by Holly Hook
"We had to do it that way," I said. "If we hadn't done what we'd done, we'd both be dead. Look at the good news. Allunna will now have someone to take her revenge out on more than us."
Xavier turned back to face me. "Some victory. Here I was, thinking we might be free to go get our parents out of the Infernal Dimension, and now we're right back to where we started."
"We don't know what kind of condition Thoreau is in," I said. "We've never resurrected anyone before. If we're lucky, Leon will hold him up long enough or they might kill each other. They would have both materialized in that circle together after we left."
Xavier forced a smile. "I guess you're right," he said. "I'd like to see that fight. But what if Leon takes over the Underground again? I'm hoping the Elders won't let him. They'll get too suspicious. And we still have the traitor Elder we have to deal with."
I had forgotten the name of that guy but he was out there. "We're never going to solve all of this."
"We will," Xavier said. "Just as soon as we get out of here. Alyssa, do you think you can, um, use your teeth to get my zip tie off? That might work."
"I don't know if I can," I said. "I might..."
"You have to try." He turned around and backed towards me. I spotted his bluish veins right underneath the thin skin of his wrists. His wood smoke smell got stronger, along with the greasy sandwich he had eaten at the last airport. Chicago. A sub, with lots of turkey and gravy. My stomach roared.
Now that I was almost free to bite Xavier without worrying about what Thoreau wanted out of me, I couldn't all over again.
But we didn't have any scissors right now and I couldn't use my own hands to pry the tie off Xavier's wrist.
"I'll try," I said. "I know you keep pushing me to bite you, but--"
"Just do it!" he demanded. "Please. Just do it. Bite me right now."
"Why do you keep bothering me about it?" I asked.
Xavier made a strange sound like he was trying to speak, but no words came out. It was almost as if something were stopping him, something that he couldn't control.
"Are you under some curse or something?" I asked. "Is something wrong with you?"
Xavier remained quiet for a moment before he yelled, "Just get this zip tie off!"
"Geez," I said, trying to make light of this crappy situation. "You don't have to rip my head off." Something was very, very wrong here and it went beyond mood swings. I had to figure out what it was because this wasn't getting any better. Xavier was my battle partner. No. He was more than that. If I had learned anything from the Underground it was that anything was possible, good or bad.
"Hurry up," he snapped. He followed that with a sigh.
"Xavier," I said, kneeling behind him. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but I'm going to try to figure it out. I think something's happening that you don't have any control over and now it's finally sunk in through my thick skull. Don't put yourself in any danger trying to tell me what it is."
He was silent. Tense. The adrenaline pulsed through him and his wrists were only inches from my face. I would have no choice but to use my teeth on the zip tie that was hugging his skin.
But if I bit him there he might bleed too much to help get us out of here. It wasn't just Thoreau stopping me. Xavier had lost blood before and the experience had scared me on so many levels.
My stomach roared. The longer I waited, the more agonizing it would become.
So I leaned forward and worked on the tie with my teeth.
It was tricky and I even scraped Xavier's skin--it was so thin and just on the other side of it was his blood--but I counted to ten and focused on Thoreau's horrible words that I would help end the world if all the scary things inside of me came to life. That included full access to Xavier's power. My bite would make our bond strong. It was something Thoreau wanted me to do.
So I ran the whole prospect of Thoreau merging Earth with the Infernal Dimension through my head over and over.
It worked. At last, I managed to break Xavier's zip tie free. His hands fell away from each other. They were red around the wrists. The ATC people had bound him tight.
"That feels better," Xavier said with a smile. "Now turn around."
His horrible mood was gone. He had given me no clues to his condition.
I turned around while Xavier picked at my ties with his hands, which wasn't getting very far. "I wish I had my knife," he said. "The ATC people raided my pockets. They took my money, too. Apparently, they like to keep it for themselves."
"Surprise," I said. "They've also got my sword."
Xavier picked at the ties some more. "I'm not sure if my magic can break these, even with my hands free."
