Concealed Influence

by V. M. Marsh

  “This. I didn’t realize it when I bought it, but this is what I saw Lars kill Bradley with.” I said unsheathing the dagger.

  “It lights up a shimmering blue glow, like a river flowing down the blade when danger is present.” I said as its iridescent purple blade shone in the light.

  Scarlet chuckled. “It matches your car.”

  “I know.” I faintly giggled. “It’s one of the reasons I chose it, why I thought I was drawn to it.”

  Sliding it back into its case, I reverently handed it to Lars. “This was apparently meant for you.”

  He hesitantly accepted it before setting it on his lap. He seemed afraid of it, which was weird since he was obviously meant to wield it. Maybe he was just scared of what it represented.

  “With that final piece of the puzzle in place, we’ll scout the location in two days and launch an attack a day or two after that.” Charlie said. “It would be foolish to run in without more Intel and a solid plan in place based on what we find out.”

  I nodded firmly. It was happening. We were at the beginning of taking Bradley down. I could feel it.

  However, I couldn’t help noticing Scarlet’s angry foot tapping while Cade rubbed her back soothingly. Charlie seemed as resolute and ready for this as I was.

  But Lars, Lars glanced at the dagger uncertainly as doubt played over his face. After his last encounter with Bradley, I could understand his misgivings. I only hoped this vision proved true and that a different fate I hadn’t seen would not be the one to succeed.

  Chapter Twenty

  I tugged on a tight long sleeved black shirt and leggings. After dinner, Lars and I had retired to my room early under the pretense of overwhelming exhaustion from all the training and events of the past few days.

  I felt bad deceiving my friends, but I followed the plan Lars and I had come up with that morning in bed. It didn’t feel right in my gut to take Charlie with us, so Lars and I were heading out early on our own. My intuition was rarely wrong.

  Strapping my black leather pouch of throwing knives around my hips, I turned to Lars. “Do you have the dagger on you?”

  He patted his bicep where it was firmly attached over his own long black sleeves. Damn he looked hot in that fitted shirt and dark cargo pants. The additional pockets hid other weapons and items we might need.

  If we were planning on making raids like this a regular thing, we should think about getting additional magical carrying apparatuses. There had to be better options out there than pants pockets.

  Hooking the top to the windowsill, I threw my fire escape ladder out the window. It had never occurred to me I would use it for anything other than fires or that I would need to sneak out of my own home. I cringed as it thumped and clinked against the side of the cabin on its way down. Hopefully, Scarlet and Cade didn’t notice the sound.

  “Are you ready to go?” I glance over my shoulder while grasping the windowsill.

  Lars patted all his pockets. “I think I have everything. Let’s get a move on.”

  Climbing out the window and down the ladder, I was surprised at how much it swayed. I’m not sure why I thought it would be more rigid and secure than it turned out to be. Clinging to it, I carefully made my way down and crouched while running to my car.

  Lars’s black Challenger would blend in better in terms of style and color. However, we decided my Mini Cooper would draw less attention overall. Yes, it was iridescent purple, but the sheen was difficult to see at night, which left it mostly dark purple. And it was considerably quieter than the thunderous rumble of the Challenger. Last, people might not realize it, but my car was quite zippy and quick. It was often underestimated, which could work in our favor.

  Shifting into neutral, I waited for Lars to catch up and push me away from the cabin. Once we were a good distance away, I turned on my car and Lars climbed in.

  Nerves bubbled in my stomach as I drove down the mountain and through non-magic Wildwood. They gurgled and spurted like a volcano in my belly once we passed through the barrier into the magic side.

  Unwilling to possibly alert anyone inside, we decided against a preemptive drive-by this time and parked a few blocks from Bradley’s new lair. Shifting into park, I took a deep breath and turned to Lars. “This is it. It’s time to take the bastard down, once and for all.”

  His face remained blank, and he didn’t respond. I opened my mouth to ask him what was wrong when my sight faded to blackness. A vision right now? Oh, shit.

