Jason pulled down Fran’s gag. “I’m so sorry. It won’t ever happen again. I love you. I’ll never leave your side. Tell me if they hurt you. Please talk to me.” Jason had now almost completely covered Fran’s face in kisses.
“Thought you’d decided to keep me tied up!” she managed a small joke. “I’m fine. Are you ok?” Fran rubbed her wrists as Jason finally managed to free her feet. Then she quickly pulled his face in close and kissed him. “I knew you’d find me,” she whispered, tears filling her eyes. She tried to stand, but it was all too much and she collapsed back onto the chair. Jason scooped her up into his arms.
As he walked past Val, Fran held out her hand. Val grabbed it and Fran held onto her tightly. Shane was now sitting up rubbing his head while Zac pulled the stone women closer together.
“Fran!” Shane stood when he saw the small group approaching, and embraced her and his son. “Thank goodness you’re safe.”
She gave a weak smile in his direction. “I could do with a hot chocolate.”
Suddenly Val was overwhelmed by the realisation of how close she had come to losing a very good friend. All the bravado and anger of the last few minutes disappeared and her eyes filled with tears. Not wanting the others to see this sudden sign of weakness, she tried to move away. Fran tightened her grip.
“This is not your fault, Val,” she whispered. “There was this girl, blonde thing who needs a good meal if you ask me. She seriously hates you, but we won’t give in to her. She needs a good sorting out and she’s going to get it!”
Val gave a watery smile and nodded, too emotional to trust her voice.
“We can tell you all about her back at the book shop.” Jason winked at Val and pulled Fran in closer. Clearly he wasn’t going to let her go any time soon.
“You only have the bike here, how will you all get back?” Val asked.
“If it’s safe to speak, Sam’s on his way,” Wendy’s voice rang in her ear.
“Sam’s coming. We will just wait till he gets here.” Val winced as she dabbed her painful nose again. Shane came over and took her chin between his fingers, gently turning her face from one side to the other.
“I think you’ve been lucky. It’s doesn’t look broken, just painful. You’re going to look extra specially attractive tomorrow.” He put his arm around her and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You ok?”
“I am now we have Fran back.” She smiled weakly. This was all starting to take its toll on her. Her day seemed to be filled with fighting and stress. She felt at breaking point.“We have another prisoner,” Zac announced.
“Are you serious?” Val’s look of despair was lost on hunter boy.
“Yes, we need to get these Daymars back to the Collector and go.” He was absolutely serious.
“She’s done enough Zac; she’s just a kid.” Shane’s concern was also wasted on Zac.
“Now!” Zac pulled the three stone women close enough for them to be teleported in one go.
Val looked at the others, resignation in her eyes. She was so tired she wondered how she could possibly do anything else today. “See you back at the bookshop.” She placed her hand on Zac and they were off.
Fran glared at Jason. “Put me down.” He lowered her to her unsteady feet. “This is just ridiculous; Val can’t carry on like this. It’s going to kill her. She’s being pulled in a million directions at a hundred miles an hour.” Fran looked between the two men that stood protectively on each side of her.
Shane nodded in agreement. “What can we do?”
“I don’t know, but there has to be another way. Maybe some other guard could take over. Surely there are better qualified people than her?”
“I have to say that when she lost it today, Dad, she was scary. It was as if seeing you on the ground sent her into some sort of power surge. She was awesome! Maybe she is really special. Even Zac looked shocked when she threw those massive fire balls.”
Shane looked at his wrist. “So that explains my burns. Well, we need to sit down and think about what we can do, but first, let’s get out of here.”
Jason put his arm around Fran and they made their way back to the exit they had broken in through.
Delta watched them leave. “Well, that was entertaining.” She looked over her shoulder. “The war has started and we have thrown the first stone.”
A voice answered from the darkness. “Yes, but they got her back and now you have lost four of your followers.”
“You have enough money. Anyone will follow you, plus someone has to be a scapegoat for breaking and entering. Call the police and make sure they get here quickly.” She flicked back her hair.
“Yes mother, but...”
“Do I have to tell you again?” Delta raised her hand for silence. “She left us to die; your father left us to die, and I was the only one who loved you. No one came for us and we have made our way back to the future. You’re as powerful as her and don’t you forget it. Our time will come. Plans are in place. I will get them back for what they did to us, do you understand,” her voice tight and agitated.
“Yes Mother.”
“Good, now make the call.”
CHAPTER 11
Promises, Promises
Val and Zac stood outside the portal with three stone statues. “Can’t we leave these here and just go for the next prisoner, then we can deliver them all at once and the Collector will be so pleased with us.” She wasn’t sure how to tell him she had teleported five times already this evening and that she was more than positive she would be in some serious trouble.
“Ok. Let us find Wendy and see who prisoner…” he looked at his watch, “…103774 is.”
They left the figures behind and hurried to find Wendy who was in the cupboard looking at her mobile phone with a blank expression.
“Hello,” Val whispered trying not to make her jump. She failed; Wendy jolted, almost falling off her chair.
