Transformation (From the Embers Book 2)

by Jaliza A. Burwell

  I shrugged. “No, but what other choice do we have? I haven’t seen any windows so I think this is all going down underground.”

  He nodded, verifying my thoughts. He probably smelled all the dirt surrounding the building.

  “We don’t know much, all we know is that this is our only path. We could probably slip by,” I pointed up at the ceiling. “But what about those who come after us. We have to deactivate the trap because if not, one of them will trip it and we need them to make a fast entrance once we have eyes on the scene.”

  “Do it,” he said.

  “Don’t worry, I got this.” I flashed him a cocky smile to hide the small insecurities I felt. I wasn’t so sure that I did have this. But the clock was ticking and we didn’t have time to find a better option.

  I reached out with my hand, keeping it flat on the floor, only my fingers reaching toward the door. The energy pulsed, but this trap wouldn’t be set with a light trigger. Wouldn’t want some tiny creature setting it off. I slid my hand further over, touching the beginnings of the trap slightly, wincing at the cold nipping at my fingertips as it made contact with the energy emanating from the door.

  I drew in a breath, keeping my heart calm.

  I was a phoenix, dammit. I could manipulate energy. Do with it what I wanted. And right now, I wanted to relieve the pressure behind this door until it was safe enough to pass through without it turning me into Nyssa soup. I didn’t like the idea of becoming soup. I wouldn’t taste that good.

  Closing my eyes, I focused on the energy surrounding me, within me, through the door. Everywhere.

  Gentle.

  I needed to be gentle.

  After focusing on the energy feeding into the trap, I used my fingers as a connection to it, reaching out to tug it into me. I imagined the route for the energy, slowly entering through my fingers, making its way through my body before exiting through my other hand, a nice simple route, free for it to use.

  It was like the energy was just waiting for permission. When I finished picturing the route, the energy slammed into my poor, innocent fingers and then drove through me, leaving a blazing trail of pain behind it.

  I grunted, my body shaking at the surge. Trying to slow it down became impossible, nothing working. Slade grabbed onto my arm but his grip tightened when the energy decided to skip through me and go into him.

  “Fuck,” Slade grunted, but somehow his touch helped. The roaring of the energy quieted down into a steady stream and my senses told me it went into Slade and then out into the hallway.

  The door practically heaved a sigh as the energy packed around it was released, the pressure lightening.

  After a few long moments, I finally moved my fingers from the door and shivered as the rest of the energy left my body. The air was thick with it, but at least the trap no longer existed.

  No Nyssa soup.

  “We are not doing that again,” Slade grunted out.

  I snorted and got back up to my feet, wiping off my butt.

  “Good?” I asked.

  He nodded. I tentatively stepped in front of the door and nothing happened.

  I turned to Slade with a wide grin. “Told you I had this.”

  He glared at me and then nodded down the hall.

  “Yeah, yeah,” I said, and we continued our journey. There wasn’t another trap when we made it to the door Slade had pointed out near the end of the hall.

  The door looked just like all the other doors and I didn’t feel anything from it. No energy. No magic. Nothing. I only felt the oppressive energy around me, but the door might as well not exist with what I felt from it.

  That worried me more. Told me exactly what I wanted to know.

  This was the place.

  “Anything,” I whispered to Slade, hoping he would pick up a hint on what was the other side. Were we going to be spotted the moment we opened the door? I hoped not. Our back-up was waiting for the all clear.

  Slade winced.

  I cocked an eyebrow.

  “Landus,” he grunted out and I snorted.

  Landus needed to learn patience.

  “Slowly,” Slade said, probably sensing I was ready to get this show on the road.

  I did as he said, the door not even squeaking. Slade’s presence behind me was reassuring, reminding me I wasn’t alone and that he would be in as much deep shit as me if anything were to go wrong.

  The door opened into a large room, but there were black curtains set up a few feet in front of the door, probably to keep the light from the hallway from entering the room.

  I wanted to say so much about this but knew now was not the time. Any sarcastic remarks I made would be heard.

