“I have to stay out here with the jars, but I’ll get the others to cross over with you.” Orano pulled out his phone and dialed.
Gracey watched the little bird holding Phoenix’s consciousness. If someone told her a week ago that any of this was even possible, she would’ve peed her pants laughing. “You’re really in there?”
In answer, the bird spread its wings and rose into the air. Gracey started to giggle, until she saw one corner of the mojo bag fall open. Within a second, the red cloth lay flat on the ground, its contents spilling over onto the grass.
Gracey jumped across the now nonexistent barrier and swooped up the four corners of the cloth. She grabbed the string from the grass and quickly used it to secure the bag closed, breathing a sigh of relief when the protection spell reformed the wall.
“What did you do?” Orano’s jaw clenched with rage as he pummeled the barrier with his fists.
Gracey swallowed hard as the consequences of her actions became clear. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. The bag opened and I needed to close it to keep Tori from getting suspicious.”
“Don’t move,” he growled. “Mirissa’s on her way. You’ll just open it again when she gets here.”
“Who’s out there?” a man called from behind Gracey, a Southern twang making her heart stop in her chest.
Orano’s eyes widened at the unexpected interruption. He mouthed the word “Go” before ducking behind the shed.
Gracey dropped the mojo bag at the base of the barrier to ensure it continued to bolster the power and ran in the opposite direction the voice came from. Over her shoulder, she saw Phoenix’s bird take off toward it.
********
Phoenix called to his host bird’s flock. He needed to slow down whoever just yelled out but also had to give the man something else he could blame for the noises he’d obviously heard. Not an easy task in the Omega Group agent’s current six-inch-tall form.
He almost missed the man winding his way through the trees. His camouflage was truly a thing of beauty, allowing him to blend perfectly with his surroundings. Phoenix altered his flight path to cross directly in front of the man’s face, causing him to stop short and swat at the air with his Remington rifle.
“Bubba, you out there?” the man called. When he received no response, he continued on through the woods toward where Gracey would no doubt be hiding.
Phoenix squawked his request to the flock. His human body, still seated in the mess hall, crossed his fingers. As the man veered away from the barrier, Phoenix flew past him again—close enough for his wings to catch the guy’s cheek—herding him in the direction of the invisible wall. Over and over again, like he’d been cast in the Hitchcock movie, he dove in and out of the man’s path until the guy slammed into the barrier.
“What the hell, Vicki? What’d you do, girl?” The guy ran his fingers along the wall as though examining it for the first time. When the flock of birds gathered around the other side, all squawking as Phoenix pretended to try to get through and join them, the man simply watched until the excitement ended.
“I knew you played around in some wild shit, but this is downright crazy.”
When the guy headed back toward the camp, apparently satisfied that the noise he’d heard came from some very angry birds, Phoenix followed. He needed to know who he was, and how many more gunmen Tori had patrolling the woods. How Phoenix would relay that information to his team once he’d gotten it was a question he’d deal with later.
Chapter 24
Gracey froze, holding her breath until the next camouflaged gunmen passed. She’d barely gotten away unnoticed the first time, but now it seemed like these guys were turning up every few minutes. The woods were thick, with plenty of cover for her to duck behind, but she wouldn’t be able to stay undetected for long.
She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the shed where Orano waited for her. At least, she felt fairly sure that was where it sat. Scrambling from one hiding spot to another had Gracey completely turned around, and she knew her chances of finding a gunman were just as good as finding Orano.
Glancing at her watch for the fourteenth time since arriving at the camp, Gracey made her decision. With only thirty minutes before Tori’s show time, and an entire world of people counting on Gracey to stop it, the time had come to pull on her big girl panties. Orano would be angry, but he’d do his part and break the jars with exactly three minutes to spare. She’d absorb the power, throw it at the beam coming from Tori’s crystal, and use the covens’ own magic to redirect the solar flare’s CME.
A simple three-step process. No problem. Except Gracey was in danger of soiling her newly donned big girl panties.
