Wreathed in Flame (Faith of the Fallen Book 3)

by Cassandra Sky West

  Alexi focused on him, her eyes narrowing as her will gathered. She had never done this to a child, or anyone as thoroughly terrified as him, but she had no choice.

  “Trevor, don’t be afraid. Nothing is going to hurt you, I promise. Now come with me.” His shoulders slumped as his body relaxed and he nodded dumbly.

  Alexi felt a twinge of guilt for using her powers on a child, but if it was the only way to make him safe, she had to do it. She took his hand and led him out to the rest of the kids. Her guilt and anger would have to wait until she could vent it on Rayburn.

  The clouds over head parted slightly sending moonbeams dancing through the yard. Savanna wasn’t where Alexi had last seen her. With the added light her vision sharpened dramatically. The shadows vanished and the yard was as bright as a noon sun.

  Once she had all the kids back where she had last seen Savanna, she paused a moment to look around. She could smell the soft scent of vanilla. At least she was close.

  “Okay kids, you see that container right there? Go through those two.” She pointed toward the yards exit. “The police will be waiting for you. Wei, your Uncle John is with them. Can you be a good girl and lead all of your friends to him?”

  The little girl nodded.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” Rayburn’s guttural voice cracked like thunder through the yard.

  “Dammit.” She didn’t turn around. She knew what she would see. How had he even snuck up on her? “When I say go, you kids run.” They mostly nodded their heads, still too afraid to speak. She turned around to face Rayburn. He and five of his pack members looked down at her from their position on the container above. They had the high ground. Now that she could see them, her other senses picked up on them. Heartbeats, breathing, sweat, the fidgeting of feet on metal.

  “You again?” Rayburn snarled. “How the hell did you find this place? Was it that little fink goblin?”

  He hadn’t known she was coming. Alexi was somewhat relieved Grennick had lived up to his end of the bargain.

  “I followed the smell,” she shouted across the distance. “It was pretty easy—cowardice has a nasty odor.”

  She needed them focused on her and not the kids. Some men could handle a little banter in a fight, and others ignored it—but a few let it get the better of them. He struck her as the kind of man who would take insults personally.

  His face darkened and a snarl formed on his lips.

  She turned to the kids. “Go!” she yelled. The words no sooner left her mouth than Rayburn’s fist slammed the side of her head. She bounced off the container. Another punch hit her and she collided with the ground. He had moved so fast as to be a blur. She spat out dirty water, only to wince as he kicked her in the ribs. Alexi used the momentum to regain her footing and buy herself some distance.

  Rayburn was mean, strong, and faster than her, she couldn’t hold back if she wanted to win. The next blow landed ineffectively against her shoulder. Alexi snapped his head back with her fist, then jabbed him in the throat, sending him choking backward a few steps. She felt the pain in her ribs fade as her regeneration caught up with the damage Rayburn’s initial onslaught caused.

  “You’re no amateur, that’s for sure. Where did you learn to fight?”

  Alexi stifled the rage that flashed through her. She was already angry, but anger wouldn’t help her win here. He was too skilled, to powerful, she had to win by being smarter than him.

  “Army Rangers. You know—the real military. Not like the wimpy Foreign Legion,” she said with a smirk. His face dissolved into a mask of rage. She had insulted his manhood, his character, and now his military. If what she read about the Foreign Legion was right, he would be plenty pissed.

  He wasn’t quite angry enough to charge her. He stalked forward with his big, meaty fists up in front of him. He knew martial arts, Alexi was sure, but he had the basics of a boxer.

  She shifted left to give herself more room, and to put her back to the open ground. He exploded forward. Alexi lunged with a kick to intercept him. While she could gauge his strength by his physical mass, hers had nothing to do with her body, and everything to do with her innate power.

  He flew through the air and slammed against a container thirty feet away. The metal bent under his assault.

  “I’m going to rip your throat out and drink your blood like a cheap bottle of wine for what you did to that kid,” she snarled.

