“Yup,” Daisy replies. “What’s the deal between you and him, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Oh, she had to go there. Are Stephan and I that obvious?
“No deal. He’s my advisor, and he thinks it gives him the right to control my life.”
“He told us you just recently joined Paragon Academy. You were homeschooled before, right?”
“Yeah. My parents are super protective of me because, you know, my blindness.”
“Do they know what you can do with your chains?”
“Not really. I don’t want to terrify them. Don’t get me wrong, they know about my chains, but I keep my powers contained around them. They have no idea I’m an eighteen.”
Rosie stops suddenly in front of a store.
“What is this place? I’m picking up a lot of different wave frequencies.”
“It’s the old arcade. We used to spend countless hours here when we were kids.”
“I didn’t realize you lived in Hawk City,” I say, genuinely surprised.
Yeah.”
“Are you done chatting?” Rosie asks in that bitchy tone of hers. “I’d like to spend some time with you too.”
I’d say something mean, but I am hogging Daisy. Well, it’s not my fault entirely. She’s the one who decided to give her sister the cold shoulder. But I choose to be the better person.
“Go on,” I tell Daisy. “You’re already in the doghouse thanks to me.”
I trail behind them until they stop by the cashier.
“Welcome to 1001 Games. How can I help you?” the guy manning the counter greets us with an enthusiastic voice. I can’t tell if he’s faking it or not.
“We’d like ten tokens each, please,” Daisy replies.
“Gladly. You’re in luck. We just got Battle of the Giant Gorilla back. It was out of commission for a while.”
“Awesome. It’s our favorite game.” Rosie finally shows signs that she’s not a total brat.
I approach the counter, instantly picking up on the change in the employee’s demeanor.
“Oh, I’m sorry. We don’t have any games suited for the visually impaired,” he says, losing a bit of his pep.
“Don’t worry about it, kid. I’ll manage.” I slide a fifty-dollar bill across the counter. “This should cover it.”
Daisy pushes my hand away. “No way. You’re not paying for this too. This is my treat.”
“Okay. Fine by me.”
“Can I ask you a question?” Rosie addresses the guy.
“Sure,” the kid replies.
“Does Solaine still work here?”
Who is Solaine? An old childhood friend?
“Ah shit, you knew her?”
Uh-oh. By his tone, I don’t think anything good happened to Solaine.
“Yeah, she used to give me free tokens all the time,” Rosie replies. “What happened to her?”
“She died two years ago.”
And the mood plummets to depressing levels. At least it wasn’t thanks to me.
Daisy remains utterly quiet; she’s even holding her breath. Finally, she asks in a choked-up voice, “How did she die?”
“The local police said it was a robbery gone wrong, but we all know it was this new Fringe gang who think they’re something akin to gods.”
I ball my hands into fists, an automatic reaction. I wonder if the assholes I killed the other night were part of that gang.
“Why would Fringes have the notion that they’re gods?” I ask.
“I don’t know. Maybe because they’re high level and most of the folks who live in this area are Norms.”
“Can we have our tokens, please?” Daisy asks.
“Yeah, sure. Here you go.”
“I can’t believe you still want to play after you heard that awful news,” Rosie states with indignation.
Here we go again. Make up your damn mind, child. Your mood swings are giving me whiplash.
“What do you want me to do, Rosie? Sit down with my head in my hands and cry?”
“It’s like you don’t even care that she died. Is that because you’re no longer one of us?” she retorts angrily.
Whoa. What a dumb thing to say in front of a Norm. Daisy seems to think so too, because she grabs her sister’s arm and drags her away from the counter. “Shh. Do you want to blow our cover?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Far be it from me to ruin your charade.”
I swear to all the fucking gods. If this chick doesn’t drop the attitude, I’m going to slap her silly.
“Let’s play some Battle of the Giant Gorilla and forget about it, okay?” Daisy pleads, like she’s afraid her mercurial sister is going to blow.
