by Fletcher, MJ
“Chloe, close the portal!” he shouted over the raw energy pouring out of the opening.
I grabbed my knob and twisted it trying to force the portal closed. It resisted. Someone on the other side was holding it open.
“Someone’s stopping me.”
Nightshade swung and connected with a resounding punch to the goon’s jaw knocking him to the ground. He turned back to the portal and added his key to my powers and tried to help me close the door.
An eruption of energy exploded from the portal blowing us all backward and then like a river of unstoppable force an onslaught of people rushed into the room and flanked the portal. Men and women stood ready to do battle with us, each of them members of different orders. I could see some holding doorknobs and other skeleton keys, I even noticed an HVO silver star.
Nightshade, my father and I stood side by side in front of what seemed like armed troops. They didn’t move; they remained stoic watching us.
“What are they waiting for?” James asked.
“Orders I would guess,” Dad replied and then he looked around and smiled at where I had opened the portal. “That’s my girl.” He winked at me.
With precise and sequent steps the army parted at the entrance to the portal and out stepped Ms. True. While her beauty was still evident, her cruel demeanor no longer remained hidden. It was as if she had removed a mask for the entire world to see her for what she was... a bitch.
“Very good,” she said, though it sounded far from a compliment. “You escaped the lockdown, but you haven’t escaped me. You will never escape the First Kind.”
“What a joke,” I laughed at my former instructor.
“What did you say?” Her eyes flared with a fiery anger.
“You heard me; you’re a joke. The First Kind, really that’s what you’re going with? I mean seriously if you were the First Kind you wouldn’t be kidnapping my dad who was searching for your own artifacts, now would you?”
“You insolent little, brat, I’m going to enjoy destroying you,” she said with too much pleasure.
“I don’t think so, True,” my dad said with a smile as he pointed around the room. “You haven’t realized where we are, have you?”
Ms. True took in the room in one quick glance.
The hall of the Impossible Engineers rose up around us. Various devices laid strewn about, design schematics were spread across drafting tables and on the walls hung jetpacks.
“Idiots, she brought us to the Paladin Academy,” True reprimanded harshly as she hurried back to the portal. “Kill them now!”
Her army didn’t hesitate; they attacked. We worked as one creating a defensive shield but knew it wouldn’t hold long against such a massive barrage. The shields cracked and splintered as fast as we replaced them.
“You need to get out of here,” Dad said throwing up another shield.
I looked at him like he had grown a second head over night. “I’m not leaving you.” I mean was he crazy. I didn’t go through all this to leave him to die.
The sound of metal gears creaking resonated throughout the hall and the massive front doors swung open and standing there was Mr. Miller and what looked like an entire football team.
“Elijah,” Levi called out. He reached back pulling a wrench the size of a bat from inside the back of his coat and rushed forward with a fierce glint of determination. The men beside him moved just as quickly each pulling out some different contraption and running full force at the assailants. The three of us lowered our shields and joined the melee, the odds of victory now more favorable.
Mr. Miller swung his wrench sending one of the goons bouncing like a tennis ball until he landed with a thud to the ground. Then he grabbed Dad by the shoulder and hugged him, a big grin spread clear across his face.
“Good to see you, old friend, and as usual you’re in need of my help.”
“Thanks, Levi, and I do need your help.”
“You’ve got it.”
“I found the Legend. I need to get it to the council.”
Two goons raced at my dad and Levi and both men swatted them out of their way like they were nothing more than pesky gnats.
“They’re meeting tonight at the Infinity Library to discuss recent events and to assign blame,” Levi said and nodded in my direction.
I had a feeling I knew which member was ready to throw me under the bus if I didn’t live up to the deal he had tried to strike with me. I couldn’t catch any more of their conversation since some jerk goon came barreling at me. I grew winded fighting through his attack but I’d be damned if I’d let it stop me and just when I thought I might get the upper hand one of Mr. Miller’s friends cropped him with what appeared to be a sledgehammer.
Dad grabbed my arm and pulled me to the side away from the fighting. He leaned over and whispered into my ear and I laughed when I heard what he said.
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I’m not. I need to stay here and help Levi finish this. You need go get the Legend and bring it before the council. Can you handle that?”
“I’ve spent the last few days fighting monsters and being chased by psychopaths, I think I can handle this.” I took hold of his arm. “But I don’t want to leave you.”
“I’ll be fine and I’ll be right behind you. Levi and I will meet you at the library to talk with the council.” He grabbed me and hugged me tighter then he had in a very long time.
“I’m so proud of you,” he whispered and then turned back to join the fight.
I watched him go and smiled, though a hint of a tear threatened. I had actually done it. I had freed my father just like I said I would. Insane as the plan had been, insane that I had made it up as we went, insane that it would actually work and unbelievably insane that it had worked. Now I needed to not only clear my name, but my friends’ names as well. And then I intended to stick it to these jerks who had been messing with my life.
“Nightshade,” I called out hoping he would hear me over the din of the raging battle.
