Darkness Clashes

by Susan Illene

  The one advantage I had was they weren’t looking in my direction and didn’t expect any interference. Most of the team concentrated on their prisoners, but two faced the road with their rifles at the ready.

  When one of the vehicles started up, I couldn’t wait any longer. I dashed out of the woods and rushed up to the closest SUV. One of the guys saw me right away and turned his rifle in my direction. Our eyes met.

  “Stop!” he ordered.

  I didn’t slow down. The ski mask I wore didn’t exactly promote a friendly image and his stiff posture made it clear he saw me as a hostile threat. Using a burst of immortal speed, I leaped forward and knocked the rifle from his hands just as he pulled the trigger. It jerked sideways and the shot went wild, but the sling kept the weapon from falling. I grabbed it before he could and rammed the butt stock into the side of his head.

  He slumped to the ground.

  Another guy came up from behind and splashed a freezing potion at my head—a different kind than they’d used on Yvonne. It drenched my neck and back, but fizzled out with no effect. I spun around and yanked the guy by his vest, kneeing him in the stomach. He bowed over. I wrapped my arm around his neck and caught him in a blood choke, holding it long enough to knock him out.

  A shot fired. It winged my upper arm, stinging me. They’d coated the bullet with the freezing potion, but it didn’t affect me any more than the last one. I dashed after the shooter, who’d ducked behind the SUV.

  “Magic isn’t working on this one,” he called out to his buddies.

  Good to know DHS only hired the brightest and most observant.

  I ducked down low and rushed the guy as soon as I came around the vehicle. His shot went high when I barreled into him. Another commando jumped on my back, pulling on my shoulders. I ignored him and punched the guy below me in the face. With my strength, it knocked him out cold.

  The man on my back wrapped his arm around my neck in a chokehold much like the one I’d used on his buddy. It was uncomfortable, but I didn’t need oxygen to survive. I reached over my shoulder, grabbed him by the collar, and threw him off. He went flying five feet away. As soon as he tried to get up, I leaped on top of him.

  The smell of his cologne hit me now that I could breathe again. Armani Code. I peered closer at the guy and froze. O’Connell looked up at me with angry brown eyes—though I didn’t see any recognition in them. At least that confirmed this was a team from DHS.

  He raised his fist. I knocked it aside and gripped his head, slamming it hard into the ground. That’d give him a nice headache later. He’d always been annoying to work with anyway.

  More shots rang out from the direction of the second SUV. One of them struck me in the back. I arched and gasped a breath. It had lodged about an inch from my spine. Not enough to immobilize me, but enough to hurt like hell. I staggered behind the first SUV, dragging O’Connell’s body with me. The bullet might have slowed me down, but not so much I was going to give up.

  Keeping my head low and senses alert, I searched through my former co-worker’s pockets. In one I found two plastic vials of the same complacence potion they’d used on Yvonne and her family. Another pocket yielded a single freezing potion. Each one was about the size of my thumb—good for one use by my estimate. I’d take what I could get if it enabled me to hold off on drastic measures. Killing these guys was not an option I wanted to consider.

  I ignored the pain and ramped up my enhanced hearing to find the nearby men. Their heavy breathing and heartbeats gave them away. At least three were hiding behind the other vehicle. I couldn’t hear anyone else, but the engine running nearby drowned out anything farther out.

  I took a steadying breath before poking my head around the grill of the SUV. Two shots rang out. I jerked back when the bullets whizzed past my head. Shuffling noises came from their side as they maneuvered around their vehicle and worked their way to the front. I pulled my gun from its holster. As soon as the steps got close enough, I swiveled back around and fired low.

  The bullet winged the guy’s knee. He went down on his side screaming and clutching at his wound. The other two guys scrambled back out of sight. I crawled over to their wounded partner between the two SUVs. He didn’t notice me until I was less than five feet away and by then it was too late. I unscrewed the cap on the complacence potion and splashed him with it. In seconds he was lying there staring up at the stars, eyes glazed over.

