The Light of Redemption

by Natalie Damschroder

  Because, yeah, this was a trap.

  Not a very good one, because it was a much higher probability that I wouldn’t call the library, and if I did, or if Gladys called me, there was still not much reason for me to go in, especially this close to closing. Just leave it for tomorrow’s regular business hours when I could actually reach people who could help. If I didn’t assume it was a normal power outage and wait for it to resolve without my involvement.

  But if my hunch was right and it was Olive trying to lure me here, the half-assed nature of the trap wasn’t surprising. She was counting on me to act a certain way. The best thing to do was to leave. That would really piss her off, which would be so satisfying. But this was my only opportunity to find out about Connor. Maybe that was foolish. We’d known each other such a short time, and the feelings driving me to protect him, to save him, shouldn’t be so strong. But shoulds and shouldn’ts didn’t matter.

  I stripped off the Harmony dress and tossed it back in the car, slipping on my mask and pulling up my hood. My car would give me away if anyone had cause to put pieces together later, but hopefully I wouldn’t give them that opportunity.

  Ignoring the front door, I went around to the side of the building, which had no windows. With the power out, they couldn’t watch me on the security cameras. With its own power source, the system would be recording, but the monitoring station wasn’t on. Because of the alarm going off on the back door, I assumed they’d done something to it, assuming I’d go in that way, avoiding the main entrance. But hopefully they hadn’t scouted enough to find the basement access on the side of the building.

  I grabbed light from the battery-powered security lamp over the short flight of stairs down to the door before descending, and then used a small ball to illuminate the lock. Slowly inserting and turning my key, I drew the light back in, letting my eyes adjust to the darkness before opening the door. I waited, my heartbeat counting out the seconds. Eight. Nine. Ten. No sound or movement, and I didn’t sense the energy of a waiting presence. I slipped inside and locked the door behind me.

  The basement was maintenance, not storage. The boiler for the heat and hot water was down here, along with a lot of pipes and wiring conduits, the circuit panel for the electricity, the center for the computer network, and stuff I knew nothing about. They had probably been down here to mess with everything earlier, but right now, the room was empty. I went to the main breaker panel and sure enough, the switch was off. The network board was filled with red lights, though I didn’t know enough to figure out what they’d done.

  I left it all as is and crept up the concrete stairs to the main level, still banking on the probability that they didn’t expect me to come through this way. The door opened into a closet inside a small meeting room next to the office. There was no way for one or even two people to watch both the front and back entrances and the basement access, but there was no rule that said there couldn’t be three or more people inside. There probably hadn’t been when Gladys left, but they could have entered since then.

  In short, I had to be prepared for anything.

  The basement door was locked, but I had the key to that, too. This lock snicked louder than I liked, and I remained behind the door, listening for a whole minute before going through.

  The closet was dark. I didn’t bother illuminating it but moved quickly across to the door into the conference room. We had a small security light in here because of the lack of windows, and this room was empty, too. I grabbed the light and went out into the short corridor leading to the stacks on the left and the right. Still no one there, and I began to wonder if I was overdramatizing things. But the power had been shut off on purpose.

  I took the light from another security lamp on my way up front, knowing as I did so that I was probably telegraphing my presence. Sure enough, as I approached the counter, a voice came out of the darkness near the DVD section.

  “It’s about freaking time.”

  Light leaped to my hand, flaring briefly before I controlled it. “Hello, Olive.”

  “Where the hell have you been? I’ve been looking for you all day.”

  “Busy.” I stopped, leaving the bulk of the counter between us. After a half second of debate, I pulled the light from the last security unit. The rest of the room went dark, save a faint orange glow from outside.

  “The problem with that tactic,” Olive said conversationally, “is that you don’t know what surfaces I’ve painted with our compound. Are you willing to risk blowing up your library?”

  I wasn’t completely surprised by her words, but the threat wouldn’t make me panic, either. Olive’s tone and actions had a distinct whiff of high school mean girl about them, and I left that kind of pettiness behind a long time ago. I wouldn’t be taunted into stupidity.

  “What’s your goal here, Olive? I mean, you put me in the hospital last night. Why did you think I’d even come here now? You could have just sat in the dark all night, waiting for nothing.”

  She strolled a few feet, trailing a hand along the shelf. “I’m glad you dropped the silly pretense of denying that you’re Eclipse, Harmony.”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “I knew you’d come. We have a connection, you and me.”

  Oh my God. Seriously, this was that kind of thing? Again, I stayed silent. If she was unhinged, anything I said could set her off. I considered wrapping her up and calling the police—after all, she’d vandalized the library—but she could have coated herself in that compound. CASE wasn’t known for suicide missions, but I still wasn’t convinced her mission was officially CASE.

  “Are you alone here?” I tried when she didn’t explain the connection.

  She made a scoffing noise. “Here as in the library? Yes. I don’t need help with you. In town? That’s a different story.”

  “Why?”

  “Why what?”

