by Tate, Sennah
Gemma let her hand drop and Alina’s heart sank with it.
“No, I should go,” she said, her voice trembling, “I’m the one that knows the most about… him and everything else.”
“You’re right,” Gemma said with a bright smile, “we do need you, but everyone would understand if it’s too… soon.”
Alina shook her head. She couldn’t keep hiding forever. She was tired of using her experiences as an excuse; there were other women out there going through the same things she did. If she didn’t help them, they may never be saved.
“I don’t think… he… is going to wait until I’m ready. Those women are missing now,” she said sounding much more confident than she felt.
“Just don’t let my brother and his stupid friends intimidate you,” Izzy said.
“Yeah, they’re all harmless and cuddly,” Gemma added.
“Like teddy bears,” Izzy snickered.
“Even Aaron?” Alina teased.
Izzy’s eye’s darkened and he smile turned into a pout.
“Only if your teddy bear is a big lying jerk.”
Gemma rolled her eyes and quickly changed the subject before it could get derailed any further. She had her work cut out for her if she was going to be in charge of keeping the peace.
Chapter Two
Once everyone was up to speed with Preston Waters’ latest misdeeds, Carson posed the question to everyone that he’d been mulling over for a while now.
“So, he’s obviously become more brazen. But why?”
“Well, he has enough money to buy off the police,” said Ty.
“Yeah, ‘gas leak’,” Trick mocked with air quotes.
“So, he thinks there are no repercussions. But we’re not just going to let him get away with this, right?” asked Carson.
“Of course not,” said Ty.
“We didn’t exactly do great the last time we took them on,” Dez reminded.
Gemma frowned; since when did Dez back down from a fight?
“Dez is right,” she said, “you all barely made it out of that warehouse. You may not all be so lucky next time.”
“At least Aaron will be fine,” Ty grumbled.
“Yeah, where is Miss Prissypants?” Trick asked, scanning the room.
“He had other things to take care of,” Carson said. He didn’t appreciate the derailment and the firm line of his jaw made that clear to the rest of the men.
“More like he had other things to drink,” Ty muttered.
Izzy’s eyes darted to Ty; if she had the ability, she wouldn’t have hesitated to burn a hole straight through him. He didn’t know what he was talking about. Aaron told her he’d quit drinking… But why did she care anyway?
She didn’t, she decided, rolling her eyes away from Ty.
“Enough, Ty,” Carson growled, the veins in his biceps bulging as he gripped the edge of the table.
Ty sank back into his seat, sulking.
“So, Waters and his men think they don’t have a challenge. That works in our favor. They’ll have their guard down. They’ll do something stupid,” Carson said.
“And until then?” Gemma asked. She spent most of the meeting staring at the cup of coffee Carson stopped for. He’d gone out of his way to pick it up for her just because he knew she liked it. She felt guilty for challenging him at all when he was nothing but supporting and loving to her.
“We try to learn as much about these shadows and powers as we can, I’m counting on Alina for a lot of that,” he gestured. She nodded, clearly wishing she were invisible for the moment.
“So, until he does something really dumb, we’re just going to let him keep kidnapping random women?” Izzy said.
“Do you have a better plan?”
All eyes turned to Aaron as he spoke. No one even heard him enter, but there he was, staggering down the stairs.
“Uh… we could save them?” said Izzy, glaring daggers at him.
“Right,” Aaron answered with a roll of his eyes, “because that plan worked out so well when we went after her,” he jerked his head in Alina’s direction.
“Well, she’s here, isn’t she?” Izzy spat back.
“And if I hadn’t dragged Carson’s sorry carcass out of there, who knows where he’d be. Or did you forget that people are risking their lives for these nameless strangers that may or may not be held captive by a technological prodigy gone bad who may or may not have magical powers.”
He tugged at his hair, groaning in frustration.
“Do none of you realize how insane you all are?”
Carson’s hands flexed on the table as he rose to challenge Aaron.
“You better watch yourself. You’re either helping us or you’re in our way. Which is it Washburn?”
Aaron narrowed his honey-gold eyes at his friend, resisting the urge to punch him square on the jaw. Aaron could imagine the crack of his knuckles hitting another bone. He could feel the ache in his hand without ever moving a muscle.
“Fine,” he said, grabbing a seat at the table across from Gemma with a scowl plastered on his face. He pulled a flask from his waistband and downed a healthy gulp.
Everyone pretended not to notice; Gemma fidgeted in her seat — she could feel the heat rolling off of Izzy in furious waves.
“Look,” Carson said, “I want to help those women as much as you do, Iz, but we can’t jump in without a plan or we’re all going to die. Those women included.”
“Right,” Izzy said, her scowl a mirror image of Aaron’s.
Gemma cleared her throat in an attempt to draw attention away from the pouting adult infants. She’d spent enough time with kids throwing temper-tantrums to know how to deal with it.
“I’m much more concerned that Carson seems to be the only person able to hurt — or even see — these shadow things.”
“I can see them too,” said Izzy.
This surprised nearly everyone.
