Fractured Soul

by Rachel McClellan

  “I did as you asked, Llona, sending the Auras away, but I just can’t accept the other.” She pushed my arm away and went to Cyrus. When she drew near, he extended his other arm as if to embrace her, but instead of looking at her, he was looking at me with an assassin’s smile.

  “Sophie, no!” I yelled and moved toward her.

  But it was too late.

  Just as Sophie reached for Cyrus, his hands struck forward and took hold of her head. He wrapped her up like a snake, his hand cutting off her airway.

  I ignited Light in my hands, and Christian stepped forward. The other Vykens also moved forward.

  “You do it, and she dies,” Cyrus said. Sophie’s eyes bulged from the pressure on her throat.

  Christian’s head swiveled around the room, and I knew he was trying to think of a way to get everyone out safely. I, on the other hand, was willing to do whatever Cyrus wanted if it meant he’d let Sophie go. I extinguished the Light in my hands. Christian looked at me, his eyes sad, and shook his head. “We’ll come back for her, I promise, but right now we need to go.” Christian began tugging me backward.

  “Actually, Christian,” Cyrus said, “You need to go. You weren’t invited to this party.” The Vykens in the room began to fan out.

  Christian pushed me aside and settled into a fighting position, but it didn’t matter. Two of the male Vykens, and one female, attacked him at once. But they weren’t just fighting him, they were shoving him out of the room. And they won. The door slammed shut, leaving the two males outside with Christian.

  “Christian!” I yelled and ran to the door, but the female Vyken stopped me. She took hold of my arms. Her hands were icy cold, stinging my skin, and when I looked down, I noticed my skin was turning blue. I looked at her, and she smiled, a row of yellow, broken teeth. I recognized her then. The Vyken who had chased me into the water and who had caused ice to form beneath her footsteps. But she looked normal now with long black hair and dark eyes, everything but her yellow teeth.

  “That’s enough, Eira,” Cyrus said.

  The Vyken, Eira, let go of me and walked next to Cyrus. Sophie’s face was turning blue.

  “Please let her go,” I begged. Out in the hall, Christian called my name. His voice was followed by the sound of something crashing into a wall. I prayed it wasn’t him.

  Cyrus barely released his grip and nuzzled his head next to Sophie’s. “I won’t do that. She’s my insurance.”

  “For what?”

  “To ensure you embrace your new identity. Embrace your Vyken half or she dies.” Sophie’s eyes turned to Cyrus and then to me. “That’s right, Sophie. Your sweet niece was bitten. What do you think of her now?”

  Sophie, her hands hanging on to Cyrus’s arm as if to keep her upright, choked, “Help me, Llona!”

  I glanced around the room. Eira stood directly next to Cyrus, watching me closely. The other two Vykens stood to the left and right of me. I had never felt so helpless in my life. “What can I do?” I asked her, my eyes pleading.

  “You can join me,” Cyrus said, and I turned to him aghast. The secret door in the wall behind him began to open. “You’ve been a pet project of mine for some time now.”

  “Why? Why me?”

  Cyrus began to back up toward the opening, dragging Sophie with him. “It’s no fault of your own really. I’m just fulfilling a promise.” He looked down at Sophie and smiled. “Besides, Llona. You’re one of us now.”

  “I’m nothing like you. I am an Aura.”

  Cyrus tilted his head. “Then why aren’t you with them now, trying to save them?”

  I stared at him, trying to process what he’d just said. Cyrus motioned his head to the back wall. The Vykens around me moved behind him until they disappeared into the opening.

  “I’m going to give you some time, Llona, while you think about what side you’re on. Meanwhile, she and I are going to spend some quality time together.” When Sophie struggled against him, he raised his hand and punched the side of her head. She fell limp in his arms.

  “No!” I yelled and moved to attack him, but suddenly I tripped. I fell hard to the ground, and when I looked back to see what had caused my fall, a long, thin stretch of a shadow retreated back into the corner of the room. I scrambled backward, toward the door, realizing I didn’t know what I was up against.

  “Time’s running out,” Cyrus said. “Your poor friends.”

