by T. G. Ayer
“This isn’t good.” I kept my voice soft.
“It’s probably a trap so watch the rocks.”
“Heads up. I got movement.” Logan’s whisper barely reached me when I saw someone peer out from behind a large stone about ten feet away. Military gear, smelled human, but a little odd—with that strange, metallic odor again.
My sense of smell had picked up on the changes to the human DNA. My panther could sense their ‘paranormalness’.
Creepy but advantageous.
I relayed this information to the team in a soft whisper, and said, “I’m downwind from this lot, but I’m blind behind me.”
“You just concentrate on your end,” said Jess.
The silence that followed was strange and tense, a portent of the fury to follow.
Suddenly, one of the enhanced humans came flying through the air at us. As he flew, he performed a double somersault and slammed to the ground behind me, right in the middle of our safe zone.
“I got this,” yelled Jess and threw herself at the soldier. Even before they hit the ground they disappeared into nothing. A shout from the top of a nearby rock revealed the Titan’s strategy.
The soldier was now buried knee-deep within the solid stone, his arms flailing as he tried to remain upright.
“Hope you didn’t hurt him,” I said as she rematerialized beside me.
“Only his pride,” she said, and waved a two-way radio at him.
He patted his hip, scanned the ground around him, and then glared down at her.
She smiled serenely as she slid the radio onto her own belt. “And he’ll have to be teleported out, or chiseled out. Either way he’s not a problem.”
“But they are.” I nodded at the two dozen soldiers now emerging from their hiding places behind the rocks.
Even the fact that one sent repeated flashes of fire, while another drew a hurricane of sand and stone from the ground and hurled it at me didn’t stop me. As I ran I shifted into that comfortable spot balanced between human and panther.
I didn’t like the idea of killing humans, no matter how enhanced they were, but our lives counted for more in this battle.
The fire-human sent balls of flame straight at my face. I ducked and he got careless in his enthusiasm.
And too close.
I punched him in the stomach, keeping my claws in check. I’d worried about ripping his gut open and giving him a mortal wound, but when my punches did absolutely nothing to him, I grew a little afraid.
Though the hurricane had disappeared it seemed that the wind had picked up. In the distance a large man stood very still, watching the melee.
Storm?
I squinted, evading a barrage of flame from more fire-humans. But I knew in my gut it was him.
Nevins walked up from behind him, and a flash of fury ripped through me. So he had sold us out. He owed us no loyalty. Now we owed him none either.
Keeping him in my sights, I battled with another half dozen enhanced humans, a medley of powers aimed at us; flames, water, heat, ice and wind, each forced to be deflected, and their owners to be defeated.
Nerina faded into the ether to remain untouched and yelled out warnings, repeatedly saving us from a variety of terrible deaths.
Nevins stood at Storm’s side, watching us fight for our lives, a cold sneer at his lips. Only when Storm gestured in his direction did he finally move.
Nevins ran straight for us, and Logan moved to protect me while I deflected the blows of a furious lightning mage.
Nevins closed in, his face a picture of passionate fury as he began to throw blades of ice at Logan.
Logan calmly melted them with a mere flick of his palm as they came.
Frustrated, Nevins circled him, gained a little distance, and lifted his hands to the sky. Wind howled, and a freezing hurricane surged around him spitting blades of ice at us.
Logan aimed his fire, building it up so hot that I felt the burn on my cheek. Then he threw out his power. The hurricane spun into Logan’s heat. As it spun it lost momentum and power, slowing, slowing, until it faded to nothing, and its icy missiles fell to the ground at Nevins’s feet
Furious that he’d been bested, Nevins raised his hand and sent a volley of icy javelins at us.
Logan responded with another wave of heat.
I evaded the blows of another enhanced human, one whose power made him so fast I could barely see his blows coming. My concentration was so focused on maintaining walker speed to defend myself from him that I didn’t see the ice-spear until it was embedded in my hip.
