“Ah, fuck, Andy. My car,” Leroy whines.
“What?”
“Your damn chains ruined my upholstery.”
“Stop being a cheapskate. You made more than enough tonight to cover the damages thanks to moi.”
I get out of the car before Leroy can get another complaint in. Immediately, I’m blasted by an intense heat coming from the building across the street. Since Leroy and Ezekiel have seen my chains at their full capacity, there’s no sense in hiding them, so I wrap them around myself for protection. As I suspected, the flames are huge, rising into the sky like ruthless gods of death. No wonder it feels like I’m standing in front of the gates of Hell.
The fire has covered almost the entire building, and based on the heat, the structure won’t hold for much longer.
The fire department should be here by now. This doesn’t feel right. It’s almost like they aren’t sending help on purpose.
I push my senses forward as far as I can, searching for people who may be trapped in the building. It’s a difficult task since the heat inside is so intense it might mask people’s shapes. I’m about to give up when I catch a blurry shadow zoom across a large room. There’s someone there.
“Leroy, call 911. There’s a least one person in that building.”
“They’ll never get here in time,” he argues.
“Just do it!” I yell before I dash toward the inferno.
“Where are you going? Get back here!”
I ignore him. There’s no time to waste. I dash through the opening and immediately begin to suffocate on the smoke. I cover my nose with my forearm but keep the other ready in case I need to use one of my chains.
“Hello? Is there someone here?” I call out, then get hit with a coughing fit. Fuck. I can’t really open my mouth without swallowing cinder.
The farther I walk, the hotter it becomes. The sound of wood splintering above tells me I don’t have much time. A second later, something large drops from the ceiling, landing where I was standing a few seconds ago.
Fuck, that was close!
I finally see shapes ahead of me, then hear the sound of battle.
What the hell? Who would be fighting while the world is up in flames?
My chains react to something they perceive as danger, both the spiked ball and the spear pointing forward, ready to attack. I finally reach the idiots who are making all the noise. There are three pairs of fighters who seem more intent on killing each other than fleeing.
My heart skips a beat when I recognize one of them.
“Stephan?” I ask like an idiot.
He stops midturn and forgets his opponent for a second to glance in my direction. In horror, I watch the other guy strike Stephan, bringing him down.
“No!”
My chains zap forward, faster than a bullet, and run through Stephan’s enemy as if he were made out of butter. His blood splatters in a dark shower, at least dark for me. When I yank them back, his body topples to the floor in two separate halves.
Someone runs to him. “Stephan!” It’s Soren, going to his brother’s aid.
There’s still one fight going on, but it ends swiftly when someone loses their head. I’m already running toward Stephan and reach him at the same time as Soren.
“Is he okay?” I ask.
“I’m fine. It was just a superficial wound,” Stephan replies.
“We need to get out of here. This whole building is about to collapse on our heads,” a man I haven’t met before urges.
“Is there anyone else in the building?” I ask.
Stephan grunts, “None alive.”
I don’t know what to make of his statement. Does he mean he killed everyone or they were already dead?
Soren helps Stephan to his feet, then says, “I can’t see anything. Where’s the fucking exit?”
“That way.” I point ahead. “Follow me.”
Getting to the exit is more complicated than I expected. The direct path is blocked by debris, which I have to clear off using my chains. By the time we finally make it outside, my lungs are raw from inhaling all those toxic fumes. Leaning forward, I rest my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath. But then I sense Soren and Stephan moving away from me.
“Hey, where are you going?” I follow them for at least a block into a narrow alleyway. “What’s going on? Why were you in that building?”
“Andy, I can’t explain right now,” Stephan replies.
The screeching tires of an approaching vehicle cut off my retort. The car stops near us. A second later, a sliding door opens, and a woman comes out.
“Stephan, you’re hurt. What happened?” She tries to touch him, but Soren pushes her away.
“He’s fine, Britney.”
Britney? That’s the girl Stephan and Soren were talking about the other day. The jealousy I felt then returns with a vengeance.
“Who in the hell is she?” she asks.
“She’s no one,” Soren is quick to answer. “Come on. We have to go. The cops will be here soon now that the damage is done.”
Cops. Damage. Oh my God. I’m such a fool. Now I know what they were doing in that building, fighting instead of getting out. They’re Knights, which means those dead men inside must have been Neo Gods, and I killed one of them.
“We can’t leave Andy here,” Stephan argues.
“Andy? Oh, so this is Andromeda Belfor?” Britney asks in an arrogant way.
“Quit glowering at the girl and make room for Stephan in the back,” Soren snaps.
I can’t get into a van with Knights. That would have terrible consequences for me and for them. So while they’re fussing over Stephan, I run as fast as I can, hoping the streets are dark enough that they can’t follow.
22
Stephan
I bat Soren’s hand away when he tries to peel off my jacket. “Stop fussing over me.”
He pulls his mask off, tossing it aside. I get rid of mine too. Only when William shuts the van’s sliding door do I notice Andy isn’t inside.
“Where’s Andy?”
“She took off,” Britney replies from the driver seat.
