hand from my throat. He was choking the life out of me.

  “My heart is on the right side. My abnormality has saved me more than once,” he said, loosening his grasp enough so I could breathe past his tight grip. “When you become one of my slaves, I will use that bloodlust I see in your eyes to destroy the agency. You won’t remember being turned, I’ll make sure of that. You will kill all of them without being able to stop yourself. Be grateful you weren’t responsible for your team’s deaths. I could have made you turn on each other.”

  “I will never give in to your magic. I would rather die than be influenced by your twisted power.”

  “You don’t have a choice.”

  When he lowered me down the wall so my feet were touching the ground, his magic slammed through me like a truck. I couldn’t even move. He was rewriting my emotions. The pain I felt from losing my team was gone. All I felt was pure hate that made my blood boil. I tried to lash out with that rage spike but he made my body freeze with pure terror. My heart raced. My breathing was reduced to sharp gasps. My muscles were tight. I couldn’t do a thing. He made me a prisoner inside my own body. His magic was trying to break through my mind defence but it was solid. He could control my emotions but he couldn’t control my actions.

  “I do enjoy a challenge,” Oliver said.

  I screamed when the strength of his magic doubled. It felt like my entire body was going to break.

  “This will all end if you just let me in.”

  “Go to hell,” I gasped.

  “Feisty. Maybe I’ll change my approach and break you in other ways.” Oliver ripped the blade out of his chest. The wound knitted itself together. His other hand was still clasping my throat, continuing to slam me with heavy doses of magic. “It’s been a long time since I was with a beautiful woman. I’m going to enjoy taking my time with you.”

  “No,” I breathed.

  “No? You’re a prisoner of my magic and I’m fresh out of mercy.”

  “I’ll never be your prisoner.”

  Something stirred inside of me, overriding Oliver’s magic as it continued to torment me; my pendant was burning. Oliver’s power began to waver. I took the chance to make my move when I was no longer overwhelmed by fear. I slammed my elbow down on his arm, feeling his bone break. I reached for my spare knife, slicing his throat. In that same sweeping motion, I embedded the blade in his skull. I wasn’t going to risk missing his heart again. His glacier eyes rolled into the back of his head. He fell onto the ground with a single thud.

  I slid down the wall and hugged my knees.

  A tremendous pressure radiated from my necklace. The diamond cracked and shattered into dust, leaving behind the silver crescent base. Damian’s magic had saved me twice. There was none left. The gem storing his magic had been destroyed.

  The double doors crashed open. A sea of agents piled into the room. I didn’t have anything to protect myself with from another firing squad. All I had were two daggers within arm’s reach that I would have to take from Oliver’s corpse. Even I couldn’t slice bullets.

  I would break my promise to Claire of staying alive. I would do my best to break through the agent hoard but I knew I wouldn’t make it out of this alive. At least I had taken down the psycho serial killer. I would die knowing the man who murdered my team was dead, that his reign of terror was over. That was the only good thing about this situation.

  “Hold your fire, she’s one of us,” Sky’s voice called out. I was so grateful to hear a familiar voice.

  I stayed where I was, huddled up against the wall, my arms wrapped around my legs.

  “Clear out. Find the remaining agents. They’re not here. I’ll handle this,” Sky said.

  “What if she’s been brainwashed like–”

  “I said I’ll handle this. Get the hell out of here, now, all of you,” Sky interrupted the blabbering agent, tone colder than ice.

  Every agent scrambled out of the room. None of them wanted to get on Sky’s bad side. It seemed she and Dane had more in common than I thought. They were both terrifying.

  Sky made her way towards me. She didn’t have a single splash of blood on her, until she set foot in this room of death. Her shoes became soaked in red from wading through the thick puddles. She crouched in front of me, keeping her knees off the ground.

  “You did it,” she told me.

  “I lost too much. I lost far too much.”

  “You still have your life.”

  “Only because Damian was watching over me,” I said, my sentence coming out in a mere whisper. “I’d be dead just like the rest of my team if he hadn�
�t been looking out for me. Where’s Dane? If he sees me like this, he’ll know my secret, and I might as well be dead.”

  “No, he won’t. I’m not the only one who knows about the pendant,” she reassured me, helping me to my feet.

  Did that mean Dane knew who I was all along?

  “Your partner is a mage. For all Dane knows, that protection charm was from your partner,” Sky said; she must have seen the panic in my face. “I’ll escort you back to HQ.”

  “What about my team?” I asked; my voice cracked.

  I didn’t drop eye contact with Sky. I didn’t want to see my team’s bodies. I didn’t want their corpses to be the last memories I had of them. I wanted to remember the good things, not the bad.

  “Everyone that has fallen today will get a proper funeral and burial. Dane will take care of your team’s travel arrangements,” she said, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

  Magic hummed against my skin, making me tense up. She gently pushed me forward. “Don’t worry, Joan. They’re in a better place now. Don’t pity the dead, pity the living.”

