Taking one final look around, she paused at Gavin’s office. No, she wouldn’t say goodbye. If he wanted her to communicate with him, he had to do the same.
Outside, billowing fog enveloped Sierra. It had spread through Savannah’s alleys, severely impacting the visibility, making the sultry air feel even more oppressive. Despite the heat, her skin broke out in goose bumps. The bad visibility made it barely possible to see what was two feet in front of her. Eerie quietness stretched around, the hanging Spanish moss dancing in the wind. She clutched her purse tightly and hurried to her car, ignoring the ominous feeling whirling in her stomach.
The streets were empty; still, she had the suspicion that she wasn’t alone. Her head rotated from side to side, and her paranoia led to her quickening her pace.
When she dug for her car keys, footsteps sounded. Heart pounding like a cheetah trying to escape its cage, she swiveled around. No one. Was her mind playing tricks on her?
Grateful she wasn’t walking that night, she breathed a sigh of relief as she reached her Chevy. Yet, despite the steel enveloping her, she couldn’t shake the foreboding feeling in her gut.
Chapter 23
Sweat had formed on Jeff’s forehead, and the deep wrinkles on his face were even more pronounced than usual. “I came here as soon as I could,” he huffed.
Gavin handed him a glass of water, silently asking what the matter was.
“A group of Umbra have arrived. I overheard them talking. They plan to attack tomorrow. They’re here for Sierra.”
Gavin put the fury that simmered within him on a tight leash, forcing himself to remain rational. “How many? Where? Do they have backup?”
“Four. Not sure about backup. I caught them underneath the staircase by East River Street.”
“Did they see you?”
“No.” A wry smile played on Jeff’s face. “I’m good at blending into the shadows. I’m nobody but an old, weird man.”
Not knowing what to do with the self-depreciating comment, Gavin focused on the problem at hand. “Did you overhear their strategy?”
“They plan to jump Sierra when she’s alone, coming at her from four different directions.
Gavin tensed. “Any idea how they found out she’s here?”
Jeff shrugged. “I assume quite a few people noticed her in Atlanta. All an Umbra would need to do is ask around, figure the girl is with you and you’re in Savannah, meaning that’s where she’s at.”
Everything within Gavin screamed to go to Sierra, check that she was all right. But the lapis felt cold and reassuring against his skin. It wasn’t acting up, which meant Sierra was safe. For now. “Go to her place, make sure she and Waldeburg are safe and that they stay inside.”
“You’re not planning on taking the four Umbra on by yourself, are you?” Jeff gave Gavin a stern look.
Gavin reached for his jacket, stealing time to come up with a response, because until Jeff had hinted at how stupid going alone was, Gavin had fully intended to do just that. “I’ll call Gio.”
“Good idea. Jillian isn’t of much use in the muscle department.”
Gavin bit down his retort that neither was Gio if he was wasted.
“You need a lift?”
“No, thanks.” Bad visibility equaled Gavin being able to fly across the city without worrying about being spotted by humans. For short distances, it was also faster than driving. “Hurry. Sierra and Waldeburg need you.”
Jeff nodded and left. Gavin locked the door and ascended into the sky, his body buzzing with the call of battle.
Gavin knocked, when no one responded, he tried the handle. An empty wine bottle stood on the living room table. A trail of clothes led to the bedroom, where he locked eyes with Gio and Whitney’s naked backsides.
Gavin left. He didn’t have the time to explain the situation and sober up Gio.
East River Street was empty. Not a single soul or even stray animal in sight. One by one, Gavin surveyed the cobblestoned side streets until he heard low voices, similar to growls coming from a grey-stone brick house.
“Where did they go?” a man asked.
“Don’t know. Probably just grabbing some food or beer.”
Gavin found the ajar window, from which the voices were carrying, and quietly pushed it open further just in time to hear the first Umbra bang his fist on the table.
“Food and beer, huh? What if they went without us?”
Both Umbra were Dragoons, and Gavin assumed that the other two that were missing were Dragoons too. Physically the strongest Ardere faction, it made sense to send them on a kidnapping mission.