  Slade held the door when it was open far enough for me to slip through. Inside, I grabbed the door and opened it a little more so he could squeeze by. He stayed on guard as I slowly closed the door, keeping it from slamming shut or making a clicking noise.

  I shared a look with Slade, letting him know he had point now. He nodded and stepped up to the curtain, crouching low. He rolled to his stomach, and I followed, keeping an ear on the door. We didn’t need someone sneaking up on us from behind.

  The tops of our heads were inches apart, our cheeks to the floor as he reached up and slowly lifted the bottom of the sheet until we could see the other side of it.

  The outer edges of the room had crates and supplies stacked up, blending in with the shadows. Our hiding spots.

  The middle of the room was cleared except for robed men, very cultish with the candles lit and torches casting dancing shadows against the cement walls. The four young ones were in the middle. Slade stiffened when he noticed Gwinny in the middle, her arms thrown around who I figured to be a vampire and the other over Marsi. That meant the other girl was a young witch.

  I tried my best to not be creeped out with the fact that the vampires had vampire children. They weren’t children in the sense that we would think. They were children who were turned into vampires before they could grow. They were stuck eternally in children’s bodies, with the mindset of one. According to Leon, plenty of vampires enjoyed children’s blood. It was a delicacy.

  A low sound I felt more than heard caught my attention. Slade was about to snap. My other arm awkwardly reached up to touch Slade’s back carefully.

  He couldn’t lose his shit right now.

  Our eyes met, and I tried telling him that.

  If we wanted a chance at saving Gwinny, we needed to get into position to swoop in and get her when the shifters and vampires came storming in.

  Slowly, he released a breath and jerked his head towards a pile of crates. I nodded and jerked my head towards the other. We were splitting up.

  He lowered the curtain and we got to our feet. He held up two fingers.

  Two minutes. I had two minutes to get into a position to get to the captives before the shifters came storming in.

  I nodded and turned to go out one way. He would go the other direction and we would circle so that we could come up behind them when their attention was turned to the others barging in.

  Not knowing what the true trap was niggled at me. I was pretty sure it wasn’t the exploding door. Baron had something else planned.

  Peeking out of the curtain, my eyes flickered over everyone. These men were his elite army. Baron stood near the group, his expression menacing as his lips moved.

  He talked too softly for me to hear the words, but I could feel the build up in the air.

  The soft glow of the light allowed me to see the slits of his eyes, the way they tried to mesmerize anyone around him. I pushed away the feeling of wanting to make him a happy man.

  I crouched down and when Slade moved, I did too, going in the opposite direction. I stayed low and silent, keeping myself calm as I slipped behind stacked boxes. The strong scent of herbs wafted up from the boxes.

  Again, I had to wonder what Baron’s plans were. These were a lot of herbs for one ceremony.

  I went to the other side of the pile an
d eyed the distance to the other. I would need to be really quiet and fast, but I needed to be over there. I needed to be behind them that way when the others charged in, I could grab the captives.

  I could do this.

  My focus went to Baron and his men. There seemed to be a moment that the energy Baron felt was too much. His face paled, sweat dripping down his forehead. The moment he closed his eyes, I dashed to the next pile and stayed crouched.

  When I got settled, I rolled my shoulders to loosen the tension within. I was ready to fight, to defend, and to bring Baron down a few notches. I reached deep inside, gripping onto that swirling darkness. It was easy to grab because it’d been waiting for me well before we even stepped through the gate. It knew we were in for a hard battle. We hadn’t been in one of those for a while and with a room full with Baron and his elites, there was no doubt death was going to fill the air.

  Energy flooded my veins, rushing through me, putting me on an instant high. I smiled and got ready to pounce.

  I didn’t have to wait long, the room filled with growling, yowling, nipping, and snarls as the black curtain was torn down.

  The air stilled, Baron no longer chanting as he turned to face the shifters and vampires with a smirk on his face.

