Salvadora (The Last Salvadoras #1)

by Natalie Bennett

  They all wiped the data from their phones and she ignored the text from Reyes without reading it. They couldn’t turn them off, that would immediately raise red flags. They split into groups. She and Clover were going with Alex, Neil, Cooper, Shadow and Jagger, her sister’s companion. She slid her phone under a dirty dish of a room service cart, why Clover dropped hers behind a trash can as she threw a piece of paper away. After that they made their way calmly to the laundry room. Alex and Neil were waiting for them with the wolves.

  They swung out the back door and straight into the truck and Cooper pulled off. In twenty minutes her sisters would do the same thing they just did. The truck had tinted windows so she relaxed just a little bit. She was jittery over what they were about to do and pushed all thoughts of Reyes from her mind.

  They were probably twenty minutes into the drive when Alex’s phone went off. “Uh-oh” He said. “Hellooo.” He answered the call through the trucks Bluetooth system. “Where is she?” She had never heard Reyes sound as cold and mad as he did now. “She better be with you.” Alex played the role perfectly. “Where are you Alex?” He asked him his voice sounded deadly. “Velvet why?” Alex said with no hint of his deception. “Where are you parked?” Alex winked at her. “Fifth deck and..” Alex pulled out a ticket. “Row 3 spot A.” He had actually parked his car there? She could kiss him for being so brilliant. “Do you have any idea why she dumped her phone?” Reyes asked. He knew Alex knew something.

  “What did you do to piss her off?” Alex said in a haughty voice examining his nails. “Don’t fuck with me.” His voice made the hairs on the back of her neck raise. “The only reason she would have dumped her phone is to get away from you, clearly what she has done and you called muah because I’m better to her than you are, now excuse me my shrimp is getting cold.” Alex hung up on him.

  “Your acting is brilliant.” Clover said laughing. “He’s going to kill me, did you hear his voice?” Alex proceeded to rip the case off his phone and tear off the back, he took out the battery and the sim card and Cooper took a sharp turn off route and Alex launched the phone out the window. “Take that.” Alex huffed causing them to laugh.

  Not even five minutes later Neil’s phone rang. They all knew who it would be. He popped in a cd and techno music began to play loudly in the car. “Hello!” Neil yelled into the phone. “Hold on!” He turned the music down to a low bass thumping sound. She and Clover just stared. They had planned this out already? “When I find you, you are going to pay dearly.” Neil turned pale but didn’t drop his act. “She went to see Peaches.” Neil lazily said. “Who is Peaches?” Storm asked. “Her horse. Wow, I can see how well you know her, she also was sure to tell me she’s over you and that little mistress you keep around, your own fault buddy.” It got so quiet she was almost certain he hung up.

  “I’m going to find you Neil, and when I do you will be chained to a fucking wall until I decide you’ve had enough.” Neil disconnected the call. He did the same thing Alex did. She and Clover just looked at one another. They were hearing the pissed off side of the kings. She would never let Reyes near Alex, or Neil.

  They rode for another twenty minutes before reaching the road that went back into the woods.

  Cooper and now Finn behind them angled the trucks onto the road. Her nerves tried to get the best of her but the Cimmerian actually soothed her mind knowing something big was about to happen. She checked her boots were laced, she put her hair and a Laura Croft style braid and made sure her daggers were sheathed. She was as ready as she was going to get. Neil pulled his honey colored hair into a tight ponytail and checked his own gear. Clover had dressed like she had and had her hair in a tight neat bun.

  She told Jagger he was to guard the truck and they climbed out a little ways away from the house. “Be careful.” Cooper said looking at them. She gave him a tight smile and Clover did to. Jenna and Scarlett having changed in the truck to similar outfits approached with Chelsea and Sam. “Safety in numbers.” Sam said his red hair shoved out of face. They looked at the overgrowth and began moving up the drive of the house.

  The house definitely looked different. The windows were covered up; the mist was still rising from behind it though. They needed the back door, not the front. As they walked as a tight group around the side of the house something caught her attention. In the clearing in the mist in the nook of tall trees was a huge tombstone. An angel on a giant block of stone, her head was slightly downcast and she had one arm reaching for the sky.

  The lettering was faded but the faint bold W was unmistakable. She was looking at her own grave. Scarlett and Jenna took her hands and squeezed as they all looked away from it. They died in this house, all of them. Her sisters had dreams like had and saw their own deaths play out before them just like she did. They were going to the very core of where it took place.

  This house was like a giant bad omen, she didn’t understand why that company bought it just to keep it clean and well taken care of but not tear the monstrosity down. Sam placed his palm on the back door and the lock unlatched. Shadow and Scarlett’s wolf Brawny sniffed the air then nodded as if to say it was clear. They filed into the house.

  They gently shut the back door back and with the windows bordered up there was almost no light streaming into the kitchen. Scarlett raised her palm and small flame appeared giving them light. Clover raised hers as well and little ball of electricity hovered and cast off a bigger glow. They all eyed the basement door none of them wanted to go down here but they had to.