While Gavin wanted to know where the missing Umbra went, he didn’t have the luxury to wait around. It was much easier to face two opponents than four at once.
Time to assess the situation and act. No visible weapons, which meant the Umbra Dragoons probably only had small ones on them and had removed the larger ones. His gaze swiped to a rickety table in the middle, upon which lay a sword. It could come in useful if he made it that far across the room.
Too busy arguing, the Umbra were unaware of his presence. He needed to use his advantage. He slid through the window, landed in a crouch, and then rolled across the floor. Tiny blades surged at him. They missed. A few throwing stars embedded themselves into the wall behind him.
Before the Umbra could make their next move, Gavin reached the first one. Not bothering with his blade, Gavin twisted the Umbra’s neck until he heard the distinct snap of bones. The Umbra collapsed on the ground, life seeping out of him. The second Umbra had the sense to take a few steps back to get out of Gavin’s reach.
“What gang do you belong to?” Gavin asked, advancing.
The Umbra smiled, displaying perfectly straight, pearly whites, unaware that the sheen on his bald head was giving away his nerves.
“Tell me or I’ll kill you.”
“You’ll try to either way. He’ll send more, you know. He really wants her—the girl.” The Umbra puffed out his chest with the last few words.
“Who?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know.” And then the Umbra charged. That was his first mistake. His second was to go for Gavin’s head.
Gavin ducked and turned, slamming his foot full force into the Umbra’s kidney. The Umbra bent over, wheezing. Gavin grasped an arm and twisted it in the direction it wasn’t meant to go. He continued until the elbow joint ripped with a popping sound, followed by a blood-curdling scream. After he performed the same action on the second arm, Gavin pushed the Umbra’s chest to the ground and straddled him.
“Let me repeat: What gang do you belong to?”
When the Umbra didn’t reply, Gavin kneed him in the lower back. The Umbra groaned. “Culpatus. It doesn’t matter whether you kill me or not, more will come, and they’ll finish the job.”
“Who ordered this to be done?” Gavin growled, instinct to protect Sierra shredding everything else.
“Halbert. Halbert Avici.”
“Why?” Gavin released the pressure a tiny bit, enough to show his appreciation for the cooperation, yet not enough to allow the Umbra to wriggle free.
“I…I don’t know. Boss never discusses his. He just tells us what to do. We do it, no questions asked.”
While Gavin tried to decide whether the Umbra spoke the truth, his lapis pendant flared, but not the way it had flared when Sierra had been kidnapped. This time it didn’t knock the air out of his lungs. Instead, it felt like tiny needle pricks zoomed in all over his skin, embedding themselves into it. Sierra might not be in grave danger yet, but she would be soon. Gavin had to extract the information quickly and leave.
“Has Halbert sent Umbra after her before?”
A nod. “Gus went after her by himself. He was always a greedy and cocky bastard. Didn’t want to share the reward. Never came back.”
Gavin made a mental note of the Umbra Waldeburg had defeated. “Where did the other two go?”
“What? What other two?”
Apparently
, the Umbra had decided to return to his smart-ass manners. Gavin didn’t have time for this. The Umbra had sealed his fate when he had joined the gang. With one twist, Gavin broke the Umbra’s neck. The body went motionless. Gavin stood and dialed Jeff.
The line rang and rang until it went to voice mail. Same with Waldeburg’s home and cell phone and with Sierra’s cell. Damn!
Gavin grabbed the sword on the table and rushed outside, the needle-pricking sensation tearing at his tendons, making his joints ache and his muscles cramp. He shoved it down and rose into the sky, hoping the air wouldn’t be knocked out of him while he flew. If that happened, he would crash to the ground and most likely lose consciousness and, thus, his ability to help Sierra.
To throw off her pursuer, Sierra took the circuitous way home. Despite not seeing a car trailing her for the last two turns, her heart continued to hammer away in her chest as she stepped out of her Chevy. She dashed toward her apartment complex, the keys cutting into her skin from her tight grip. The lock turned, and she slipped through the door. A hand landed on her shoulder. Her scream was muffled by a palm being clamped over her mouth. Umbra, her senses screamed. She tried to jam her elbow into her attacker and missed.
