Aiden took her hands, and she held them tightly, as if they were a lifeline. “Show me,” he said.
She closed her eyes, but she only opened a small channel between them, and he was speechless as their eyes opened. “That’s what you’ve been feeling all day?”
Mickala nodded. “Sometimes stronger.”
“That’s insane. He’s twice as strong as he was last time. How could he have increased his power so much?” Aiden’s own face paled slightly.
Finally, they could get to the band room, and she told Mr. Thomas she had a family emergency at home. He didn’t ask questions, but let all of them go. “Be careful, Mickala,” he said intently.
Mickala looked at him. “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.” He nodded, and they all bolted out to the Lexus. Mickala got behind the wheel, then floored it, tires squealing on the pavement.
***
As they drove, Aiden looked at Mickala, and it amazed him at the change she seemed to have gone through. Now that the fight of her life was just ahead, all traces of fear and indecision from the past few weeks had vanished. Her eyes narrowed as she pushed the SUV, weaving in and out of the traffic easily, and her color was high. They got to the driveway, and the gates were still wide open. They flew up the road before sliding to a stop beside the house. The side door was open, and she jumped out of the car, ready to bolt inside.
Aiden grabbed her arm. “Don’t, Mickala. That’s exactly what he’s expecting. He knows you’ve been feeling him all day, and he knows you’re ready to fight.”
The Dellings were at the fence, and Titus looked at them both. Right after you left this morning, a strange man with black hair appeared and blew the door off the hinges. EJ heard the noise and went running in, but we haven’t seen any of them since.
No sign of Victor or EJ? Mickala asked.
No, Adelaide replied.
Mickala’s eyes narrowed, and in their bright anticipation, Aiden could see the demon buried deep within her stirring, getting ready to be let loose, but she did as Aiden said. They proceeded slowly, all of them in their halfway forms, and Nehela was in her elven form, an arrow already notched against her bow, her tense fingers ready. The glass table in the kitchen lay shattered, and EJ’s body was limp in the middle of the mess. Nehela checked him, but she nodded. “He’s unconscious, but he’s stable.”
The house was in shambles, but when they went into the living room, Mickala froze so suddenly, Aiden bumped into her. Her golden eyes were wide, staring. Halfway in the living room, halfway in the library, was a body wearing a pair of blue slacks she would have known anywhere. They belonged to the suit Mickala bought Victor when he opened his first five-star hotel in the States.
She ran to him, falling to her knees, ignoring the puddle of blood under him. There was no heartbeat, and the shade of blue on his face told her he was far beyond saving. Tears ran unchecked down her face as she cradled the body of the human she’d loved as a father tightly. “No, no, no,” she whispered repeatedly. Aiden put his hands on her shoulders, his own eyes burning, but she flinched away violently. “Not yet,” she said, but her tone turned his blood to ice.
They heard a slight sound, and her head shot up, her honey-colored eyes hard as stone, and her ears were constantly swiveling. “He’s still here,” she snarled softly. She got to her feet and stood as still as stone, then she flew through the living room wall and into the library before they could even blink.
***
The others followed, but Mickala already had Xiden pinned against the wall, four feet off the ground, her hand around his throat. Ian couldn’t help but look between the two half-brothers. The only noticeable difference between them was their eye color and the scar on Xiden’s face.
He looked from the brothers to Mickala, and he knew the demon in her was raging. There wasn’t a shred of humanity left in her face. Despite being in her halfway form, her energy had only gone up a little, nowhere near what he knew she was capable of, and nowhere near what he felt coming from the demon in her iron grasp. Her ears were flat against her skull, her teeth showing in a fierce snarl. All traces of kindness and compassion were gone, and there was nothing left but the demon.
“You came for me. Why kill him?” she demanded in a growl. “He was just a human and posed no threat to you.”
“He was in the way,” Xiden whispered, his voice harsh against Mickala’s hand.
“Hello, brother,” Aiden said, coming to stand by Mickala, his voice flat.
“Ah, there you are,” Xiden chuckled. “I’m pleased to see you’ve ungraded company since the last time we met. It’s about time.”