  After I’d been submerged in light and come out the other side, I found myself back in the throne room as I’d dubbed it. I frowned in confusion. Scarlet and Cade didn’t come, so this didn’t make any sense.

  Looking around the room, I found Lars knocked out with a pool of blood forming around his head. I wanted to rush to him, but I knew it was no use. This wasn’t real. Yet.

  My gaze swung violently about as I searched for more clues as to what was happening. That’s when I saw Bradley dragging me from the room despite my struggles against him.

  Having never before seen myself in a vision, I was shocked and jolted from it before I could see where he was taking me or what had transpired. It must be really bad if I was shown my own future. Most Seers never had a vision of themselves in their entire lives. It was often believed to be only a legend.

  Shit. This was bad. Really bad. Thinking back on the vision of Lars defeating Bradley, I realized they’d been alone. I had just assumed I couldn’t see myself there since Seers don’t usually see themselves or that I had been “off scene” somewhere nearby.

  Only now did it occur to me that to win, he might have to go in alone. I couldn’t allow that. There was no way I could let him head into such danger on his own without me. However, according to the vision I’d just had, going with him could lead to our downfall.

  Studying the man I loved, there was no question I would put my life in danger for his. But would I be willing to increase the danger to his life? I shuddered thinking of him lying in a pool of blood like I’d just seen. I hadn’t been able to tell if he was alive or dead.

  We would have to risk it. My visions were just possibilities of the future, not set in stone. And now that I knew what was coming, I could prepare for and prevent it.

  “What’s wrong? You got really quiet all of a sudden. Did you have another vision?” He leaned to peer at my face.

  I shook my head. “No, I was just regretting all the time we’ve lost together.”

  Grasping his collar, I pulled him to me and kissed him with all my pent up fear, longing, and love. I kissed him like there was no tomorrow because according to my last vision, there might not be.

  Breaking away, I opened my door. “The time for reflection is over. We need to go.”

  Crossing the blocks that separated us from the Power Thief, we stayed near buildings and kept to the shadows as much as possible. It took us longer than I thought it would to reach the house. But we finally did, and it loomed before us much like the fortress Charlie had warned of.

  Whoever built this place must have been paranoid of a large scale hostile takeover. Or been planning one of his own. Stone walls two stories high surrounded the house. Rising above the wall, I could make out grey stone turrets at the corners of the steeply sloped roof.

  Maybe it was more like whoever had built this had a hard-on for the medieval era or was a time traveler or something. I didn’t think magic allowed for time travel, but stranger things had happened.

  Regardless, the wall alone was imposing. Walking around it, I kept an eye out for cameras or guards while Lars cloaked us with invisibility. I wasn’t sure if his power could work through cameras, however I doubted it since it would have to go through circuitry to reach the mind at the other end. Now wasn’t the time to ask as we’d agreed to talk only if it was vital.

  The owner must be confident in the protection his wall afforded or have cameras well camouflaged because I didn’t notice any by the time we reached the back of the house. The wall cast extra
shadows over the greenbelt backyard, which would make this the most ideal place to enter.

  After extracting a grappling hook with attached rope from his cargo pocket, Lars swung it over his head until it had good momentum. I held my breath as he launched it up towards the top of the wall. A soft clink echoed in the still night as it caught at the top. Yanking on it to further embed the sharp hooks into the stone while also making sure it was secure, he shot me one last glance before climbing the wall.

  When he was halfway up, I grasped the rope and placed my feet on the wall. Climbing like this was hard work, and my muscles screamed and burned by the time I reached the top where Lars waited for me. They were a bit rubbery and wobbly, which sucked because I still needed to make it down the other side. I needed to spend more time working out my arms.

  Perched at the top, Lars pulled up the rope to toss it down the other side. We quickly followed the rope’s lead, hoping no one had noticed two silhouettes sitting on the wall.

  We couldn’t figure out how to dislodge the hook, but a fire snaking its way up the wall as the rope burned was sure to draw attention. After a few unsuccessful attempts at throwing the rope over the wall, Lars cut it as high as he could reach and we hoped no one would notice it.

