Stolen

by Ella James

  “Lately it’s been bothering me,” Drew said quietly.

  “I think it’s creepy,” Carlin said.

  “It’s nuts,” Meredith agreed.

  “What would they do if we left?” Carlin asked.

  “Let’s not rush into anything,” Drew cautioned, but Meredith said, “I think we should consider it. Who here actually wants to be The One?”

  Each face looked some degree of guilty (except Julia’s, because she felt apathetic), but no one raised their hand.

  “I think we should do it,” Monte said. “Get out of here. Find some other place. I might know of somewhere.”

  “They’ll come after us,” Anise said.

  “They sent zombies after me,” Julia said. At the blank looks, she said, “No, seriously. ‘Reanimated Chosen.’”

  All jaws dropped. The little room filled with rapid questions.

  “Nathan is in charge of that, too,” Drew cut in. “He knew what was going on.”

  “How could they let any of this happen?” Carlin asked, suddenly tearful. “If we’re so important, why did one of us just die?”

  “No damn reason that we know of,” Herbert muttered. “But we don’t know anything.”

  Everyone was silent, and Julia felt guilty that she was excited. This was a real chance to escape; Drew was a freaking Shepherd! She was trying to decide how to bring the subject up again when a roar of noise swelled from the Commons.

  Julia jumped, and Carlin murmured, “It’s just shift change.”

  Drew’s eyes narrowed. “What did you say?”

  “It’s just shift change?”

  His gaze lifted to Julia’s, and his eyes were big. “This is it,” he said flatly. “This is where I saw your Nephilim.”

  Julia had no time to figure out what that meant. The noise from the common room exploded into yells and screams. Julia turned, and through the columns she saw a Nephilim plunge his dagger into a brown-haired woman’s chest, spilling bright red blood all over her crisp gray gown.

  Chapter 16

  Julia was the last to react. Everyone else around her leapt up, but she was frozen, watching as the woman was ripped apart by a huge, pale man with great red wings.

  “Everyone to your rooms!” Drew commanded, but Herbert was through the wall, into the Commons before he had finished.

  “Let’s go!” Anise grabbed Monte’s elbow and pulled him toward the same wall.

  “I think we should—” he started.

  “Absolutely not! Carlin, Meredith, Julia, let’s go assist,” Anise said.

  And then she was gone, Monte dragged behind her.

  “JULIA! JULIA!” That was Carlin, and she and Meredith were tugging Julia out of her seat, back toward the other wall—the one that led away. The three of them got through it, into another meeting room, and it hit Julia: This is where I saw him.

  “This is where Drew saw Cayne! I’ve gotta go back!”

  “Are you crazy!” Meredith yelled, at the same time, Cariln said, “If he’s out there he’s on the other team! This is our chance to GET OUT OF HERE!”

  But Julia jerked her arm free and dashed to the wall. She was halfway in when Meredith grabbed her wrist. “Julia! Please don’t go out there,” she pleaded.

  “I’m fine! If Cayne is here, he’ll help me!”

  “YOU CAN’T TRUST HIM! HE’S A NEPHILIM!” Carlin screamed so loud her honey-colored skin went purple.

  “Let me go!” Julia was stumbling, struggling to wriggle the rest of the way through the wall. Meredith’s hand, holding her stark gray sleeve, was hardest to fling off, but Julia managed.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll be back!”

  And then she was Floating—cold, foggy, and finally corporeal, standing not inside their columned meeting room but out in the Commons, where she was stunned by what could only be described as a war. Or massacre.

  Most of the Chosen weren’t fighters, and the Nephilim were ripping through them. Julia saw a brawny brown Nephilim rip a pudgy Chosen man’s arms off. Blood spurted like out of a water gun as he fell, screaming. Julia watched it splatter on the floor, then watched the floor absorb it like a sponge.

  She clutched her stomach and looked the other way, where a girl about her age was getting her throat cut. She turned her eyes toward the glass ceiling, surprised to find it intact. But the Nephilim were coming in from somewhere up there; she gasped as she saw more and more, scores more, drift from above, circling the room like birds of prey.

  She covered her ears to block out screams and cowed against the wall, feeling crazy but refusing to leave. Despite Cayne’s past, despite the worst she felt about him, she found she couldn’t even consider leaving here without him.

  If he was here.

  She opened her Sight and scanned the battle, looking for Cayne’s unique silver aura. But all she saw was the violence, and in aura-vision it was ten times worse. She watched as the dark, slimy green of a Nephilim sliced through a light brown Chosen woman. She had never seen someone’s aura vanish, and it was terrible.

  “Julia!”

  Meredith had popped out of the wall about ten feet to Julia’s left. Her eyes grew wide and the color drained from her face. Julia was going to run to her friend, but Meredith gasped and pointed. Julia followed her finger to Nathan, in the middle of the room, in the middle of two enormous Nephilim, barely keeping them at bay with a series of quick sword-slashes. Julia felt sure he was going to die, even wondered what she would feel when he did, and then she saw Drew with his own sword, steps away.