I didn’t fall, but I uttered a low groan and clutched my side as agony tore through me.
Logan heard my cry and spun around. His horrified gaze fell on the frozen weapon, but all he could do was send heat at it with one hand before he was forced to turn his attention back to Nevins.
But that brief moment of inattention was enough. He didn’t see Nevins draw his weapon. Didn’t see him aim. But I saw, and in a burst of panther energy launched myself in front of Logan.
I took two bullets to the abdomen. Hit the ground. Rolled straight into a somersault and onto my feet.
Then I raced, for Nevins, ignoring my wounds, ignoring the fiery agony ripping through my gut. I body-slammed him and took him down to the ground. He lay there, stunned, and I wasn’t sure if it was his ego or his body that had taken the harder hit.
I bit back my pain, ignored the scent of my blood, the fading light that told me I was badly hurt. I focused only on the murderer who would destroy the man I loved if I didn’t kill him first.
He reached for his gun with almost inhuman speed, the nasty gleam in his eye alerting me to his intention even before he aimed again at Logan.
As I swung my hand at him, my panther claws shot out, connecting with neck and flesh and muscle, swiping through it all with satisfying ease.
Blood slapped me in the face, hot and slick.
I stood over him, watching as he struggled to speak, the sound gurgling in his throat. His eyes shifted from my face to somewhere behind me and his expression turned from hopeless to triumphant. A nasty, ragged laugh escaped his ruined throat, but I was no longer paying him any attention.
I swung around, realizing too late that, while I’d fought with Nevins, Logan had been left wide open. Storm now stood two feet from him, his eyes a fiery blue, a gun gleaming between their bodies.
Jess took a step closer to Logan, and her eyes met mine. I gave a slight nod, knowing she intended to run at Logan and jump him to safety.
But his shouted, “No!” froze Jess in mid-step.
He lifted his chin and stared Storm in the face. “I don’t care what you want with me. I’ll go with you. On one condition.”
The Immortal smiled. “You are not in any position to make bargains.”
Logan ignored him. “Release Lily, and you won’t have any trouble from me.”
Storm considered, then inclined his head.
Then, he, Logan, Nevins, and all the men with him disappeared—and standing in the middle of the valley floor, a stunned look in her eyes, was Lily.
Chapter 54
WH-WHAT HAPPENED?” LILY ASKED, her eyes round and shocked as she scanned her surroundings. Then she saw me and launched herself into my arms.
I fell to the ground, pain exploding in my body as adrenaline bled away.
“Kai!” Lily let go and scrambled away from me, frantic. “Omigod you’ve been shot.”
“More than just shot,” said Nerina as she solidified at my side, dropping to her knees to lift my shirt for a quick inspection. “Kailin, they have taken all their dead with them. There is nobody left to question.”
“Yeah,” I gritted my teeth, brushing her hand away. “My fault. We told Nevins that’s how we got our first clues, so he must have told . . . him.” I didn’t want to say Storm’s name. I grunted, feeling the pair of bullets move within my flesh. “It’s fine though. The bullets will be expelled in no time, and I’ll be just as good as new.
>
Nerina shook her head but said nothing.
Don’t antagonize the patient? Or was that the insane?
Jess moved closer, her hand closing over the walkie-talkie at her waist, as if she wanted to do something with herself. “Lily, don’t worry about Kailin. She should have developed a good level of resistance against the poison in those bullets, so she’ll heal soon enough.” The Titan gave me a glance, as if she wanted reassurance for her assumptions.
I smiled. “I’ll be fine, kid. The important thing is how you are.”
“I’m fine . . . I think.” She stared around her. “How did I get here?” Lily asked, her expression perplexed and a little disoriented.
“Logan traded himself for you.” I watched her response.
“He set me free?” she asked, her voice faltering.
“Who was he?” I asked softly, wanting to hear if she too couldn’t recall Storm.
“I . . . I don’t . . .” Then she gazed up at the sky. “Funny, but I just don’t know. I know him. When I look at him, I know I know him. But now, I just can’t put my finger on a name.”