  Alexi ran. Her feet pounded the dirt as she leaped knees first. His hands came up to block, but her momentum was too much. Her blow caught him in the chest, she felt bones break. Someone grabbed a handful of her hair and heaved her backward. The sky flashed by then the ground and she landed—hard. She rolled to her right out of instinct, more than a threat. A foot slammed the ground where her head had been a moment before.

  Another blow glanced off her shoulder, she spun to face the new threat when a foot struck her hip. There were five of them, and one of her. They were faster, stronger, and experienced. Even if she was the best fighter in the world she couldn’t prevail against those odds.

  A fist caught her face sending her spinning. She put up an arm to block the follow up by the black man she had seen before. She deflected his blow, reversed his arm and twisted his wrist until it snapped. Another caught her with a low kick, sending her leg out from under her. Suddenly they were on her, kicking and beating her. She desperately tried to call on her sword, but the only answer she received was more pain.

  Detectives Yu and Summer crouched behind his car. Both were dressed in their normal clothes with a bullet proof vest over their torso. A SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) van twenty feet away had its rear door open and two officers in full tactical gear, with police issue rifles knelt, ready for anything. The plan was for Alexi to bring out the kids, and the SWAT officers would escort them away in the armored van.

  He checked his phone again—nothing. She was a minutes late on their check in.

  “I know I’m new to this… stuff,” Summers said with a wave of her hand, “but shouldn’t we be in there?”

  John shook his head. “Whatever she fought in the forest could hold her off. I’ve seen her jump twenty feet in the air and bend hardened steel with her bare hands. If she can’t fight it, we would only get killed, or worse, get her killed as she tried to protect us.”

  “Alrighty then,” she said. John smirked, he knew the expression she held on her face well. For a good week after he met Alexi he felt the same way. The world had changed and there was no going back.

  He checked his phone again.

  Dammit Alexi, where are you?

  John peaked over the hood of his car once more, hoping to catch a glimpse of her or Savanna. The cargo yard’s front entrance remained closed. He blinked to clear his vision when he saw several shadows shift by the gate.

  “What’s that?” he asked. He kept his voice at a whisper, not wanting to alert a potential enemy to their presence.

  She poked her head around the side of the car. Her eyes narrowed as he pointed.

  “It’s the kids,” she said.

  That wasn’t the plan, Alexi was supposed to be with them. They both charged into action. John hefted the bolt cutters, while Summers covered him with her pistol. The children made no noise as they two detectives ran across the street.

  “It’s okay kids, we’re police officers and were here to get you out,” Summers said as she knelt next to the gate. The children didn’t respond as they looked on with wide eyes.

  John slipped the bolt cutters over the lock and heaved down on the handles. The metal cutters sliced through the bolt with a ping. The lock fell apart and the gate slid open. Summers pointed to the SWAT van, “Go there, go now,” she whispered to the children.

  They ran silently across the street. John glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. The kids didn’t speak as they were loaded into the SWAT van.

  The last little boy, the one with the superman curl stopped and pulled on John’s hand. He looked down to him. />
  “The angel that rescued us is fighting the bad monster.”

  A crash from the yard echoed over the street.

  “Go. Run. Don’t look back, kid.”

  John dropped the bolt cutters and drew his Glock.

  “Come on, she might need help.” Ignoring his own advice to Detective Summer, John moved in. It was one thing to have a plan where he didn’t help her, but he couldn’t stand by and do nothing. No matter how strong a wolf might be, a forty-five had to at least slow it down.

  The containers were stacked haphazardly in this part of the yard. The foot prints Savanna followed led to the farthest one. Its blue steel bent in an upward shape as if something inside had been pushing out. The trail led around to the front. She was no Alexi, but with the power of the Fae she certainly felt more confident.

  As she floated around to the front, the whole structure shook. Savanna flung her arm up to shield herself from the steel door as it crashed over her. The magic shield flared with blue energy as the door bounced off of it. The low growl that followed sent a chill up her spine. The smell of decayed flesh and excrement that followed didn’t help. It was too dark to see the insides of the container, but she could hear the labored breathing of something large. The metal creaked as it moved. Savanna gathered her will to reinforce her protection.