“Shh. Sierra, calm down. It’s just me.”
She relaxed by a fraction and then some more when he let her go. “Jeff, what are you doing here? You scared me almost to death!” She didn’t add that she still didn’t trust him completely.
“Sorry about this. I had to stop you from attracting attention.”
She noticed he hadn’t replied why he was here. Before she could repeat the question, he ushered her up the stairs and into her apartment.
Gran strode down the corridor, her purple skirt rustling, her bangles clanking. She gazed from Sierra to Jeff and her face grew wearier by the second. “They found us, haven’t they?”
“Yes,” Jeff replied. “Gavin is dealing with the Umbra. He wanted me to ensure you’re safe.”
Sierra didn’t feel reassured, and judging by Gran’s expression, neither did she. Gran asked, “How many?”
“Four. I gave Gavin the location.”
“He went alone?” Sierra’s chest contracted. No matter how strong or competent Gavin was, the odds of one against four weren’t good.
“Most likely,” Jeff replied.
“We need to prepare ourselves. They could come at any moment.” Gran produced protective quartzes from her pockets and hurried to close the kitchen window. It had been left open to allow the breeze to come in and compensate for the student housing’s lack of air conditioning.
Gran shrieked, a high, pained sound. Sierra rushed over, but Gran shoved her away. “They’re here.” She locked the window, placing a few quartzes on the windowsill. Her knees gave out, and she collapsed on the floor. Blood gushed out of Gran’s chest, a blade was embedded in it. Sierra reached for it to yank it out.
“Don’t,” Gran wheezed, pushing Sierra’s hand away.
“We need to get it out of you and bandage you up!”
Gran shook her head slightly, and her face took on a sickly greenish hue. “It won’t do any good. It’s poisoned.”
“No. No!”
With a crash, the front door flew open.
“Sierra, watch out!” Jeff screamed, throwing himself at one of the two Umbra.
With one blow to Jeff’s chin and another to his stomach, the Umbra overpowered him. “Is grandpa fighting on the Ardere side? You scum,” the Umbra seethed, stabbing Jeff through the heart with an identical blade to the one embedded in Gran’s chest. A scream tore out of Sierra’s throat as Jeff’s body convulsed on the floor and then went still. She looked down at Gran, whose eyes were glassy and whose pulse was gone.
Gran and Jeff were dead. Sierra was on her own.
Chapter 24
One of the Umbra charged Sierra. In the last second, she managed to shake her stupor and dodge his attack. Already on the ground, she slammed her foot against his shin. Unbalanced, he went down, yet recovered quickly. Next thing she knew, he was straddling her, pinning her hands to the ground. “The boss said no spilled blood, everything else is fair game. I prefer my girls unconscious anyway,” he spat.
“You sure that’s her?” the second Umbra asked. “She has the golden aura, but she doesn’t seem very—”
Whatever his next words would’ve been, they were cut off—literally cut off when a sword went through his neck, decapitating him.
“Gavin,” Sierra gasped out. Their gazes met, and she drew strength from his turquoise eyes. She put all her energy into her hips and thrusted them up and to one side while shoving her attacker away with her hands, pushing from her elbows. It was enough to get him off her. Gavin was upon him within a second. Planting his feet into Gavin’s chest, the Umbra bulldozed Gavin away.
Back on his feet, the Umbra removed a long dagger from the sheath on his belt. Sierra screamed when she realized Gavin had left his blade by the dead Umbra.
Gavin reached into his pocket and something silver whizzed through the air. The Umbra let out a wail, his grip on the dagger slackening, a throwing star embedded in his wrist. He went to wrench out the metal, and Gavin attacked, crashing into the Umbra. Both of them tumbled to the ground.
On top of the monster, Gavin began beating his face to a pulp. With the Umbra below and bleeding from his wrist, it looked as if Gavin had the upper hand. A second later though, the Umbra was on top of Gavin, pinning him to the ground. The Umbra leaned over Gavin, close enough for him to jab the Umbra’s jugular, grip his wrist, and unbalance him. Putting enough space between himself and the Umbra, Gavin made it to a standing position. The Umbra followed suit, staggering from the blood loss.
