But the next thing Darius does surprises me. He claps both of his hands together in front of his chest then slowly pulls them apart. The empty space between his hands is filled by a growing fireball. I mirror him clapping my hands together and pulling them apart to produce my own giant, flaming orb. Quickly, an image flashes in my mind. I know what’s going to happen.
“Milo, go to Moose and Squirrel.” He presses himself into my leg once more and then darts away.
“I’ve had just about enough of you, girl,” Darius growls at me lifting his fireball above his head. “I admit I didn’t think you’d put up this much of a fight. But now, playtime is done. And so are you.”
I lift my arms above my head and Darius and I launch the flames at the same time.
The two orbs meet midair melting into each other. A strong pressure wave sends both myself and Darius flying backward through the air. I land hard on the carpeted pathway between cubes five and six with Milo, Matt, and Cali directly to my right.
The right side of my body screams with pain. My right pant leg and arm are on fire, my skin is burning, but I roll around to snuff the flames out. I have a long gash across my right shoulder from debris hitting me as I spun through the air.
I force myself to get back up. I have to make sure we get out of here.
I look up in time to see the swirling flames smash into the ceiling causing a giant eruption on contact. Fire spreads the length of the room, shooting down the ductwork into cubes four, five, and six. The books and shelves inside catch the blaze and ignite.
I scramble to my feet. The first step sends a shot of pain through the badly burnt skin of my right leg. I limp over to my friends and dog in the space between the cubes. I grab Matt’s arm and drape it over my shoulders lifting him to his feet.
“Come on!” I shout. He rests most of his weight on me and I drag him out to the walkway. I ignore the signals my nerves are sending to my brain from the pain that encompasses my body. I pull him with me and go around cube six to where our bags are. He grunts with every limp as he moves his injured leg. I drop him a little less than gently and go back to get Cali.
Milo has stayed with her as a guard. I do the same thing, lift her up and put her arm around my shoulders. She’s lighter than Matt, so I get her behind cube six quicker and set her down beside Matt.
The room shudders, large sections of the ceiling start to fall. One lands on top of cube four crushing it. As the fire inside the cube meets the oxygen outside of it, there is a large whoosh, and the flames shoot out causing a wall of fire to divide the room.
Sparks start to fly throughout the air as electrical wiring is exposed to the growing flames. Acrid smoke is filling the room and blocking me from seeing clearly. It’s getting harder to breathe and the heat in the room is beginning to singe my clothing.
I suddenly hear Darius screaming in pain. I look where I heard the sound come from through the flames and I see his left arm is severely burned. The skin is red and bleeding, his shirt sleeve and the left side of his jacket completely burnt away.
He’s hurt, I think. I can finish this.
He clutches his arm to his chest before reaching into his pocket with his right hand. I have my arm cocked ready to throw a ball of fire at him. My hand is starting to tingle with warmth when I see Darius pull out a small glass bottle. He drinks whatever is inside it, then yells something I can’t fully hear. He instantly disappears. My hand falls to my side, the warmth dissipating.
Large pieces of concrete slabs, beams, and ducting falls from the ceiling and begins to pile up where Darius was just sitting. The room is starting to cave in. Above me, I hear the building groan as its foundation is compromised.
I get back to where Matt, Cali, and Milo are. My boyfriend is looking at me with pure terror. Cali’s eyes are open but hooded, and can’t focus on any one thing but at least she’s awake. Both of their faces are stained with soot, their clothes are ripped and dirty, both of them have everything from minor scratches to major injuries.
“It’s okay,” I tell them. “We’re getting out of here right now.”
I grab the bags from their pile and hand one to each of them. I put the strap of the large duffle across my shoulders. I wince as the gash in my shoulder tears open further from the contact.
There is another groan and crash as more of the room collapses behind us. I crouch down and grab onto Milo’s collar and tell Cali and Matt to do the same. I don’t have time to paint a vivid enough image in my head. I picture the outside of the library, the main entrance, the benches, the corner across the street with the crosswalk I use every morning.
“Outside,” I say.
The sound of the roaring fires and the crumbling concrete is immediately replaced by silence. I open my eyes and the three of us, Milo, and our bags are outside the library. We’re in the same position, huddled together on the ground.
The street lights reflect off of the shiny asphalt. It must have rained again while we were inside. I don’t see anyone else around, the street looks deserted. I think we’re finally safe until I see a blinding flash and hear a thunderous boom.
● 64 ●
I throw myself on top of everyone to protect them. I raise my head to figure out what the hell just happened and I don’t fully believe what I see.
The library is engulfed in a consuming blaze. Every window has been blown out, and flames are billowing straight up from where the roof used to be. The mortar around the brick face of the building starts to crack. Bricks loosen and rain down, shattering on the sidewalk.