  I glanced at the door and then back at Sophie in frustration. Just then the shadows in the room began to shift, left and right, growing longer and longer until they detached and fell from the ceiling and lights, slid from the walls, and slithered out from beneath the chairs, all moving in the direction of Cyrus. A cold chill raced up my spine when the shadows came together behind him, forming into what looked like the shape of a tall man, if that man was wearing a long cloak. The room had brightened considerably.

  “I feel sorry for you, Llona,” Cyrus said. In his arms, Sophie’s hair floated and twirled, and her skirt billowed as if the shadow’s movements had stirred the air. “You’re going to suffer so very much.”

  THIRTY-NINE

  I didn’t let him say anymore. I was already out the door and running down a hallway covered in ash and, gratefully, no blood. The stairwell was empty, and I raced to the bottom, practically stumbling down most of the stairs. Find Christian, save the girls, get Sophie back, I thought over and over.

  I was nearing the clock tower when Liam, May, Tessa, and everyone else who had been with them, came running out of Risen Auditorium. I stumbled to my knees when I saw Christian trailing behind. His head was bleeding, but he was alive. I almost laughed, and then I cried—sort of both.

  Liam knelt by me and placed his hand on my back. “Are you all right?”

  I choked on a sob.

  All of a sudden, Dr. Han shoved Liam aside and said in my face, “Pull it together, and tell us what’s happening!”

  Liam pushed him away. “Give her a minute.”

  I looked up at Liam. He looked angry, angrier than I’d ever seen him before, and I recognized the darkness rising in his eyes. I needed to do something and quick.

  Before I could, Christian came to me, and I stood, throwing my arms around him. He squeezed me tight. “I’ve never been happier to see you,” he said.” He pulled away and stroked my face. “We were just coming for you. What happened?”

  Shoving all emotions to the back of my mind, I let go of Christian and looked around, my eyes settling on Liam. “They’re coming. Not in a few days. Now.”

  Everyone looked at each other. Kiera grabbed May’s hand. Mrs. Crawford gasped. The twins straightened; one of them cracked his knuckles. “Get all the Auras into the dining room,” I said. “We can protect them better there.” Nobody moved. “Now! Come on, let’s go!”

  I took off running toward the track field. Footsteps pounded behind me as I ran to where the girls were watching a movie on a giant screen. A black-and-white Dorothy was singing “Somewhere over the Rainbow.” At the sight of me, several teachers stood up, looking alarmed.

  “I need everyone in the dining room right now. This is an emergency,” I said.

  The girls turned around. A few of them laughed while others continued to eat popcorn.

  “What’s this about?” Ms. Smitty said.

  Dr. Han caught up to me. “Llona’s right. Everyone in the dining room. There’s not a second to spare.”

  This made them react. Teachers jumped up and began to herd the students away in a flurry of commotion and voices. I turned around and addressed the twins and the Guardians who were with Christian earlier. “You guys lead them in. Go through the Lizen entrance straight into the dining room. The Vykens won’t be expecting that. The rest of us will bring up the rear.”

  Just as I finished, two Vykens appeared around the corner of Chadni Hall. The others followed my gaze. I stepped backward. Three more came, and still more. I stopped counting at twenty.

  “Let’s go!” Christian said, tugging on
my arm.

  “Move!” Dr. Han said. “I’ll hold them off. Secure the Auras!” Two balls of fire appeared in his hand. May stepped next to him, producing her own.

  I looked at her. “Are you sure?”

  She nodded. “Go.” She was trying so hard to look strong. I would have given anything at that moment to make it all go away. As I left her alone with Dr. Han, I heard Dorothy singing after me, “If happy little bluebirds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh, why can’t I?”

  I followed Christian into the dining room and froze just inside the door to stare at the chaos. Many of the Auras were screaming and huddling together. Only the last few waiting outside the door had seen the Vykens coming, but that was enough to stir the rest into a frenzy. Teachers were yelling at them to stay calm, but they didn’t seem to be talking to anyone directly. They were freaking out as much as the girls. Ms. Crawford was right there, trying to take control.