Not giving him a reprieve, Gavin charged. The Umbra drew a knife and swung. It was heading straight for Gavin’s neck. Gavin sidestepped the blade by an inch.
The two men circled one another, each waiting to see who would pounce first. The Umbra attacked, directing his blade toward Gavin’s chest. Gavin parried the strike and kicked the knife out of the barbarian’s hands. With the weapon out of reach, Gavin roared, “What does Halbert want with her?”
The Umbra didn’t reply; instead, he drew a throwing star. Gavin ducked, and the weapon whizzed by. He advanced toward the Umbra. It looked as if the Umbra was about to strike again. Instead, he turned and darted into the opposite direction. He tore open the window and jumped out, Gavin on his heels. Sierra rushed over and held her breath as the fight continued on the street below.
The Umbra drew a second throwing star. It missed Gavin by inches and increased the Umbra’s head start. Gavin didn’t follow. Instead, he bent down and lifted a circular sewer grate. Using it as a disc, he threw it after the savage.
A ghastly cacophony erupted as metal crushed against bone, severing the skull from the body. The carcass zipped through the air. With a loud thud, it collapsed on the ground, blood splattering everywhere. Sierra dry-heaved at the sickening sight and sank to the ground.
Footsteps sounded on the staircase, and then Gavin was beside her. He kneeled next to her, holding her. “Sierra, are you hurt?”
She shook her head, unable to speak. Tears streamed down her face, and everything turned blurry. She crumbled in his strong arms.
“Shh, you’re safe now. It’s over.” Gavin tightened his embrace, his woodsy smell encompassing her like a fuzzy blanket. “I’m sorry I arrived too late…” His voice broke.
She looked up to realize his cheeks were wet. Her fingers wiped away the tears. She wasn’t the only one who had suffered a loss. Sure, Gran had been her family—her only remaining family—but Gran had also been Gavin’s family. And Jeff, it couldn’t be easy for Gavin to lose him.
“What do we do now?” she whispered, praying he had the answer. Gran’s body had already begun to grow fainter. Sierra couldn’t bear to witness the disintegration; it would shatter the remaining parts of her.
Gavin stood, pulling her up with him. His hands lingered on her lower back for a few
seconds. “I need to debrief Jillian. Are you okay to walk over there? I can carry you.”
“No, I can walk. But first I need to say goodbye.”
Gavin gazed at Gran and Jeff for a long moment. “I’ll wait for you outside.” He plodded toward the hallway.
Sierra crouched next to Gran. Her shattered heart felt heavy, as if all the pieces had been filled with tar. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” She leaned down and planted a kiss on Gran’s cheek, surprised how the familiar applesauce and cinnamon smell still clung to her even though the skin grew more and more translucent by the moment. “I love you. Thank you for raising me. Thank you for being there for me. Always. I will never forget you.” Sierra rose, knowing that if she stayed longer, she would break down completely.
A glance into Jeff’s direction revealed that his body disintegrated in a different way. Instead of growing more translucent, it was crumbling on itself, turning grayish, almost as if someone was burning it, making only the cremation part of the process visible. “I’m sorry for distrusting you. Thank you for protecting me.” Anguish clawed at her throat as the impact of the situation fully hit her. Both Gran and Jeff had laid their lives down for her. Right then and there, Sierra made a promise to honor their sacrifice. Whatever it took, she would never give up; she would never let an Umbra take her. She would fight for Gran. For Jeff. For Dad. For Mom. For Finn. For all of those who couldn’t fight any longer.
Gavin leaned against the wall, his head turned downward. She touched his shoulder, and his bloodshot eyes lifted to hers. His fingers threaded through hers, and he steered her down the staircase.
“Ardere bodies disintegrate different from Umbra,” she said to fill the silence. She couldn’t tolerate the silence. It was too loud. It screamed at her over and over again that Gran was dead, that Gran had died trying to protect her.
Fluidus Rising: A YA Paranormal Novel: (The Ardere Series Book1) Page 15