  I lifted my hands, palms up. “I guess, why anything? Why do you have a problem with me? Why do you have help in town? Why are you working with . . . Hameldon and Wiggins?” I almost said Kyle and Wig, because it was the safe assumption, that they were the grunts on the ground. But if I left it more vague, I might get more information. “Are they CASE?” I added. Might as well throw it all out there.

  She came closer. I shifted my weight, bracing.

  “It’s not personal, Harmony.”

  Funny, it felt personal.

  “That little scene in the bathroom, way back when we were kids? It opened up my world. I discovered there were things out there that were unimaginable—and unfairly distributed. It frightened me. When I learned you were still here, terrorizing my hometown, attacking poor people who don’t have a chance against you, I had to do something.”

  “Terror-ize. That’s ridiculous. I don’t attack anyone.” Again, after seeing her propaganda and hearing her at the cookout, her accusations didn’t surprise me. But I still sputtered, incredulous. No one I ever stopped or captured had suffered injuries, as far as I knew. Except Fran Inalbi.

  “What about Fran? What did you have against him? You were trying to make me hurt him, weren’t you?”

  She shrugged. “He yelled at my dog for doing what dogs do.”

  Which meant it had probably shit on his lawn. This woman was twisted, and I was losing patience. “I don’t have time for games. We’re leaving. Now.”

  I stepped forward. Olive had been waiting for her moment. She lunged, throwing her fists toward the floor and leaning forward, her mouth opening into a throbbing scream that slammed into me, sending me staggering and clutching my eardrums. It was very much like the screams in the woods, and I actually felt my eardrums shredding. My ears heated against my palms. I went down on one knee, cringing, fighting to hold on to my light, not to react with desperation and send light out where she wanted it, where she was trying to get me to destroy
her, my library, and myself.

  Shields. I let the light out through my hands, trying to seal it to the sides of my head. The one that blocked me from the fire hadn’t kept out sound, but I had to try. I concentrated on density and pliability, closing spaces. The pain and pressure eased, her scream growing fainter. I released the light to stay in place, protecting my ears, and pushed to my feet. She reared back, taking a breath, and tried again. This one was lower, more physical, and I had to lean into it to stay on my feet. My ribs vibrated and my eyes ached. I couldn’t let her keep assaulting me, but I couldn’t use my powers, either. For a moment, fear held me immobile. I’d never fought without my light. I was no match for someone like her, someone who wouldn’t hold back. Who would fight dirty.

  Then books started toppling off the shelves behind me, and that was it. I launched myself at her, grabbing her by the lapels of her jacket and hauling her around to shove her through the entry doors into the foyer. Except I wasn’t very strong, so she just landed against the doors, rocking them slightly. It took another hard shove against her shoulders to push her through. She stumbled, then planted, her expression sinking from startled into furious. The light was still dim out here, but I could see dark patches on the walls and floor. She’d spread her compound out here, too. That was okay. I was fired up.

  Olive raised her fists, hauled back, and swung at my jaw. I dodged and sank my own fist into her stomach. She doubled over, because this wasn’t the movies. You get punched in the stomach, you can’t breathe. She made odd heaving noises, and I took advantage of that and grabbed the back of her jacket to drag her outside. The fabric was sticky, making me glad I’d been cautious about using my light.

  The front door wasn’t locked, which pissed me off, because I knew Gladys wouldn’t have left it that way. But I was also glad, because trying to get out my keys and unlock it would have been impossible while hauling Olive with me.

  As soon as we were outside, I shoved her to the walkway and stuck my knee in her back. The burner phone was still on my belt. I flipped it open and dialed nine-one-one, letting the light around my ears dissipate. The dispatcher answered right away, sounding only slightly muffled. I thought the light I held was already healing my eardrums.

  “This is Eclipse.” I said it the way I normally did, quickly and matter-of-factly, but I’d forgotten I didn’t have the voice-altering app, and hearing my normal voice threw me.

  “It . . . is?” The woman sounded skeptical, and who could blame her? I’d never done this before. I’d never even used the emergency number, since I had the main number programmed in my Eclipse phone.

  It was too late to hide my voice now. I didn’t know if the dispatcher, a woman I knew because of my work as Eclipse but not in my real life as Harmony, would put things together. My only options were to take the risk and face the consequences later, or let Olive get away. And that didn’t require more than a few seconds of thought.

  “I’ve captured the woman who messed with the power and network at the library. She’s also vandalized the property with the same substance found at the jewelry store. I believe it’s inert, but caution should be used anyway.”

  “What’s your location?” I heard clicking keys.

  “The library. We’re out front.” I gave the address.

  “I’ve dispatched a unit to your location. They’re only a couple of minutes away. Please remain on the line.”

  She said that every time. I never did. But with no way to secure Olive, I wasn’t leaving.

  Olive had recovered her breath now, and her struggles were increasing under my knee. She flailed her arms and tried to kick her leg back to hit me with her heel, but couldn’t reach. I bore down as she twisted her hips. A roar like a lion came out of her mouth, startling me into dropping to hold her shoulders down. A bird trill came next, then a barking sound—a seal?—and a rushing noise like cars on a highway.