“Her memory has been erased,” said Jess from behind us. Her voice was soft and filled with regret.
Nerina touched my arm. “Kai, the blood promise . . . It’s fulfilled. You did kill the man who murdered Mika, didn’t you?”
I nodded. “Yes, I’ve fulfilled my promise. Nevins is dead.” I smiled at her. “You can go tell Kira that her daughter has been avenged.”
Nerina nodded. “If you don’t need me anymore?”
I shook my head. “If I need you, I’ll call.” I managed a breezy smile and she got to her feet.
“Make sure you get those wounds looked at.” The sound of her voice faded with her.
I’d fulfilled my blood promise, yes. And Lily had been returned safely, if a little shocked and confused. But Storm had taken Logan.
I turned to Jess. “He may have been able to mess with everyone else’s mind, but we saw him.”
Jess let out a ragged sigh. “The Immortal High Council wants him alive. They will mete out the appropriate punishment.”
“That’s not fair,” I said, shifting to sit upright. Even as I spoke I knew we’d all be better off with the Immortal High Council meting out Storm’s punishment and yet a big part of me wanted the satisfaction of seeing him charged, and judged and punished.
“I apologize, Kailin. These are not my personal wishes. The Laws of the Immortals are too powerful to disobey.”
I clamped my mouth shut and gave a tight nod. Safer that way. I’d gotten a little bit of vengeance today. I guess I’d have to be satisfied with that.
“This is so weird,” Lily said, holding the side of her head and wincing. “Okay, I think I’ll pass out now.”
She fell sideways and Jess grabbed her, settling her gently on the ground.
I crawled over to Lily’s side, thinking about Anjelo and how relieved he’d be to know she was safe. Now, if only we could get a hold of the damned kid.
“What happened to you, Lily?”
“He hid me in . . . his apartment,” Lily mumbled “There’s a secret room behind the kitchen in his apartment.”
“Whose apartment?” I asked, not wanting to push her too hard.
Jess moved me out of the way. “Let me,” she said, and placed her hands on either side of Lily’s head. “Hold still and do not be afraid.”
Good luck with that.
Lily stared at me, eyes wide, her expression more like ‘what the hell is going on?’ than fear. But she allowed Jess to do her mental examination and only let out her breath when the Titan sat back.
Lily glanced at me, puzzled. Then she frowned, her expression darkening. “Oh,” was all she said, and her jaw went tight. “Oh!”
“Do you remember?” I asked, studying her hard features.
“The bastard.” She looked up at me, outraged. “I can’t believe he did that to me . . . and those kids . . . Dear Ailuros.”
Jess shifted to her feet. “Let me know the moment you feel anything unusual.”
“The only unusual thing I feel,” Lily snapped, “is the urge to kick Storm in the balls.”
I snorted and I grinned at her. At least she was getting back to her old self.
Then her fierceness died away and she met my eyes, hurt filling her face. “He told me himself that he hated humans . . . It didn’t hit me then that I was talking to him. It was like I knew him all along, but his face wasn’t recognizable. Not until Jess did her weird mind mojo.”
She made circles with her finger beside her head and Jess smiled. “No offense,” Lily said, her cheeks going pink.
“None taken,” Jess assured her.
I cleared my throat, finally having gotten enough strength back to get to my feet. “You said he was in his apartment? We have to find him before he hurts Logan.” I dusted myself off. “Ailuros only knows what he wants Logan for.”
“He knows who Logan is,” said Jess, her voice dead.
I arched an eyebrow. “Who is Logan?” Maybe now she’d tell me.
Jess shook her head.
Not happening, then.
“I cannot tell you, Kailin. All I can say is that his identity is one well worth concealing.”
“She’s right, Kai. He hates Logan. He’s been the target all along.” Lily’s voice broke.
I turned to Jess. “Can you find him? Sense him or something?”