  On the far side of the room, the twins and Guardians had already barricaded the doors with several of the tables. Liam came out from the kitchen with a handful of knives to use for weapons. In his other hand he was talking on his cell phone, asking someone to send more people.

  “We want to help. What can we do?” a voice said behind me.

  Christian and I turned around. Several Lizen men stood ready, their expressions full of anger and an intense passion I’d never seen in them. Combined with the scales on their faces, they actually looked kind of scary.

  Christian placed his hand on a Lizen’s shoulder. “We’re honored to have you. You guys can help barricade the doors. This way.” Christian hurried them to the front of the dining room.

  The rushing sound of flames through air, followed by screams, drifted in from outside. Some were female. I tried not to think about them being May’s. Instead, I stood on top of a table and whistled. This caught some of the girls’ attention. I yelled “Hey!” to get the rest.

  With all eyes on me, I said, “I’m sure you’ve already heard by now, but Lucent is under attack. Vykens are here, and they want your blood. You must do what you can to protect yourselves. Do you understand?”

  “How?” someone called.

  “We can’t fight,” Ashlyn said to the left of me.

  I wish there would’ve been time for me to explain how stupid that idea was, but there wasn’t. “Don’t worry about fighting. Just protect yourself with Light. Use it any way you know how.”

  A rattle on the inside double doors made everyone jump. The sound was followed by pounding. Vykens were in the school.

  I jumped from the table and returned to the outside door to check on May and Dr. Han. Their backs were to me, and they were scooting backward behind a wall of fire that they had to constantly recreate because Vykens were coming through. Some cried out as their flesh bubbled, but in less than a minute they returned to normal. With how quickly they were healing, I wondered if they had recently fed on Auran blood and a lot of it.

  I ran next to May, whose legs were shaking, and added Light to their fire. Just like in the forest, the fire turned an ice blue. Now any Vyken that tried to walk through it turned to ash. My hands began to shake trying to maintain a wall of this size.

  “We can’t hold them much longer,” Dr. Han said.

  I glanced behind me. The door was about twenty feet away. “We can make it if we’re quick,” I said.

  May grunted. “On three?”

  I said, “One, two, three!”

  The firewall flickered and then dissipated as we turned and bolted for the door. May went in first. I came next followed by Dr. Han. Just as he closed the door, a Vyken’s arm jammed through it, preventing the door from closing. May and Dr. Han leaned against the door, which looked like it was taking every ounce of strength they had, while I took hold of the Vyken’s trapped arm and lit it up. He cried out and withdrew it from the door, which finally clicked shut.

  While they secured the door, I hurried back to join the others. The twins and Guardians were losing their battle with the main doors. One side was torn open, and they were stabbing at any Vyken who tried to come through. The Lizen men were there too, shooting their toxic spit several feet into the doorway, burning any part of a Vyken it touched.

  I glanced around for Kiera. She was with a group of girls, giving them a crash course on creating a tangible ball of Light. I appreciated her efforts, but there just wasn’t enough time.

  Liam jogged over to me. “The doors are going to give. We need to get the girls into the kitchen. Lock them in there while we fight the Vykens out here.”

  “But there’s too many of them,” I said.

  “I have help coming, but they’re several minutes out. We need to buy some time.”

  I nodded and went to Kiera, trying to squeeze my way into her circle. “We need to get the Auras into the kitchen,” I said. “And figure out a way to light up the door once it’s closed.” Ashlyn was behind her, looking terrified. I turned to her. “Help Kiera. Help them all. They need you.” She nodded weakly.

  Kiera grabbed her hand. “Let’s go.”

  “Llona!” Christian yelled from across the room.

  I ran to him, weaving in and out of frightened girls as they made their way to the kitchen.

  “I want you to go with them,” Christian said when I reached him. Sweat dotted his forehead, and he was breathing heavily.

  “I’m not leaving you guys.”

  “I figured you’d say that. It was worth a try. We need—” his words were cut off by the sound of wood splintering.

  The dining room doors had completely fallen, and Vykens began pouring through. Behind them, I saw Jackson. In his arms he held a limp Auran girl with long blonde hair. It reminded me of my own. Jackson’s eyes met mine, and he winked.