  If I’d doubted that Olive was my sound-throwing villain, she’d shredded those doubts as thoroughly as she’d shredded my eardrums. But she still didn’t match Conn’s label of super-villain. Her goals were too personal, her grievances too petty. And I wasn’t buying that she had the ability or intelligence to have created the compound that threatened my life, and possibly Conn’s.

  I bent closer, and as she drew in a long breath for another yell, I demanded, “Who are you working for? Who’s The Chaser? Where’s Conn?”

  She wrenched her shoulders around, trying to dislodge me, but she’d started laughing. A car passed in front of the property and turned into the parking lot.

  “The cops are here. You have—”

  Everything flipped in a second. She went limp and rubbed her cheek against the ground, weeping. “Help me,” she cried weakly as Sark and Smith emerged from the car. Sark tripped on the curb, his shoes slapping the macadam as he regained his footing. Smith frowned at him, hands propped on his equipment belt. He’d wound up at several of my “busts,” even if we hadn’t been this close in person. I’d watched from in hiding a few times.

  “You stayed.” Sark seemed to have regained his composure, staring down at me. I could feel the pierce of his gaze, despite the way his hat hid his eyes. “That’s new.”

  “Not really. I just talked to you last night after that attempted mugging.”

  He shook his head. “Not the time for back talk, Eclipse. What’s going on here?”

  “Help me,” Olive whimpered. “She attacked me for no reason.”

  Smith sighed and bent to help her up. I released her only when he had a grip on her arm. She clung to him, acting as if her knees wouldn’t support her, and I saw scrapes on her cheek. That bitch. She’d done that to herself. I’d been careful to hold her down without hurting her.

  “What are you doing on this property at this time of night?” Smith asked her, his tone firm but not ungentle. “I know the power was out and they closed early.”

  “Did Gladys get home okay?” I asked.

  He frowned again, but nodded. “I escorted her to her car and followed her home. She’s fine.”

  Some of the tension left my shoulders. “I got here about half an hour ago. The power was switched off in the basement and the computer network had been interfered with. Olive was waiting for me in the main area. She’s coated things with the same compound that was in the jewelry store. It should be inert. We’ve established that it only reacts to my light.”

  Sark had joined Smith on the frowning team. “You’re implying that this woman lured you here? And that she had something to do with the jewelry store explosion?”

  “I’m not implying it, I’m stating it. She’s been out for me since she got to Pilton.”

  Sark stepped closer to her. “What’s your story?” His question was all cop, but his demeanor wasn’t. For a flash, I felt like I was watching a boyfriend finding out his girlfriend had cheated on him.

  “Kostas, please,” Olive wept. I hoped they could see there were no tears on her face. “Look what she did to me. I was just walking by—”

  “Why?”

  She gulped. “What?”

  “Why were you just walking by? This late at night, this far from your neighborhood, with nothing around here that’s open right now?”

  Again, she swallowed audibly and made a few pathetic gasping sounds, still trying to play on his sympathies. But he wasn’t fooled. He nodded at Smith and stepped back.

  “Let’s take her in for questioning. We can hold her until the library can be checked out tomorrow. We’ll have to get the county in.”

  Smith hauled Olive over to the car.

  “Be careful,” I called. “She has some kind of ability with sound. The sonic boom and the screams in the woods were her.”

  Smith waved a hand without looking back, and I wasn’t sure he was taking me seriously.

  “I’m not joking,�
�� I told Sark, who had remained with me. I swiped my hand under my ear and showed him the blood, using a small ball of light to illuminate it.

  “That’s not proof of anything.”

  “I don’t care.” I slapped my hand against my thigh, wiping off the blood. “I don’t want her to hurt you guys.” Even if he was dirty, a fear he hadn’t yet alleviated.

  “She won’t hurt me. Now, tell me more about the explosion. What makes you think it was activated by your light?”

  While Smith and Olive waited in the car, I told Sark as much as I could without getting anyone in trouble for trespassing. He listened and took notes, but I wasn’t sure he believed Olive had anything to do with it, and he confirmed that when I was done, asking for evidence.

  “Get me her jacket,” I demanded, frustrated.

  “What?”

  “I’ll show you. Bring her jacket out here.”

  He looked at the car, tapping the end of his pen on his pad a few times. Finally, he walked over and opened the door, saying something I couldn’t hear. It took a minute, but finally he returned with her jacket.

  “Now what?”

  I grabbed it and jogged out into the empty parking lot, dropping it on the macadam and then backing off a couple dozen feet. “Back up,” I told him, wanting to make sure he was far away just in case she’d done something to make it act differently than in our tests.

  He grunted loud enough for me to hear even at this distance, which meant my ears had healed already. Then he did retreat toward the car, hands on his belt. Humoring me.

  I loosened my hold on the light I’d gathered, making sure I could access and control it. It flared out from my hands, and I formed a series of balls of different sizes, splitting the smallest one like I had for the tests. Then I sent a marble-sized ball toward the jacket. As soon as it brushed the fabric, just like all the other times, flames burst into being and surged toward me. I flung my next ball at them, expanding it as it went, and braced to throw up a shield if it didn’t work. But a few feet away the ball collided with the flames, and they extinguished.