"It can blast down doors and put dents in police cars," I said.
"If I threw a blast at you, you'd be hurt," Xavier said. "My magic is too violent for a job like this. I can kill demons and blast down doors but I can't use my War Magic on this stupid effing zip tie."
"That's why the ATC uses them," I said as he continued to pick away. "I might have to dislocate my shoulders after all. Can you help me with that?"
"Dislocate your shoulders?" Xavier asked as I turned to face him.
"I'll heal," I said. I was so, so not looking forward to this. "You have to help me get my arms in front of me. I think I can fit my thin little legs through my arms but someone's going to have to help. Thorne taught me a trick, but it's only going to work if my arms are in front of me."
He nodded. "So I help you pull your legs through your arms and...this might be fun." He lit up with a grin.
"What did I tell you about the sexual harassment?" I said, but I was glad to see a bit of the old Xavier back.
It wasn't easy and I had to lie on the floor at one point while Xavier pulled my leg through the loop formed by my bound arms. That was a little awkward and my shoulder screamed in pain, but at last, I pulled both of my arms up in front of me as I lay on the floor, face against the plain white tile.
"Got it," Xavier said, standing above me. "Shall I help you up?"
"Please," I said as the pain in my shoulder abated.
He leaned down and took my arm, then helped me to stand. I would never, ever take free hands for granted again. I checked the little window to make sure no one was watching and I stood, leaning against Xavier for support.
"Thanks for helping me," he said, very close to my ear. "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
I tingled all over. "I think I've got this," I said, raising both of my arms high above me. "Just stand back. I don't want to hit you by mistake."
He did. I lifted my arms higher...higher...and squeezed my palms together. I brought down my arms with as much force as I could muster.
And the zip tie snapped, cutting into both of my wrists.
I let out a breath as Xavier whistled, impressed. "I didn't know you could do that," he said.
I shook out my arms, so glad they were free. We had passed Step One of this whole mess. I could mark it off the to-do list. Next up: Get out of this cell.
"Well, we're together," Xavier said. "You ready for a nice, big Transposing hug?"
"More than ready," I said. "I think the ATC underestimated us."
Xavier spread his arms wide and I was just about to dive into them when the steel door to the cell burst open.
Chapter Six
"Freeze!"
Xavier and I did so.
There was a mass of black-clad ATC agents on the other side of the door, cramming the entire hallway. I smelled the metal of another taser, mixing in with adrenaline, Mountain Dew and even liver and onions. It was a smell that rivaled demons and Gaozu himself.
"How did you get in here?" Jamal asked Xavier.
Xavier raised both hands above his head. "My awesome guy powers?" He kept a stupid grin on his face and right then, he did not look threatening. Maybe that was the plan.
We stood two feet from each other. Jamal had another taser pointed right at Xavier. The man was shaking.
The ag
ents behind him weren't the ones we had seen earlier. Their black uniforms were puffy and the metallic smell gave away the fact that they were all wearing bulletproof vests. Or magic proof vests. I wasn't sure if that was a thing, but if anyone had them, it would be the ATC.
"You are being transferred to the main ATC building prior to Thoreau's arrival," Jamal said. "Mayor's orders."
I shook my head. I wondered if Thoreau would still have that charred look when he got back and how he would explain that to everyone.
He should have stayed dead. The rite didn't make sense.
"Come on," Jamal ordered. "Keep your hands up or you will be on the wrong end of the tasers again. Alyssa. Hands up. Now."
Shaking, I raised my hands above my head. "If you do this," I said, "the world is going to end."
"She means it," Xavier said.
"Now!" Jamal ordered. "My shift ends in half an hour and you are not going to make me late for taking my son to school."
It was almost morning, then. "You have a son?" I asked. "If you don't want him to experience what it's going to be like to have this world merged with the Infernal Dimension, you won't turn us over to Thoreau. If he gets us, that's what he's going to do. He hates all of us, including you. It makes him more powerful when we're all fighting like this."