Although it felt counterintuitive, Gracey set off on a path following directly behind the gunman. If she could remain quiet, that gave her the best chance of not crossing paths with any others, and it might even lead her to where Tori’s main event would be staged. The camp had lots of open ground, but regardless of where they set up, Gracey knew she’d be able to find a safe place to count down the clock. Finding the kids trying to get out of doing their chores had been her specialty when she’d worked there. She knew every nook and cranny of that camp.
“Well, lookey here. And who might you be?” The Southern drawl sounded sweet as molasses, but the rifle pointed at her chest gave a different impression.
********
Tori’s heart raced in anticipation. The time had almost come for her to take her rightful place in society. She’d been born into greatness, yet forced to live the life of a commoner. Soon she’d be the envy of every last person on Earth and, with the crystal retaining the excess power channeled from the other covens, no one would dare challenge her.
She’d placed a countdown clock on one of the tables in the mess hall. The bright red numbers flashed 23:47. She had little left to do. The coven had already prepared the area outside the hall for their channeling spell. Candles surrounded a large pentagram drawn on the earth with crushed bone meal, their flames flickering in the afternoon breeze. The smell of incense permeated the grounds, giving the comforting feeling of home that always succeeded in calming Tori’s nerves.
Nicole and Liza were setting up a smaller version near the fire pit. A gnarled tree stump stood in the center of their pentagram awaiting the crystal that would soon be seated on it. Tori would double and triple-check every detail but, for the time being, she could simply enjoy her impending victory.
“Hey, Vicki. You got a visitor.”
Tori’s shoulders tightened in reflex, and she forced them down to their relaxed state. She hated that name, but when she spun on her heels to reprimand the man for using it, she stopped short.
“You brought her here?” Gracey, the one witch who’d been working against her, now stood next to the countdown clock.
“Well, darling. I would have taken her home, but there’s a force field around this place,” the man said.
“It’s not a force field, Samuel. This isn’t Star Trek. It’s a protection spell, and it’s meant to keep people like her on the outside.” Tori stomped over to the man, her head barely reaching his chin.
“Your spell ain’t working real well, then is it? I found her following Keith over by the bathrooms.”
“Just tie her up. And make sure she doesn’t have anything on her she could use for a spell.” When Tori saw his eyebrow rise, she realized her mistake. He wouldn’t know a mojo bag if it jumped out and bit his man parts.
“Sammy? Is that you?” Nicole ran over from the doorway and gave the bear of a man an enormous hug, one which he happily reciprocated. “Tori didn’t tell us you were coming.”
“Figured as much. Vicki’s none too proud of her baby brother. Except when she needs my help, that is.”
Tori’s jaw clenched as every coven member’s ears perked up at his declaration. She’d need to deal with it before people got distracted. “Samuel and I share the same mother, but have very different fathers.”
“Yeah, mine s
tayed.” Samuel took his best shot and, as usual, it stung far more than Tori let on.
“Anyway, he and a few of his friends are here to keep us safe while we’re working our spell. You can bet if she’s here”—she pointed to Gracey—“her friends are, too. We need to find them.”
“Don’t worry, sis. We’ve patrolled every inch of this place, and there’s no one but her on the inside.”
Relief washed over Tori at the news. “Good. The protection spell should keep them out, then. But we need to secure Gracey. Her mental illness makes her dangerous. She’s already tried to kill us once. I don’t want to give her a second chance. Nicole, make sure she’s not carrying anything she can use.”
After removing her phone along with a few small sacks of herbs and crystals, and three jars of liquid from her pockets, Nicole sat Gracey down on the bench next to Phoenix. She tied her hands to one of the pipes running along the wall behind her and her feet to the leg of the bench.
“Not bad. I wouldn’t have thought you’d know how to do that.” Samuel grinned.
“I’ve got three older brothers.” The blush on Nicole’s cheeks could be seen from clear across the room.
