by Owens, C. M.
“My daughter? You can’t take my daughter out there,” Nicholas panics.
“Captain Hawkins, we agreed to let Araya train your daughter here out of respect for your position and special circumstances. This is a good learning experience for her, and if you meddle, then I’m going to assume you can’t be objective.”
Nicholas’s jaw tenses, and Hale takes a deep breath while exchanging a glance with Brazen.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want either of them out there today. We haven’t assessed the danger,” Hale murmurs to Clay.
Clay’s eyes twist up in confusion before he shakes his head.
“I’m not telling you to let them get right in the thick of the fight, but there will be an army there. Don’t treat them differently than you would any other recruits.”
“Then Araya stays here,” Hale pops off.
I glare at him with fury. He’s constantly belittling me as though I’m some fragile piece of glass.
“Araya will go as well. I’m not sure what has gotten into you, but don’t forget this is my call. Araya is their trainer, not you,” Clay growls, and I flash Hale a ha-ha-in-your-face grin.
For once Clay is on my side. Clay’s jaw tenses slightly, and then he turns back to face me.
“Get the kids and follow the men out. Keep them at a safe distance by letting them take care of the boundary lines as opposed to the actual fight. The valley is the perfect training spot because you’ll have the chance to give them the high ground. I’ll take lead,” he murmurs, and then he walks away as Hale races to catch up with him.
Angelica and Grayson come running toward us, but her eyes steer away from Nicholas’s and mine.
“What’s going on?” Grayson’s panicked voice asks.
“You’re about to get your first field lesson,” I chirp, and then they start running along behind me.
“What?” Angelica gasps. “I haven’t done any of my tests yet.”
“The tests are just a placement procedure. I’ll run you through those later. Field training is mandatory for every cadet.”
They load up even though neither of them want to, and Brazen jumps into the passenger seat beside me.
“Really? You tell me you don’t want me going, and now you’re riding with me?” I scoff.
“Just drive, baby,” he mumbles, and I roll my eyes before slinging up the dirt under the tires.
I shift gears with vicious jolts as I weave between the other cars charging toward the fight. I finally reach the valley, and my jaw almost drops open.
Fuck. I should have left them behind.
It’s a bloodbath down there. Everyone is stained red from the horrific fight, and several are convulsing. I grab a mask, and then I toss two to the kids in the back.
“What are these for?” Grayson asks while putting one on.
“There’s so much blood. You have to keep it from getting in your mouth. I swear that’s not something you want to endure,” I mutter, and Angelica quickly covers her virgin lips.
Brazen pulls his on as well, and I look over to see Hale and Clay walking toward us with their masks on.
The leather wraps around the steel to allow in only air as it suctions to our face to keep the possibility of an accidental ingesting from being a concern. Hale’s hand forces the door to the back shut.
“Get them out of here. This is far worse than we expected,” he yells.
“He’s right,” Clay asserts, and then I hear the whistling of a missile driving toward us.
I use my gift to flip the vehicle out of the way, and then I drive the missile toward the sky before it explodes against my force.
“You need me right now,” I scream. “We’re not armed for this. Grayson needs to inject himself now and so does Hale.”
My eyes cut toward the rolled car, and the back door flies free as Grayson climbs out and pulls Angelica with him.
“Keep her away,” I scream to him, and his forehead rests on hers before he moves his mask to break his flesh for the medicine.
I turn to Hale, and he does the same thing just before throwing his arms forward to start the chain reaction of explosions, his true strength diluted by the meds. Brazen grabs his rifle and several other weapons before running over to set up his sights.
The rumbling grounds below shriek out their fear, and Hale pulls out another vial to inject himself with as he stares out at the several hundreds of blood runners we weren’t expecting in such horrific quantities.
“This isn’t a fight. This is war. What the hell is going on? There’s at least twenty different blood running gangs down there,” he yells over the sound of gunshots and explosions.