A look of doubt came over Jamal's face but then it vanished a second later. "You Abnormals are what's wrong with the world today," he said. "Out!" He backed away to allow us some room. It was very little room, I noticed. As soon as we stepped out, we'd be suffocating in ATC goons.
Xavier led the way, walking through the doorway and into the hall, and I followed. The body heat was awful and I felt like I was suffocating but at least no one put new zip ties on us. One of my contacts was about to fall out and I blinked, begging it to stay in. That would be the icing on the cake--having one of my reddish eyes exposed for the walk of shame to the ATC van.
They led us through the office. My sword was still leaning against a filing cabinet as if the ATC had forgotten about it and Xavier's wallet was sitting on top of Jamal's desk as if it were confiscated. We wouldn't need those things in the treatment centers.
Jamal opened the glass door to the airport outside. It was busier now that morning was drawing near with businesspeople rushing between flights. It was still black outside the windows and I caught a glimpse of a plane rolling down the runway, lights blinking, ready to take off. Two men with briefcases stepped to the side as the parade of shame exited the office, with four ATC goons in front and four behind. I waved to the two guys as I walked, keeping my hands up.
"Enjoy the end of the world," I said to them. "That's what's going to happen when these guys take us to Thoreau. I keep trying to tell them, but they won't listen."
Jamal let out a disgusted sigh behind me. I left the two men behind us. He couldn't make me shut up. I wouldn't. I had to warn as many people as I could even if they didn't take me seriously. At least Jamal would regret everything he'd done once the worst happened.
Janine might die. Everyone I had met in the Underground might die. I didn't even like Trish, but she was like Xavier's mother. And my own mother--wherever she was, I didn't want her to die, either. And those who lived through the big merger might wish they were dead. I had seen the Infernal Dimension and I was fairly sure no one would have fun with that.
And then I saw her.
Allunna, dressed in an ordinary hoodie to hide the silver scales on her neck. She stood down a narrow maintenance hallway, watching us get paraded past. Her blond hair stuck to her skull as always and her eyes were very dark, like black pits that led to a bottomless void. She was here. She had heard about us and now she was here to let us know she was back.
The succubus shot me a smile. Xavier tensed next to me as his adrenaline spiked. He had seen her, too.
Allunna smiled and waved. It was an evil smile, one that told me that she knew the world would merge with the Infernal sooner rather than later. She turned away and ran quickly and silently down the hall, leaving a faint sewage smell.
But before I could respond or even point her out to the ATC, we passed and left the maintenance hallway behind.
Xavier shot me a look as we walked closer to the front entrance of the airport. I had expected the ATC to have some secret door for this kind of thing, but maybe this was some PR stunt to tell the populace that Thoreau was doing a great job at cleaning up us Abnormals. Politics. I waved to more people and gave them the news as we crossed the open food court area, where the smells of coffee and donuts filled the air.
But then a very strong doggy smell hit and I tensed. Before I looked at Xavier, it happened.
A loud growl closing in.
A large, hairy, hulking form loping across the food court, shaking the floor as it raced for us.
Peoples' screams.
And at last, Jamal shouting, "Incoming!"
It was too late. Tasers went off, sticking to the werewolf, but the beast wasn't fazed by the ten thousand volts of current. I smelled burning fur. Electricity zapped. The wolf stopped for a second and snarled, showing slobbery teeth that would rip someone's head off. Xavier pulled me to the side as the shocked ATC people all shouted and fanned out in formation as if they had practiced this a million times. Real guns came out and cocked, but it was too late. The werewolf jumped at Jamal, knocking him into a glowing sign of departure times and biting into his shoulder with a disgusting crunch.
Jamal lay there, shocked, as the werewolf backed off him, slobbering and facing the other ATC people. Two of the ones in vests backed away, guns trained on the werewolf, but I couldn't imagine bullets doing much to such a beast. A gun fired, but the bullet missed and broke the glass on the sign. Glass rained down on Jamal, who lay there grasping his bloody shoulder with a look of utter horror.