  Damn. I needed to special order this stuff.

  Ducking low, I saw two sets of feet on the other side of the SUV. I considered leaping on top of the vehicle and surprising them from above, but didn’t think I’d make it with the bullet grinding into my back. Instead I aimed my gun close to one of their feet and fired. It missed, as I’d intended, but it had them rushing to get behind the tires.

  With a painful heave, I forced myself upright and dashed around the vehicle. I shot a few random rounds to keep the guys low and peered around the front of the SUV. The nearest commando was crouched next to the driver’s side wheel. Before he could fire his gun, I kicked it from his grip. He had his hands up when I splashed the second vial of complacence potion on him.

  He fell back and lay on the ground in a daze.

  His buddy fired at me from his kneeling position next to the rear wheel. The first round went too high, but the next nailed me in the shoulder just before I could duck away. Searing pain ran through me. I gritted my teeth and swung around to shoot back, aiming for his thigh. He jerked when the round hit him.

  I grabbed the last bottle of potion, unscrewed the cap, and tossed it at his chest. He scrambled to knock it away, but froze in mid-swipe. That would keep him down for awhile, though he’d have a crick in his neck when the spell wore off later.

  More shots rang out from the side of the house. I caught two men poking their heads out from behind the corner. Damn. Where had they come from? I ducked around the SUV, but not before a sting came across my neck. It was just a graze, but the number of places injured on my body was beginning to outnumber the ones that weren’t.

  Once out of their line of sight, I reloaded a fresh magazine. These other guys were going to be even trickier to take out. No matter which way I moved they’d see me coming. I sensed Kerbasi nearby. He must have gotten bored and decided to come watch. Since he wasn’t moving from his position behind some trees and brush, I didn’t expect he’d be coming to help.

  A flash of movement caught my eye from another direction. A lithe figure wearing a ski mask and black sweater similar to mine came out of the woods near the back of the house. Cori was sneaking up behind the guys with what looked like a shovel in her hand. Dammit. If they saw her first she’d be a dead woman.

  Drawing on every bit of strength I had left, I ran across the yard toward the house. I couldn’t shoot without risking hitting Cori, but I had to keep the guys looking in my direction. They fired as I ran. The first few shots missed, but the next one hit me in the stomach. My forward momentum slowed until the next thing I knew I was hitting the ground.

  Dirt and pine needles rushed up to greet my face. The searing pain coming from every part of my body made it difficult to move. It took a few seconds to realize the shooting had stopped.

  I lifted my head and found Cori walking up to me—shovel still in hand. It was the same one I kept in the back of my SUV. Mostly for clearing out snow in the winter, but it sometimes came in handy for burying bodies the cops didn’t need to find. Supernatural ones, of course. I really did try to avoid killing humans.

  Cori pitched the shovel into the dirt. “I’ve always thought these things were good to keep around.”

  She made it sound like this wasn’t the first time she’d used a shovel as a weapon.

  I rolled over onto my back. “Do me a favor. Make sure all the guys are still down and look for some plastic vials in their pockets. Bring the ones you find to me.”

  Most of the potions were the disabling type, but some were the antidotes. Cori wouldn’t know the difference so I neede
d to sort them out before telling her which ones to use on the men. No point risking waking them up if we could prevent it.

  “No problem.” She hiked the shovel over her shoulder and started to walk away.

  “Wait,” I called.

  She turned back.

  “If any of them are awake, don’t hit them too hard. I want them alive when we leave.”

  Cori yanked her pant leg up, revealing a gun strapped there. “I figured you were trying not to kill them. That’s why I didn’t use this.”

  I pushed myself up into a sitting position. “Thanks.”

  While she checked over the commandos, I took stock of my body. There were a couple of other graze wounds on my legs I hadn’t noticed in the heat of the battle, but other than my back and stomach wounds I wasn’t in too bad of shape. None of it would kill me. It just hurt enough I wasn’t looking forward to moving again.