“You’re back!” She stood and hugged Val and smiled at Zac - she knew he wasn’t too keen on the touching thing.
“We need you to do some more of your magic, but first, why are you staring at the phone like that?”
“Daniel, he sent me a text.”
“If he has upset you, I can sort him out,” Val said.
“No,” she laughed. “He wants to see me again tomorrow.”
“That’s good, isn’t it?” Val was confused by her reaction.
“Yes, if you’re a normal girl, living in a normal world, it’s just peachy. But I’m not, I’m the guardian to the most powerful witch of all time, and I read an alien book, and I’ve never been on a date until tonight, and now I’m looking at number two in less than twenty-four hours.”
“Just take it one day at a time, Wendy. He seems like a nice guy and he has a weird old car just like you, so you’re obviously made for each other. Love doesn’t always come easy; if it’s worth having you will find a way. Say yes and we will work the rest out. Now, tell me about prisoner 103774.” Val touched Wendy’s shoulder and gave her the famous Valerie Sheridan Saunders “everything is going to be ok” smile.
Wendy looked down at the dellatrax and out the corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a blue flash as Val and Zac vanished.
Val was surprised when they arrived in the great outdoors. They were on what looked like a coastline and the dark mixed with the cold air made it feel particularly eerie. “Wendy where are we?”
“The screen says Dover. Your prisoners are Valangar. They love water and like to drown people, from the inside out, so my advice would be to stay away from the sea. No joke intended.”
“Thanks.” As Val’s eyesight adjusted to the dark, she realised that staying dry was going to be top of her list. They were about ten feet from the edge of the white cliffs of Dover. Val had visited them once with her parents when she was little and she was just as scared of heights now as she had been then.
“Over there,” Zac pointed. They made their way cautiously, following the edge of the cliff. “It seems ve
ry high,” he said.
“You think so?” Val responded holding onto his arm.
“Well hello.” A voice came out of the darkness. Val strained to see figures in the distance. “Not exactly the best time of day to be walking so close to the edge, is it?” another voice said. They came closer; Val wasn’t sure if she was seeing double. She rubbed both eyes together to clear her vision, but no, they were identical twins.
“It’s them,” Zac whispered.
“Are you guys out here camping, because you know it’s not safe to be walking so close to the edge and you look really young?”
“What’s going on?” a man called out.
“Nothing,” one of the twins responded.
“Girls, come on back to the camping ground. It’s not safe out here.” The man jogged up to them and Val recognised him instantly. It was Max, the man she had rescued from the underground caving incident. Of course! He was the high priest; he looked exactly the same. Val remembered he worked for the Navy or something.
“We were lost and the girls were giving us directions,” Val explained as Flo waltzed up between them.
“Oh well, come back to the camp site with us and we will help you out.” Max was still a gentleman. As he turned the twins grabbed him one on each side. “Girls, don’t be silly.” Max pulled at his arm but the girls weren’t letting go and they were extremely strong; far too strong. “Hey, you’re hurting me,” he said looking confused.
“What are you playing at?” Val’s asked angrily.
“You said you would stay away if I helped you, so why are you here?” Flo spoke softly but with an unmistakeable hint of a threat.
“We got information that prisoners had taken human form. We came to investigate,” Val responded.
“The man is ours. Leave before it gets ugly. No harm will come to him.” Flo was about to leave, not interested in any further discussion.
“No, this is not acceptable. You don’t get to tell us who we can or can’t arrest,” Zac shouted, starting to get agitated. “Val, we have Fran. You can save this man. Please take action.”
“You, stupid hunter. You told her to let me do this. How quickly you forget.” Flo shoved her chest out at Zac, like a man, as if she was challenging him to fight.
Val really wasn’t sure what to do. Wendy came to her rescue. “Can you hear me?” she whispered into Val’s ear.”
“Yes, are you ok?”
“Yes. When you made the promise to Flo it was to help you keep someone on the inside safe. You have no choice but to walk away from this. We still have time to stop Excariot.”
“But Max…” she struggled with her decision, hearing Max calling for help while the twins dragged him into the darkness. “Flo, if one hair on his head gets damaged before I get him back, you will pay.” She poked her in the chest.
“You’re doing the right thing.” Flo smiled smugly, brushed down her dress, then walked off towards the twins.
“What are you doing?” Zac grabbed Val’s arm.
She shook him off and glared at him. “What I need to do. There’s a saying here on Earth: ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’. Take me home.” She was glad it was dark, that way he couldn’t see the tears streaming down her face.
“No.” Zac said before he disappeared.
“Immature,” Val shouted into the dark. She twisted round just in time to see Flo, the twins and Max teleport. Funny, Flo’s spark was green.
“How did I get here?” Val sat down on the ground, the cool grass below her, and looked up at the star filled sky. The moon was hardly visible and the sea breeze was salty-smelling. She would have to go back, she knew that, but just for a minute she wanted to sit and take a breather. She knew Zac was right: she should never have allowed Flo and the twins to take Max. Letting an innocent person be taken away while she sat back and watched. Zac was very unhappy with her, but he would get over it, and Flo was right: he had said it was ok. So actually she had every right to be annoyed with him.