  My eyes narrowed, but he wasn’t my problem just yet. My problem were those young ones cuddling each other.

  I moved, drawing the energy close to me.

  Baron went to turn, but Slade provided the distraction as noises of fighting reached our ears. He tackled Baron from the side while I scooped up Gwinny.

  “Go,” I practically hissed, my body feeling like it was trying to stretch out. Slade was at my side in an instant, and I only spared Baron a quick glance to see a rolling ball of fur slamming into him as three shifters tried to keep him down.

  They wouldn’t hold him back for long.

  Slade growled and the shifters worked hard to hold back the enemies, opening a path to the exit for us. We went for it. Slade grabbed Gwinny from my arms, which I didn’t mind. It left me free to fight.

  And fight I did. As Slade played shepherd with the four girls, I created a border around us and anyone able to get past the shifters. They were definitely hard to fight, more experienced than the usual ones we’d been facing the last few days.

  Elites.

  Baron’s top minions.

  One of them barreled into me, and I was ready to tear his head off if not for the shifter who took him off me. I would have been angry, losing my prey, but priorities. And right now, my priority was getting the captives out and free. I jumped back to my feet and quickly pulled a man off Slade, who was too busy trying to keep Gwinny and the other three around him safe.

  And this was why I so easily passed her off to him. I wanted my hands free, I wanted to be able to defend. Holding someone prevented that.

  It would have been better if she just walked herself, but she was wrapped around Slade tightly enough to need a crowbar to get her off of him. Her head was tucked into his neck, her strawberry hair keeping her face out of sight.

  I grabbed the guy, yanked hard, and twisted, tossing him into the pile of shifters. The hyenas and wolves welcomed him with gusto as they tore into him.

  He tried to fight, but the shifters overpowered him, three to one. There was no surviving that. I pushed the group onwards, keeping an eye out for more threats.

  Then someone took me by surprise, slamming into me hard. I shook my head at Slade, and he nodded, moving forward, deep in our territory where the shifters and vampires surrounded him.

  The kiddies would be safe with that many there to protect them.

  I released a growl as pain flared in my shoulder.

  Time to destroy. With that thought, my body hummed in delight. The swirling hot darkness in me surged, and I let go.

  They were safe, and that meant I was free to hack my way back to Baron and give him the death he deserved. Slow, painful, never-ending.

  A huge man swung a blade at me. I stepped to the side, bringing my knee up to meet his side. Bone crunched as I brought my arm down and disarmed him before shoving him away. I grabbed one of my own blades and shoved it into his stomach. As my blade sliced him open, there was a wet sloshing noise to go with his guttural scream. Using my strength to drag the blade to the left, I gutted the bastard.

  He fell and I moved on, not bothering to check if he was alive. I didn’t have that luxury. Another man tackled me.

  We went down in a pile of arms and legs. His knee went for my stomach while my elbow went for his throat. Both movements hit their target. I breathed through the pain as he tried to do the same. Making use of his distraction, I shoved him off me and quickly climbed to my feet. Turning around, I gave the bastard a swift kick to his ugly mug just because I could.

  Then I moved on.

  The fights were hard and long, and I enjoyed every single second of it. I ducked, dodged, lashed out, and kept on breathing. I did bleed. Boy was I bleeding, but I didn’t mind. I was breaking arms, snapping fingers, slicing skin. I was surviving and never felt more alive.

  When I made my way to the back of the room, I paused long enough to see Baron hovering over Landus, who had an older woman behind him. Baron held out his hand, and my eyesight grew red.

  No fucking way.

  He wasn’t touching Landus.

  I let out a growl and charged. Baron paused to look at me and his lips twisted into a smirk that could only come from a crazy man. I didn’t care and smashed into him, ignoring the sound of someone telling me to stay away.

  Like hell.

  We fell, my shoulder smashing against the wall we landed against.

  Baron whispered a word and the room exploded with a mixture of magic and energy. I winced at the feeling of magic against my skin.