As soon as the thought enters my mind, a very real and very loud explosion booms from somewhere in the mall. Fuck. Someone set off a bomb here. Not someone, the Neo Gods. A mall filled with Norms and Fringes is the perfect target for them.
Bastards.
A second explosion follows. They’re not kidding around.
“What the hell is going on?” Daisy asks.
“Come on! We have to get out of here,” I urge them.
We head to the arcade’s entrance, but then Daisy tells me to wait.
I whirl around. “What is it?”
“We can’t leave Cory behind.” She runs for the counter and rescues the guy who was probably cowering like a dumbass. I had completely forgotten about him.
The four of us resume our escape, but as soon as we get to the entrance, I know there’s no going out through the way we came in. Thick smoke has spread throughout the main atrium.
“We can’t go out through the main exit,” Daisy voices what was on the tip of my tongue.
I release my chains, letting them glow as brightly as they can. I need to be able to sense beyond our immediate area. A mall this size must have other exit points.
“Holy crap! You’re an Idol,” Cory exclaims.
I ignore his outburst and focus on what my chains are showing me. There’s chaos everywhere. Parts of the mall have collapsed, and there’s a massive fire coming in our direction. There are also several people injured or trapped, but I can’t save them all. This is horrible.
“We definitely can’t go out the way we came in,” I say. “We have to find an alternative exit point.”
“Does the arcade have a back door?” Daisy asks Cory.
“Y-Yes. It opens to a corridor that leads to the service exit.”
Fuck, why didn’t you say that sooner, buddy?
He’s now on board with getting the hell out of here, taking off to the back of the store without slowing down. If he’d run right through the door, I wouldn’t have been surprised.
We found an alternative route, but we’re not out of the woods yet. There’s also smoke in the corridor, which doesn’t bode well.
“Which way?” Daisy asks.
Before Cory can reply, an explosion to our right sends us flying backward. My chains immediately shoot out, trying to protect us from the blast, but my body isn’t moving at normal speed. I feel like I’m floating on air. Extreme heat is fast approaching, almost as if there’s a fireball coming our way. Faster than lightning, my chains weave together, forming a barrier in front of us. I’m not sure if they’ll be able to handle the force of what’s coming though.
When the fire hits them, I feel the impact deep in my bones. But worse than that is the scorching heat. I don’t think the explosions were caused by bombs. A very powerful pyro is behind them, which would explain the potency of the flames trying to break through.
“What are you fools waiting for? Run,” I grit out.
Cory is the first to obey my command, but Daisy doesn’t move.
“Come on. We have to get out of here,” Rosie begs her.
“Listen to your sister,” I groan. “Go now. I can’t hold the chains up for much longer.”
“No. I won’t leave you behind.” She turns to her sister. “You go. Don’t stop until you’re out of the building.”
“I can’t leave you.”
Fuck. This is it. I’ve used all my juice. My chains fall to the floor, spent. I was so focused on keeping them up that I didn’t notice the fire had died down. “Shit! That was close.”
“Let’s go before there’s another explosion,” Daisy says.
“How fast can you run?”
“I don’t know.”
“Probably faster than your sister.”
“Jump on my back,” Daisy tells Rosie.
For once, Rosie doesn’t argue. I run ahead of them, using what’s left of my energy to guide us the rest of the way. I’m running on fumes now, but I guess adrenaline does help in situations like these. In less than a minute, we reach the mall’s side door.
We’re finally out of Hell, but the nightmare isn’t over yet.
In fact, it’s just starting.
40
Stephan
I don’t know why Bryce assumed I knew where to hire an assassin, and not just anybody. It has to be a woman since witnesses placed one at the Neo God’s crime scene. Who does he think I am? But in the end, I agreed to it because we need to nail the Neo Gods, and in the heat of the moment, I wasn’t thinking clearly. Soren is now intent on reminding me how stupid this idea is.
“You’ve gone and done it, bro. I can’t believe you agreed to help those idiots. Where are we going to find a hitwoman?”