  He took one of the Nephilim by surprise, slicing his brown wing in half. While that one screamed horribly, Nathan cut off the other’s hand, then stabbed him brutally through the stomach.

  Julia looked back at Meredith a second too late. A Nephilim with yellow wings swooped down and snatched her up. Julia screamed her name, but before she could even take a step forward, strong hands gripped her elbows.

  The Nephilim was short and stocky, with big blue eyes, freckles, and bright orange hair. His wings, too, were tinged with blue. “Someone wants to see you,” he purred.

  Julia screamed, and from nowhere Herbert was beside her, a Rambo-sized hunting knife in his hand.

  “Die, fucker!” He stabbed the Nephilim in the back, and the half-demon reared, its clammy hands releasing Julia. An instant later Herbert was clutching his bloodied face. His knife fell, clattering to the ground beside Julia as an arch of blood spurted on her. Then he fell; he was convulsing and Julia was screaming.

  Somehow, in her horror, she thought to grab Herbert’s knife. She was up before the Nephilim, jabbing at him, going for his throat. He shouted and backhanded her, and she crumbled, seeing fireworks. “Maybe I’ll just say I found you dead.”

  Then he lurched up, not flying, just hovering. His blue eyes bulged grotesquely, and then he slammed into the ground. Julia saw Carlin behind him, floating a few feet off the ground, her hand extended. She lifted the Nephilim a second time and slung him across the room.

  Then she sank to the ground, panting hard. “You…okay?”

  “Yeah, you?”

  “Spent. Let’s go.”

  They ran, hand in hand, until another Nephilim swooped down on them. Carlin tripped, bringing them both down, and their attacker landed in front, eyeing them like candy and chuckling creepily.

  “I’m too weak,” Carlin panted. Panicked, Julia asked, “Can we Float through the floor?”

  “Yeah, but if we don’t know where we’re going…we’ll get stuck. It’s different from the walls.”

  Julia still had Herbert’s knife. She stood, heart pounding, glancing at the creeper Nephilim who was watching them eagerly, and an idea struck. “Can you pick him up for like ten seconds?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Try!” Julia ran at the creeper. He had only a second to look surprised before he was floating against his will. Julia slid to her knees in front of him, wrapped her arms around both of his legs, and thought as hard as she could about sinking
.

  Nothing happened, and Carlin yelled. “I can’t—”

  SINK DAMN IT! SINK SINK SINK SINK SINK SINK SINK SINK!

  Finally the ground gave, but it was slow. The pale stone felt like foam, and the Nephilim was getting heavy. Then it was like sand, and then suddenly she was moving. She could feel the Nephilim struggle, but it was too late. They were in the floor. When Julia’s body was almost all the way under, she let go of the Nephilim and kicked away, like she was under water. Then she focused on rising, and faster than she expected she popped back into the common room.

  The top of the Nephilim’s head was sticking out of the floor, which was hard as stone around it.

  “Holy crap, you guys!” Meredith exclaimed as she dashed over. “That was badass!”

  “Help me get her out of here!” Julia gestured to Carlin, who was lying on her side. Together they pulled her to the wall, and Julia told them to Float through.

  “We’re all going,” Meredith said firmly.

  “Not until I find Cayne.”

  “Julia—”

  “Mer, shouldn’t you know by now I have to.” She ran off before her friend could say anything else.

  Unsure where she was going, Julia stayed close to the walls; when she saw a boy, maybe twelve, fighting with a Nephilim, and she ran toward him, planning to help.

  She felt hot hands on her ribs, and one of the bastards had her—she couldn’t see his face, just his giant mahogany wings. He had a high-pitched laugh, and his hand around her waist was squeezing painfully. “I win,” he sang, and then lifted her into the air.

  They were flying up, fast, and Julia prepared for a drop. She’d seen other Nephilim doing this—dropping Chosen on top of others. It was going to happen to her, now.

  She thought of Cayne and felt a gnawing ache. She’d never get to—

  Her captor roared, and then he stopped flying. Julia shrieked as gravity tugged them, but a moment later a new set of arms had her.

  She knew him by feel: hard and comforting.

  “We’re getting the hell out of here,” Cayne said.

  *

  Julia’s body relaxed with a deep, instinctive relief. His arms had pressed her neatly to his chest; even his chin tucked down to shelter her. His rumbling voice was in her hair. “That was close.”

  She felt exhilarated, and at the same time a little scared. He was a Nephilim. A Hunter. If this was ten years ago, he’d have already killed her.

  “It’s okay,” he soothed. “You’re safe with me. I’ll always protect you.”

  “I know,” she heard herself whisper.

  She felt Cayne flap his wings and she looked down, dizzied by their height. She looked up and was shocked to see the glass ceiling almost directly above them. She could see where the Nephilim were getting in, too. Four of the large glass panels had been removed.