I hear Brazen’s sharp-shooting skills going to work as he takes out the vile men below targeting our smaller army. Each body collapses once his perfectly executed shot strikes them between the eyes.
“They need help. I’m going down there,” I murmur while rushing to the edge.
“No,” Hale objects. “You’ve already used your other gift. You won’t be invincible.”
“I barely used it, and I can already feeling my body stabilizing enough for me to pull up the indestructible shield.”
“It’s too fucking dangerous down there, and you won’t have time to fight them all off. The damn Rising attack wasn’t this damn big. There’s too many to risk it.”
“I can absorb those grenades that are slaughtering our men. I’m not going to sit up here and do nothing. I can’t use my other gift with this many men. I’ll blow everyone up if I do. It’s the only way. If I can weed down their numbers, then I can use my telekinesis against them with better results.”
“You’re not fucking going down there,” Brazen growls from behind me as he joins the argument.
He takes a running jump to throw several grenades into the hoard of blood runners climbing to the surface. The blasts rattle my ears as they rip the skin from the men, and they fall backwards into the massacre below, their blood spraying the masses already colored red.
“I have to. We’re outnumbered, outgunned, and it’s just a matter of time before we’re dying or retreating if I don’t go make a damn dent. I’m the only one who can. If I start using my gift, get everyone out and away. Leave only the blood running scum in my midst.”
“Damn it, Araya. If you’re going to do this, go savage. There’s too many for you to take on by yourself,” Hale barks.
“She can’t control it like that,” Grayson adds, bemusement lingering in his tone.
My eyes lower shamefully, and Brazen’s head tilts to the side.
“You can control it?” he asks with a heartbreaking tone when he feels betrayed.
“No. I can only summon it which is something no one else can do. I’ve only ever done it a couple of times out of dire need. I can’t make it go away, and I can’t stop it from coming forth on its on either,” I clarify, and Brazen pulls me into his arms.
“If it’ll make you stronger, then do it,” he encourages, but he doesn’t realize that means Hale will have to bring me down.
“No. There’s only one way to bring me back when I pull it free of my own free will. Hale will have to…”
I look away, and Brazen’s jaw clenches before he takes a deep breath. His hands run up my arms as the cries of pain below continue to bellow upward to us. The bowl-like valley has offered nowhere for the ones inside to go but up, and they’re being picked off with every attempt they make. Both bad and good are struggling to live, and I’m the only answer.
“Do what you have to. I want you to stay alive,” Brazen strains out.
“I can do this on my own,” I choke out, even though I know I would be so much stronger if I let my savage free.
“No you can’t. There are too many, and you won’t be invincible once you use your other gift. Damn it, Araya. Just stay up here, and let us try to take care of this,” Hale snaps.
Grayson begins using his gift to ash the multitudes, but he has to inject himself quickly. He doesn’t ha
ve the control to continue without going savage, and Angelica isn’t versed well enough to bring him down like Hale can me - or like I can him. She isn’t ready for that burden, and she won’t be able to coax him into medicating himself if he loses it too badly. He’s not as strong without his savage either. The lesser incinerating force is only taking out smaller numbers.
“We don’t have the amount of olophine needed for the two of you to take them all out. I can do this, and I’m going to,” I blare, and then the hood of the car rips free as I use my gift to slice it into.
I float it to my hand as I near the edge, and I toss it down before jumping on it to ride it like a surfboard against the sands pretending to be waves. I don’t look back or give them a chance to object further as I near the bottom. I flip forward to land on my feet once I’m in the center, and the bullets rattle and shatter against me as they face my impenetrable skin.
I don’t have long, so I jerk out my guns to start firing into the masses. Blood spatters, and I check my mask to make sure it’s still intact as I twist and swirl through the congestion. I taste the death of the fallen around me, and I stare into the pale eyes as I fire freely. Very few of them are wearing masks, and I only pray once I lose my invincibility, my blood doesn’t find its way to their mouths.
