I looked around the room. “Is this any way to live?”
“It’s better than the alternative.” Liam straightened. “Look, I’m not trying to freak you out, but I don’t want to see you get overly confident and make a mistake. You are an incredible fighter, but you have to make sure you’re fighting for the right reasons and not because you long for the fight.”
“Why do you do it?” I asked.
“Do what?”
“All of this. Fight for us. Fight for the Deific.”
“Because the second I stop, the darkness will overpower me. If I’m not fighting against them, then I’m becoming one of them. This is my life.”
I hesitated, studying his face. “How long have you been doing this?”
He looked at me for a long time, and I could tell he was remembering painful memories. “Too long,” he said. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Ten minutes later I was back on the dirt road. Before Liam dropped me off, he warned me to stay away tonight, but, as I raced toward Lucent, I formed a plan. I would go tonight, I decided. No Vyken poison was going to stop me from helping my friends. They needed me, I convinced myself.
TWENTY-EIGHT
“I’m going with you,” May said after I finished telling her and Tessa about my plan.
“Me too,” Tessa said.
I picked up Britt’s diary off my floor and stuffed it back into my backpack. “I can’t ask you guys to do that.”
“You didn’t ask,” May said. “We’re in this together.”
“But it’s not you the Vykens are after. They want the Auras.”
“Hello?” May said. “We live in this school too, and they’re trying to destroy it. We’re just as involved.”
I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t help smiling. I breathed a sigh of relief. “I would love some company.”
“Where’s Christian going to be?” Tessa asked.
I went to the window and peered out. “He’s tailing Jackson. Something tells me he’ll end up at the same place as Liam.”
“The blood drop,” May said, and I turned around. She picked up a picture off my dresser and stared at it. It was a photo of us that Jake had taken at our graduation.
“Should we invite Kiera?” Tessa said.
May and I looked at each other. “Let’s not,” I said. “She seems a little too excited about all this.”
“Agreed,” May said. She set the picture down.
Tessa leaned forward on my bed. “You have to remember, guys, that she’s never had anything go wrong in her life. This is probably like a movie to her.”
“You’ve lived your whole life here,” May said. “How come you get it?”
“Just because I’ve lived here doesn’t mean I haven’t seen what’s out there.” Tessa stood up to leave with May. “What time do you want to go?”
“Meet us at the shed at eleven?”
She nodded. “I’ll see you there.”
May and Tessa left me alone. I was so jittery with anticipation that I considered running on the track to try and calm down, but I was too afraid of being seen. Instead, I opened my Auran history book and tried to study. A lot of good that did. All I could think about was how I would be fighting soon. Over and over I replayed the mistakes I’d made the last couple of times I fought Vykens and resolved not to make them again.
Sometime later, I sat up when I heard quiet footsteps moving down the hall. I glanced at the time. Must be May. I opened the door before she had a chance to knock.
“Nice hearing,” she said.
“Nice outfit,” I said, and smiled back. She was dressed all in black. She’d even borrowed one of my black beanies.
“I already snuck downstairs,” May said. “There are two Guardians just outside the doors. Is that normal?”
“I don’t think so.” I tried to recall if I’d ever seen Guardians, besides Jackson, in front of the school. “But I’ve never gone that way.”
“What way do you go?”
I opened the window. “Out here.”
May looked down. “Are you kidding?”
“It’s not so bad. You just have to make it to that pipe.” I pointed to the long drainage pipe about three feet over. “Or, if you’re me,” I looked at her, “you can just jump.”
“But that would kill you,” May said, her voice quiet, pondering. I waited for her thoughts to gather, waited for her to verbalize what I knew she already suspected. Her eyes slowly met mine. “You’re not like you used to be, are you?”
I shook my head.
“He bit you.” She reached up and touched my long hair. “That’s why you’re always leaving your hair down. And why you’ve been so angry.”
“It’s inside me, May,” I said, barely hearing my own voice. “I feel it all of the time.”
She lowered her hand. “But you’re not one of them.”
“Not yet. I’m fighting it. Liam’s helping me.”
“I wondered about that.” She squeezed my hand. “You’ll do it. I know you will.”
“Thanks.”
May glanced out the window again. “Is there any way your new abilities can help me down?”
“I can throw you out,” I offered.
“I’ll take my chances with the pipe.” May swung her legs over the windowsill and maneuvered herself onto her belly.
“Now reach your foot over,” I said. “You’ll find a place for it on the metal clippings holding the pipe in place.” I waited until May was safely on the ground before I jumped from the window and landed beside her.
“Too cool,” she said.
“It doesn’t come without a price. Come on. Tessa’s probably waiting.”
We kept to the shadows as we snuck across campus. May kept glancing sideways at me, but I didn’t dare ask her what she was thinking. We found Tessa leaning against the brick wall of the shed. She looked nervous.
“You sure you want to do this?” I asked.
“Sure. No big deal, right?” She started walking. “We go into the forest. Remove a few Vyken heads. Easy, right?”
May and I looked at each other. “Tessa,” I said. “Seriously. You don’t have to come.”