  How did he do that? Magic and energy didn’t mix. It was the reason people could only use one or the other. And yet he used both.

  Baron chuckled, his eyes half crazed as he focused on me.

  “Glad you could join us, little bird,” he said in his cultured voice, such a huge difference from his looks. He looked like he could be homeless, living on the streets with the scruff growing along his jaw and the way his eyes stayed unfocused. His hair fanned around his face, defying gravity. He could pass as a crazy homeless man.

  “I’m not joining anything,” I grunted and smashed my palm into his face, aiming for his nose. He shifted enough so I hit his cheekbone instead. He stepped away from me and I went on the attack. I kicked out and he blocked it before sending a fist into my stomach. The raw power behind that one hit nearly turned me into cream pie. Gritting my teeth, I swung with everything I had, clipping his ear with my fist. His own fist snapped out but I went low and then sent mine into his stomach. Desperate to end him, I grabbed my last blade and went to slice him when he moved out of my way.

  He chuckled and lifted his hands. “They can’t help you,” he said, and I finally looked around, realizing we were in some kind of shield. The fight continued, but a few shifters and vampires—Slade included—smashed against the shield trying to use raw strength to shatter it.

  I glanced at Landus. He stood over the woman on the ground, who was coming to now. She was one of the shifters who had come along. I would have left her behind, but apparently she knew how to fight and now she was a liability. Landus was stuck in his position to keep her safe. That didn’t seem to bother Landus as he glared at Baron with hard eyes. They were inside the little shield too.

  “What is your endgame?” Landus growled.

  Baron scowled as he looked at Landus, probably hating that the Alpha shifter was in his presence. His eyes raged with his fury as his expression turned into a sneer. “You. Dead.”

  He lifted his hand and I knew he was moving to send out something painful towards Landus. I ran and slammed into his hand. The energy he was preparing to launch hit my stomach instead and I grunted, falling to a knee. Baron growled at me, his fury taking him over completely.

  “Stupid b
itch.” He kicked out to hit me and I narrowly avoided his foot as I rolled away.

  Roaring, Landus charged and Baron turned to take him on. The woman was on her feet now, her hand pressed against her thigh, her eyes dazed.

  Landus took Baron down and commenced raining punches down on the asshole. I stood back, letting Landus at him and would have happily cheered him on if a blast didn’t send Landus flying. Baron got back to his feet and chuckled. Blood dripped down from his nose and a cut along his cheekbone.

  “You can’t defeat me.” He laughed. “What makes you, makes me too. And after I send you all to your graves, I’m going to dance on top of them with glee.”

  “Enough of this,” I snapped, needing him dead yesterday.

  “No,” Baron sighed. He lifted his hands out and then smashed it down. Pressure filled the bubble and I could hear the woman cry out as it forced us to our knees. Baron rolled his head to look at me. “Never enough. Not until they’re all dead. Not until they feel the pain they caused me.”

  His hand lowered even more and the pressure weighed me down. My bones felt like they wanted to turn into dust. I tried to stand but my muscle strained painfully and amounted to nothing.

  “Now, this is what’s going to happen,” Baron said conversationally, ignoring the battle outside his barrier. He leaned over me and reached out with a blade, dragging it along my cheek. A moment later, a vial showed up in his hands. “I’m going to take a little of your blood, little bird.”

  I flinched away, my heart pounding hard. He could do so much with that blood. He could destroy me. Or force me to be his.

  “Don’t worry,” he whispered. “The day you become mine, you will do it voluntarily.” He touched my chin and lifted it up so we could make eye contact more easily. “You’re too precious for anything else. You’ll see. I’m strong, Nyssa, and you like strong. It calls to you and eventually you won’t be able to resist.”

  My top lip curled up in disgust. “Not. Happening,” I grunted out. “Delusional.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “We will see.” He collected only a couple drops of my blood before turning to Landus.

  Baron slit Landus’s right cheekbone, going much deeper than he needed to. When he went to collect a couple of drops, Landus managed to move just enough to headbutt Baron. Hard.