The Shikari Box Set

by Dora Blume

  He glanced toward Nick. “There’s fighting in the chapel.”

  He narrowed his eyes at Erik. “Can you hear thoughts, too?” He asked.

  “Yes,” he hustled toward the chapel. He wanted to reach out to Caroline, but he wasn’t sure he could. He’d never tried. Caroline made it seem easy, but her power may be different from his. He reached out as if he were trying to talk to her. He pictured her sitting across the table from him and sent out his thought. Caroline, Caroline, are you there? Are we heading to the chapel? He stopped and listened. He blew out a breath when nothing happened. Then he felt a small flicker in his mind. Get your damn walls down, idiot! Caroline screamed in his head. Get your ass in here, now. We need you. She projected. He reached the door of the chapel and threw it open.

  He saw Bryant first, punching a young man in the nose. The boy doubled over and held his hand to his face as blood streamed over his lips and chin. He saw Caroline was fighting hand to hand with another female girl. He looked to Jessie, “Freeze them, quick. They’re all possessed students and Shikari. Please, Jess, we have to save them.” His gaze looked desperate as he scanned the room.

  She raised her hands and froze the students nearest to them. She began running to the back of the room, and Erik followed. She froze as she ran. Some students didn’t freeze as she went, but she didn’t stop until she’d made it around the room. The students who hadn’t frozen were being knocked to the floor by other Shikari members in the room.

  Caroline walked toward Erik and Jessie. “It’s about time you got here. It took you that long to get through the damn building?” She scolded.

  “Well,” Nick stepped forward. “They were saving me.”

  Caroline’s mouth dropped, she recovered and closed it quickly. “Oh, it’s good to see you, Nick.”

  “Is it?” he asked, narrowing one eye at her.

  “Of course, when I heard about students being possessed at the school I rushed over here.” She looked to Erik and Jessie. “You understand why.”

  “Yes, is your daughter okay?” Jessie asked.

  “I don’t know. I got here and started helping. I haven’t been able to find her in the crowd of students.” Caroline looked around frantically. “I need to find her.” Caroline rushed around the room checking each of the students as she went.

  Sloane walked up to Jessie and Erik. “Looks like we missed all the fun.” She crossed her arms over her chest. Mike walked up behind her and rubbed her shoulders.

  “We’ve got bigger problems. They’ve possessed more students at the school in Colorado Springs along with adults there. If they can accomplish that, they will go after the order. I don’t know how they’ve been able to possess Shikari, but they are. We need to figure out how before this goes any further.” Erik said.

  Bryant walked up to the group. “I couldn’t agree more. We need to contact the order. Let them know what’s going on here. They need to be aware that they may be next.”

  “Isn’t that what you normally do, being the head of the Minneapolis area and all?” Sloane said a little too cocky, and Mike squeezed one of her shoulders a little harder. Bryant glared at Sloane, and she felt a wave of calm spread over her. “Oh, no, you don't. You can’t use your power on me. I know better.”

  “This isn’t the kind of thing you discuss over the phone, dear. We wouldn’t know who was possessed over the phone. If they’ve already gotten to them, we will tip our hand. The demons cannot become aware of our knowing. We’re going to need to go there in person.” Bryant explained.

  “Well, we need to take care of the school here, first.” Sloane shot back.

  “I do believe we need to split up. Some of us will need to travel to the order to warn them. Sloane, Mike, Jessie and Erik, I trust you can stay and take care of the school.” Bryant looked to Erik then Sloane.

  Mike wrapped an arm around Sloane’s waist, and she leaned into him.

  “We should be getting to the other school. We believe the headmaster there may be a leader of the demons. He seems to be masterminding the operation here in Denver. We need to find out who’s behind all of this if we have any chance of stopping these demons.” Erik explained.

  “Agreed,” Bryant said. “Erik, Mike, Jessie, and Sloane should go back to Colorado Springs. You can handle the situation there. You’ll need Shikari hunters from Denver to help. There very well may be quite a few possessed at the school. Coordinate with Magnus. He’ll get you the help you need.” Bryant stroked his beard as he directed everyone.