  We’d wasted too much time exposed messing with the rope. Concerned, we raced across the shadowed lawn and through a garden until we could press ourselves against the wall of the mansion. After taking a moment to catch our breath, we slid along the wall to a darkened window.

  Luck was on our side when we found it slightly ajar. Peeking inside, I couldn’t make out anything beyond dark shapeless blobs. Without much of an alternative, I shrugged and pushed the window wide open. Grasping the sill, I was about to pull myself up when Lars picked me up to place me behind him.

  I scowled as he pulled himself through the window. I could have done that, the jerk. After a quick sweep of the room, he returned and held out a hand to me. My arms were tired from the wall anyway, so I let him pull me inside. Less work for me, and it made sense to conserve my strength if I wanted to be able to throw knives.

  Tiptoeing across the hardwood floor, we pressed against the wall beside the door. Lars slowly turned the knob and pulled the door so a sliver of light from the hallway spilled through. When we didn’t hear anything, Lars peeked through the opening.

  He pulled it wider and stuck his head out. Motioning with his hand for me to follow, he stepped into the hall. Lars grabbed my hand, and I knew he’d cloaked us in the bright corridor.

  At the next door we came across, Lars put his ear to it and listened. He shook his head, and we started to move on when we heard voices echoing down the hall and getting closer. Turning back to the door, he slowly opened it, and we entered the dark room.

  Two large shadows dominated the room on the other side. As the only shelter, we ran towards and hid behind them. I hoped his perception distortion would hold to keep us hidden.

  The door flew open and lit up the doorway. I held my breath at the click of a light switch and a chandelier overhead bathed the room in a soft glow. Wide frightened eyes flew to Lars as I worked on breathing quietly so whoever was in the room wouldn’t hear it.

  “I want every inch of this place searched. Someone is here, and I want them found.” Bradley ordered and then the door slammed.

  My heart nearly beat out of my chest as footsteps stomped towards us. An angry sigh accompanied an angry flop onto one of the chairs we hid behind.

  Shit. We were hiding behind red velvet settees. We were in the throne room. I wanted to vomit.

  Holding a finger to his lips while staring into my eyes, Lars used his other hand to slowly slide the dagger from its holster. My breath caught. This was it. It could all end right here.

  Slowly standing behind the large chair, Lars stabbed down with the dagger to embed in Bradley’s shoulder. He jumped to his feet howling in pain.

  “Show yourself, you coward.” He bellowed.

  Rising, I sneaked around the settee and Bradley to position myself behind him. To my horror, Lars shimmered into view. What the hell was he doing? Looking down at myself, I couldn’t tell if I was visible now too.

  “I should have suspected it was you.” Bradley sneered before zapping electricity at Lars.

  A wall of flames rose to block it and then the flames leaned towards Bradley. However, Bradley doused the fire with water and blew the smoke into Lars’s face making him cough. Covering his face with one hand as his eyes watered, Lars lifted his other to launch fireballs at Bradley in quick succession.

  Bradley laughed and dove out of their path. “This is the most fun I’ve had in months.”

  Left exposed to the fireballs, I also had to dive to avoid them. Bradley’s head shot towards my location at the soft thump as I hit the ground. Before I could jump back to my feet, Bradley moved so quickly all I could see was a blur until he covered me with his body.

  “So you didn’t come alone. Interesting. Who do we have here?” His inquisitive expression met Lars’s stony one as Bradley patted and basically felt me up. Well, that answered that question-Lars had left me cloaked.

  “A woman came with you? Let’s see who it is.” As Lars crossed his arms defiantly, rage followed quickly by fake calm fell over Bradley’s face. “Show me or I will electrocute and kill her.”

  Hatred filled Lars’s eyes as he raised his hand, and I assume I became visible. I held my breath and tried not to get sick while Bradley’s vile eyes roamed over me.