He turned toward me for a split second, then finished off the guy he was fighting and raced over to me. He stopped beside me, his breathing heavy. “Let me guess, new plan, very low success rate and slightly crazy?” he smiled and with his arm around my waist tucked us into a corner of the room away from the chaos.
I returned his smile spontaneously, which surprised me since he usually had me snarling at him. “Of course, what else would you expect?” I quickly filled him in on what we needed to do and he nodded in agreement. It wasn’t a bad idea either since both of us had been using our powers so much we were nearly drained.
“How do we get out of here?” he asked.
Neither of us could likely open another portal without some rest. My smile grew along with my plan. “I have an idea.”
I took hold of his hand and raced down along the wall until I reached the area where Levi, kept the Impossible Engineers jetpacks. I pulled off a newer model and turned to Nightshade.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Not like we have a lot of options here. Why, are you afraid?” I couldn’t help but tweak him since he had done it to me so many times.
He hefted another jetpack off the wall and slid his arm through the strap and onto his back. He looped his other arm through the second strap and then cinched it across his chest with a tug of buckles locking it in place. “Ready when you are.”
I quickly pulled my phone out and sent a text and slid it back into my pocket. I slid my own pack on when suddenly I was spun around by something smashing into it with such force that I crashed into the wall. The jetpack snapped in half, falling in pieces to the ground.
Stunned, I shook my head and next to me saw that Nightshade was fending off a gremlin. I shook my head again. Gremlin? I knew what I was going to face when I got to my feet and sure enough a large, scary looking gremlin stood in front of me, his arm big as a tree trunk raised and ready to strike. Instincts took over, my hand shot out reaching for anything I could
grab. I connected with a metal object and holding it tight I swung out wildly.
The ever expanding wrench is one of the Impossible Engineers more lucrative devices. It expands to wrap around anything and twists until you make it stop. In this case it attached itself to the gremlin’s arm and I almost felt bad when I heard the bone snap. I felt even worse when the device didn’t stop and the gremlin lay on the ground holding its arm and howling in pain.
“Sorry,” I said scrambling back and dropping the wrench.
“You pathetic, child, you think you can get away from me?”
I knew that voice. I turned to see Ms. True. “Considering that’s all I’ve been doing for the last few days, yeah that’s exactly what I think.”
“Tell me where the artifact is and I’ll let you and your family live,” she said taking a step closer.
“If you haven’t noticed we’re doing pretty well.”
“Is that so?”
Portals began appearing all over the hall, gremlins crawling out of some and men and women pouring out of others.
“As I said, give me the information and you’ll be allowed to live,” Ms. True said looking pleased with herself.
Nightshade moved closer sliding his arm around my waist, which was getting to be a habit. He gave me a look that I instantly understood. I turned and in one fluid motion, pressed my body against his, slid my arms around his neck and rested my face so close to his that our lips nearly touched, another thing getting to be a habit.
“Trust me?” he whispered.
I felt as if I was the only one in the world that mattered to him at that moment and without hesitation I said, “Yes.”
“How very touching, now where is the artifact?” Ms. True stomped her foot like a spoiled child.
Nightshade tucked me closer and I reached for the jet pack control on his wrist and flicked the ignition. The machine roared to life and we blasted off soaring away from Ms. True, leaving her screeching with rage. A trail of smoke followed behind us as James took over the controller.
We shot to the ceiling so fast that I thought my plan might end with us turned into pancakes. I closed my eyes and buried my face against his chest, his scent all too familiar and all too welcoming. I soaked it in and it sent a shiver through me. I thought it would be the last sensation I ever felt and then I heard James whisper, “Trust me.”
And I did.
Suddenly we shifted, James manipulating the controls and turning us away from the ceiling. We wouldn’t be pancakes after all.
“Window,” James said calmly.
I looked to see us heading right for one of the large floor to ceiling windows that ran the back length of the hall. I yanked my doorknob out and using the miniscule of energy I had left to let loose with a blast and shattered the window. We soared out through the massive hole as splintered glass fell like rain on the chaos below.
“Where too?” James asked over the rush of wind.
“My house.” I once again buried my head in his chest trying to block the wind from my face. My arms remained locked around his neck, and his arm kept a firm hold around my waist. It seemed so natural as if it was common practice... a habit. Was it becoming a habit, his arms around me? Here I was in the middle of running for my life and I was fixating on James Nightshade’s arms around me. How ridiculous. What the hell was I thinking? Not to mention Slade was a much better man.
Nightshade made a perfect descent landing us lightly on the snow-covered ground. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to.
“We’re here,” he said quietly.
I stepped away reluctantly and purposely avoided looking at him. I couldn’t meet his eyes, I just couldn’t. Instead I stared at my family’s house. He had landed us on the front lawn and it felt good to be home. It had only been a few days and yet it felt like a lifetime since I had been here last.
“Chloe!” Slade came running around from the side of the house.
I smiled and rushed to meet him. He stretched his arms out, caught me and lifted me in the air, then kissed me. I hugged him close not caring about what others saw or thought. I was happy to see him again and relieved that he was all right.