  “Okay, so we regroup after everything is cleaned up here?” Jessie asked.

  “I think we need to wait until tomorrow to go after the other demons in Colorado Springs. We’ll need to keep this quiet until then, so the other demons don’t know we’ve stopped them.” He stopped and gave Jessie a meaningful look. “Jessie, you need to rest. You’re supposed to be recovering from a bullet wound. We need to recuperate before we go into another battle.” Erik said.

  “We should go back to Caroline’s house.” Jessie looked around the room. Various students were being dispossessed and helped. There was a young girl being held by a woman in an iron embrace. Many were being attended to and bandaged. “Speaking of Caroline, where is she?” Jessie asked.

  “I don’t know. She went to look for her daughter. Do you think she found her in another room?” Sloane glanced around, but there was no sign of her.

  “We should go find her. Make sure her daughter is alright.” Jessie strode to the door of the chapel.

  “I’m going to find Magnus and discuss who should be going to Colorado Springs and Kansas City. I will meet up with you shortly.” Bryant turned and headed toward the pew.

  “I’ll try to reach out to Caroline.” He concentrated and tried to send his thoughts out to her.

  Caroline, where are you? Erik projected.

  He got a quick reply. Erik, I can’t find her. She’s not here. What happened to her? Her thoughts were jumbled and panicked.

  “We need to find her. Caroline’s daughter is still missing. She’s freaking out.” Erik hurried down the hall in the direction of Caroline’s frantic thoughts.

  They found her in the band room. Jessie stepped in front of her. Caroline whipped her head around. “Her stuff’s here, but she’s not. Why isn’t she here? I found her backpack in the practice room. I thought maybe she hid in here, but I can’t find her anywhere. Come on we have to keep looking.” Caroline raced out of the room.

  “Okay, everyone split up. We have to find Caroline’s daughter, Nicole.” Jessie followed behind Caroline.

  “Do they just forget I’m a tracker?” He glanced to Sloane and jerked his head back toward the band room. She followed him to the girl’s backpack. He picked it up and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath. “She’s not here.” He opened his eyes slowly and spoke low. “Go let them know. We are wasting time here. She’s not in the building.” Erik nodded and raced to find Jessie and Caroline.

  Sloane took Mike’s hand. “Any idea where she is?”

  “I think they are on the way to Colorado Springs. I think she’s possessed; her essence isn’t as strong as another Shikari. I can’t explain it exactly, but it’s faint. I’m not sure how long I will be able to feel her if they get too far away. We need to head toward her now.” Mike carried the backpack and headed in the same direction as Erik.

  Erik was stopped at the end of the hall. His hand was on Caroline’s shoulder. She was hunched over, gripping her stomach. Mike called, “Come on we need to go after her.”

  Caroline snapped up and went running in his direction. Her eyes wide, “You know where she is?”

  “I can sense her, but it’s faint. We need to go before I lose her altogether.”

  “Okay, lead the way.” The determination in her voice was strong.

  “Alright, let’s get to the car. Caroline, give your keys to Erik. He and Jessie can follow us in your car.” They raced to the exit and into the cars. Mike raced onto the highway and sped toward Colorado S
prings.

  “Could she be going home after her school was attacked? Maybe she was coming to see me.” Caroline said as she realized they were heading out of the city.

  Mike exchanged a glance with Sloane. “Yeah, maybe,” he said focusing back on the road.

  “That’s got to be it. She got away from the fighting and ran. I taught her well and with her gift. I’m sure she got away.” Caroline was speaking more to herself than anyone in the car.

  Sloane looked over to Mike, and her lips thinned into a hard line. “Are you going to tell her, or am I?” She asked Mike.

  “I think we should wait.” Mike cautioned.

  “She deserves to know.”

  “Fine, Caroline, your daughter's essence is faint because I think she’s possessed by a demon,” Mike spoke smoothly.

  “What? That can’t be she’s too powerful. She’d never let herself get possessed by a demon.”

  “What do you mean, she’s too powerful?” Sloane asked.