  Jötnar, the Freemont Troll, crawled out of the container on all fours, yellow molars jutting out from its bottom lips like pikes.

  “Y-you,” it lisped in a raggedy voice.

  Savanna gulped down her fear. She had faced worse, but the sight of the two-ton troll towering over her made it hard to remember when. She took a deep breath and straightened her spine and narrowed her eyes.

  “Listen, this doesn’t have to get worse for you.”

  It gurgled what she could only assume was laughter. A mix of a cough and the sound of suffocation. It blew a hot, fetid smelling breath over her that sent her hair trailing behind her.

  “Two score I spent locked in stone… for that, I eat all the childrens.”

  Savanna was afraid of that. Since the moment the demon led them to the statue to free him, she feared he would return. She cringed at the thought of what made the smell he crawled out of. How many children had he killed already? How much more blood was on her hands?

  “I don’t want to kill you Jötnar, but if you think I can’t, you’re mistaken.”

  The power in her voice caused the troll to pause for a moment. It wasn’t entirely out of the container yet. If she could cow it into submitting… she racked her brain for anything she knew about trolls. Most of the knowledge she possessed pertained to demons, and the planes of Hell, not the Fae… Considering I didn’t know they existed until last year. Thank you very much, mother.

  It’s toothy face split in a wide grin, “You know not how.”

  Fire, right? Wouldn’t hurt to try.

  Savanna focused her mind on the tip of her hand, the blue energy sparked as it shifted to a flame. The fire roared around her hand illuminating the area around her in eerie blue light. The troll jumped back in surprise. A low, menacing growl, emanated from his throat. A grin split Savanna’s lips. Fire was something she could make. The torch in her hand roared.

  “Stay in your hole, Jötnar, and you might live through this.”

  He howled at her. His scream split the night and caused her ears to ache. He leaped at her. Savanna thrust her hand out. Fire blasted in a column at the troll burning away flesh and bubbling the tissue underneath. His massive hand slapped against her shield, sparks exploded around her as the force sent her flying through the air. Hard metal caught her. Something in her side snapped and she rolled over to fall again. She tried to keep her eyes open… and failed.

  An unearthly roar split the air, echoing off the metal containers. Suddenly, the barrage of kicks ceased. Alexi opened one eye carefully. The wolves were gone, all except Rayburn who stood on top of a container, looking down at her.

  “I would say ‘until next time’ but there won’t be a next time.” With that he leaped off into the darkness beyond her vision.

  She let her head rest against the ground for a moment. Her body urged her to unconsciousness, but she couldn’t succumb yet. One hand on the ground, she grunted as she pushed to put the other under her. Another groan and she was on her knees. Muscle, bone, and flesh knitted itself together as her regeneration washed over her. She cracked her neck to loosen it up as the wounds on her face and neck healed. It was a drain on her—even freshly fed as she was. She could only heal so much before she needed to feed again.

  Alexi caught herself as the ground swayed. At first, she thought she was dizzy. Shockwaves rolled over the ground, knocking down bits of metal, and sending the container doors slamming open and closed. Another roar filled the air, this one much closer.

  Metal squealed as a container was hefted high in the air. A moment later it was flying toward her. Alexi rolled forward, skimming underneath it as it crashed into the ground behind her. Then she saw him.

  The troll was massive. When she had first seen him, under the bridge, he had been thin and gaunt. The memory of how strong he had been was fresh enough, though. Now, he was massive. Thickly muscled around his torso, arms the size of trees. Apparently, he had been eating well. Alexi suppressed a shudder to think on what he had been eating.

  “You stole my dinner,” it gurgled. “I’ve killed your witch and now I’m going to rip you apart and season a salad with your entrails!”

  In the confusion, she lost track of her friend. She had assumed Savanna had helped lead the children out of the yard, like she was supposed to do. Alexi couldn’t think about that now. She pushed it down, buried, until she could process it… if she ever could. If Savanna were dead, then there was nothing left to do but avenge her.