“Thank you, Samuel.” Tori interrupted the Harlequin moment. “Would you mind going back to your patrol? We don’t have much time left if we’re going to save the world.”
The countdown clock flashed 18:29.
Chapter 25
Gracey tried to focus on taking deep breaths through her nose, but found it progressively more difficult. With each second ticking off that cartoonish clock, her mind filled with yet another example of how she’d screwed up everything. It never ceased to amaze her how easily she could make the wrong move in pretty much any situation.
She turned her head to face Phoenix, taking in his bloodshot eyes and sagging shoulders for the first time. He’d obviously not been able to sleep at all. She couldn’t imagine what the day must have been like for him, having to just sit still, pretending to be spelled. Maybe she could help him a little.
With her hands gripping the pipe at her lower back, Gracey pushed herself as close to Phoenix as she could, swinging her hip into his. She hoped he understood that she was giving him the opportunity to shift positions, or even lie down, if he needed to. As soon as she made contact, he immediately fell forward, his face half buried in her lap.
Nice, she thought, but before she could shift her body to force him into a less compromising position, she noticed the utter relief on his face. He’d been struggling more than she realized.
With his face turned away from the room, he spoke into her lap. “Why didn’t you tell the coven members what Tori’s really doing? You might have convinced a few of them to at least question her,” he whispered.
Gracey glanced around, found no one paying particular attention to her, and opened her mouth so Phoenix could see inside. The small sack and potion jar she’d stuffed in there almost toppled out, so she slammed her lips closed.
“Nice job, Gracey. Now we just need to get you out of here.”
The clock flashed 16:59.
********
“Did you get it?” Mirissa asked as soon as Greco joined her behind the utility shed.
“Yeah, but it wasn’t as easy as she said it would be.” Greco rubbed his right hand where it appeared the skin had been severely burned. “It’s getting better.”
“Stop complaining. Your Amazon blood will have that healed within the hour, and we really need to focus on getting to Gracey right now.” Mirissa jerked her head in the direction of the shed to hopefully make him understand what she was trying to say.
Orano, for the first time since she’d known him, had all but gone on a rampage when Gracey failed to return after the hunter came by. Mirissa had never seen him lose his temper before. He’d always been grumpy, and she couldn’t be sure if he’d ever smiled, but the outburst of rage she’d just witnessed worried her.
“Is it that bad?” Greco whispered.
“It’s gotten worse since I called you,” she said. “I think he’s creating energy balls without even knowing it. He’s out-of-control angry right now.”
“More likely, he’s scared to death. If you’d disappeared behind enemy lines with no real protection, I’d feel exactly the same way.” Greco leaned down and captured her lips in a kiss.
“I guess so. But I think one of us should stay here with him, just in case,” Mirissa said.
“I’ll stay. You need to get back to Myrine and the others. They’re working on a way to get past this barrier, and I’m pretty sure you’re a big part of it.”
“Are they in the same place as before?” she asked. When Greco nodded, she called over her shoulder, “Orano, I’m heading back out. Greco’s here if you need anything.”
“Good luck,” Greco said, before she teleported out.
********
On the far side of the protective dome, Mirissa waited for instructions. Her mother had been in an intense conversation with Julian over the phone since before she’d gotten there and didn’t seem too happy about whatever they were discussing.
“Have they mentioned any ideas on how we get through this wall?” Mirissa asked.
Myrick rubbed the knuckles of his hand absentmindedly. “Don’t ask me. I just work here.”
“I’ve caught a couple of words here and there,” Han added. “But the only part I understood was static.” He shrugged his shoulders as if he knew how little sense that made.
“Static. Like when my socks stick together after coming out of the dryer? What’s the plan, then? Rub our feet on the carpet and then shock the barrier down?” Her mother’s hand on her shoulder kept Mirissa from saying anything more derogatory.
“Not static electricity,” she said, still holding her phone. “A static shift. Julian thinks we can create a static shift that will disrupt the wall and allow us to pass through.”