  “She has a special gift. Unlike any, I’ve heard of in the Shikari. It’s why I try to keep her away from other Shikari members. She went to school here, but she knew not to talk about her abilities. Just like she’s not supposed to discuss Nick’s ability.” Caroline took a deep breath. “I guess it’s important for you to know. So, Nick’s power is to manipulate the elements, and I can read minds as well as send thoughts. My daughter, well, she can influence your thoughts. It’s like she can plant a thought in your mind and compel you to act on it. That’s why I try to keep her protected. She lives with Nick because he can protect her. They both have very special powers. It’s also why we chose to live in Colorado Springs rather than Denver. Nick chose to move to Denver after the, ah, the divorce.” She sat back in her seat, chewing her lip anxiously.

  “Wow, that’s one hell of an ability.” Sloane blew out a breath.

  “We need to save her. That’s my baby.” Caroline gripped her hands into fists.

  “Of course, Caroline we’ll get her back,” Mike said giving Sloane a look. She rolled her eyes back at him.

  “Did anyone tell Nick?” she asked. “He should know.”

  “He’s in the car with Erik and Jessie. They’re following us. He said Nicole was with him when they took him. When he woke in the car on the way to the school, he asked where she was. I’m sorry, we didn’t know at the time the demons had her. We’ll get her, Caroline. We won’t stop until we do.” Mike reassured.

  Chapter 18

  The shrill of the phone broke the silence in the car. “Who is it?” Jessie asked.

  “Bryant,” Erik swiped his finger over the phone to answer. “Hey, what’s up?”

  “Magnus is sending help your way. They will be there in the morning after everything is cleared up here. We’re still discussing going to Kansas City to alert the order in person. We’ll work out the details, and I’ll inform you of our decision.”

  “We may need help sooner than that. Demons have taken Caroline's daughter. We’re in route to Colorado Springs. We’re following Mike, who is tracking her. Any chance we can get some help sooner than tomorrow?” Erik asked.

  “I’ll confer with Magnus and let you know as soon as I can,” Bryant said.

  “Okay, call me back. We need to know. If we track her to the school, we’re going to need help. Is there anyone in Colorado Springs you can call to help?” Erik asked.

  “I’m not sure. I’ll get back to you.” He hung up.

  “Ah, okay.” Erik set the phone down in the center counsel.

  “Bryant said they’re sending help but not until tomorrow. I let him know we needed them sooner. He’s getting back to me, I guess. He hung up kind of abruptly.” Erik shrugged and focused on keeping up with Mike who was racing down the highway.

  “Caroline is the head of Colorado Springs. She could call in help sooner than Magnus. I’ll call a few friends and let them know what’s going on. I’ll see what assistance I can round up.” Nick sat back in the seat and began scrolling through his phone.

  “If the battle is at the school, I’m not even sure we have enough people in the area to go against them. The school had so many possessed teachers and students. They’ve been working on this plan for months. I can’t believe no one was noticing.” Erik shook his head. They weren’t supposed to be able to possess hunters.

  Erik’s phone began ringing again. “It’s Mike. Hey, man, we’re right behind you.”

  “I know, I lost Nicole. I could sense her one minute and the next she was gone. We’re going to drive by the school, but I don’t think it’s a good idea to go in.” Mike’s voice was somber.

  “No, there are way too many possessed to go in. Bryant and Magnus are sending help, but they won’t be here until tomorrow. Bryant was going to check with Magnus to see if they can get here sooner. Nick is making a few calls to friends in this area, but we can’t just charge in.” Erik explained.

  “I agree, Sloane is trying to get that exact point across. I think we should rendezvous at Caroline’s before we go to school. Figure out who can aid us and how to strategically go in, so we don’t all end up possessed or dead.” Mike huffed into the phone.

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll follow you there,” Erik said.

  “Ten-four,” Mike said.

  Erik hung up the phone and looked to Jessie. “We’re heading to Caroline’s. Caroline’s daughter suddenly went off Mike’s radar. We don’t want to go to the school without a plan.” Erik brushed his hand through his hair.