  “Not my usual type, but you are still breath-taking. You would make a splendid toy for a while. I just lost my last one, you know. She was tall, willowy, and black as midnight.” He sighed sadly with longing.

  “She was also the love of my life until she betrayed me. But don’t worry, she paid for that and will never do it again.” He spit out.

  While distracted by me, Lars quietly moved towards us across the plush red carpet. They went all out with that color in this room. My eyes flickered to Lars, which betrayed his move. Bradley looked over his good shoulder to glare at him.

  “Don’t take another step or she dies.”

  I took hold of the dagger still protruding from Bradley’s shoulder and pulled it out. He screamed in pain but was still able to backhand me across the face with his good arm.

  Everything happened in slow motion then. As my head snapped to the side, Lars charged us with a war cry. He tackled Bradley with a flurry of punches. However, Bradley began to move so quickly, I couldn’t keep track of his blurry movements.

  When he rose and victoriously marched towards me, I was filled with horror to see Lars bloody, bruised, and unconscious on the floor near a window. Blood pooled around his head.

  Just like in my vision.

  Taking advantage of my shock and heartbreak, Bradley captured both my wrists in one hand and hauled me to my feet. I got a last glimpse of Lars in a bloody heap as I was dragged from the room screaming.

  “That will be quite enough.” Bradley growled as he punched me in the jaw hard enough to break it. I sobbed at the pain, but could no longer open my mouth to scream. “That’s much better, especially since I do so enjoy the tears.”

  I struggled against his hold, but he was much stronger than me and held me with ease. “I wonder if you have any magic for me. I do have a touch of thirst for it. Too bad you can no longer tell me.”

  Throwing open a door so it banged against the wall, Bradley dragged me down a set a stairs as I twisted trying to escape his grasp. Near the bottom, I ran up the wall, flipped over him, and kicked him in the face.

  He released me to rub his face and grin. “I recently discovered that sometimes I like when they fight back. By the way, you won’t be able get passed me up the stairs and there is no other way out.”

  Crap, he was right. I should have stayed behind him. Raising my arm, I blocked a punch aimed for my broken jaw. Only it was a just a decoy for the front kick at my midsection. Holding my stomach while doubling over, I struggled not to vomit in
pain.

  Taking advantage of my position, he kneed me in the face, breaking my nose. His cruel laughter was the last thing I heard as everything began to fade into black. Swaying, I knew it wouldn’t be much longer until I collapsed into unconsciousness.

  Water splashed my face before I blacked out completely. “I can’t have you checking out so soon. We’ve only just begun.”

  Grabbing my arm, he yanked me down a dark narrow corridor to a steel door. Using a set of keys hanging from a hook on the wall next to the door, he unlocked it and threw me to the ground inside. After following me, the door clanged shut behind him and sent a shiver right down to my soul.

  He strolled casually towards me and lifted his foot. Shit. I rolled out of the way just before he stomped on my calf, which probably would have broken. Murder glinted in his eyes when his foot hit concrete instead of my leg.

  “You’re going to regret that.”

  I wanted to respond with something snarky and Scarlet-like, but I couldn’t move my jaw. It throbbed, and I wanted to cry from the pain, but I didn’t have that luxury right now.

  Standing, my hands rose to protect my face like a boxer would. What I wouldn’t give for some gloves right about now to offer more cushiony protection for my face. Dancing on my feet, I waited for him to move in closer so I could strike.

  Eventually, he did, but it was too fast for me to see and defend against. He got in hits to both my kidneys, and I bowed back in agony before launching a back kick. I was in too much pain to aim, so it went wide and failed to connect.

  He kicked my other leg out from under me, and I fell face first onto the concrete. Agony shot through my broken nose and jaw so sharp, my vision began to grey. I tried to shake it off, but he stomped on my calf and broke it, like I knew would happen.

  For good measure, he twisted each ankle with his bare hands until they also broke. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I wondered how he could be so strong. It was unnatural. He had a lot of magic, maybe super strength was one of the powers he’d stolen.