Suddenly, another bright flash comes from inside the library and lights up the whole street. That is followed quickly by three of the loudest eruptions I’ve ever heard. A giant mushroom cloud of fire shoots into the air above the roofless building. The walls teeter faintly before they collapse inwards.
The library implodes on itself.
A giant dust cloud is kicked up and flies across the street engulfing us. The ground shakes as the building falls into the crater left by the destroyed sub-basement.
Once the dust clears, the three of us cough trying to catch our breath. Milo stands up and shakes from nose to tail. There is so much dirt in his coat that his shaking covers us in another cloud.
The scrapes and cuts on Cali and Matt are now caked with the ash from the building. Their clothes are ruined even more, and their hair is a dirty gray color. I’m sure I don’t look much better.
Milo’s ears prick to attention and a moment later I hear the whirl of multiple sirens closing in.
I stand and look around for a place we can all get to before the Portland Fire and Police Departments show up. There’s nothing close enough that any of us can get to in our current condition.
I can’t transport us back to the apartment, Darius will track it. I can’t go to Mickey’s or Matt’s for the same reason. There’s only one place I can think of that we can get cleaned and patched up that won’t put anyone else on the demon’s radar.
The sirens are getting closer, we’re running out of time. Ignoring the pain that screams throughout my body with every movement, I squat down and grab Milo’s collar again.
“Hold on!” I wait until they both grab on and say, “Mount Tabor Park.”
Instantly the sirens are gone. We’re just inside the main entrance to the park where Matt and I came the other night for our date. We’re off to the side of the path on a patch of grass. I do a quick visual search around and determine, based on what I see that we’re alone.
“Milo, casual,” I command. Milo begins a short patrol of the immediate area around us. He comes back tail wagging, and I’m satisfied that we are definitely the only ones here.
“Okay, now what hurts?” I ask both Matt and Cali.
“My leg the most,” Matt says through gritted teeth. The shard of glass is still sticking out of it.
“What else?”
“A couple cuts and bruises, but my leg is really bad.”
“Okay, okay,” I rub my hands t
ogether getting ready to try something I’ve never done before, but that’s been the status quo tonight. “I think I can heal you.”
“You think?” Cali asks groggily.
“I’ve never done it before but I can try. The princess in the story could, and I’m supposedly her and able to do everything else in the story so why not this too, right?”
They both look at me unconvinced.
“Trust me,” I beg. “Give me your hands.”
Matt holds out his hands for me to take. I grasp them tightly and look him in the eye. He nods slightly, his face pale and still tight with pain.
I take a long deep breath. I close my eyes and picture Matt as he was earlier tonight when he and Cali where deflecting tennis balls back and forth. There were no scratches on his face, no glass in his leg. He hadn’t been pummeled by explosions, thrown around like a rag doll.
Matt squeezes my hands tightly and begins to grunt in pain. I keep picturing in my head what Matt looked like before, how he was uninjured. I wish for him to be that way again.
My whole body starts to vibrate as I use my projection power for the first time. I open my eyes and lock them onto Matt’s. The scratches and nicks start to disappear. His face begins to loosen as his pain lessens. I look down at his leg and see the glass has been pushed out and is laying next to him on the grass. Its jagged edge still dripping with his blood. Matt relaxes with a final sigh.
“How do you feel? Are you okay?” I ask.
“I feel fine,” he says. “I feel like nothing even happened.”
I let out a massive sigh of relief that it worked then turn to Cali. I reach out, and she removes her hands from her head and grabs mine immediately. I repeat everything I did with Matt — I visualize her how she was earlier and wish for her to be that way again.
The gash on Cali’s cheek is the first thing to heal, it leaves the faintest of scars. Just like Matt, the tight grimace on her face loosens until she is relaxed.
“How does your head feel?”
“Much better,” she says rubbing it. “The ringing is gone, and I don’t see double anymore.” I go to let go of her hands, but she doesn’t release mine. “Okay, Lex. Now you.”
“No, I have to check Milo first.”
I whistle for him and he comes over. I look him over from head to toe and thankfully, maybe even miraculously, he doesn’t seem to have a scratch on him. Just to be safe, I put one hand on his head and the other under his chin. I use projection to heal anything I can’t see or feel.
“Good boy, Milo,” I say.
Only then do I inventory what hurts on me and where. My whole body feels like it’s been put through a meat grinder. The spots causing the most problems are the gashes on my shoulder and my left arm, and the bad burns on my arm and leg.
With a grunt of pain, I cross my arms in an X across my chest and put each hand on the opposite shoulder. I wish for those injuries to heal.
It feels like I’m being wrapped up in a warm hug. My body vibrates again, and I feel the warmth change to a high heat. It starts at my toes and as it climbs up my body, the aches and pains begin to lessen. I feel the burnt flesh on my leg cover over with new, unblemished skin.
The feeling continues up my chest and down my arms. The gash on my left arm feels like it draws back in all the blood that left it. My right shoulder loosens as if a giant knot has been released from the muscle as the edges of the long cut come back together.