  “I’m going to kill him,” Christian whispered, but he didn’t have time to do anything about it. There were just too many Vykens.

  Liam rushed by us, wielding two long butcher knives. He fought the first few who entered and was successful in decapitating them. His ability to spin like a whirlwind made him much faster than the Vykens.

  Other Vykens, who were climbing—some leaping—over the broken tables and chairs that had been pressed against the doors, were met by the twins, several Lizen men, and Guardians. I pushed my hands forward, sending three bursts of Light into the doorway. Several Vykens cried out and fell to the side, but they were only replaced by more.

  Another splintering sound, just as loud as the other, drew my attention behind me. May and Dr. Han were slowly backing away from the rear door. I went to them, hands ready to blast whatever came in.

  “We can’t use fire in here,” Dr. Han panted. “We’ll burn the place down.”

  I glanced toward the kitchen; the last of the girls were going through. “May, go with Kiera, please.”

  “I’m staying with you,” she said.

  There wasn’t time to argue. The back door flew open, and four Vykens came through it. One of them was Eira, the Vyken who could produce ice. I blasted her with a steady stream of Light, but she avoided it by creating a wall of ice in front of her. She escaped around it and darted to the side, her sights set on the Auras escaping into the kitchen.

  I turned my attention to the other Vykens and blasted each one, temporarily dazing them. Dr. Han attacked the first one. He was an incredible fighter, spinning, jumping, and kicking like a ninja warrior. In less than a minute he managed to get behind a Vyken and snap his neck. The Vyken fell to the ground, not dead, but in pain and waiting for his body to heal. Dr. Han didn’t give him the chance. He withdrew what looked like a pocketknife from inside his jacket pocket.

  I didn’t get to see how Dr. Han finished him off; I was too busy tossing Light at the other two. One of them broke away and, faster than either May or I could move, bolted behind May and wrapped his arms around her chest. May grunted and gasped for breath.

  I turned just in time to dodge a blow from Blade. I wasn’t even sure where he’d come from. I spun away from him and jump
ed behind the Vyken gripping May and wrapped my hands around his face. I jerked his head back at the same time Light flowed from me to him. He exploded within a few seconds, but this gave Blade enough time to kick me hard in the leg. Something inside it snapped. I hoped it wasn’t a bone, but the moment I put weight on it, I knew it was. I collapsed in agonizing pain. May fell too, gasping for air.

  Blade jumped onto my stomach. May saw and struggled to her feet. I wished she would’ve stayed, but I couldn’t tell her this because I was too busy feeling a meaty fist smash repeatedly into my face. The pain was severe. I blocked what I could, and even tried to get in my own punches, but it was useless. Fighting on my back wasn’t going to work.

  Just then May jumped onto Blade’s back and turned her hands a fire red. Before it could have any effect, he snapped his elbow back, hitting her square in the face. She fell to the side of us, unconscious.

  FORTY

  I stared at May, then turned to Blade. “You’re so dead.” I clasped my hands together and brought them up on his nose hard. It spurted with blood. My fists opened and Light shot out, but Blade had seen it coming. He rolled off me.

  I tried to sit up, but the pain in my leg slowed me down, giving Blade enough time to get behind me. He jerked my head back hard, splitting my vision. I tried to summon Light to my palms, but they sparked and fizzled like an empty lighter.

  Focus! I yelled at myself.

  While I fought to keep his face away from my neck, time slowed. Through blurry vision I saw the chaos around me. Dr. Han was to my left, fighting two Vykens. A fire was spreading up the wall next to him, filling the room with smoke. The twins and a few of the Guardians were each battling one, sometimes two, Vykens. I watched in horror as a Vyken stabbed a Guardian in the chest.

  Where was Christian?

  In my attempt to locate him, I saw Liam fighting near the kitchen door. The door was lit up by a bright glowing light, and on the floor in front of it were two young Auran girls. They weren’t moving. I was numb to it all. The only thing I felt was a deep throbbing pain pulsing from my leg. I’d gladly feel this over anything else.