Jess nodded. “I can sense him. I can tell you he is still alive, he is very angry though, so I hope he does not do something stupid.”
“Can you tell where he is?”
Jess shook her head. “Not exactly. It depends on whether Logan has any thoughts that he has consciously decided not to block. From this distance, I would need him to want me to hear him.”
“Like he projects his thoughts?” I asked, frowning.
“Yes, and at this point I am getting a sense that they are at Storm’s apartments. Logan is familiar with the place and so am I.”
“You’ve been there before?” I asked, recalling that someone has told me they’d seen Jess with Storm.
“Unfortunately. I have to confess that we were friends. I had thought I understood him and that we trusted each other. In truth, I was mistaken.”
“Not mistaken. Used.” My voice was hard.
She inhaled sharply and straightened. “I’ll take you back to Chicago, and I must alert the High Council. I’ll be back immediately.”
“Why do you need to tell them? Can’t we just take him down now?” Lily asked angrily.
“I’m afraid only Immortal bindings can hold an Immortal against their will. Only the High Council possesses the necessary means to hold God, Immortal or Titan.”
“Oh,” said Lily, as Jess held out her hand.
Jess spirited us away, back to the front room in Storm’s apartment building where we’d left Baz the last time we’d been here. She disappeared immediately and I turned on my heel and ran to Storm’s office, on the off-chance that he would be there.
He was.
He was sitting behind his desk, as calm as always, head bent over paperwork. He looked up as I opened the door and entered. Lily had stayed in the front office, clearly unable to deal with facing him down.
“What’s going on, Kailin?” he asked rising to his feet, the picture of concern.
“Why?” I asked, my voice vibrating with fury.
He tilted his head. “If you want me to answer a question, you will have to ask one.”
His words made me remember that my mind was blocked from him. He couldn’t tell what I was thinking and surely he’d be wondering why.
“Why did you do it?”
He sighed and leaned back, his blue eyes bright. “I’m really sorry, but I have no idea what you’re trying to ask me.” His expression remained clear, not a hint of concern or fear, nothing to indicate he was guilty.
I frowned, wondering if I’d had the wrong person all along. Had I made a huge mistake?
He rounded the desk, his gaze traveling over my body.
“What happened?” He came to stand in front of me and I blinked as I tilted my head up to look at his face. “Are you hurt?”
All I saw was Storm’s concern, the care he’d always given to us. Our Storm, not a killer.
I inhaled and looked down, my cheeks heating up with shame.
And then I saw his shoes.
Black sneakers. A Stygian darkness—that contrasted sharply with a fine layer of red sand.
I backed away, my gaze lifting from his shoes to his face.
He frowned as if confused. Then he looked down at his feet and let out a laugh, his expression now apologetic.
“Let Logan go,” I said, proud that I hadn’t screamed the demand at him.
He smiled.
An invisible hand closed around my throat, its fingers gripping hard, cutting off my air as it lifted me off the floor and held me suspended. Terrified to swallow, I stared at Storm as he watched me, a cold smile on his lips.
The air in the room shivered, moving faster and faster, rising like a thunderstorm. So apt for the Immortal named after that furious aspect of the weather.
The wind ceased and I fell to the ground. My hand went to my throat as I coughed and hacked, sucking in air, the sound wheezing out of my mouth.
“Who are you?” I asked, my voice ragged.
“I am Ares.” He took a step back. “You may have heard of me.”
“The god of War.” I laughed harshly. “That explains a lot.”
I was beginning to feel lightheaded so I perched on the edge of his desk while I waited for it to pass. We’d heard Ares had been banished from the heavenly realm centuries ago for a bunch of unnamed crimes. “Wasn’t he sent to this plane to serve mankind as part of his rehab?”
He shook his head, his blue eyes now so dark they looked almost black. “Nobody tells me what to do. I am the god of war and I will avenge myself against the creatures who took everything from me. They took my power, the devotion of my followers, my godhood. They will pay.”