  Sam placed his palm on the door and it unlocked from the other side. They stared down the stone stairs to the creepy basement below. Sam went first and they followed. They cracked the door as they went. The light her sisters created guided their way. They stepped into the basement; it had hooks, blades and chains hanging from the ceiling. They squished together to avoid touching anything. They came to the barred door and looked in at a long clean tunnel with lights along the walls.

  Sam looked at them before taking a deep breath and placed his palm on the barred door, it clanked and soundlessly pushed open and they stepped through.

  She's clipping the wings

  Of fallen angels.

  She's picking ghostflowers

  From her soul-OTEP

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  They walked silently down the tunnel towards the next barred door. She felt like they were being watched but there was no way to watch them that she could see. They reached the other door and the room was quiet. Sam opened the gate and they walked in. A corpse hung limply in the center of the room.

  A warlock, his arms bound above his head, his feet a few inches off the ground. It smelled awful she fought the urge to gag. He had maggots in his mouth; she looked away before she threw up. “Guys?” They turned towards a small whisper. “Trace?” Jenna said and went to a cell. She looked terrible. She was filthy, she had been tiny before but she looked like a skeleton, she had bruises all over her dirt stained body. “You shouldn’t have come for me.” She cried.

  “We couldn’t leave you here, look at you.” Scarlett harshly whispered. “Troy’s in there.” Tracy gestured to the cell next door. She peered in and actually did gag not just from the sight of him but the smell. His legs were broken, his face was battered and he smelled like feces and urine. “Oh my gods.” Clover gasped and stepped back.

  “I’ll carry him.” Sam said as he pulled open his cell Troy groaned as Sam lifted him and carried him with ease. Tracy was out holding Alex’s hand. Shadow suddenly lifted his hackles and growled, Jagger joined him. She looked and made direct eye contact with them. The two reapers stood watching them. Already having hashed this plan out, Alex and Sam knew to get Troy and Tracy to safety no matter what. This was that no matter what, the reapers warped, Alex and Sam took off out of the opposite barred door. A reaper appeared by Scarlett but she was ready for it, she slammed one of her elemental daggers into its chest.

  The dagger burst to flames and the thing grinned as it ripped
it from its chest and healed before they could blink. Jagger launched at the other with a vicious snarl and clamped down onto its arm. He hissed and flung the wolf across the room that looked ready for more. They moved towards the barred doors when she was yanked from behind. She was flung hard into the dirt floor of the room. She didn’t hesitate rolling upwards and stabbing her own blade into the reaper reaching for her.

  He ripped her blade from her shoulder and spread out his wings, he came at her and she watched as Scarlett launch fire at the other. She remembered this thing, the one who wiped her tears. It yanked her arm and she yelped in pain it broke it, it healed as it back handed her to the ground. She could taste blood in her mouth. Shadow charged in and bit it. He held it why she got up and dodged away.

  Something dug into her back, she screamed from pain and Clover quickly pulled whatever it was out of her, she could feel blood running down her back. It was some sort of weird metal clamp. One of the reapers warped and a second later she heard Tracy scream from down the tunnel. Clover and Jenna went for the tunnel why she shoved electricity at the reaper as she hit it in the face with her fist.

  It shot around its head and it absorbed it like it was a plant getting watered and then looked at her.

  Scarlett actually jumped on its back and gripped its neck and let her fire expel. The reapers flipped her sister off of it and a ball of its own fire flew down towards her, her sister used air to counter it and move away. It warped, ended up behind Scarlett and slammed her into her knocking them back into the body in the room. It fell from the hooks as they fell to the ground landing with them. They immediately moved away from it.

  They needed to get the hell out of here, she began to summon her cimms, the reaper knew what she was doing and without even moving a muscle sent a force at her that slammed her into the stone wall. She saw black dots but still kept pulling her cimms out. They flew out and the reaper actually shoved one of them away. How did it do that? They were incorporeal. “Let’s go!” Scarlett yelled.

  They ran down the tunnel their friends and sisters had gone the wolves moving with them. They ran around a curve in the tunnel and a door stood open that led into the woods around the area. They got outside and slammed the door shut. She had no idea where they just popped out at or which way to go.

  The door sat half underground and was covered in moss.

  They had to keep moving though. Shadow and Jagger let out yips and took off away from them making sure they followed. They followed them closely. The woods were thick out here and the wind started blowing. She was grabbed from behind and tossed like a dodge ball threw the air. She landed the breath rushing from her lungs to see Scarlett avoid getting grabbed thanks to Jagger who had a mean grip on the reaper that warped to them.

  It flung the wolf hard and it yelped in pain as it hit the ground, she stood and Scarlett went to its front and she went to its back. She grabbed its silk like wings and yanked letting flames lick from her palms as she did. They ignited like they’d been doused in gasoline. Scarlett slammed another blade into its chest as it got distracted by the fire on its wings.

  It warped away, they took off to Jagger who was limping but still easily keeping up with them. She felt her cimms weakening and knew it was a few minutes or seconds before they would be slammed away again so to prevent that from happening she pulled them away and they almost gratefully evaporated from fighting the reaper and she felt them manifest back within her quietly. She let the mist exhume from her palms now as they followed the wolves through the woods.

