by Sandy James
Rebecca lost her appetite as dread washed over her. “Where’s Megan?” she asked, even though she somehow already knew the answer.
“In the warehouse where Trishna perished.”
She swallowed the bile bubbling in the back of her throat. “How do you know?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer, feeling her intuition that this would end in tragedy so strongly, she fairly drowned in it.
“Because I felt her powers leave her. Our bond is very close. I can sense she faces danger. I can taste her fear. You must help her, Rebecca Massee. I fear you and the Amazons are my Megan’s only hope.” The goddess looked around the nearly empty restaurant, gave them all a nod and then disappeared in a bright burst of light.
Rebecca locked eyes with Artair. “Jersey. It had to be freakin’ Jersey again.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Déjà vu.” Rebecca laid her cheek against Artair’s shoulder as they sat together in the back of the van.
He nodded. “’Tis Trishna all over again.”
Johann sat against the other side of the van as he quietly talked to Sarita and Gina.
With her overwhelming fear for Megan, Rebecca was having a hard time reining in her temper. “Is there a particular reason you three don’t want to share what you’re talking about with us? We’ve been here before. We lost a friend here. Don’t you think we should be working together?”
The surprise on Johann’s face told her he hadn’t realized he was excluding her and Artair. Air and Water had learned to depend on Johann in the same way she and Megan had always leaned on Artair and Sparks. If they didn’t start cooperating, things were only going to get worse. A lot worse.
“I’m sorry, Rebecca. We’re looking at the blueprints.” Johann moved closer, as did the other Amazons until they formed a circle. “Kinda just used to it being the three of us. I’m your Sentinel too.”
Artair growled low in his throat, and she had no doubt he was controlling what could have been a nasty burst of anger, probably at another man naming himself her protector. All she knew for sure was that Megan was inside the building. Not because Freya had told her, but because she could now feel Megan as strongly as ever, and she shared her sister’s fear.
Rebecca tried to think of ways they could go after her without making the same mistakes they’d made with Trishna’s bungled rescue.
Rebecca took charge. “Let’s assume that everything’s the same. Megan will be tied up somewhere in that huge room, like a sitting duck. We all went charging in after Trishna and—” She remembered the times she had tried to take Artair down in the sandpit. She’d always gone at him from the front, trying to attack him head-on. And he’d always dropped her on her ass. Her mistake was clear as a beam of sunlight streaming from a summer sky. “Oh my God. We were stupid. All that did was make us vulnerable. We’ve got to come at this from a bunch of different angles.”
“Aye.” Artair threw her a quick nod. “Gina, do you think you can get on the roof? There are skylights you could use to slip inside.”
“I can break one open and be on the floor in a couple of seconds.”
“A good plan, lass. The rest of us can come from other entrances.”
Johann held up his cell for everyone to see. The screen glowed with the same small blueprint of the building Rebecca had seen on Megan’s phone the day they’d lost Trishna. A shiver ran the length of her spine.
“There are three main entrances, but look—” He pointed to the screen. “—there are some other ways inside. Here’s an exhaust port for the ventilation system. Since this place is a ghost town, the fans are idle, so it’ll be safe to crawl through. Sarita? Think you can handle that?”
Sarita gave a snappy salute with a bit of sass added. “Yes, sir. Very small lady willing to wiggle through tiny places.”
Artair pointed to the blueprint. “There appears to be an office here, but it’s on an upper level. Did you see it last time, Becca?”
“Yeah. It’s up on a platform, kinda like a small second floor with a balcony. Must be the manager’s office so he could keep an eye on the workers. Maybe I can get up to a window, climb through and get a few arrows off before they even know I’m there. If I’m lucky, Jin will be there and I can sink one in the bastard’s chest.”
“You’ll have to climb, lass.”
“I can do this.”
He pointed at the blueprint on the cell again. “Johann, you and I shall take these windows. We must not all rush to Megan. That’s what they’ll expect. Only I will go after her as you guard my back.”
“I’ll get Megan,” Johann said. Artair shook his head, but Johann insisted. “I need to get Megan.”
