Dauntless

by Thomas G. Atwood Jr.

  “Yeah, Mom did not mess around,” I said, grinning at the memory. “How do you know that you’re not the one making it out?”

  “Oh come on, it’s not even a contest. Laurie needs you, not me. I’d be in your way,” she said, staring at the ground.

  “I hate that self-pity crap; you know that right?” I groaned, pacing back and forth as my double watched me. “How do I know you’re not the one that everybody likes? I mean, I’m snotty, rude, angry, and bitter, and you’re…”

  “The same but charming and hotter,” Kacey quipped. I rolled my eyes, prompting her to grin. “Besides, nothing’s going to change.”

  “Really?”

  “Oh come on, the feather was inside you all along, Dumbo. You could fly the entire time.”

  “Okay, at the point where we’re making cartoon references, I know we’re in trouble. I thought I was the brave one, isn’t that what Raven said? I’m the warrior, and you’re the girl? How come you're brave?”

  “Are you kidding me?” Kacey screamed back at me. “I don’t want to die. I want to get the hell out of these chains, skip town, maybe even do the whole kids and white picket fence thing. I’d beg you to let me go if I thought it made a difference. But you and I both know I’m not the one that matters. We love Dad, Aidan, Laurie, Kat, maybe even Ripper a little.”

  “You shut your mouth,” I said, pointing a finger at her.

  “Oh come on, once you get past the gruffness and his attitude, he’s...well he’s still an asshole, but he’s an endearing one.”

  “He doesn’t suck,” I compromised.

  “We couldn’t handle it when we lost Mom, and God knows what would happen if we lost everyone. I promise you, if you let me free, I’m going to skip town and get as far away as I can. You’d stay.”

  “You’re right,” I stated, reaching for the knife.

  “Okay. Right. Great,” Kacey replied, squirming. “Well if you’re going to step up to the plate, you might as well swing away.”

  “I’m sorry,” I said, gripping the knife so tight my knuckles became white.

  “Don’t apologize; that makes it worse.” I walked behind her and pressed the razor sharp steel against the curve of her neck. “Do me a favor,” she asked, closing her eyes.

  “Name it.”

  “It’s about Aidan. I want you to promise that no matter what Fey bull he gets himself into, no matter how hard it gets, don’t let go. I…I love him, and I want him to be happy. You can give him the life he deserves.”

  “I promise,” I stated and drew the knife against her throat. The knife cut through her as if she was made of water. The metallic scent of blood filled the air and spilled out, coating my hands in the thick, sticky liquid. She gave one desperate gasp and collapsed to the ground, her skin turning white as her lifeblood bubbled out of her.

  “You made the right choice,” Raven said, holding out her hands. “Are you ready to become the person you were always meant to be?”

  “I’m ready for this to be over,” I stated. I set my hand on hers, and the world exploded in a brilliant flash of light. I saw Kat below me, staring astonished as I floated above the ground. A bright flash of light erupted in the middle of the room, sweeping away the skeletons. A hot, searing pain flooded my back, and a mirror showed a black scorch mark spreading across my back. I lifted the back of my tank top, curious, as the image of a raven burned itself into my skin. Its wings spread across my back, and the image crawled up my neck. A yellow light gleamed where its eyes were, the beating of a thousand wings echoed as I fell to the ground.

  “Kacey?” Kat’s voice sounded like a defective radio as I stood up. The darkness that used to surround us was as clear as daylight. Grim determination replaced the anxiety that plagued me. Energy surged through every inch of my body as my muscles screamed for action. I cocked my head as I glanced at Kat. I saw her as a force of nature before, unstoppable, a hurricane trapped in the body of a good friend. She seemed…smaller. She wasn’t my superior; she was my peer, my partner.

  “Kacey, are you okay?” Kat asked, setting her hand on my shoulder.

  I didn’t answer her. I stood up, marching down the halls, motioning at everyone I passed to follow me. The path beneath my feet changed, transforming from black, rotted wood into a vibrant, scarlet carpet with each step I took. It rolled out in front of me, and I saw Ripper at the end of the hall, letting out a low whistle as he stared at me.

  “We’ve have work to do,” I stated as Ripper grinned.

  “Everyone get to work,” he barked. “You all know what you have to do, do it.” He walked past me and clapped my back with such force that I almost fell over. “Remember the kid’s taking the lead on this one.”

  Chapter 21

  “You’re sure Drake is going to take the bait?” Frank asked as the van slid through the dark of the night. I rolled my eyes as I rolled the bloodstone over in my fingers.

  “I’m positive.”

  “I’m saying…”

  “Relax,” I stated, dialing Laurie’s number on my phone. “Everything’s going to work out.” The phone rang three times, and Pyrus’ gravel like voice answered.

  “I’m afraid your friend can’t come to the phone,” he stated an amused tone in his voice. “She’s a little busy getting cut into tiny pieces.”

  “I want to make a deal.”

  “No deals. I am going to kill your friend as she screams for mercy.”

  “No, you’re not. You’re going to stop what you’re doing, load Laurie in one of your vans, and send her to Willy Wade’s amusement park.”