  It was as if Dane had heard his name. He suddenly appeared. His shirt was completely drenched in blood but he didn’t have a single scratch on him. He used his tie to wipe away the blood splatters on his face. He scanned the devastation in the room before those cold grey eyes fell on me.

  “How did your team fall?” Dane asked me, tone empty and cold.

  “Firing squad,” I replied; my voice shook. There was no point in lying. The room was littered with bullet casings. The tremble in my words wasn’t from fear. I was trying my best not to break down.

  “And how did you survive?”

  I held the pendant, running my finger across the smooth silver. “Magic brought me back. I didn’t survive. I died with them.”

  Dane inclined his head in thought, tapping the gun held loosely by his side. “Sky, I’ll take her from here.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” I stated; it was an automatic response. “This is your fault. You knew all along the type of foe we were dealing with and you told us nothing. Oliver didn’t kill them, you did.”

  Sky’s grip around my shoulders tightened in warning. “Dane, I’ll escort Joan back to HQ. She needs time to recover from what’s happened today. I will put her on the first flight back to Chicago when she’s ready. If you push her, you will lose another good agent.”

  “She isn’t your concern. She is one of my agents,” Dane replied, tone slick.

  Sky’s arm fell from my shoulders. She stepped in front of me, shielding me from Dane’s judgmental gaze. I could have sworn I saw her wings shift underneath her shirt. Dane had ruffled her feathers.

  “I’m making Joan my concern because you clearly don’t give a damn about her recovery. She may be one of your agents but you don’t own her. This is my turf, Dane. If you don’t like the way I run things then by all means, find another manager to govern the London branch. Anyone you assign will not earn the respect of my fellow agents. My replacement won’t last two days,” she paused to let out a calming breath, to get back on track. “I’m quite capable of looking after Joan.”

  “Clearly you don’t know where she came from. She’s a rogue asset.”

  “I read her file. I do know.”

  “Then you know that I can’t let her stay here without supervision. Who knows what devastation she might cause while stricken with grief.”

  I clenched my fist. He should count himself lucky that I didn’t have a gun on me, else I may have shot him. I could have very easily put the blame on Oliver’s magic for my reckless actions. Even in death, I could still feel traces of his power running through my veins. I shuddered at the thought of it.

  “She hasn’t done anything to deserve mistrust. She came from a dark place; we all did, that’s why we’re here. Everyone who joins this agency has darkness inside of them. That’s how we take lives. That’s how it’s always been. We are all rogue assets.” Sky raised a very good point.

  Dane, for once, was speechless.

  It had gone awfully quiet.

  I went to Sky’s side, no longer wishing to look like a coward by hiding behind her. I stood tall, even though on the inside I was falling to pieces and was barely hanging on.

  “It will take some time to assign you to a new team,” Dane finally said. “Use that time wisely.”

  “I don’t want to be assigned to a new team. I’ll do solo missions only,” I announced.

  “That’s not up to you to decide,” Dane told me. His dangerously smooth voice seemed more sinister when he was wearing a shirt soaked in blood. He meant business.

  How many people did he kill today? Was he thinking of adding me to that list?

  “Solo, or I walk,” I said. I wasn’t going to back down.

  “Agents who walk get shot.”

  “Then shoot me,” I dared him. “Shoot me and be done with it! Everyone I cared about is dead! This was my team! My family! My home!”

  Dane’s calm mask never crumbled. His piercing grey eyes never left me. I was the only thing in the room that was holding his attention. He held no empathy for my situation. He was cold-hearted and didn’t seem to care at all. The hand gripping his gun twitched but he didn’t aim it at me. It stayed by his side.

  “Shoot me!” I screamed it. “Shoot me, damn it!”

  Sky slapped my face, causing my head to turn with a sharp jerk. “That’s enough.”

  That was an unexpected wake up call.

  “That’s enough,” she repeated, tone more gentle

  I rubbed my stinging cheek. That was exactly what Claire would have done, to remind me not to break the promise I made to her. She was a gentle soul but was fiery when she had to be. Ruby probably would have smacked the other side of my face to make things even. I felt the beginnings of tears.

  Sky’s phone started ringing. She answered it straight away. “Yes?”

  “Building is clear. All hostiles have been eliminated.”

  A heartfelt sigh passed from Sky’s lips. “Good. Are you in the control room?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Put in the kill code to take the building off lockdown.” She gave the agent the code, reciting the numbers slowly. “We’re going to need more than one clean-up crew for this mess. Call all of them. I have other matters to attend to.”

  “Right away, ma’am.”

  “Call me ma’am again and I’ll demote you.” Sky cut the call. “Building is clear. I’m leaving.”

  “How are you certain that the person who called wasn’t one of the sleeper agents?” Dane inquired.