  “They’re all out for the count, but still breathing,” Cori reported after finishing her sweep. “Here’s all the vials I could find.”

  She dumped a handful onto the ground and pulled out more from her pockets. There were about twenty of them in total. I checked over the assortment. The orange ones were the freezing potion and the blue for complacency. White represented the antidotes, which made up about half of the vials. I separated those and pushed the rest at Cori.

  “Use the orange ones first.” There were four of those. “Then use the blue ones on the last few guys, but not those three.” I pointed at the men I’d already dosed.

  “Got it.” She nodded.

  “Help me up first. I’ve got to break the spells on Yvonne and her family while you’re busy.”

  “Is that why they’re still sitting in the SUVs?” she asked, reaching her hand out to me.

  “Yeah,” I said, checking to make sure my gun was secure before letting her fingers close around mine.

  She tugged me to my feet. Cori wasn’t a big girl, but she was toned from working out regularly. I let her take most of my weight as I struggled to a standing position. Immortality might keep me from dying, but it didn’t make my wounds hurt any less.

  After waiting for me to catch my breath, Cori let go and headed off to take care of the commandos. I moved with agonizing steps toward the first SUV where Yvonne still sat. Someone had shut the vehicle doors during the fight. I noted a few bullet holes in the body, but it didn’t look like any had gone through.

  I pulled the door open and ignored fresh waves of pain shooting through me. Yvonne didn’t even blink as I shuffled closer. Her eyes were glazed over and she stared straight ahead. I could have used my blood to break the spell, but pulled one of the antidotes out instead. Might as well test it out and keep things hygienic.

  Opening it up, I sniffed at it and caught a berry scent. I dabbed some of the milky fluid on her skin, checking to see if that would work since there were no instructions. She didn’t react. Next, I tried pouring a little into her mouth. It took more than half before she came out of her stupor and licked her lips.

  Her eyes widened when they focused on me.

  “Your mask.” Cori came up from behind.

  Oh, right. Somehow I’d forgotten I was still wearing it.

  “Are the guys taken care of?” I asked.

  “Yeah. All of them are either frozen or drooling on themselves.” She grinned.

  I turned back to Yvonne and pulled the ski mask up, letting her get a good look at me before lowering it back down. Her expression changed to one of recognition.

  “Melena,” her voice whispered out. “I knew you’d come!”

  Now it was my turn to look confused. “How?”

  She gestured at me to back up and hopped out of the SUV. The woman was spry for being seventy years old. We moved away from the men.

  “I read it in my cards there would be danger coming,” she continued to whisper, “but then they started to come up blank after that. I knew it had to be you that would save us.”

  “Oh.” I didn’t know what to say. When she and I had first met I’d let her try to give me a reading, but the cards had all come up blank. I’d never guessed they’d do the same if I interfered with her future somehow.

  “I’ll keep watch in case anyone else shows up,” Cori said, walking away. I was glad she was staying on top of things.

  “Who are these men?” Yvonne asked. “They didn’t identify themselves when they stormed into my house.”

  “I think they’re all from the Department of Homeland Security. I’m not exactly sure what their mission is, but I’m guessing it has to do with supernaturals.”

  Her lips thinned. “This cannot bode well for us if they’re here.”

  “No, it can’t.”

  “Are they dead?” She cast a worried gaze at the men’s bodies by the SUVs.

  “No. We used some of the potions they used on you to knock them out.”

  I handed her an empty vial with a few drops of orange fluid still in it. She sniffed at it. Her face screwed up and she tossed it on the ground.

  “Someone well-versed in the dark arts brewed that. I’ve only seen it in a rare spell book and would never consider making it myself. It takes a piece of your soul and the ingredients are very difficult to obtain.”

  I wondered if the DHS agents knew that.

  She looked me up and down, eyebrows drawing together. “You’re hurt.”

  “Don’t worry about me. We need to wake up Diane and Patrick so we can get out of here.”