  Pyrus chuckled. “What could make you think I’d be willing to do that?”

  I took a picture of the bloodstone and sent it to Laurie. “Do I have your attention?”

  “Indeed. It appears you’re not as clueless as I once thought.”

  “Yeah, that’s right. Keep insulting me and I’ll destroy the stone. I want a trade. We get Laurie; you get the bloodstone.”

  “How do I know that I can trust you?”

  “Oh come on, is the big bad Pyrus afraid of an eighteen-year-old girl? Should I be talking to someone else? Let me speak to your manager.”

  “Do not test me, girl.”

  “Then shut up and do what I say. If you want the stone, meet me at the amusement park. If I don’t see you in thirty minutes, I leave, and I destroy the bloodstone.” I hung up, and the van rolled to a stop in front of the abandoned arcade. I tossed off my sneakers and scowled at the leather boots that sat in front of me.

  “Do I have to wear these?” I asked as I slipped on the boots.

  “The GPS chip in implanted in the heel. So unless you want to deal with them alone, yes.”

  “They look like something you’d wear to a fetish club.

  “I heard that,” Kat’s voice stated, echoing through my earbud.

  “I know you did. When this is over, you and I need to go shopping.”

  “They were the only ones I could find that were in your size and that we could hide the chip in.”

  I grinned as I finished lacing them up and hopped outside the van.

  “You all right, kid?” Frank asked, examining the abandoned amusement park.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” I stated, straightening my jacket and tossing my ponytail back.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Nothing, I’m wondering what happened to the freaked out girl I knew yesterday.”

  “I killed her.”

  “Yeah, that’s not creepy at all."

  “Is everybody in position?” I aske
d into my ear bud.

  “Your dad and I are,” Aidan replied. “We’re hiding out in the food court. Your dad wants to know if it’s too late to say that he hates this plan.”

  “Train’s moving, Dad. Jump on or get out the way. Ripper, Kat?”

  “We’re watching the streets,” Kat replied. “This bakery is amazing by the way. Want me to grab you something?”

  I chuckled. “Do they have those black and white cookies?”

  “I bought the last one.”

  “I see how it is.” I walked to the center of the amusement park, ignoring the warped wood and ramshackle stands along the way. The amusement park used to be one of the town’s major attraction, but it ran into the same financial problems as everyone else. These days it was a ghost town, with hordes of rats and snakes its sole inhabitants. I walked down the path, tracing my fingers along the Ferris Wheel as I did. It used to be my favorite. I remembered squealing like a kid as it would take us to the top where you could see the entire city. I remembered the smell of popcorn and funnel cake tempting the appetite. I remembered the pops, spins and sirens of games, and the balloon offering clowns smiling at you.

  “Kacey!” Kat’s voice shouted in my ear bud, snapping me out of my musings. I yelped at the volume.

  “Ow. What’s going on?”

  “You’re starting to get a nasty habit of ignoring me.”

  “Sorry about that. What’s up?”

  “I wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed to be out of it when you finished the test.”

  “I’m starting to redefine that word.” I told her everything, sitting down on the one park bench I could find that wasn’t rotted or shattered.

  “So…you killed yourself?”

  “I wouldn’t put it that way. What the hell was that, by the way? Did I kill some illusion, or was that some part of me?”

  “I have no idea.”

  “I thought you were the big brain of the group and knew about all this magical stuff.”

  “Well I try to be more precise than stuff,” she teased.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I do, but smart is not the same thing as omniscient. I’ve heard of a few people encountering Raven, but nothing even close to that. You have to keep in mind that these creatures are powerful on levels that are difficult to comprehend. It’s possible that she conjured some illusion to test you, or she could have found some aspect of you repugnant…”

  “Wow, repugnant? I’m awesome; none of me is repugnant.”

  “Unsuitable?”

  “Fine.”

  “She could have seen a part of you that she didn’t like, and plucked it out of you. When you killed it, you erased that part of your personality. I can tell you that something happened. You seemed like a woman on a mission when you appeared.”

  “Was it the same way for you?”

  “Not even close. Lightning kept striking me, and I couldn’t leave until I learned to control it. You have no idea what it’s like to get third-degree burns and have them healed in time for more to come.”

  “I do; one of the many great parts of being me. What about the tattoo thing?”

  “Yup. It’s called a covenant; it’s supposed to remind you of the promise you made to the spirit.”

  “So you become more powerful and get a free tattoo. Bonus, I saved a couple hundred bucks.”

  “You seem to be taking this all in stride.”

  “Is that a bad thing?”

  “The embodiment of Death selected you to be her personal assassin. You tell me.”

  “We’re not taking down Drake with cuddles and puppy dogs.”

  “I hear you, but…”

  “I can handle it,” I stated, interrupting her. “I’m not going to like it, but if I have to choose between him and me, then there is no choice.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “You’re going to have to cut this short,” Ripper’s voice stated. “We have four black vans, each one heading your way. I think your friend’s on the way.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “They all have Olympus security decals on them.”