Oh damn. That would be so, so bad. Then everyone would know what I can do for them. Not to mention I’d have to fuc-
My thoughts are cut short when I see a grenade being launched toward our cavalry, and I shoot at it to force a premature explosion. It rains down its uranium blast, and everyone rushes away from the falling, burning debris. I can feel my invincibility wavering, and I know I don’t have long before it vanishes completely. I look up to the top, and I see Brazen still firing into the blood running packs while Hale continues to try and fight the multitudes rushing the edges for freedom.
He doesn’t have long either. Who knows if Grayson can continue ashing into the crowd without burning through his olophine too rapidly. It’s now or never.
I throw my arms out to stop the hail of bullets pelting down from the sky, and I fling them back into the crowds while carefully dodging our men.
“You really want to get out of here,” I murmur with an eerie tone as I stare at our standing men.
Their faces go pale, and they begin clambering over each other to try to reach the sides. I begin flinging the grenades sitting idly on the ground, and I awaken them to be the explosive balls of mayhem they love to be as my gift carries them to the fools who have really pissed me off. Why are there so many?
With the extreme masses still teeming in the bottom of this bowl, I’m forced to lose sight of some of them. Now that I’ve sent away my backup, my blind spots leave me vulnerable. I feel a sharp piercing pain as my blood is drawn from my side, and my gift slings my blindside attackers sailing backwards as the gunshots from above rapidly increase in a frenzied response.
Brazen saw that.
Just as I turn around to throw others back, an enormous explosion ignites below their feet to send them sailing into the air.
Apparently Hale saw me get shot as well. Damn it.
I promised them I could do this on my own, and this bowl-like setting could possibly keep my explosive gift that is building confined. I keep stopping bullets midair and launching thrown grenades. I keep dodging close calls and dancing through the dead bodies lying cold at my feet. Each step brings me closer to the deadly finale at my fingertips, and I’m almost praying it hurries its pace when a new bullet strikes me.
Then suddenly I feel a large blast that knocks me off my feet. A fucking grenade has exploded right beside me, and I never saw it coming.
“Araya!” I hear screamed in unison as I fall to the ground, and explosions rattle out with more panic as I see the hillside crumbling.
I throw my arms out, but I’m too weak to use my gift now. I start shooting into the men firing at me as I drag myself behind a rock. Suddenly shots ring out from behind me as the rocks from above trickle down. Brazen launches two grenades as he scoops me up from the ground with one arm around my waist.
Hale joins us as he blasts into the crowd, and then he screams, “That’s all I’ve got without going savage. Get her out of here. I’ll hold them back.”
“Hale, no,” I whimper as he takes three shots to his side, and then suddenly the fight shifts.
The ground vibrates, rattles, and the rocks from behind us crash into the swarm of men. I look around in disbelief as they are forced to the ground, submission being their only choice, and Grayson screams out as he ashes all of the subdued men. But how are they subdued? That’s my gift. That’s my power. No one else can have it unless…
In a blink the massacre has been brought to a halt, but I know what Grayson had to do to exert that much power. And I know if someone other than me used that ability that means…
I look up to see the dilated eyes of Grayson as he stalks toward Angelica, and she lowers her hands to her sides while staring at me with the guilt in her eyes now more pronounced. Understanding floods through me like a sick feeling as every inch of my body is covered in chills. Nausea attacks me, and my eyes blur from the tears I’m trying to restrain.
No. It’s not possible. She can’t be my… no.
“I’m sorry,” she mouths, and then Grayson’s arms wrap around her as his fervent attack consumes her lips.
She throws her arms around him, and I see her pull a vial of olophine out as she prepares to sacrifice her body to him. I’m so overwhelmed by this sudden revelation, I can’t even fathom what to say or do.
“Araya,” Hale winces out as he bleeds profusely. “You need blood. Come on.”