Tessa stopped at the secret door and entered a code. She took a deep breath. “No. I’m okay. Just need to wrap my head around things.”
When the door opened, May had the same reaction I had. “Amazing,” she whispered.
“So how are we supposed to find this meeting?” Tessa asked.
I looked around. “Let’s walk this way awhile.” I pointed to the right where the forest looked the darkest, and, to me, the most inviting. “And then I’ll see if I can hear anything.”
We moved into the forest, and the moment darkness enveloped me, I became more invigorated. “This is going to be so awesome,” I said.
May looked at me. “What did you say?”
“Oh, nothing. Just mumbling.” I opened and closed my fists, every part of me humming with dark energy. To help combat it, I quickly produced Light to lead the way, a soft glowing ball in my hand. Not a weapon. Just Light.
When we had moved some distance into the forest, I stopped. “Everyone quiet for a sec,” I said. I focused my hearing, listening beyond the sounds of May and Tessa’s breathing and crickets chirping. To my left I heard movement. “This way.”
“It’s about a ten on the creep-scale out here,” May said.
Tessa stepped over a log. “It’s not bad if you’re used to it.”
May looked at her. “How often do you come out here?”
“I used to come all the time, but lately there’s been too many Vykens.”
I stopped and listened again. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw movement to my right.
“Do other Lizens come out here?” May whispered.
I heard a rustling sound, but it seemed to be behind us. How did that happen? I listened again. Faint sounds of someone walking, but this time to my left.
Tessa nodded. “We used to have parties out here.”
<
br /> I turned around. “Let’s go back this way,” I said.
May glanced behind us. “Isn’t that the way we just came?”
“Yeah, but,” I paused, listening again, “there’s movement all around. Almost as if we’re being—”
“Surrounded,” Tessa said. May and I turned and looked at her, and my Light dissipated. Tessa was staring at something in the forest. She raised a shaking finger, and we followed its direction.
Vykens.
TWENTY-NINE
“What do we have here?” one of the Vykens said. Next to him was another male who was grinning wildly.
I was glad they looked normal, even though that meant they’d consumed an Aura’s blood. I pulled May and Tessa behind me. “Stay back,” I whispered.
Tessa clutched my arm, but May ignited her hand on fire.
The Vykens laughed. One of them had a tattoo of a bloody dagger on the top of his bald head. I gasped as I realized who it was. The Vyken from Britt’s journal! It had to be. I glanced over at May. She seemed to be thinking the same thing.
The Vyken next to dagger-head looked his complete opposite, more like the good boy-next-door with short, blond hair and a baby-blue polo shirt. “Look, Blade, a baby Fury, a Lizen, and a”—Baby-blue looked me up and down—“what are you, girlie?”
I swung my wrist, creating a tight ball of Light the size of a tennis ball. “You’re about to find out,” I said.
The Vyken who Clean-cut had referred to as Blade said, “An Aura? But you’ve got Vyken blood in you. I can sense it from here.”
Tessa’s head turned in my direction, but I didn’t look at her. This wasn’t the time for a confession. “All you need to know is that I’m an Aura who’s about to dust you,” I said.
Tessa tightened her grip on my arm. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
Every part of me screamed otherwise. I’d never wanted to fight so much in my life. In less than a second I imagined all the many ways I could kill them. I smiled, all reasoning gone.
“Say the word,” May said, another fireball appearing in her other hand.
I stepped forward, ready to attack, when a cold breeze rushed by. I froze. Not because of the sudden wind, but because of the words they brought with them. A familiar voice had whispered, “Why are you fighting?”
I looked around for Liam but didn’t see him. How did he do that?
“What are you waiting for?” Clean-cut said.
I glanced back at May and Tessa. Even though May looked ready to fight, I saw the fear in her eyes. As for Tessa, her eyes couldn’t be any wider. As much as I wanted to fight, Liam was right. My reasons for fighting right now appealed to my darker side.
“I’m hungry,” Blade said. “Let’s get this over with.
The clean-cut Vyken shrugged. “Fine by me.”
As soon as I saw their bodies jerk forward, I turned and pushed Tessa and May. “Run!” I said as I shot a stream of Light from my palm, hitting Blade squarely in the chest. He flew back, but I didn’t see his body fall. I was too busy trying to outrun Clean-cut.
He was only a few feet behind, when May yelled at me to duck. I did as she said. May shot fire over my head and into the face of the Vyken. He fell to the ground screaming, but jumping over his body was Blade, who looked madder than ever.
“Head toward the lake!” I yelled up at Tessa, who was a surprisingly fast runner. She nodded and veered left, bursting through bushes and jumping over fallen trees. If one of us tripped, Blade would be right on top of us. I had to slow him down somehow. I made several balls of Light and tossed them back. Because I was running, my aim was terrible, and he easily dodged them. Not far behind him raced Clean-cut, half of his face still smoking.
I caught up to May. “We’re not going to make it. We need a barrier or something.”
“I think I can do that.” She spun around and, with both hands extended, produced a wall of fire directly behind us. When the Vykens moved to go around it, she swirled her fingers and the edges of the fire wall expanded until it had entirely circled them.