“Why can’t you leave me well enough alone?” Aiden asked.
“Believe it or not, I’m not here for you. They paid me for the girl. The fact it’s your girl just makes it even better.”
“Who paid you?” Mickala asked.
“Wouldn’t you like to know? It’s too bad. I’ll die first.”
Mickala smiled cruelly. “That’s no problem, you know. You were as good as dead as soon as that human’s heart stopped beating. You just didn’t know it yet.”
Xiden looked at his brother. “You’re really going to let your girlfriend fight for you?”
He shrugged. “As you said, your fight is with her, not me.”
Xiden’s eyes widened, then he gave a slow, malicious grin. “Going to let a woman do your dirty work for you, I see. That figures. You’ve always were too scared to finish our business yourself. You had the perfect chance to kill me two hundred years ago, but all this time in the human world has made you just like them, soft and weak.” He spat at Aiden’s feet. “Coward. You’re nothing, just like our human-loving mother.”
Aiden’s eyes seemed to turn completely black. “Let him go.”
She snarled, tightening her grip, and Xiden’s face began turning colors. “Not a chance in the seven hells. He killed Victor.”
“Mickala, let Xiden go. Now.”
She heard the command in Aiden’s voice, a tone he’d never taken with her. She looked at him carefully. “Fine, but you’d better kill him.” Her grip tightened, however, and Xiden’s lips were turning blue before she dropped him to the floor.
Xiden was on his knees, a hand massaging his throat, then he laughed. “That’s my baby brother,” he said.
Aiden sneered, kicking him hard, and he flew across the room, but Aiden was on him like lightning. Xiden barely broke free, and he threw an energy ball, which Aiden knocked away before firing his own. The fight was quickly becoming explosive, and Mickala looked at Nehela. “Already on it,” the elf said, a shield forming around the house. There weren’t any neighbors around, but the house was only about a half mile from the road.
Sixteen
Releasing the Demon Within
Outside, black clouds began rolling in, sending meteorologists scurrying for weather reports, but they had no idea of the hell which would soon be unleashed in northern Georgia. Winds began whipping around as it quickly turned into a storm of epic proportions. Tornados formed all around, but two of them quickly grew into what would later be determined to be EF-5s, and they both set their sights on the heart of downtown Atlanta, two massive wedges, only a few miles apart. There was nothing but rubble and debris in their wakes.
The walls were literally shaking apart as the brothers’ fight continued. Aiden held a hand to the floor, speaking in a fast whisper, and vines burst through the floor, engulfing Xiden and pinning his arms and legs together. He sent his own energy through them, and they crackled with electricity. Xiden screamed, his clothes smoldering, then his body went limp.
No one said anything, and Aiden cautiously made his way toward him. Mickala was watching Xiden like a hawk, and when Aiden was only a foot away, she saw the corner of Xiden’s mouth twitch up into a smirk. “Aiden, get back!” she screamed, but it was too late. The room exploded, and it knocked Mickala, Ian, and Nehela off their feet. Aiden, however, was pretty much at ground zero. When the dust
settled, Xiden was on his feet, but Aiden lay halfway through a wall. Xiden walked over and picked Aiden up by his shirt, a new madness gleaming in his eyes. “I’m slightly impressed over your improvement, brother. It was almost enough to provide me with a challenge.” He held his hand in front of Aiden’s face, and his face twisted into a sneer. “Playtime, however, is over. Now, say goodbye!”
A sinister dark light began forming around Xiden’s hand, but Nehela released an arrow as Ian lunged forward with an ominous hiss, smoke curling from his mouth. Xiden dropped Aiden as the arrow pierced his shoulder, but Ian suddenly stopped short, his eyes wide. Xiden had caught the blade of his sword in between his hands, blood dripping to the floor. With a single twist of his wrists, Xiden snapped the blade in half. Ian immediately stabbed with the half in his hands, but Xiden dodged, catching the other half as it fell to the ground, and with a quick jerk of his hand, embedded it deep in Ian’s chest.