  “Nice,” I grumbled. “That means that they can go wherever they want, and the cops won’t mess with them. Remind me to strangle the person who let Olympus take over half the police force. Is Pyrus there?”

  “He’s driving the lead car. They’re circling it, cutting off any escape routes. It seems like Frank did a good job training them.”

  “I’m the best,” Frank quipped.

  “Alright everyone, show time. Remember, no one does anything unless the plan goes south. We want them to take me.”

  I stood in the middle of the square as Pyrus walked up. “Pyrus. How’ve you been? Back still killing you when it rains?”

  “Oh good, small talk,” he grumbled.

  “Well you know me, I’m a chatty Cathy.”

  “Where’s the stone?”

  “Safe. Where’s Laurie?”

  “Safe,” he mocked.

  “So that’s how we’re going to play this? Jeez, and I thought you were trustworthy.”

  “I’m a man of my word. Give me the stone.”

  “Yeah, right.” I reached into my pocket and fished out the bloodstone. The jewel glowed a deep crimson in the night sky, its light illuminating the park. I closed my hand around it, setting it back in my pocket. “Alright, I’ve shown you mine.”

  Pyrus grumbled, and two men emerged from the vans. They dragged Laurie’s unconscious body between them. Bruises littered her body, and her right eye was swollen shut. They’d cut chunks of skin out of her body, and scars trailed like snakes down the rags they tossed on her. I moved toward her, but Pyrus beat me there. He pulled Laurie’s hair back and pressed a knife against her neck.

  “Move and she dies. Fight back and she dies. Do anything other than give me the bloodstone and I will bathe in her blood.”

  “That can’t be hygienic,” I grumbled. I set the bloodstone on the ground and stepped away, hands held up in a peaceful gesture. “We all have what we wanted-”

  “You’re right about that,” Pyrus stated. He picked the stone off the ground and pulled a gun out in a flash. The weapon rang out, exploding in the still of the night with a deafening crack. The gun fired four shots, and I cried out in pain as I collapsed to the ground. The bullets tore and ripped holes in my torso, causing blood to pool like a pond beneath me.

  “We need to take her alive, sir,” one of the guards stated as Pyrus towered over me. He put a finger in the hole of my shirt, grinning as the wounds began to seal themselves shut.

  “She’ll live,” he barked. He traced the cold steel of his knife between my breasts and down to the bottom of my shirt, setting it to rest on the top of my jeans. “I wonder if every part of her body heals back,” he muttered.

  “You’ll never get to find out,” I grumbled, struggling to stand. “I’m going to kill you.”

  “You’ll find that difficult. Take her,” he shouted as a dozen security officers emerged from the vans. I tried to stand up, but they all jabbed their prods into me. Electricity surged through my body, causing every nerve to cry out in agony. The weapons drove into me again and again, causing me to twitch and pulse on the ground as I glared up at Pyrus.

  “I have to compliment you,” he stated, picking at the dirt beneath his nails. “You’ve given me one hell of a chase. Every time I thought I had you, you managed to pull some trick and slip away. It’s been maddening. Still, I haven’t had this kind of fun in years.” One of th
e guards’ prods brushed against him, and he cried out in agony. He cradled his wounded hand close to his body, and I watched, struggling through the haze in my vision. Despite everything we’d done, Pyrus never showed any sign of weakness. He pulled his hand away, revealing a large red burn. Pyrus grabbed the security guard by the throat and the air filled with the sound of shattering bone. He tossed the guard’s corpse on the ground and growled at his men.

  “Do not get near me with those prods,” he stated, narrowing his eyes. The guards walked away from me, and he knelt beside me.

  “I am sorry that I have to do this. I would prefer to face you, give you the chance to meet your fate like a man. Don’t worry, though. When the time comes, you will face me with a weapon in hand. I will give you the death you deserve as an honored opponent. I ask that you steel yourself until then. Do not disgrace yourself under her knife.” He stood up, gesturing at the guards. “Take them both and put them in separate vehicles. I don’t want her pulling some trick and escaping at the last second.”

  The guards tossed me in a vehicle as I drifted in and out of consciousness. I grinned despite the situation. I had everything I needed to put Pyrus in the ground.

  Chapter 22

  A splash of water roused me awake, and I gasped as the cold liquid surged over me. I sputtered and glanced around to try and get my bearings. The aromatic smell of fresh pine wafted through the open window of the wood cabin. I felt the cool steel of a chair beneath me. I raised my arms, and the loud clang of steel echoed through the room. I glanced down to see a pair of handcuffs securing my wrists behind me. Someone had bolted the chair to the ground, thwarting my every effort to escape. A man in military fatigues set down the steel bucket as he walked away from me.

  “She’s awake,” he said, spinning toward Drake.

  “I’ve noticed, thank you,” Drake replied, rolling up his sleeves and setting his jacket on a chair. “Take five.”

  “Sir, is that wise? If she’s half as dangerous as we’ve heard-”

  “I think I can handle a bound teenager, thank you. Get out.” The command boomed and echoed across the room, causing the other man to cringe and walk outside.