  Her lips pursed. “Yes, I believe you’re right.”

  We made our way over to the SUV where they sat. Diane panicked when I brought her out of her daze, but Yvonne drew her closer to the house and explained the situation. While they talked I took care of Patrick. After he got a glimpse of my face, he started asking questions right away. I had to stop him from touching one of the team’s rifles.

  “I need it to protect my mom and grandmother,” he argued.

  “No.” I shook my head. “What we need to do is get as far from these guys as possible and to somewhere safe.”

  “Where?” he asked.

  I leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “We’ll discuss it later. Some of these guys are only in a daze and might remember things we say. It’s better to keep our plans to ourselves for now.”

  Light dawned in Patrick’s eyes and he took a more serious look around. The kid was smart, but he was still at that age where he often acted before thinking. He rubbed his hand through his now-drying hair.

  “Sorry, you’re right. The potion made everything fuzzy, but I can still remember a little. It’s weird—like I was on drugs or something.”

  He left me to go check on his mom.

  I put a hand against the SUV and used it for support. The pain from my gut and back wounds wasn’t getting any better. I breathed through it for a moment before following Patrick. Until I got the bullets out of me, my body wasn’t going to be able to heal properly. We needed to get to Nik’s where he could help.

  “You all have five minutes to pack your stuff,” I told the group. “After that we have to go.”

  Yvonne nodded her head. “We’ll hurry.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “Kerbasi,” I called out.

  He came wandering out of the woods invisible to everyone but me.

  “I don’t suppose,” he said, making his way around a couple of unconscious commandos, “that we can get pizza before you tend to your wounds.”

  I steered him away from the DHS agents to a place they’d be less likely to overhear me talking.

  “Glad to know where your priorities are, guardian.” I spoke in a low tone. “But there is a way you could get your pizza faster.”

  His eyes lit up. “What is it?”

  I pulled my keys from my pocket and gestured at Cori. She came rushing over.

  “Flash her to the Jeep so she can bring it to us.”

  “You must be joking.”

  “Time is wasting. Not to mention the last report you gave to
me was ridiculous. I might not make you re-write it if you help me out.”

  Indecision swirled in his eyes. “Very well, but do not think I can be manipulated so easily every time.”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

  I handed Cori the keys and leaned in close to her. “Get the Jeep and pull it up to the front of the drive. We’ll meet you there.”

  “You got it.” She handed me the shovel and stepped up to Kerbasi.

  He had a sour look on his face, but he took her by the arms and flashed her away.

  A radio chirped nearby. Up until now I hadn’t heard anything from them, but these guys probably should have checked in by this time. Taking painful steps, I headed toward the nearest guy lying on the ground where the squawking came from and leaned down to grab the ear piece.

  I listened for a moment. What I heard had me back on my feet and staggering toward the house. It had been the base station checking in and there’d been a mention of sending reinforcements. We had to go.

  Before I reached the steps, Yvonne and her family came out of the house loaded with bags in their arms.

  “Come on.” I beckoned them toward the road. “We’ve got to get out of here now.”

  They didn’t argue, just followed me as I shuffled down the drive using the shovel to support my steps. It was only about a hundred meters, but it felt like ten times that by the time we made it to the highway. Cori and Kerbasi were waiting for us off to the side.

  “Everyone pile in,” I ordered. “Kerbasi, you’re in the back.”

  The guardian begrudgingly got out and moved to the cargo area of the vehicle, along with Yvonne’s grandson. The rest of us took the remaining seats.

  Soon we were under way. I took deep, steady breaths and gritted my teeth through every bump we hit. Without my adrenaline to fuel me anymore, all the wounds hurt even worse. Yvonne used my cell phone to call ahead and let Nik know to expect us. She didn’t give details, but he’d know by her contacting him from my line that something bad had happened.

  My stomach wound had bled over onto the seat by the time we got there. Other parts of me had probably stained it as well. Clean up was going to suck, but I had some shampoo that worked every time.