Mickala was on Xiden, like a wolf on her prey, sending him crashing to the floor before Ian had even fallen. Nehela was there immediately, his head in her lap, struggling to heal the deep, gaping wound. She could heal the worse of the damage, but couldn’t close it completely, and it continued to bleed.
***
Grapefruit sized hail began punching through the roof of the house. Mickala’s face was completely expressionless as she kept up her furious onslaught, and Xiden was stunned. He wasn’t expecting all of this based on the energy he felt coming from her. His eyes held surprise, but hers held the promise of murder. Mickala had completely released the demon she’d kept buried so deep for so long, and not any of the gods in any of the worlds could stop what would happen now.
“Nehela?” Mickala said without looking away from Xiden’s frightened face. “Please, get everyone out of here, and get the hell away from me.”
“But,” the elf protested.
“But nothing!” Mickala raised her voice, and the elf winced. “You have to leave, now. I can’t keep control over this much longer!” She finally let the shield down, and neither Xiden nor Nehela could comprehend the crazy amount of energy she was releasing.
“Will you be okay?”
“Don’t worry about me. Just go!” she said through gritted teeth.
For the first time, Nehela wasn’t afraid for Mickala, but of her. The amount of power she was emitting was greater than anything she’d ever felt before, and it was still increasing.
The ground around the house began shaking violently in protest to that power, and fifty miles away, nearing downtown Atlanta, the two tornadoes, both over a mile wide on their own, actually converged, forming one unbelievably powerful cyclone. The roof of Mickala’s house began peeling away, and the outside walls shuddered and cracked. Not from the winds of the storms, but from the winds of power coming out of Mickala.
Nehela picked up Ian, went to Aiden’s prone form and laid a finger on his arm, and she disappeared. She was back a few seconds later and picked up EJ’s body, then went to Victor. “Nehela? If this destroys me as well, could you tell the others how much they meant to me? And tell Mother and Travis I love them, and I know EJ, so tell him this wasn’t his fault. Tell him until he believes it, cause he’s going to put all the blame on himself.”
Tears sprang to Nehela’s eyes. “Of course.”
Mickala looked at the elf, and the look on the wolf-demon’s face shook her deep inside. “Thank you, Nehela. For everything. I couldn’t have asked for a better sister.”
When Nehela had disappeared, Mickala turned back to Xiden. The demon could’ve attacked her at any time, but his fear held him rooted to the ground. Mickala smelled it, and she smiled. “Are you pleased, Xiden? After all, you were so intrigued by what I could do.”
“You would really give your own life to destroy me? You aren’t afraid of dying?” he asked, stunned.
“No. I have died more times than you can imagine, but I will always return. My spirit has a connection with this planet more powerful and profound than your pathetic excuse of a mind can comprehend.” She laughed once, but the sound was as cold as ice. He swung on her, but she was so fast, he didn’t even see her move. There was a quiet laugh, but it seemed to come from all around him, like she was a ghost circling him. “What’s the matter, Xiden? Are you afraid of the big, bad wolf? Why can’t you catch me? I thought you were so powerful. You wanted me so badly, and you were so quick to talk all your trash, but now it’s you who has underestimated me.” She landed a punch on the back of his head, and she dodged his fist as he turned around, and she laughed again.
Trying to catch her was like trying to catch smoke with his fingers, but she continued landing punch after punch on him. She suddenly appeared right in front of him, her eyes shining as bright as new dimes in the sunlight, and she snarled softly. “You should know better than to back a wolf into a corner, Xiden. You never know when we’ll come out fighting.” He backed up a couple of steps as the winds blew again, moaning eerily through the cracks and holes in the walls of her house. “And to think, I was actually afraid of you!” she exclaimed, her leg whipping out, and she shattered his knee. “What in the world was I thinking?”
***
A brilliant blue fire erupted around her as her wings unfurled, and she held her hands at her waist. He gaped, feeling her energy skyrocket again as she called upon the powers of her Solarian ancestors. A small, dense ball of blinding white light formed in between her hands, then grew larger as she floated up, and she began spinning. Her hands moved up over her head, her wings wrapping around her gracefully as she spun faster and faster until she was just a blur.