“I know, okay? Let me think.”
“Too bad we can’t hire Andromeda. She’s already killing left and right.”
“Shut up, Soren.”
“Oh, so touchy. Are you upset ’cause your guurlfriend is a psycho? You sure know how to pick them.”
I bite the inside of my cheek to avoid getting into an argument with him. It’d be pointless because he’s right.
Then I’m hit by an idea.
“I know someone who could possibly help us.”
“Who?”
“An old friend of Andy’s.”
“How am I not surprised? Is he a criminal?”
“Kind of. He has an underground fighting ring.”
“And how does Andromeda know him? I thought she was a glorified prisoner before she joined the academy.”
“She used to fight for him.”
Soren doesn’t speak for several beats before he throws his head back and laughs. “Of course she did. Have I told you that girl is a menace?”
“Spare me. I already know how you feel about her.”
“It’s ironic, isn’t it?”
“What is?”
“You’ve always been the most sensible in our family, the one who liked to follow the rules. And then you went and fell in love with a girl who doesn’t give a damn about them.”
I grind my teeth, clutching the steering wheel tighter.
After a long pause, Soren continues. “Dad will not approve of what we’re doing.”
“We’re not telling him. He’s got enough problems as it is.”
“So, what if this guy doesn’t want to help us. What then?”
“I don’t know, Soren. We’re probably fucked.”
But Dick Santos did help us—after I gave him a large incentive. I get in touch with the contact he provided and set up the appointment at a hole-in-the-wall bar in an unsavory part of town that even Idols should avoid. Not my choice by a long shot.
To avoid suspicion, I agree to meet Bryce and the others in a very public place, a touristic pub downtown. When we get there, not only do we find the jerk quartet, but Toby is also with them. Great. It’s all I need, a newbie Idol in the mix.
Toby’s father works for my dad in Saturn’s Bay, and I’ve known the kid for a while. He used to be a Norm until Bryce turned him into an Idol by accident.
I really wish he wasn’t here. I like him and don’t want to see him get hurt.
“Fuck. About time,” Rufio complains.
“Sorry, princess. Arranging the meeting you requested wasn’t that easy.” I return his glower.
“What, you don’t have mobsters on speed dial?” Phoenix grins.
Fuckers. All of them. I bite my tongue, not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to us.
“But it has been arranged, right?” Bryce asks.
“Yeah, but we can’t meet this guy with an entourage. It’s only going to be you and me,” I say.
“Fuck that,” Rufio snaps. “We’re all going.”
“He’s right, Rufio. It’s best if only the two of us go meet this person. A large group would only draw attention,” Bryce tries to reason with his brother. I’m glad someone in the group has brains.
“I still think this plan is foolhardy. You’re risking your neck for Neo God recruits, and we don’t even know if it’ll work out,” Soren pipes up.
“We’re not Neo God recruits. Not by choice, anyway,” Bryce replies through clenched teeth.
“I can come too and no one will know I’m there,” Morpheus adds.
“You can become invisible?” Soren asks, genuinely curious.
“In a way. I’m a master of shadows.”
I suppose having backup wouldn’t be a bad idea. This could very well be a trap.
“Okay, that’s settled, then. We leave now and will be back in an hour,” I say. “Please try to behave while we’re gone.” I stare pointedly at Soren.
“I can behave as long as they do.” Soren nods in Rufio’s and Phoenix’s direction.
Yeah, that doesn’t comfort me.
Masking our Idol powers, we take the bus just in case the Neo Gods are following Bryce. Morpheus wasn’t kidding when he said he was the master of shadows. He kept us concealed during the entire ride there. I wanted him to stop once we stepped off the bus, but he was adamant to keep up until we were outside the meeting point, a bar that’s seen better days. The neon sign above is half lit, and there’s graffiti all over the front wall. Mostly scribbles, but one phrase in particular catches my attention: “Death to all Norms,” with the Neo Gods’ insignia below.