“What was she doing in our warehouse?” William asks. “You don’t think she’s one of th—”
“No!” I shout. “She’s not a Neo God, for fuck’s sake.”
“You have to wonder about her presence there though,” Soren retorts.
“I’m sure she has an explanation. Besides, she killed one of the motherfuckers.”
“Maybe to cover her ass,” Britney mutters again.
“Shut your piehole and drive already.” I jerk my arm forward, regretting the movement when burning pain makes me see stars. “Fuck!”
“This isn’t a superficial wound. Let me see that.” William barely touches my shoulder before the most excruciating pain hits me. “You were stabbed with a lightning glass dagger, weren’t you?”
“Possibly. I didn’t see.”
“What the hell, Stephan! If that shit entered your bloodstream, you could die!” Soren yells.
“I’m not going to die. Stop being so dramatic.”
I try to find a better position, but no matter what I do, the pain in my shoulder won’t relent. I also don’t feel quite like myself. I can’t fully tap into my powers, and my vision is becoming blurry. Despite my perilous situation, my thoughts aren’t here in the van. While my friends are discussing the events in the warehouse and what it means for us, my mind is wondering about Andy. Why was she there? If it was by some weird coincidence, what does she think we were doing there? Does she suspect we’re Knights?
She avoided me today, bailed on training even though she was standing outside the gym when Soren was with me. Back in the moment, I immediately thought her disappearing act was linked to our make-out session. But what if she heard us discussing the Knights?
I have to see her sooner rather than later. “Where’s my car?”
“You’re probably slowly dying of poisoning and you’re worried about y
our car?” Britney snaps.
“For fuck’s sake. I’m not dying.” It’s impossible not to feel the glowers both Soren and William are throwing at me. “Seriously, guys. I’ll be okay.”
“We arranged for your car to be picked up. We didn’t want anyone running your license plate,” Britney finally answers my question. “It’s probably sitting in your garage already. You’re not thinking about going anywhere tonight, are you?”
“Of course not. He’s not an idiot,” Soren replies before I can.
Our gazes lock, and I know he can read exactly what’s on my mind. I was planning on going after Andy, but judging by his don’t-even-think-about-it expression, that’s not going to happen.
“Where are we headed?” I ask.
“To your father’s house,” Britney replies.
“Why aren’t we going to headquarters? The Neo Gods have just declared war against us,” Soren asks.
“Gunther doesn’t want to risk it,” she says.
“It’s the safest course of action,” I pipe up, trying to dissuade Soren for arguing further.
There’s no doubt in my mind that we have a spy in our midst. Only someone with access to our plans would know where our warehouse was located. We were expecting a new shipment of lightning glass, but thanks to a storm in the Atlantic, it was delayed. Whoever planned this attack wanted to steal our supply, no doubt. Maybe finding the warehouse empty pissed them off. Or maybe they had planned to steal everything and then destroy it all along.
The drive to my father’s house seems to last twice as long. My shoulder is no longer hurting like a mother, only when Britney runs through bumps on the road. The numbness is more worrisome. My skin is clammy, and I’m beginning to shiver. This isn’t a good sign.
Dad has our family doctor already waiting on standby, ready to fix me up. Dr. Agos isn’t a full-time member of the Knights, but he’s a sympathizer, which comes in handy when one of us gets hurt. Going to an Idol hospital sporting a lighting glass-inflicted wound isn’t an option for us. It would raise too many questions.
I can barely walk to the front door on my own. Soren comes over and drags my ass the final steps.
“You don’t look good, son,” Dad says.
“I don’t feel that great either.”
Dr. Agos flashes his light in each of my eyes, then peels my sliced jacket off my shoulder. “Hmm. You’ve been poisoned by lightning glass all right. Take him to your father’s office.”
As soon as Soren dumps me on the couch, I turn to the doctor. “How bad is it, Doc?”
“The poison hasn’t spread that far yet. Another five minutes or so without treatment, you would have passed out. How are your powers?”
I try to summon a slight breeze unsuccessfully. “Pretty much gone.”
“That’s normal.”
I wince when he removes my jacket and cuts my shirt off.
“Shit, Stephan. It looks bad. Why didn’t you say so in the car?” Soren asks.
“I couldn’t see how bad it looked, could I?”
“Soren, step back and let Dr. Agos work.” Dad touches my brother’s shoulder. They move closer to the window and watch.
Meanwhile, the doctor is busy looking through his bag. He takes several items out, and then he hands me a glass vial with a clear liquid inside. “Drink that.”
“What is it?” I unscrew the top and take a whiff. “This smells like Silver-voltage.”
“That’s because it is.”
“Are you crazy? That stuff is bad enough when you inhale the fumes,” Soren exclaims, then looks sheepishly in Dad’s direction.
But my father doesn’t seem to care about Soren’s knowledge of the drug. His eyebrows are scrunched together, and his mouth is nothing by a slash on his face. He’s deeply troubled about more important matters.
“Relax,” Dr. Agos says. “The stuff you crazy kids take for recreational purposes is ten times stronger than this.”
“Fine.” I take the dose in one single gulp. It burns my throat a little, but nothing unbearable. “Why did you give me this? I’m not even feeling any pain now.”