Brazen drops his weapons so he can fully carry me, and his lips press against my forehead as he climbs up the steep bank. Hale reaches the top first, and Brazen hands me to him when he has to use his hands to climb the rest of the way out.
Hale rushes me over to a military vehicle and lays me down on the seat. He leans over to pull out a blood pack, and he rips it open before handing it to me. I guzzle it down as he grabs two for himself. My wounds are more substantial than his, but I heal off much less blood. I feel the magic of the blood working as it ignites against my healing cells, and I breathe in the first painless breath I’ve had since the explosion.
“Baby, are you okay?” Brazen pants out as he moves beside me to start inspecting my closing wounds.
My eyes look away from both of the men I love, and I see Angelica leading Grayson to the back of a vehicle as she goes to sacrifice her body to bring him down.
“She has my gift,” I almost whisper.
They both remain silent, and I see Hale’s body healing out of the corner of my eye as he sips on the second pack of blood.
“The two of them saved our lives,” Brazen exhales as if he’s trying to avoid my train of thought.
“She used my gift, Brazen. That only means one thing. She’s my fucking sister. Considering her mother was a human, and I’m far too old to be the child of a human, that means Nicholas is my father,” I choke out.
Hale hands me a vial of olophine, and I see the pain in his eyes as he stares into mine.
“I’m sorry, Araya,” he murmurs softly, and I take the medicine from him to inject myself before the worst part of me springs free.
“Why would he raise her and not me? What’s so fucking special about her I didn’t have?” I whimper.
“I don’t know, but she’s not the one you should be mad at. She’s just a child, and she didn’t ask for any of this,” Brazen answers softly, and my tears fall free as I bury my face in his chest.
He coos softly in my ear as I clutch his shirt and sob into his comforting grip. I can’t believe this is happening right now. This shouldn’t be happening. We’re never supposed to know who our parents are. We’re never supposed to find out who abandoned us and turned us into the forgotten. We’re not supposed to feel this pain. I’m not merely a forgotten, I’m the daughter he didn’t want when he gladly raised hi
s other. He knew who I was. He knew it was me. That’s why he’s been so incredible. He feels the guilt left behind from the daughter sentenced to more pain than any one person should ever feel because he left her abandoned.
Chapter 8
Repercussions
“Are you ready to get up? It’s almost midnight, but you haven’t eaten anything,” Brazen murmurs as his lips stroke mine.
“Not really hungry right now. If I get up, then I have to face reality. I don’t want to live here anymore. As for Angelica and Nicholas, I don’t give a fuck who trains her or where she goes, but I won’t be involved anymore. Let’s go live in one of the damn cities. I’ll make a living doing something other than interrogations,” I choke out, and Brazen’s arms tighten around me as his body cools my heated state.
“We can stay in bed, baby,” he soothes, and my bare body presses against his.
“Thank you. At least now we know why she was acting so weird. She didn’t want me to know,” I grouse.
He looks away briefly, and then his phone rings. He sighs when he stares at the number, and he hesitates before answering.
“Yeah?”
“Is she okay?” Hale asks, and I’m startled by the fact he just called Brazen.
“She’s still trying to process everything, but she’s still Araya if that’s what you’re asking.”
“I just meant in general. This is the first time any of us have ever had to deal with this, and we don’t really know what to say or do,” Hale strains out, and I can feel his sympathy pouring out over the phone.
My lips begin strolling over Brazen’s chest, and his hand slides down my back when my breasts press against his stomach. His eyes smile at me, and my lips part as I kiss chest while grazing my teeth over his flesh.
“She’s going to be just fine. We’re going to move out of here after the United Council meets. Under the circumstances, I think it would be best if someone else took on Angelica’s training,” Brazen murmurs, and I smile against his chest while moving to completely straddle his body.
He smirks as he stares at my bare breasts, and my hips begin moving to bring my base closer to his erection that is hiding beneath his boxers.