Fuck. That doesn’t bode well.
My body is tense as hell as we walk into the dark establishment. We’re no longer toning down our powers; instead, we’re projecting them to the max, a necessity in a place crawling with the nastiest individuals. A few people briefly glance in our direction before returning to their drinks.
Their lack of attention doesn’t make me feel better. There’s a good mix of low-level Idols and high-level Fringes, which wouldn’t have been a problem individually, but we’re outnumbered, and if things go south, we can’t fight them all at once.
I head for the pool table area where a group of mean-looking Idols is hanging out. Someone is preparing to take a shot, which turns out to be a bad one. He stands up straight, glowering in my direction as if it’s my fault he fucked up. I calculate the odds of dealing with him without creating a ruckus when the lights begin to flicker. In an instant, the angry Idol loses his bravado, and I pretend I was oblivious to him the whole time. But I’m all too aware that Bryce’s little power display didn’t go unnoticed.
So much for blending in.
Without faltering, I continue toward the booth in the back where a shadowy figure is sitting alone. The assassin showed up. Great. Let’s hope she’s not here to kill us. I slide across the seat facing her, and Bryce follows. Morpheus remains concealed somewhere nearby.
“I didn’t expect to see two teens when I got the call,” she says without looking up.
“The money is the same no matter the source. We heard that if we want someone to disappear without a trace, you’re the one for the job,” I reply.
“You heard correctly. Did you bring the agreed amount?”
I pull the manila envelope from my jacket pocket and slide it across the table. It disappears under a gloved hand.
“A picture of the target is also in there,” I add.
The assassin fishes out the photograph, and right away, I know something is wrong.
“Are you out of your mind?” she whisper-shouts.
“What’s the
matter? You can’t handle the job?” Bryce opens his big mouth even though I told him to let me deal with the woman.
“I can handle any job. But this is… suicide.”
We gave the assassin Daisy’s new target, which is none other than Hawk City’s chief of police. I knew it was a dangerous mission, which is why I asked Dick Santos to give me the name of his best woman. If a seasoned professional doesn’t want to do the job, how did Jodie Fallon expect Daisy to carry it out? That woman is deranged and dangerous. I can’t believe nothing’s been done about her. She’s not even a Knight, for fuck’s sake.
A commotion in the main area of the bar draws my attention. A crowd has gathered in front of one of the TVs. Bryce gets up immediately, moving closer to it. I turn to the assassin to demand our money back, but her seat is empty. Son of a bitch. She slipped out when we were distracted. Damn, she’s good. I only took my eyes off her for a few seconds.
I walk over to Bryce, but he doesn’t notice my approach. His face is glued to the TV while his face is twisted into a pained expression.
“What’s going on?” I ask.
“Station 33 Mall is on fire. Daisy, Rosie, and Andromeda are there.”
My stomach bottoms out. I glance at the TV screen, seeing the giant flames that are eating away the structure.
No! I can’t lose Andy like that.
I bolt out of the bar, leaving Bryce and Morpheus behind. I’m airborne as soon as I burst out. They can find their own way to the mall. I’m faster by air, and tonight, I’m zooming through the sky at the speed of sound.
My heart is thundering, and I know I’m pushing myself to the limit, but I don’t care. The idea of losing Andy in another tragedy isn’t something I’ll allow to happen.
The night sky turns to orange on the horizon thanks to the fire. Once I’m near the mall, I sense something very wrong. It’s absolute chaos with people trying to get away from the towering inferno, but there’s something more nefarious going on.
Thoughts of investigating fly right out of my head when I sense Andy down below. She’s out of the building. Thank fuck.
As I’m descending, an explosion near her position has me reeling. She’s directly within the blast’s impact. Even if I could create a vortex, I wouldn’t be fast enough. But the cloud of heat and debris seems to be moving at a crawl. Someone is slowing down time.
Reckless Times: A Paranormal Romance (Paragon Society Book 1) Page 23