“Trust me. You’ll know in a second.”
Immediately, I begin to relax. My eyelids become unbearably heavy. Maybe I’m on the verge of passing out.
Through half-open eyes, I notice the doctor has another glass container in his hand. “What’s that?”
“Now this is the real deal. Try not to breathe too closely.”
He pours the liquid on my wound, and it feels like he’s dousing me with pure acid. I scream and curse at the same time. “Fuck! What the hell!”
“Now you know why I gave you the drug.”
“Damn you. It’s clearly not working.”
“Oh, it’s working. You’re still conscious.”
“What was that for?” Soren takes a step forward.
“To clean the wound,” Dad answers. “It’s one of the few substances that seem to work.”
“That’s right. And that discovery happened by chance.” The doctor doesn’t elaborate further, but like I care at the moment. My skin is still burning and pain is all I know.
He attaches a magnifying glass over his spectacles and says, “There are small fragments of lightning glass embedded to your muscle. I have to remove them.”
“Great,” I mumble.
He reaches for the tweezers on his silver tray. “This will hurt a little.”
“You want to inflict more pain than you already did?” My eyes go rounder. “I didn’t know you were sadistic like that.”
“Oh, don’t be such a baby.”
The doctor works on me for another minute or so, but truth be told, it feels more like an hour. When he removes the last piece of glass, he stiches the gash closed and then covers the area with a bandage.
“Because the wound was caused by lightning glass, it’ll take longer to heal, so no brisk movements for at least a couple of days.”
When he leaves, my father locks the door and turns to us. “I want to know exactly what happened in that warehouse.”
“I thought you were going to debrief all of us,” Soren says.
“I will in a moment, but I want to hear the facts from you first. We’re absolutely certain there’s a spy among us, and I can’t ignore the fact anymore that it could be a member of the inner circle.”
Soren and I lock gazes. “Are you saying William and Britney could be traitors?” I ask.
“I’m not in a position to rule anyone out. The only people I trust completely are in this room. We must proceed with extreme caution. That also means we’re putting a halt on all recruitment efforts.”
“Andy was in the warehouse,” I say. “She might know about us.”
“How could she possibly know who you are? Did you blabber already?” Soren looks at me with accusation in his eyes.
“No. But I suspect she may have overheard us talking about Knight business this morning.”
My father pinches the bridge of his nose. “How could you be so careless and discuss shop at school?”
“I’m sorry. It was early. No one should have been there at that hour.”
“Do you think she was following us tonight?” Soren raises his eyebrows.
I glance away, ashamed of my royal screwup. “I don’t know anything anymore.”
Dad glowers at me. “Well, you’d better get out of that funk, son. I can’t afford you or Soren to make any more mistakes.”
I turn, meeting his hard stare. “I won’t. I promise.”
“Good. Tomorrow, you’ll find out exactly what Andromeda was doing at the warehouse. But tonight, I want you to tell me everything you remember. Don’t leave any detail out.”
23
Andromeda
By a miracle, Leroy and Ezekiel were still outside the warehouse when I came running out of the alleyway. I jumped in Leroy’s car like the devil was after me and begged him to drive. I didn’t bother to ask them to keep their mouths shut about what I did because I knew it would be p
ointless. They’d probably texted half the school while I was in there.
I couldn’t sleep. My brain kept replaying the memory of my foolish act. Stephan got hurt because of me, and I didn’t have the courage to stick around to find out if he was okay. Like a fool, I kept checking my phone throughout the night, but it was complete radio silence.
It’s no surprise that I feel like crap this morning. My stomach aches thanks to all the anxiety, and on top of that, I have a killer headache. At least it’s the weekend and I don’t have to go to school. Although, that’s not exactly a good thing. I’m worried sick about Stephan.
I pick up my phone, and using voice control, pull up his contact information. The command to call him is on the tip of my tongue, but I chicken out at the last second.
“Ugh! I can’t.” I toss the device far away.
All of a sudden, a sharp pain on my right hand has me clamping my jaw shut. The damn invisible tattoo, the mark Nathaniel gave me years ago, is activated again. The blasted thing has bothered me before, but nothing like this. Shit. Shit. Shit. The bastard is punishing me for breaking his “gift” and not joining the team for my first mission. At the time, it felt great to defy him. Not so much now.
After a whole minute of agony, the pain begins to dissipate. I sigh in relief, knowing the respite won’t last. I’m wiping off the tears that have rolled down my cheeks when the shrill noise of a ringtone almost gives me a heart attack. It takes me a second to realize the sound is coming from my own phone.
“What the hell!” I jump out of bed.
Did the ringtone change by accident thanks to the fall? I’d never choose that ominous sound.
I fish the device out from underneath a plush chair, surprised that it’s not telling me who’s calling as it usually does. My phone is programmed to read the name on the screen since, even with the help of my chains, I can’t read text.
A sense of foreboding hangs over my head while I debate answering. There’s the possibility that I damaged the damn thing and it’s Stephan or Soren calling. But what if it’s not either of them?
Reckless Times: A Paranormal Romance (Paragon Society Book 1) Page 12