“You can?” Carson asked. His heart jumped into his throat; maybe he wasn’t alone!
“Well, yeah. I mean, I could when we were… before you saved me. I haven’t exactly gone looking for them since then.”
“That’s a start,” said Carson.
“And I…” Alina mumbled something too softly to be discerned.
“What was that?” Carson asked?
Alina’s eyes flitted to Gemma’s then to Izzy’s, then away. Gemma silently nodded her encouragement.
“I…” Alina faltered, “I know how to hurt them.”
“You do?! How?” asked Carson, suddenly bursting with energy.
“It’s a special kind of blade… tipped with silver and left out for a day to absorb the Sun’s light. I’ve never seen one, but I heard rumors.”
“Okay, you talk to Ty later, see if you can get something worked out.”
“When did Ty learn to blacksmith?” Trick asked with a grin.
Ty shrugged and straightened his glassed on his freckled nose, “The internet can teach me anything I need to know.”
Alina looked like she had something else to say, but she was intimidated by the banter.
“That weapon idea is really helpful,” said Gemma. She wanted to reassure the girl, not spook her.
“Is there anything else you know that might be able to help us?”
Alina nodded, her eyes never moving from her lap. She couldn’t make eye contact with anyone. She wanted to look at someone for comfort, but she didn’t think she should.
“Is it about Preston?”
Alina cringed and nodded.
Dez shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
“What is it?” asked Carson.
Alina folded her hands in her lap and wriggled her fingers to take her mind off of the subject matter.
“He’s more active because I’m not there,” her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. Desmond reached a hand across the table but snatched it back like he’d touched a hot stove. Alina never noticed because her vision was watery with tears.
; “What do you mean?” asked Ty.
“I— I used to help him find them,” she said, her eyes wide and horrified as they met with Izzy’s.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, dissolving into tears again.
“I knew it!” Aaron raved.
“I knew we shouldn’t trust her. She was his personal whore; we might as well invite Mr. Preston Waters here for afternoon tea and finger sandwiches,” Aaron didn’t pause to take a breath. He didn’t even pause long enough to notice Dez rising from his seat, his hulking frame towering over Aaron’s already-tall figure. He did stop long enough between outbursts to take another swig from his flask.
“It’s not like that,” Alina cried, words only escaping between sobs.
Desmond grabbed a fistful of Aaron’s shirt and lifted him up to eye-level.
Aaron heard the seams of his shirt straining and thought that only added to the hilarity of the situation.
“What’s it like, sweetheart?” he laughed, “You help him kidnap a helpless woman and he lets you pick who’s cock you’re going to suck? Spare me,” his joke brought a lazy grin to his face.
He didn’t notice all the scowls directed at him. He didn’t notice Alina’s soft sobs or Gemma’s gasp of horror. He didn’t notice Izzy gritting her teeth and he certainly didn’t notice Desmond’s fist pulling back.
He didn’t notice any of it until his face exploded with pain and he landed on his sore ass again. The left side of his face burned with the force of a thousand fires and his eye swelled shut almost immediately.
Before Dez could land another punch, Trick dragged him away.
Despite the pain, Aaron laughed.
“Fucking beautiful. My own fucking friends.”
“I think you should leave now,” Carson said.
“Why? Because the Incredibly Stupid Hulk adopted a stray? Fuck you Sanchez.”
“At least he doesn’t take advantage of women when they’re vulnerable,” Izzy said, jumping out of her seat.
Aaron pulled himself off of the floor and attempted to quirk an eyebrow at her. His face broke out into an expression of pain and his hand shot to his waistband for the flask.
“Are you still going on about that fucking kiss?” he roared.
“Yes! I am!” Izzy shouted, taking another step toward him.
Aaron thought he was probably asking to get punched a second time, but he hated himself enough to not care about it.
“It never happened. As much as you want to delude yourself into thinking we had this magical moment, it never fucking happened Isabel. Wake up and smell your own bullshit, sweetheart.”
“You are the worst person I’ve ever met,” she answered.
“You should try looking in a mirror some time,” he said.
“That’s ENOUGH,” Carson roared, slamming his fists on the table.
Alina squeaked and sank further into her chair.
Dez took the opportunity to move across the table to her side for comfort.
“Look, I want to help you out, but your sister is fucking nuts,” said Aaron.
“I’m warning you,” Carson replied.
“Crazy?!” Izzy screeched.
“Yes! Crazy! You’re trying to turn your brother against me for God knows what reason. You didn’t even give a damn about him for the last eight years. Now you suddenly hang on his every word.”
“That’s not true at all. And you don’t care about anyone other than yourself. You’re not one to talk.”
“You. Don’t. Know. Shit,” Aaron said, each word getting closer to her face until she felt his breath on her lips with his last word.
“Both of you! Out of here, now,” Carson ordered.
“Me?” Izzy cried looking offended.
“Yes, you. We have people’s lives at stake. This isn’t Jerry fucking Springer. Take that shit somewhere else.”