“That’s great.” Mirissa smiled. “Do it, then, super genius.”
“That’s the problem. I need to find the right frequency and, for that, I need your auditory abilities.” Julian stopped talking as though Mirissa should understand.
“What am I missing, here?” Mirissa directed the question at her mother, knowing a full explanation from Julian would probably require a PhD in physics to understand.
“He needs to match some sort of sound coming from the barrier with one he creates. It should weaken the wall enough for us to slip through. These sounds are way beyond what a human can hear, so he needs you to listen to both the sound emanating from the wall and what he’s playing through my phone, so you can guide him until he gets it right.” Myrine took a breath. “This is going to really hurt you, Mirissa.”
Julian added, “You’re going to have to expand your auditory ability to its maximum in order to tune into the sounding curve I’ll be creating. Basically, your head’s going to feel like it’s about to explode. You’ll need to hold on long enough to instruct me on raising or lowering the frequency to match the one coming from the dome. I’ll go as quick as I can, but it might take a few minutes.”
“We’re running out of time. Get started.” Mirissa glanced at her watch. “I can handle it. Really.” She expanded her hearing until a slight buzz emanated from the barrier. “I’ve got it. Give me a second to increase it.” As her auditory capabilities increased, the buzz sharpened into a high-pitched squeal. She’d definitely have a headache after this, but the pain was nowhere near unbearable as Julian implied. The computer genius spent his days at a desk, though, so a paper cut probably put him into convulsions. “I’m ready. Turn yours on, Julian.”
The piercing sound sliced through her eardrums—the audio version of a laser beam—and brought Mirissa to her knees.
“Higher or lower?” The voice came from behind her but she couldn’t respond.
She forced herself to loosen her jaw and breathe through the pain. The icepick currently jammed into her brain would be removed as soon as she matched the two noises. But, damn, Julian was
n’t kidding.
Mirissa opened her mouth to speak. “Lo … lo ….” Her head began to spin as nausea set in. A moment later the noise coming from her mother’s phone speakers changed slightly, but not enough. “More,” she whispered.
Again, the sound curve, as he’d called it, pitched lower. They were getting close. This time when Mirissa opened her mouth to speak, the warm, coppery taste of blood trickled in. “Down.”
As though Julian knew she couldn’t withstand much more, he dropped the frequency bit by bit, giving her just enough time to isolate it before moving on. When it crossed below the pitch emanating from the barrier, she gasped out, “Stop. Go up one step.” She waited for a moment to confirm. “That’s it.” She watched as Myrine stepped up to the wall and crossed over to the other side.
Mirissa shrank her hearing down to a normal level at record speed but found she’d overshot her mark. Silence surrounded her. She pushed to expand her ability just enough to hear like a human, but couldn’t. Either she fully expanded to be assaulted by Julian’s sound curve again, or she lived in silence.
Neither option worked for her.
“Mom.” Although she couldn’t hear her own voice, she felt the vibration in her chest, so she knew she’d spoken aloud. “I think I might be deaf.”
Myrine placed her hands on either side of her face, raising her chin until their gazes met. Mirissa assumed her mom was speaking but could only watch her lips move. Temporary.
Mirissa’s phone vibrated in her pocket. A text from Julian sat waiting on the screen.
Don’t worry. A regular person might be deaf for days, maybe even forever, but you’ll heal in a few hours. I’m sorry. I didn’t know it would be that bad. Please don’t kill me. L
The frowny face emoticon at the end of his message made her smile despite everything. She quickly responded. Revenge is a dish best served cold. Be ready. J
Chapter 26
Using her sleeve, Gracey wiped the drool dribbling down her chin. The sack full of herbs she’d hidden inside her mouth caused her saliva glands to work overtime. If any of the witches gave her more than a passing glance, they’d know immediately what she’d done and remove her only chance to draw the power from the jars into her body.
Chaos (Book 4) (The Omega Group) Page 17