Xiden attempted several energy attacks, but they just ricocheted off the blue fire which still surrounded her. One of his own blasted him onto his back, and he climbed to his feet shakily, staring at her. She stopped suddenly, the ball now the size of a small boulder, lightning crackling all around it. Her eyes widened as she flung it at him, and he let out a scream as it hit him and exploded, but it cut short as it almost instantly incinerated him. The shock wave hit Mickala at almost the same moment, and it blew her through the remains of the house.
She lay crumpled, half-buried under the splintered boards, concrete, drywall and broken glass. Her eyes closed as she turned back to her human form, a few loose feathers from her wings spiraling up and away on the decreasing winds. The storms and tornados vanished, and rays of sun began peeking through the quickly scattering clouds.
Nehela reappeared with Michelle, and they picked their way through the remains of the house before they finally found Mickala’s broken body. Amazingly, she was still clinging to life, if only barely. Just as they reached solid ground, there was a creaking groan, and they turned to see the rest of the once magnificent home collapsed to the ground, leaving only one corner and two interior walls standing.
The Dellings were at the fence, and they nickered sadly, and Nehela stroked their necks. A single tear fell from Michelle’s eyes, but she and the elf disappeared with Mickala before it hit the ground.
Seventeen
Weathering the Storm
Aiden woke up, and his entire body felt as if it was on fire, and he didn’t understand where he was. He tried to sit up, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. “Easy, fox-boy. You’re in no shape to be jumping up and down.”
He stared hard at Ian, trying to piece together and remember what had happened. In a rush, his memory came back, and his eyes widened. “Where’s Xiden and Mickala? Where am I?”
He heard Nehela’s calm voice from beside him, and he saw her sitting on the edge of the bed. “Xiden’s dead, Aiden. Mickala killed him.”
“Where is she?”
“She’s down the hall,” Ian replied.
“And we’re where?”
“Universal Hospital in Atlanta. It’s one of those Michelle brought back after Angel turned back time,” Ian said.
“Is Mickala all right?” Aiden asked, then saw how Ian and Nehela traded looks. “How bad is it?”
“She’s lucky t
o be alive. It was so close,” Nehela shook her head. “The Healers here are the best I’ve ever seen, and Mickala needed every ounce of that expertise. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t think she would have made it. She was so badly injured, she was basically a broken shell. She broke both her arms, her left leg, her back’s broken in two places, most of her ribs, severe head trauma, internal bleeding. She’s already had two surgeries on her back, and it’s a miracle she’s not paralyzed. Her last attack knocked her through four walls. She’s in a coma right now.”
Aiden was stunned. “How long has it been?”
“You’ve been unconscious for a week,” Ian said.
“A week?” he asked, and they both nodded. He finally seemed to notice his own bandage and the cast around his left leg. “What happened to me?”
“When Xiden tried to blow the place up, you went through a wall of your own. You’ll be okay, though. Xiden broke the leg and a rib, and there was some slight internal bleeding, but they stopped it pretty quickly. You’ve got a big bump on the head, too, but I told the doctors there wasn’t anything up there to damage.”
Aiden smiled at Ian’s attempt at humor, but he could tell his friend’s heart really wasn’t in it. He noticed a flash of white peeking out from under his shirt. “Are you okay?”
Ian immediately scowled. “Yeah, I’m fine. The bastard broke my sword, then had the nerve to stab me with it. Do you realize how hard it’s going to be to get another blade made like that?”
Nehela sighed. “There’s really something else you should know. When Mickala’s going to wake up, she’s going to have a really hard time.”
“Because of Victor?”
She shook her head. “Not just because of that.” She saw his confusion and sighed again. “You still don’t truly understand the extent of her abilities, do you?”
“What do you mean?”
“One, and probably the main reason Mickala keeps such a tight rein on her temper, is because she can affect the weather. Remember before Thanksgiving, when she helped Kira fall in the lunchroom, the storm that popped up and faded away out of nowhere?”
Releasing the Demons: Solarian Chronicles II Page 15