“She’s my charge,” Artair replied.
“I’m her Sentinel too. Let me do this, MacKay. Please.”
A few long seconds ticked by before Artair nodded. “I’ll guard your back.” To the Amazons, he said, “We all come out. Understand? We all come out, including Megan. Watch your backs. Gina, do you sense how many revenants we face?”
Gina closed her eyes and wrinkled her nose. “I think thirty, but there might be more. They’re corralled together like cattle, and they’re…hungry.”
“I didn’t need to know that,” Sarita said with a shudder. “I don’t want to be some dead thing’s dinner.”
Johann threw her a glare. “If you’re not ready for this…”
Sarita shook her head. “That’s not what I said. I’ve just never fought a real—” She straightened her spine. “I’ll be fine, Sentinel.”
“Damn right, you will be.” Then he winked. “Besides, you’re so little, you’d be a snack, not dinner.”
Sarita narrowed her eyes. “You better stay away from puddles, Johann. You never know when one will splash up to hit you right in the face.”
The threat held weight, considering Water could send water hurtling at anyone. The new Sentinel was going to get soaked.
Artair opened the door and hopped out of the van, the rest of the group right behind him. He tugged the cover off the weapons cache. “Let us arm up, everyone.” He picked up a sword and a dirk.
Rebecca picked up a few more blessed arrows, jammed them into her already full quiver and grabbed a rope with a grappling hook. “I’m off to scale that wall. See you all inside.”
She turned to leave, but Artair caught her wrist. He pulled her back, cupped her face and planted a deep kiss on her lips before he pressed the hilt of a dagger into her palm. “Be careful.”
She slid the knife into her waistband. “You, too.” She hated the catch in her voice, not wanting him to think she didn’t have faith in him.
Hurrying around the side of the building, she felt no fear. The beat of her heart echoed in her ears, and the expectation of battle made blood surge through her veins. She was anxious. She was excited. She was eager.
But she wasn’t afraid.
Uncoiling the rope, she grabbed the large metal hook and stared up at the window. With one good toss, the muted shattering of glass told her she had succeeded in her goal. First tugging on the rope then dangling from it to be sure it stayed anchored, she took a deep breath and started to scale the wall.
Rebecca quickly found herself staring through the enormous dirty window into an abandoned office. The hole her hook made in the window was only one of several broken panes. A small stroke of luck found one of the panels above the locking mechanism completely missing. Sliding her hand through the metal frame, she flicked open the lock. Bracing herself against the wall, she tugged the window open.
Slipping inside the dark room, she stopped to listen for movement. She sensed Gina creeping across the roof and Sarita in the dark tunnel, working her way inside. Thankfully, Megan came through as strong as if Fire stood right next to her. Closing her eyes, she tried to share Megan’s experience.
The images forming in Rebecca’s mind seemed like a hazy dream. A man—Asian with dark, evil eyes—smiled down at her. Jin. He held a jeweled athame, waving the knife in front of M
egan’s face. Leaning in, he breathed against her cheek then ran his tongue over her skin, licking her from chin to ear.
Rebecca shuddered, severing her connection with her sister and vowing to kill the demon, even if it was the last thing she ever did in this lifetime.
She eased out of the office, crouched in the shadows and reached over her shoulder to grab an arrow. Notching it in her bow, she moved forward. Tied to a support beam, Megan was held tight against the column with a thick rope, her wrists bound. Rebecca dropped back into the shadows and silently cursed that she didn’t have a clear shot at Jin.
A loud crash echoed through the warehouse. A revenant fell from the skylight and landed face-first on the floor. A moment later, Gina was crouching next to the zombie. Rising, she pulled her sword. She beheaded the clumsy revenant, then took several long, determined strides toward Jin.
The place erupted into bedlam.
Artair’s battle cry echoed through the cavernous building as he charged in, sword ready.
Revenants poured through the doors, pushing their way inside and spreading like a plague of locusts. The ones who rushed toward Artair soon fell headless at his feet.
Johann entered from the other side of the warehouse, attacking the revenants that seemed to keep piling inside.