By this time, Tessa and I had stopped to watch. Tessa was breathing heavily when she said, “I’m so glad you’re my friend, May.”
I was about to add my own compliments when Blade took a step through the flames. His clothes caught on fire, and despite the fact that his skin was bubbling, he patted the flames out with his bare palms.
“It’s not going to hold them,” May whispered.
I thought fast. “Do it again, May. More fire.”
May raised her hands and expanded the fire until it had once again circled the Vykens. Before either one of them had a chance to get through, I blasted it with Light, increasing the heat ten-fold. The fire changed from a bright orange to an ice-blue color. This time when Blade tried to go through it, he cried out and stepped away from the flames.
“How long will it hold?” May said.
“I don’t know, but let’s not stick around to find out.” We took off running again toward the lake.
“How much farther?” May said, panting heavily.
“It’s just up here,” Tessa said. “As soon as we get to the lake just dive right in, got it?”
May looked at her. “I’m not a good swimmer.”
Tessa side-stepped a log. “Don’t worry about that. I’ll get you.”
“Whatever happens, May,” I said, “trust Tessa.”
Tessa disappeared down the steep hill to the lake. May stopped suddenly before going down, making me run into the back of her. We both fell and rolled down the steep embankment. Tessa was already in the water when we reached the bottom. Her head broke the surface. “Hurry! Get in!”
I stumbled to my feet and waded into the water, pulling May with me. Not far away, I heard the Vykens approaching. May started whimpering when the water line reached her chest. “I hate water,” she said.
I looked her in the eyes. “You will be fine. I promise. Just don’t worry about breathing.”
“What?” she said just as Tessa jerked us both beneath the surface.
I let her pull me down, but May was fighting so hard I had to grab onto her too, just to keep her from returning to the surface. When we reached the bottom, I stood upright along with Tessa, but May kept kicking her legs. I took a deep breath, held it, and let go of Tessa. With both hands, I cupped May’s face. It took a second for her to open her eyes, and I made sure that when she did I had a huge smile on my face. May looked puzzled, but smiled sheepishly back when she realized she no longer needed air.
Now that she was calm, I grabbed Tessa’s hand. My lungs relaxed as if air had returned to them, but I wasn’t sure if that was really the case or not.
Tessa motioned us forward with her head. We all held hands and began to walk on the murky bottom. We learned not to let go, because the second we did we’d start to float back to the top. Somehow Tessa was keeping us grounded.
Walking was a slow process, but that was fine with me. I wanted to make sure that as soon as we did surface, the Vykens would be gone. We reached the end of the lake and began our ascent. After giving us a signal to hold our breath, Tessa let go of our hands and went up first to look around. When she ducked back under the water she motioned us up.
As soon as we broke the surface, May gasped for air and whispered, “That was the strangest thing I’ve ever done.”
I looked all around the lake to make sure we were alone before I said, “But awesome too.”
“How do you do it?” May asked Tessa.
Tessa scrambled to the top of the ravine. I was right behind her. “I’ll tell you later,” she said.
“Right,” I said. “We need to find Liam. I’ve got a feeling there’s going to be a lot more Vykens at this blood drop than he was planning on.”
May caught up to us. Tessa removed a rubber band from her pocket and pulled her wet hair back. She offered one to each of us. May accepted, but I didn’t.
While they wrung water from their clothes, I listened hard, focus
ing all of my senses. Most of the forest was full of life, insects scurrying for food, hunters hunting prey, but there was one section of the forest that was unusually quiet. “This way,” I said, walking straight ahead.
“Can we run?” May asked. “In case there are more Vykens.”
“Good point,” I said and picked up my pace.
We ran deeper into the forest and farther from Lucent. The landscape changed; older, thicker trees with knots and twists in their trunks looked almost lifelike, and their arms reached up and out in all directions. We crossed over a dirt road, and I wondered if it was the same one Liam had driven on earlier.
“Slow down. Quiet,” the wind whispered to me in Liam’s voice. He must’ve had have some crazy hearing to have heard us, but I was grateful for the warning.
I slowed and signaled for the others to stop. Not far away voices could be heard. “This way,” I said.
I turned left and quietly crept through the forest. May and Tessa followed, just as careful to watch where they stepped. The forest broke into a clearing, far enough away that the Vykens wouldn’t have heard us, thanks to Liam.
I sunk down in front of a fallen log and peered over it. My fingers dug into the bark when I saw how many Vykens there were, most of them in their true form. There must’ve been at least fifteen, including the two we’d run into earlier. And standing in front of them was Jackson.
THIRTY
“That snake,” May whispered.
I looked around for Christian. If Jackson was here then Christian should be too. I was about to go look for him, but he found me first, scrambling over to us from a nearby clump of trees. His eyebrows were pulled tightly together. “What are you doing here?” he whispered between his teeth. “There’s too many of them. You’re going to get hurt.”
“We came to help,” I snapped.
He took hold of my arm. “You need to leave right now.”
I shook it off with just as much force. “You have no idea what I’m capable of,” I said, and I wasn’t sure which side of me was talking.
A breeze picked up. “Save your spats for later,” Liam’s voice said. “Get ready to fight.”
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