  She sensed the reaper was out here watching them but it wasn’t making a move. She knew they were toying with them as she ran. They could easily have taken them or hurt them by now and they hadn’t. It was blazing hot outside and she was starting to feel the pains that hadn’t healed. They had to of ran for five minutes before popping out on a long road. Both reapers reappeared on either side of them. She and Scarlett stood side by side knowing this would be hopeless.

  She knew they wouldn’t kill them, they needed them alive as their anchors. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t cause them pain. That was apparent when the one she had caught on fire, who looked perfectly fine warped to her and grabbed her by the throat. She had a déjà vu moment, it had done this to her before. Scarlett couldn’t help her she was grabbed by the other reaper and tossed over its shoulder like a bag of potatoes.

  She saw her sister to do the reaper what she had to the one who had a firm grip on her neck. The reaper holding her lunged in and bit into her neck. She had never felt so much pain in her life and it was all directed in one spot. It felt like someone had dug into her neck with iron hot pokers and then dripped rubbing alcohol on times a thousand. She screamed and felt tears of pain spring to her eyes. Shadow was lying in a heap on the ground with Jagger.

  It was causing them pain without even touching them, she felt down and reached into her boot, she gripped the dagger and rammed it into the reapers chest. It let her go and grinned while her blood dripped from its mouth. It warped away and the other one had too after being caught on fire. Her neck healed but she felt beyond her limits. It had gulped from her like she was a water fountain and it was overflowing.

  Her sister had an open wound on her back from the reaper she had caught on fire that was leaking a nice amount of blood. She slowly went to Shadow and reached out for him. He raised his head and whined but didn’t get up. Jagger had his eyes closed tightly breathing heavy. They weren’t visibly hurt so she had no idea what the reaper had even done.

  Adding insult to injury she felt the first drop of rain hit her arm. She lifted Shadow the best she could and helped him along like a crutch. Scarlett was doing the same thing but half dragging Jagger. It wasn’t long before the light rain turned into a full on down pour soaking them and making it near impossible to see.

  It was dark out before they were found. They had been walking, more like a slow shuffle for hours, lost. She thought they would happen upon the house based off the direction the wolves were going and from there the trucks would be.

  That clearly was wrong. They were soaking wet at the present, it had rained forever.

  The bright lights of the Denali blinded them at first, and then Alex, Finn and Sam rushed towards them. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Alex Said and then took a good look at them. “They need help.” Scarlett said tiredly gesturing to the wolves. “So do you, let’s go!” Sam scooped her sister up and Alex grabbed Shadow with the help of Finn. She tiredly climbed into the back of the truck. She leaned her head against the cool glass and shut her eyes.

  When it bit her it was like it didn’t just take blood it had made her feel like overcooked spaghetti noodles and the other did the same to her sister. She heard doors slam and the truck lurch off. Alex took her hand and held it. As she opened her eyes and looked out the window she saw the red eyes watching them from the trees but not making any move to stop them.

  They had let them go, but why? She realized how easy it had all been to get in the house, get their friends and get away, minus the way she felt right now. If they wanted them dead, they would be dead. Almost like it was all an act, they didn’t have to touch them to hurt them yet they had come close enough to let themselves be hurt as well.

  The grin it had given her after she stabbed it let her know she hadn’t really hurt it at all. Just like catching their wings on fire, they were perfectly fine the next minute. These things were beyond strong and that worried her more for what would happen if they or more like when they came for them and anchored themselves back to life and gain even more strength than they already had. She shut her eyes and let herself drift off to Alex saying Reyes was beyond mad.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  They weren’t at the hotel when she woke up; well not at Reyes hotel they were at Silver Cross Suites, another large hotel. They were led through a private entrance as to not draw attention to themselves. Finn brought them to a simple suite with two bedrooms and a setup like Reyes hotel but not as upscale. A
lex rushed to get her blood bottles. The first taste made her want to throw up. She had gotten way too used to Reyes.

  She downed it anyway and then forced down a second. She felt herself starting to heal. “Shower and just rest, Troy and Tracy are at the hospital you’re sisters are fine and with them, they know you guys are safe, well take care of the wolves.” Sam said getting a pallet made up and a bowl of blood for each wolf.

  She nodded and stood, Scarlett walked with her towards the rooms. “You okay?” Her sister asked hugging her. “Yeah, I just..” Her sister finished what she was going to say “Wonder why they didn’t take us? Me to.” They split off to the rooms. She selected a robe from the LinkBox and that was it. She turned the shower on hot and stepped in.

  This wasn’t near over, she didn’t know what the reapers plans were but she knew they couldn’t be good. Poor Troy, he looked lifeless in that cell. She should have never taken anything from that house. They should have never gone to the house. She was sure the reapers would have shown up anyway but she had never seen them until that day. That was their house now; she wanted to know how they got it. Then again Reyes was as dead as she was for a long time; they would have no say so in what happened to the house. Those things had taken that house over long ago, that’s probably why it was still standing. She washed herself thoroughly and watched dirt, dried blood and grime run down the drain. After she stepped out she ran a comb through her hair with minimal effort in it and wrapped the short silk robe around herself. She turned off the bedroom lights and climbed in bed to sleep.