He had been bitten. It was clear from his face that he knew what that meant.
Magenta light flared next to me. Xavier threw a charge at the two ATC people aiming guns at the wolf. Another shot fired, but the bullet shot to the ceiling as both men flew back into a donut stall. The woman working the counter screamed and ducked.
The wolf looked at us and narrowed its eyes. It growled. I could guess what it meant. Go.
"Come on!" Xavier shouted, grabbing my arm.
We ran back in the direction of the ATC office. I wasn't sure why he was pulling me back, but I took over, running and guiding him as the world around me blurred from my speed. I ran past the two men in suits, who stopped to watch us. An announcement came over the airport intercom, advising everyone to shelter in place. Some dangerous Abnormals were on the loose.
Another pained scream came from another ATC guy along with a crunch of a bite. The werewolf was biting them--but it wasn't killing. We stopped and I yanked the door open to the ATC office.
"Can't forget our stuff," I said, only just remembering that my sword was in here.
"No. We sure can't," Xavier said. "My sister's number is in my wallet. So is Thorne's. The ATC can't have that."
"Oh," I said, picking my sword up. It still had traces of both human and demon blood on the blade, mixed together in little flecks. I could smell faint sewage but I could deal with that. Another scream followed, this one a woman's. "That werewolf's biting all of them!"
"Good," Xavier said with a smile. "It serves the ATC people right. Let's see how much they like their own treatment centers."
A shot fired and then another. A loud snarl of pain followed. The werewolf was the main focus right now. I wondered who it was and how they'd known where we were. It must be someone from the Underground.
Another announcement came over the intercom, telling everyone to shelter in place again as if people hadn't figured that out by now. It added something about the authorities arriving soon.
"Okay," Xavier said, stuffing his wallet into his jeans pocket. "We need to go before this place gets all GTA. They might call in the military for an airport."
"I agree," I said, gripping my sword tight. "
What about the werewolf? We can't leave it here. Obviously they're bailing us out." We had our chance. We had to take it.
"We can't go back," Xavier said. "If Thoreau catches us, the world ends. Werewolves can take a lot."
Another shot fired and the wolf snarled again. I could hear so much from out here, even Jamal's panicked screams and pleas for help. He was right. We had to go.
Xavier opened his arms wide. "I'm not sure where we'll end up," he said.
I jumped into his hug. He held me tight and the now-familiar heat of his War Magic surrounded us both and we fell through the purple fire, spinning and spiraling out of control. We didn't fall for long, maybe just a couple of seconds. We landed on concrete and the cool pre-dawn air wrapped around me, relieving and free. The stars of the night sky winked overhead and the buildings of the airport spread out not too far away. Sirens screamed as the police approached. The parking lot was full and it took me a moment to realize we were both standing in the economy lot, across the street from the paid lot. The airport was lit inside. Even from here, I could hear the panicked screams from Normals who were running out of the airport. A plane took off as if escaping the nightmare inside.
"You didn't take us very far," I said, releasing Xavier. The feel of his muscular chest fell away.
"I didn't want to expend too much energy," he said. "We have to conserve. A longer distance would have drained me. We can't afford to do that anymore."
Cars started across the street. I wondered if the werewolf was still alive. "Do you think that was Les?" I asked. We had come across the guy in the Underground and Xavier knew his name.
"Les wouldn't care enough about me to bail me out," Xavier said. "The guy kind of hates me, to tell you the truth. Or it could have been. Elsina might have sent him. Those two used to work together in the Underground market."
I had run into Les once. He had said some pretty bad stuff about Xavier's family. "Well, it was someone," I said. "Could Trish have something to do with it?"
"How would she know we were at the airport?" Xavier asked. He reached into his pocket and pulled out my blood amulet. It immediately floated to point at me, telling him my location. "She doesn't have this anymore."