  The giant stomped his feet on the ground as he pushed another container out of the way. He had incredibly long arms, for his size. Strong, too. She flexed her fingers and inhaled deeply. Nothing hurt. The few moments rest from being beaten gave her regeneration time to catch up and heal the wounds inflicted by the wolves.

  The thing beat the ground with its fists, roaring, as it moved forward. Alexi wasn’t an ape, or a lion. She couldn’t posture like an animal. But the grin that spread across her lips was no less feral.

  “Bring it,” she yelled at the troll. He raced forward. His huge form moved impossibly fast for a thing that size. Only Alexi’s hair-trigger reflexes and training kept her from being smashed to bits. The ground cracked where Jötnar’s fists slammed the dirt. A tiny cloud of debris filled the air, temporarily blocking his vision.

  Alexi landed on the container directly behind where she had been a few moments before. Her legs flexed to absorb the impact of her leap. Even from here, she could feel Jötnar’s rage and hate roll off him. She felt something inside of her move. Almost as though a part of her clicked in to place.

  Jötnar wasn’t from Earth, he was from the Fae, or someplace even worse. An unnatural curse upon mankind. His only purpose in life was to eat children. Something like this monster couldn’t be allowed to exist. Why the Arcanum had chosen to imprison him instead of kill him, was beyond her. He wouldn’t escape his crimes so easy.

  Jötnar lifted his hands, peering at the ground in front of him in confusion. He had expected to see her smashed form under him. His large blood shot eyes widened as Alexi’s foot slammed his face. She bounced back from the hit, rolling sideways to land a few feet away.

  The troll swung his huge fist at her. She ducked, picked up a fist sized bit of concrete that lay scattered on the ground, and hurled it at him. Her aim was dead on. The rock hit his nose with a crunch. Flaps of flesh and bits of blood splattered over his face. His hand immediately went to his ruined nose as he stumbled backward.

  Alexi pressed her advantage. She ran forward with all her speed and leaped at him. Her boot slammed his shoulder sending him reeling. He crashed against a container, bending the metal with a horrendous groan. She landed, spun, a
nd punched his knee. It shattered with a crack. His free hand swished through the air above her. She already danced back away from the creature.

  Her skin hummed from energy she had swirling inside of her. He was wounded, but she needed a way to finish him off.

  Jötnar let out a sick cackle as he pushed himself off the ground. As he did, Alexi watched his flesh reform, the blood vanished, his knee straightened and he was as if she never touched him.

  “Vampires can heal too, but I can outlast you, wo-man. We trolls are pure magic,” he punctuated himself by slapping his chest, “powered by the very essence of the world. I can no more be killed by you, than you could stop the sun from rising tomorrow.”

  He lunged at her. Alexi sidestepped—a moment too late. A fist the size of her torso brushed her shoulder, sending her sprawling to the ground. The creature followed up by stomping his foot down at her. Alexi moved, but her left hand wasn’t out of the way.

  She screamed as it shattered.

  She felt her bones grind together. When he moved his foot, she rolled out of the way, clutching her ruined hand and straining to see through her tear-filled eyes. The pain in her hand threatened to overwhelm her.

  He didn’t chase after her. Instead, the beast knelt to press his oversized nose to the ground. He inhaled a great volume, trash, papers, and debris rushed toward him for a moment.

  “Now I have your scent. I can find you and your kin anywhere. How delicious they will be!”

  Alexi growled, pushing through the pain. The ruined container he had flung against earlier lay crumpled next to her. She grabbed a small piece of metal shaped like a spear and hurled it at him. The impromptu spear plunged deeply into his shoulder, black blood spurted from the wound. He growled as he pulled the metal from him.

  Alexi cradled her hand against her chest as she ran behind the scattered containers. She needed a moment to heal and it wouldn’t hurt to formulate some sort of plan. Jötnar was right, she could regenerate, but she could already feel her strength fading. Her last feeding wasn’t enough for her to go on like this for more than another few minutes. Whereas, it seemed Jötnar didn’t have any such limitation.