Aaron’s flask was empty and his argument lost steam. He started to head towards the bar on the other end of the expansive basement clubhouse, but his throbbing face reminded him that the place’s owner — Desmond — probably wouldn’t appreciate him pilfering the liquor.
“Whatever, I’m out,” Aaron said, stumbling his way to the stairs.
“You’re actually taking his side?” Izzy said, her eyes boring into her brother’s very soul.
Gemma watched her boyfriend squirm and wished there was something she could do to save him.
“I’m not taking anyone’s side, Iz. But we can’t help anyone with all of this going on,” he motioned to Alina who was still crying, Dez who flexed his bruised knuckles and the blood spatters on the concrete floor.
“I can’t believe you. And you?” she asked Gemma.
Gemma cringed; she really didn’t want to be pulled into this ridiculous spat.
“I… just want to help the missing women. We all do.”
Izzy nodded and laughed hysterically, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth with annoyance.
“So, that’s how it is. Fine. You guys play superheroes.”
“Izzy!” Alina called as she stormed out.
“Please don’t leave!”
Isabel didn’t have time for her or anyone else. She left everyone else to pick up the pieces of her blow-out fight.
Chapter Three
Alina buried her face in shame. Everyone looked to her after Isabel stormed out and she couldn’t help but feel like it was all her fault. It was something she said that angered Aaron. She couldn’t believe that Desmond struck him! She couldn’t believe how angry Isabel seemed to be. They both seemed like such wonderfully kind people.
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Gemma said, scooting to a chair closer to her.
“We both know that’s been brewing for a while.”
Alina nodded in agreement and wiped the fat tears from her face. She’d nearly forgotten how to cry.
It was only after she stopped crying that she felt Desmond’s hand resting on her back with the lightest touch. It surprised her that someone so strong with such large hands would be able to be so gentle. It surprised her even more that she hadn’t noticed the physical contact the moment he initiated it. How long had that gone on?
“They were both way out of line,” said Gemma.
Alina nodded, “It’s the frenzy. I know.”
Carson frowned, “The shadow things? But I didn’t see one on either of them.”
She shook her head, “No, you wouldn’t. They’ve just be touched by it… exposed, tainted, whatever you want to call it. Unless they get more or develop their own magic, it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
“Great,” Carson said with a sigh. He didn’t want to think about babysitting those two until all of this was over. He didn’t know if he’d be able to keep them apart either when they both clearly wanted to be a part of it.
“I know it’s not ideal, but the best thing to starve the frenzy is to bombard it with positivity. It thrives on fear and anger; that’s why love between a Traveler and Evoker can defeat it.”
Carson’s hand reached for Gemma’s instinctively.
“You said you helped Waters; what did you do for him?” Ty asked, bringing the attention back to the important subject at hand.
Alina nibbled her bottom lip and looked up at Dez. He nodded, urging her to answer.
“I… My magic is able to track others,” she answered, looking deflated.
“When an Evoker meets her match, they’re both “activated”, the surge of magic is like a beacon to me. I can find them from miles away.”
It didn’t take long for everyone — except Desmond — to come to the obvious conclusion.
“So, you helped him find Isabel?” Carson said.
Tears welled in Alina’s eyes and she nodded, “I did. I had no choice… They threatened me, people I love, innocents — they starved me, kept me awake for days at a time… they…” her voice cracked and Desmond pulled her close. Her instincts told her to f
ight against him, but once his arms released her, she missed their presence.
“We understand that you did what you had to,” Gemma said, hoping that she spoke for everyone.
“So, without you, how is he finding them?” Carson asked.
“I think I have an idea,” Ty said.
He turned his laptop around and showed them a cheesy-looking website covered with tacky hearts.
“Amoreforme.com? The dating website?”
“Turns out,” Ty said, “amoreforme.com recently launched a mobile app for their users. Any guesses who they contracted the app out to?”
Trick thrust his hand into the air, jumping around excitedly.
“Preston Waters,” Carson answered.
Trick dropped his hand and pouted, sending Carson a scowl for good measure.
“I don’t know the answer often,” he said, “you could have let me have that one.”
Carson suppressed a little grin and rolled his eyes.
“It wasn’t a pop quiz, Trick.”
“I would’ve had an A if it was.”
“Do you want a gold star on your fridge before we continue or can we act like adults and actually figure this out?” Gemma taunted.
“She’s a teacher, she has the stickers to make good on that threat,” Carson teased.
Gemma rolled her eyes.
“So, Preston got access to their database when he built the app?”
“Exactly, and he left himself a back door. I’m not sure how he narrows them down beyond that.”
Alina drew her entire bottom lip into her mouth.
“They talked about building a program… a computer program that could find people the way I could. He’s always trying to force magic into technology. They don’t mix well, though. I don’t think they ever finished it.”
“Maybe they made enough progress to make it usable,” Ty suggested.
“And without Alina to pinpoint the targets, he’s having to guess at who to take. That makes him even more dangerous,” said Carson.
“Do you think you would be able to find those people still?” he asked her.
She shook her head, “I’ve never really been able to control my abilities. P-p-preston was able to focus it, but it was very painful.”