Sarita suddenly emerged from the shadows, sword drawn.
Rebecca had to fight the urge to drop the bow, unsheathe her sword and join the fray. She took a couple of steadying breaths. Her job was to kill the demon. Drawing her shooting string back, she targeted him, waiting for the opportunity to bury her arrow in his flesh.
“It’s a trap for Earth! Get out of here!” Megan shouted. “Just leave me!”
Jin drew back his hand and slapped her face so hard her head fell against her shoulder.
Wanting to scream a reassurance back at her, Rebecca bit her tongue until she drew blood. “I won’t leave you!” her mind roared. “Listen to me, Megan. I won’t leave you!”
Megan regained her senses quickly and bravely pressed on. “Listen to me! They want Earth, not Fire! Just go! Artie, get my sister out of here!”
Rebecca didn’t have time to ponder the hidden message in the words. Megan kicked Jin. Freya was right. She’d lost her powers. It was the only explanation for why Megan hadn’t reduced the demon to a pile of ash or shifted into a hawk to free herself from her bonds.
The revenants fell one by one to the swords of the Amazons and the Sentinels, but Rebecca’s opportunity for a shot still didn’t come. She cursed, feeling helpless. A quake wouldn’t help, and she couldn’t bring vines through the thick concrete floor.
The warehouse grew quiet. Rebecca kept her bow drawn, stilling her tense, shaking arms. She had to be ready. Headless revenants littered the floor like some gruesome carpet. Johann stepped over them, slowly working his way toward Megan.
Jin’s face became a mask of fear. He cut the ropes holding Megan and turned her to be his shield. Wrapping his arm around her and holding his athame to her throat, he shouted, “Stop or I’ll kill her. Fire will die right before your eyes. All I want is Earth. Where is she?”
Artair took position at Johann’s back. “Earth? Why would ye want Earth?”
“My master needs her. Just bring her forth, and you may have this one.” Jin ran his tongue around Megan’s ear. “A sweet piece of meat, but not who my master wants. I prefer blondes.”
Megan slammed her head back against Jin’s face. “Don’t touch me again, you fucking slimeball.”
Even as blood began to trickle from his nose, Jin chuckled.
Rebecca kept her aim on the demon. She reached out with her thoughts to tell Megan to duck, but the connection didn’t seem to work. Probably because things were too tense or because Megan’s powers were gone. God, how she wanted to empty her entire quiver of arrows in the demon’s body.
“You fool,” Johann taunted. Locking eyes with Megan, he let a cocky smile cross his lips. “You’ve got the wrong Amazon. You’re about to kill the one you came for.” He inclined his head at Megan. “She’s Earth.”
The demon wrinkled his brow and frowned. “How can this redhead be Earth?” He fluffed Megan’s loose hair with the athame before putting the blade back against her throat. He shook his head. “No, you try to confuse me. This is Fire, not Earth. I was told this was Fire.”
“Have you ever heard of Miss Clairol, you dipshit?” Megan asked. “I hate being a blonde. People think I’m stupid. So I dye my hair.”
Jin tightened his hold on Megan, pressing his blade against her skin, drawing a few beads of blood. “If you’re Earth, bring forth a quake. Make the ground tremble.”
“You stupid asshole. You had that damn shaman take away my powers the second you nabbed me, remember? You didn’t even ask if you had the right Amazon, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell you who I was.” Megan chuckled with pure bravado. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
Jin dropped his hold, turned Megan and backhanded her across the face.
With a growl, Johann took a step toward them.
After pulling Megan in front of him again, Jin waved the athame. “Do you want me to kill her?”
“You won’t kill her,” Artair said as he calmly wiped his bloody sword on the shirt of a headless revenant. “Your master wants her. He wanted you to draw out Earth. Well, you’ve had her all along, and you’re threatening to kill her. Nae really a smart move, demon.” He took a couple of threatening steps toward Jin, and Rebecca’s heart leaped to her throat.
“You shall be next, Sentinels,” Jin said, brandishing the blade toward Johann then Artair.