  “Yeah, I heard most of what you said. I think it’s a good idea to go back and figure out what we are going to do. Now, how in the hell are they going to get Caroline to go along with us when it’s her daughter?” Jessie shook her head and reached over to take Erik’s hand.

  “No idea, let’s just hope they can.” He looked back in the mirror to Nick who was talking on the phone to someone behind him, not paying attention to their conversation. Erik knew that if it were his child, he wouldn’t be going to make a plan. He’d be charging in guns blazing. He also knew he’d probably get himself dead. He glanced back in the mirror again. He was pretty sure Nick was a reasonable guy. He’d probably listen to them and go with them to the house. Erik wanted to listen in on his thoughts but refrained. He looked over to Jessie. She had her hair pulled up into a high ponytail. He wanted to pull it out and watch her hair fall past her shoulders. He hated when she wore her hair up. He shook his head and focused on the road, following Mike.

  They pulled into Caroline’s driveway. Erik put it in park and watched as Caroline bolted out of the car, slamming the door.

  “Oh shit, I gotta go. I’ll call you back soon or better yet, just come to Caroline’s house. We need all the help we can get.” Nick hung up the phone and rushed out of the car after Caroline.

  Erik looked to Jessie. “Well, this should be fun.”

  “Come on, Erik. It’s her daughter we’re talking about. We just brought her home instead of to the school where her daughter is. Wouldn’t you be pissed off?” Jessie slid out of the car, closing the door before Erik could respond. She hurried after Nick and Caroline into the house.

  Erik got out and walked up to Mike and Sloane. “So, I take it she didn’t want to come here.”

  “No, she’s pissed off that we didn’t drive straight to the school. I didn’t want even to chance driving by, for fear she might jump out of the car. She’s not all that pleased with us, right now. I’m hoping Nick can calm her down.” Mike wrapped his arm around Sloane’s waist.

  “I tried talking sense into her, but she didn't hear it. We can’t go in there without more people. Even I can see that. Usually, I wouldn’t care, but there’s no way we’d even have a chance at the school without help. They already know Caroline and me. We’d be spotted and taken before we could even locate Nicole.” Sloane rested her arm over Mike’s on her waist. She leaned back into him and closed her eyes a moment. Erik was happy to see his sister with Mike. He hoped this meant she might stick around. Although, they w
ere close when they were young, and that didn’t stop her from leaving. Erik shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought. The fear she would leave was always there. He wasn’t sure he’d ever been free of it. Everyone around him left eventually. The only constant he had was his father.

  “Well, we better get in there.” Sloane huffed and walked toward the house. Mike shrugged, took a step, patted Erik on the shoulder and followed Sloane inside.

  “This could get interesting,” Erik said before following them inside. When he walked through the door, Caroline was pacing frantically around the room. Jessie threw her hands up, “Caroline, can you stay here until we have some plan and more help? We need you. You’re the head of this area. Call others, get help before you race in and get killed. You know, it’s in the best interest of Nicole to wait.” Jessie took a step toward Caroline and put her hand on her shoulder. “Please, Caroline. We need you.”

  She stopped and looked into Jessie’s eyes. “Okay, Jessie. I’ll try.”

  “Alright, Nick, who have you already called?” Jessie looked to Nick.

  “I called the Steele’s and Carrie and Jon. They’ll be on their way here shortly. I didn’t call Brett. I figured I’d leave that call up to you, Caroline.” He stormed into the kitchen, hitting the door open on his way.

  “Ah, okay. Caroline, who else should we be calling?” Jessie looked to Caroline.

  “I’ll take care of it.” She picked up her purse and strode into the kitchen behind Nick.

  “What was that about?” Sloane asked.

  “Probably, why they’re divorced. Let’s give them a few minutes. Erik, when was Bryant getting back to you?” Jessie asked.

  “I’m not sure. He said he would call as soon as he talked to Magnus.”

  “Okay, can we start making a plan for how we’ll enter the building. How many people would be ideal for that? Erik, any idea how many possessed we’re talking about. You were listening to their thoughts. I figure you’ve got about as good an idea as any of us for how many we’re up against.” Jessie studied him.