“The happy couple together again,”
The sarcasm in Nightshade’s voice was unmistakable. He strode past us without sparing us a glance and went straight up the stairs. I wanted to say something but decided against it. The old Nightshade had returned, but where had the new one gone?
Slade set me down and slid his hand around mine as we followed shortly behind Nightshade to the porch. James and Jessica hugged and he whispered something to her. She smiled, though I didn’t know if was because of what he had said or that she had looked at me.
“Cuz!” Jessica hurried over to me, grabbed me and kissed me on the cheek. “I was so worried about you two and so relieved when I got your text to meet here. What happened?”
I quickly filled them in on our success with finding my dad and that Ms. True had turned out to be a traitor.
Both Jess and Slade were thrilled with the news and no doubt relieved that this nightmarish ordeal was at an end... well almost at an end.
“What happened with you?” I asked wondering how they had escaped custody since last I saw them they had been surrounded by HVO.
Slade explained. “After what happened at the Tavern DI Emory was more convinced than ever that something wasn’t right and that serious trouble was definitely brewing. He convinced the council to allow him to investigate and he released us. The council is meeting tonight at the Infinity Library to discuss the recent problems. Everyone is in an uproar and rumors are flying. Most everyone is convinced you have the artifact.”
“I don’t have it, but I know where it is,” I said with a smug grin.
Slade laughed, pulled me to him and hugged me again. “Terrific, we can clear our names and your dad’s.”
Slade kissed me again but this time I couldn’t help but feel self-conscious that Nightshade and Jess were watching us.
“So where is it?” Nightshade snapped impatiently.
I eased away from Slade and snapped back at Nightshade. “It’s here.”
“How is that possible?” Nightshade asked. “The DS were all over this place how come they didn’t find it?”
“They had no idea what they were looking for not to mention that they don’t know my dad.” I hurried down the steps. “Come on I’ll show you.”
I had almost laughed when Dad had told me where he’d hidden it. He had meant for the clues to confuse anyone who wasn’t a family member and for those same clues to lead family back home.
We all walked to the backyard. I paused and glanced around until I caught sight of the rose bushes. I pointed at them and then motioned to the shed. Slade understood and ran and grabbed a shovel, then went to work digging under the bushes.
“What makes you think that it’s here?” Nightshade asked sitting cross-legged on top of the picnic table after brushing the snow off it.
“My dad whispered, ‘sub rosa’ to me. It’s Latin for under the rose. It was a way of keeping a secret back in the day. If someone wanted to keep something private they would say it was under the rose. When I was kid I use to hunt for pirate treasure under these rose bushes. My mom always called my hunt sub rosa.”
“Hope your right,” Nightshade said stretching out on the picnic table, his arms pillowing his head and closed his eyes.
Slade stopped to grab his gloves from his jacket pocket and slip them on. The ground was hard from the cold so digging wasn’t easy, but at least the ground hadn’t frozen yet. I was going to suggest that Nightshade get another shovel and help Slade dig. But he had to feel as exhausted as I did.
“How’s Gran?” I stepped next to Jessica and leaned against her wishing I was stretched out on the picnic table as well.
“She’s awake, though really groggy, but the doctors say she’ll make a full recovery. She was lucky.” Jessica placed her arm around my shoulder and hugged me.
I smiled an
d laughed when Jess pointed out that Nightshade was already asleep and once again I was envious.
“Get some rest, I’ll help Slade.” She pushed me toward the bench and walked over to him.
I dusted the snow off the bench. It felt as if I hadn’t slept in days, and I wanted to sigh with relief when I lay down. It didn’t matter that it was hard and cold. It didn’t matter that I could hear Slade digging or that James was snoring lightly. Nothing mattered but the sleep that quickly claimed me. The dream came just as quickly.
I was standing in a long hallway and felt the presence of people all around me. A door at the end of the hall opened and a woman walked out she joined three people who stood in the shadows.
“The girl escaped with her father.”
I recognized Ms. True’s distinct voice, though this time it trembled.
“I told you this would happen,” One of the three said angrily. “We should have killed him when we had the chance. Now the council may have the artifact and that would mean that they know of our existence.”
“We can still resolve this,” a woman said whose voice I didn’t recognize. “We knew we couldn’t hide from the council forever. Perhaps it’s time we made our move. After all, we cannot allow them to possess an artifact of the First Kind.”
“What do you propose?”
“Since Ms. True has already forced us out of hiding, we strike now while the council remains confused and uncertain. If they do in fact have the artifact, we take it.”
“But, ma’am, if we strike at the societies won’t they rise against us?” Ms. True asked.
The woman stepped in front of Ms. True and she quickly lowered her head as if obedient and fearful.
“What would you suggest we do to fix your complete failure?” She shot the words at her as fast as speeding bullets.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
“As you should be, I’m very disappointed in you, True. Now call Darker and the others and gather the creatures.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ms. True turned and scurried from the hall. It seemed to me that she was anxious to be somewhere other than there.
“Do you think this is wise?” One of the others asked of the woman.