“You cannae kill us, demon,” Artair replied.
Jin’s laughter raised gooseflesh on Rebecca’s skin. “You think I don’t know your weak spot? All I have to do is put my blade in your heart and you’re dead before you hit the ground.”
Rebecca kept her aim on Jin. Think! How could she aid the Sentinels’ ruse?
She put the bow down, seized the dagger Artair had given her and sliced a scrap of cloth from her shirt. Hurriedly wrapping it around an arrowhead, she grabbed Sparks’s lighter, flicked it and set the material on fire. She notched the flaming arrow and sent it in a tall arch that ended at Jin’s feet.
“Here’s your Fire, you freakin’ moron!”
Holding her breath, Rebecca waited for Jin to see right through the trick. But from the wide-eyed look on his face, she’d rattled him. He hadn’t seen her up on the balcony, and he kept shifting his gaze from the burning arrow to her and back again. She flashed him a smug smile.
“You didn’t know which Amazon you took, did you?”
“But—but—you’re a blonde! You’re the one I seek!”
“Ever heard of peroxide?” Rebecca notched another arrow and aimed it at his heart. Just a moment more…
“But—but—she will be angry. She will—” Jin took several deep breaths.
“She?” Johann asked. “Who? Who are you working for?”
“Ah, Jin. You’re too easily fooled,” a cool, calm, husky voice called from the shadows. The orange glow of a cigarette flared, and tendrils of smoke drifted into the warehouse.
Rebecca let her arms relax. “No,” she whispered in the dark. “Please, dear God, no.”
“Sparks.” Artair lowered his sword. “What have you done, lass?”
Stepping into the light, Sparks dropped her cigarette and ground it out with the toe of her combat boot. Her hair had turned white. Her face was drawn, her dark eyes menacing.
“What I needed to do. There’s more going on here than you know, Celt.” She nodded to Gina, Sarita and then Johann. “Take them. Take them and get the fuck out of here. All we want is Rebecca.”
“Nay. I’ll not let ye take her.”
Jin seemed to have regained his courage. He gave Megan a hard push. She stumbled forward before locking eyes with Rebecca.
Megan dropped to her knees as her voice exploded in Rebecca’s mind. “Now, Rebs!”
The arrow
was lodged in Jin’s chest so quickly, he probably never knew what hit him. He fell to his knees before collapsing in a heap.
Rebecca savored his look of surprise and disbelief before she notched another arrow in her bow and drew.
Aiming at Sparks was the hardest thing she’d ever done, but she held the arrow ready. “It’s over, Sparks. We’re taking Megan, and we’re leaving.”
Sparks chuckled and walked closer to Megan. “You have no idea what you’re dealing with, little girl.”
“I’m dealing with a rogue Amazon who seems to think the rules don’t apply to her. I love you, Sparks. Don’t make me kill you.”
“Love me? You don’t even know me. If you did, you’d understand why I left, why I have to do this. Why I follow… Look, don’t make me kill Megan to get you down here. We’re not going to hurt you. We have big plans for you.”
“You make no sense. Why would you hurt Megan?” Artair asked. “She’s Fire too.”
He eased closer to Megan with each word.
“I had to draw Rebecca out, and I knew she wouldn’t leave Avalon without good reason. Megan was good reason. We need Rebecca.” Sparks’s black eyes followed his movement, and she suddenly sent two streams of fire from her palms to scorch the floor under his feet.
Artair jumped back.
“Ah, ah, ah. Too close, Celt.” Turning her face back to the balcony, she called, “Rebecca? If you don’t come down here, I’m going to kill Megan! I mean it! I’ll fry her!”
“You couldn’t hurt her. She’s Fire. She’s an Amazon. Just like you.” Rebecca had no clue how this nightmare would end. Her stomach was a mass of nervous knots as she contemplated any way to rescue Megan without killing Sparks. Perhaps if they could convince Sparks that she was wrong, that she—
“I know what you’re thinking,” Sparks said as though she were still Guardian.. “And it won’t happen, Rebecca. You can’t change my mind about this.”