“Okay,” I sigh when I finally feel back to normal. “We can’t stay here long. We have to keep moving.”
I stand up and help Matt and Cali to their feet. I drape the supply duffle across my back and toss my laundry bag over one shoulder. They each pick up a bag, and the two of them look at me for direction.
“Ready?”
After looking silently at each other, they both nod at me.
“Okay, let’s go. Milo, side,” I command as I head off to my left, back toward the main entrance of the park.
EPILOGUE
Viribus
The giant Victus is waiting at the bar like he was instructed. The room is empty, it’s just the bartender and him. In one hand, he’s holding a thick glass beer mug, the other holds his phone waiting for the boss’s call. He raises the glass for a swig, but it never makes it to his lips. He’s interrupted by Darius appearing in the middle of the bar looking worse than the giant has ever seen him.
The demon’s clothes are destroyed. His jacket is missing the left sleeve, exposing burnt and blistered skin from shoulder to fingertips. There is blood dripping down his side, staining his shirt. His pants are ripped and covered in dirt and dust.
“Viribus,” the demon croaks out.
“Boss! What the fuck?”
“That little bitch,” Darius grunts, clutching his injured arm. He groans in pain before continuing. “Ahhh… she… she wasn’t… ah, shit!
“That fucking bitch!” the demon roars.
The demon’s legs give out, and Viribus catches him. The demon screams as the touch of his Victus sends another wave of pain through his body.
Viribus sets Darius down on the ground gently, his back up against the bar in a sitting position. With his long arms, the Victus reaches over the bar and grabs the nearest bottle of whiskey.
“Get out of here,” he directs the bartender. The old man doesn’t think twice before he turns tail and leaves.
Viribus bends down and pours a drink down the fiend’s throat. Darius coughs at first, some of the whiskey spilling from his mouth. Once he gets a clean swallow, he closes his lips around the bottle and sucks all of it down.
“Where are Julius and Damon?” Viribus asks.
“Dead!” Darius yells grasping the behemoth's clothing and pulling him in close. “They’re both dead! She had help and fought back. She won this time, Viribus, but she won’t next time.”
“What?” the giant scratches his head. “What are you talking about, boss?”
“The Book,” the demon sneers. “The magical tome her ancestors used to curse me. It’s been destroyed. She’s on her own now.”
“How do you know?”
“She yelled and ran into the flames after I blew up one of the rooms.”
The Victus is confused but is more concerned with the state his boss is in. Darius drops the empty whiskey bottle from his hand. Viribus hands the demon a second bottle of liquor. His skin is clammy to the touch, and his eyes flutter. He’s on the verge of passing out.
“I need to rest,” the demon says. “For next time.”
The mammoth Victus lifts the black-haired man into the air and carries him through the bar toward the kitchen.
“Next time we bring more, Viribus,” the demon says again, fighting to keep his eyes open. “Next time her life will be mine! And I will fucking take it!”
The demon passes out limp in his Victus’s arms, his strength completely exhausted. The giant cradles his boss close and brings him upstairs to the small room with the stained mattress. He closes the door with his foot and lays the demon down gently. He peels off what’s left of Darius’s torn jacket and shirt leaving him bare-chested on the bed.
Viribus steps backward until his back hits the wall. He slides down it and sits with his legs straight out. He watches Darius’s chest go up and down, the demon comatose on the bed.
The Victus uses this opportunity to examine the demon from afar, see just how much damage the witch was able to do. As Viribus looks his boss over, he sees the skin on the demon’s arm start to bubble as it begins to heal itself. The gash on his side has stopped bleeding but still looks bad.
He has no idea how long it will take the demon to be fully healed. If the witch was able to take on Darius and two Victus soldiers, then next time they should send at least ten after her.
Viribus feels fierce anger settle in his chest. He doesn’t mourn the loss of his Victus brothers. He seethes thinking about the girl who took their lives. He pulls out his phone and searches through his contacts for a number. He presses se
nd and puts it to his ear listening for the call to connect.
“Hello?” a tired voice on the other end of the line answers.
“It’s me,” Viribus says. “I need a favor.”
“Alexa”
The mound of paper towels and baby wipes next to the sink in the park bathroom is quickly growing as Cali and I clean ourselves up. We change out of our dirty clothes and clean up every bit of dirt we can see. Unbelievable, I think. Except for a couple small scratches, my glasses are pretty much intact.
I turn around to check myself over in the mirror. The deep gash that was on my shoulder has healed to a long, jagged scar. There is another line that bisects my left arm between the shoulder and elbow. Both are bright white and stand out in stark contrast to my mocha skin tone. The burnt skin thankfully left no scar behind when it healed. Other than that, there are no bruises or blemishes on myself or Cali.
My Name Is Not Alexa Pearce Page 35