  “Because I’m not an idiot. I told him to call me when the job was done. If he called under duress, he was given strict instructions to tell nothing but the truth, even if that put him at risk. I trust my men a lot more than you trust yours.”

  “Trust is a fickle thing,” Dane replied, tucking his gun into a holster.

  “Sometimes, that’s all dependent on who,” Sky said, moving past Dane to leave the room. She stopped at the door to glance back at me. “Joan, let’s go. There’s nothing left for you here.”

  I nodded once and walked towards her without looking back. I was still shaky on my feet and was losing strength with each step. I avoided Dane and didn’t meet his face when I made my way to the door.

  My legs suddenly stopped working and I fell. Dane caught me without hesitation and didn’t let go. He tried to steady me but it was no use. I was dead on my feet and kept falling.

  “You might need to carry her,” Sky suggested.

  “That’s really funny,” I mumbled with a sarcastic bite. “I’d rather crawl than be carried by Dane.”

  “It’s non-negotiable,” Sky said, meeting Dane’s face with a small frown. “I’m not superhuman, I can’t carry her. That just leaves you.”

  Liar.

  “I could always add her to the body count instead,” Dane countered coolly.

  “Does he always threaten to kill you?” Sky ask
ed, the disapproval visible in her voice.

  “All the time. It’s a love-hate relationship. Just carry me, Dane, before I change my mind,” I muttered, knowing I wasn’t going to get out of this miserable building without his help. “Please.”

  Dane swept me up off my feet. He put my arm around his neck and held me tightly, one arm under my knees, the other around my waist. He was careful not to drop me as he climbed over the bodies in the hallway. His cologne overpowered the metallic scent of the blood staining his shirt. Trust him to smell nice after slaughtering a bunch of people.

  I welcomed the crisp wind when we stepped outside. I welcomed the cold rain as it fell from the sky in a soft drizzle. It would have been better if it was pouring down. It would wash away most of the blood that clung to me like a second coat. I had always loved the rain.

  I was grateful that there wasn’t a media storm waiting for us. Sky had kept things under wraps without alerting the media. I had a feeling that wouldn’t last for much longer. This wasn’t something that could be covered up. I wondered what she would tell them. Magic couldn’t be made public. My mind was in too many places to ask. It wasn’t my problem.

  The case was over. I could go home. I should have been celebrating but I couldn’t. I had lost too much today. There was nothing to celebrate. My team was gone. I would never hear their laughter again. I would never see them again.

  “I’ll take her from here,” a familiar voice interrupted my depressing train of thought.

  I glanced up to see Lorenzo’s gorgeous and welcoming face. I was so happy to see him that I started crying.

  Dane set me down and kept me standing on my feet until Lorenzo was close enough to take over. Dane seemed a little reluctant to let me go. I wasn’t sure if I was just imagining things. I could have sworn I felt his cold heart melt when he was holding me close to him. Clearly the day had taken its toll on me. There was no way that Dane had feelings for me. Funny. Really funny.

  “Hey, hey. There’s no need for that.” Lorenzo hugged me as I continued to cry. “You’re ok. You’re safe now.”

  The warmth of his magic that usually calmed me down was doing the opposite. After being exposed to such a heavy dose of power that had tortured the hell out of me, my body couldn’t tell the difference between bad or good.

  Lorenzo let go as soon as I shuddered.

  I stepped back and held onto the nearest squad car for balance.

  “What is it?” Lorenzo asked, sounding concerned and a little bit hurt.

  “Your magic. I can’t handle it right now.”

  “When do you think you’ll be able to?” Lorenzo wondered, golden eyes glimmering with emotion.

  “Now isn’t the time for this. Just take me home, please,” I said, voice strained. I was beginning to fall apart.

  “I’ll have your things sent over,” Sky offered.

  “I’ve booked a hotel for the night. I’ll let you know the room when we get there and you can drop off Joan’s things,” Lorenzo said before looking back at me. “Can you make it to my car on your own, love?” He was finding it very difficult not to touch me. His hands hovered near me but they didn’t make contact.

  I shook my head. I knew the moment I let go of the squad car I would fall.

  “No. I can’t,” I admitted.

  “Will you let me carry you?”

  I knew I should say yes out of obligation. I just couldn’t answer that question. He was my partner and I couldn’t handle him having any contact with me. It would be fine if he didn’t ooze magic but that wasn’t something he could switch off.

  Dane picked me up again without permission. I nearly protested but I lacked the energy to scream at him.

  “Where are you parked?” Dane asked.

  I hid my face against Dane’s chest so I didn’t have to look at Lorenzo. He was hurt. I was hurting a lot more than he was. I didn’t know who I was anymore.

  “Not far,” Lorenzo replied, voice soft.

  I was lost inside the darkness of my tattered soul. I was broken, so broken that the person I loved most in this world couldn’t put me back together. If the one I loved couldn’t fix me, then who could?