“Val,” a voice in her head interrupted her musings. It was Sam.
“Hi.”
“You ok?”
“No, but what can we do?” She felt her throat tightening as the tears flowed again. “Is Zac back?”
“Yes, he’s with Jason. He’s in a bit of a mood. What’s going on?”
“We had to let someone go. We made a deal with Flo and when the time came he didn’t want to go through with it.”
“And you did?”
“Please don’t have a go. I’m feeling terrible as it is and my nose really hurts. He was calling for help and I watched them take him away. What’s wrong with me Sam?”
“Only the greatest soldiers can leave a man behind in order to choose the path they know will be for the greater good of all. You did the right thing. Please come home.” She could hear the concern and honesty in his voice.
“I’m on my way.” She placed her hand on her father’s bracelet and was off.
The flat was empty apart from the three statue women from toys r us.
“Hi ladies, thinking of popping out?” Val giggled; she would never lose her sense of humour. It kept her sane. She headed to the bookshop where she found Fran being introduced to Delta through the magic of her dellatrax.
Fran stepped back from the book. “Ok, no wonder she was such a bundle of fun.” Fran looked exhausted. Jason helped her to a chair and passed her a hot drink.
“Hi, how’re you feeling?” Val knelt down by Fran’s chair.
“I’ve had better days, but I know who my friends are now, and Wendy told me about Max. We will save him won’t we? I feel so guilty.”
“I promise you we will; I just did what I had to do to keep you safe.”
“Yes, and now we have to go and face the Collector. She is not going to be happy,” Zac interrupted huffily. “I will get ready for her arrival.” He stomped off to the flat.
“Yeah, yeah.” Val patted Fran’s knee. “See you tomorrow.”
“Yes, bright and early.” Fran stood and Jason led her out the shop, Shane following them.
“Well if that’s all for today, I think I need a rest,” Wendy said. She looked tired too. Sam offered to take her home, but she turned him down insisting she had her car outside. Val waved from the top of the outside steps as he escorted her to the vehicle.
As soon as Wendy had driven off, Sam came back up the steps towards Val. They were alone. He moved closer to her and, as much as she didn’t want to feel the way she did, it was almost like her heart was beating its way out of her chest.
“So what are you doing now?” he asked, moving another step closer.
She was pleased she was holding onto the door or she may have collapsed. “I have prisoners to hand over.”
“And after that?” One more step. If he came any closer they would be touching. His eyes were level with Val’s. They looked darker at night, like pools of ink on a pure white page.
“Nothing.”
“Would you like to have a coffee?”
“Yes,” she replied, as he stepped up the last step. The shop door flew open allowing Val to fall backward into the shop. Sam grabbed her hand before she had time to reach the floor. “Sorry,” she said blushing, pulling herself back up. “Will you wait for me here?” she asked.
He nodded in response.
“Ok, two minutes.” Val had to stop herself from falling over the counter and knocking herself out on the private door. It was like a scene from the chuckle brothers she thought despairingly.
Maybe telling Sam about her feelings for the other Sam wasn’t such a bad thing after all. Possibly it was just what was needed to move them on to the next level in their friendship, like having a coffee. Oh, what was she thinking? He probably just wanted to ask her some nerdy questions about her powers. He was as interested in her as she was in football.
She made her way up the stairs to find an impatient Zac tapping his foot. “Don’t say anything to me. You left me all on my own out there.” V
al shoved past him. He followed her, obviously still sulking. Val flashed her bracelet over the portal and they steeled themselves for the Collector’s arrival. The warning signals started, but they didn’t sound the same as the ones she had grown used to. She could swear that it had just said something like “Guard arrest”. Zac looked nervously at Val. They both knew something was very wrong but neither of them had time to move an inch. The portal opened and a young man stepped into the flat.
“Twenty-three thirteen, you are here by arrested for the crime of hiding a known criminal from the Warden and Judges of Alchany, and for the excess use of teleportation for personal reasons. You will escort me to the prison, where you will stand trial for these charges.”
“What? I wouldn’t hide a criminal. What are you talking about?” Val was confused.
“She has done nothing of the sort, and I have teleported with her every time. She hasn’t used excess teleports,” Zac responded dryly.
“Oh, no, that’s true.” She looked at the ground in shame. “But I don’t know any criminals and I think I would know if I was supposedly hiding one.” She could feel her chest beginning to tighten.
The guard moved forward and placed what looked like a glowing circle from his bracelet over Val’s wrist.
“I didn’t know I could do that.”
“Val, when did you teleport?”
“I went to see Sam, and then to get Fran. I just couldn’t help myself. When you left with that woman I was out of control.”
“Enough talking has taken place. Thirty-three twenty-seven you will wait here for your Collector to arrive, and you will cover this position until a suitable guard can be sent to replace this thing.” He pushed Val towards the portal.
She had no choice but to go. When she looked back the last thing she saw was the fear in Zac’s eyes.
The Turncoats (The Thirteenth Series #2) Page 17