  They were gliding in so fast, Julia realized the place was going to be overrun. “No! Cayne, no! Go back down! I have to go back down for Meredith!”

  “There’s no way!”

  “You HAVE to! Cayne, please! She’ll die!”

  Cayne groaned, a frustrated roar, and turned, diving. There were bodies everywhere, Chosen and Nephilim dying left and right. Julia saw people she knew—Randy, the coffee guy, gutted and spilled. Charles curled up in an unmoving ball. It was so much, too much, and Julia hit the “Off” switch on her emotions.

  Cayne came out of his dive, and she pointed him left, as near as she could guess to the spot where she’d left her friends. She thought she would have to Float and try to find them in the compound, but then she saw Meredith and Carlin were still there. Carlin on the ground, Meredith standing between her and a Nephilim.

  “There!” Julia pointed. “Hurry!”

  It seemed to take only a breath for Cayne to zip past, practically decapitating the other Nephilim.

  Carlin’s head was down, her eyes shut, but Meredith was with it enough to shriek as Cayne and Julia flew at her.

  Cayne touched down, and Julia jumped out of his arms. “Meredith, it’s okay! Do you want to go?”

  “With him?” Her brown eyes popped out, skeptical times ten. “Are you sure?”

  A ball of blue fire flew over Meredith’s head, and she ducked. When she came up, she seemed steeled. “Okay, but Carlin’s out. We’ll have to carry her, too.”

  “How do you know she—”

  “I’m not leaving her. Herbert’s dead and Drew got taken and…” She covered her mouth, stifling a sob, and Julia watched her nail polish sparkle.

  The next second, her arms were around her friend, and she was looking over her shoulder. Cayne nodded. “I can get all of you.”

  He could. They settled with Meredith on Cayne’s back, Julia in his left arm, and limp, pale Carlin in his right. Julia wrapped her arms around Carlin, too.

  It was awkward, and almost got scary when they ran into two Nephilim mid-way to the ceiling, but even with the three of them, Cayne was faster. He burst past one, slapping him in the face with his wing, and outflapped the other.

  They flew through the ceiling with Meredith shrieking and Julia clinging to Carlin for dear life (Carlin’s, of course) and the Nephilim entering the pyramid looking very confused, and then they were out! There was fighting outside as well, but they were over it, speeding away. They were halfway across the wide field that surrounded the pyramid when Julia spotted someone lying face-down in the grass.

  “DREW! Omigod that’s Drew, we have to stop!”

  Cayne groaned, and they were diving; Drew grew bigger and bigger and at that moment he rolled over, his face a mask of fear. To his credit, he jumped up, wielding a smooth, round stone, and smashed Cayne in the head before anyone could get a word out.

  Julia was livid. “He’s on our side!”

  “Not his!” Cayne snapped, clutching his head.

  “He’s a Nephilim!”

  “And Dizzy’s a Chosen!” Julia snapped. “So what!”

  That shut Drew up. The battle had already moved outside—or maybe that’s where it had started—and Meredith said, “Get over it already, ‘cause we’re all leaving. Together. Now.”

  Drew was willing, as long as he could hold Cayne’s dagger.

  “Don’t expect me to trust him!”

  Cayne had a few choice words about that plan—“I don’t need a dagger” being the least salacious—which set Drew’s aura to red. Then a massive burst of what looked like lightening erupted from the pyramid, bringing the south half of it down, and Drew dropped the issue.

  They made a quick plan, which involved running to the parking deck and stealing a van, which Cayne hated. He gave several reasons, but it all boiled down to “too dangerous,” and when Drew asked him for his idea, he said, “Every person for himself.”

  It took Julia saying she wouldn’t leave without her friends to get him to come around.

  As they hoofed it toward the deck, running like children in a group relay at field day—a horrible, horrible field day—they encountered three Nephilim. Cayne killed the first two with an ease that stunned Drew and Meredith.

  They were maybe a hundred yards from the parking deck when they encountered the third. Meredith had just gushed “Oh my god we’re going to make it,” when two bodies splattered to the ground right in front of them. One was Herbert; he had been cut in two, so his legs were on the other side of the second Chosen. Julia wasn’t sure who she was—her face had been cut off. But she was the right size for Anise.

  Meredith screamed. Drew stared, open mouthed. Julia, closest to Herbert’s legs, found herself gagging into the grass.

  Cayne looked at the sky and cursed what he saw. Julia followed his gaze, and her blood froze.

  Samyaza’s wings were stretched out, shifting subtly with the wind as he floated toward them. Death.

  “Cayuzul!” he crowed when he landed. “And friends!” His eyes stopped on Julia, and she shivered.

  “Run,” Cayne commanded.

  “Or stay.”

&nb
sp; “I’m going to kill you this time,” Cayne snarled, summoning his dagger.

  Sam smiled back, baring his teeth. “You are—”