Before long, a white light exploded around them, and they were inundated with a feeling of rising into the air. This wasn’t Emily’s first time, so she was able to remain clear-headed and not lose her footing. This was not the case for Rina and Joanna.
They collapsed to the ground like sacks of potatoes. The moment the light cleared, Michael helped Rina, while Emily helped Joanna.
“What was that?” Joanna asked as she rose to her feet.
“The safe house is underground,” Michael explained, helping Rina to her feet. “So we use a spell to transport from there to here.” He waved his hand around the ramshackle, roofless living room.
“Are you all right?” Emily asked Joanna.
Joanna blinked. “Just a little out of it.”
“It’ll clear up in a few minutes,” Emily reassured her. “For now, we have to get going.”
Michael led them to the road outside. It was a very starry night with a full moon shining bright in the sky. The clouds were clear, which was the first problem she saw. The clouds. If the clouds were clear, how was she going to spy on Marion without being seen?
The ground was wet from the earlier rain. The air was frigid, and the silence in the area was almost deafening. They could hear themselves breathing.
Michael paused in the middle of the road and looked up and down it. “Should we take the Beetle?”
“God, no!” Emily exclaimed. “It’s not fast enough.”
“Where’s the other car?” asked Michael. “I can only perform the revealing spell if I know precisely where it is.”
Emily knew precisely where it was. It was a few yards down the road and on the right. She walked the number of steps she remembered walking and then stopped and pointed at the air to her right. “There.”
Michael came to join her. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
Michael raised both palms and spoke the words. Instantly, the Benz super car appeared out of thin air, sitting right where Emily had pointed.
“Whoa!” Rina squealed so loud her voice reverberated across the entire estate.
Michael shushed her, placing a finger on his pressed lips.
Rina smiled, mouthing: Sorry!
Michael flashed a tight-lipped smile.
Emily couldn’t help but think that if it had been her who had made the noise, he would have given her flak about it. But she shelved away the thought and looked back at the car.
“That’s a pretty car,” Rina said, coming up to Michael.
“Yeah, who would have thought Aunt Anastacia was this cool?” asked Michael.
Joanna shuffled her way through them to stand by the driver’s door. She yanked it open and peered inside. The key fob sat right there on the center console, probably to ensure a quick getaway if need be. “It’s ready to go,” she announced. “Get in.”
“Err, what are you doing?” Michael asked.
Joanna just gave him a silly look and ducked into the driver’s seat. “What does it look like I’m doing?” she asked. She didn’t wait for Michael to reply. She slammed the door shut and hit the key fob. The car silently thrummed to life.
Michael looked at Rina and then Emily for help. Emily shrugged and went to join her friend in the front seat. Moments later, Rina and Michael entered as well.
Joanna shifted the gear to D and marched on the gas pedal. The car’s response was immediate and sharp. It jumped into motion and gunned down the street like a rocket.
“Hey, lay off the gas pedal, will you?” Michael complained.
Emily smiled, seeing the frantic look on his face through the rearview mirror. “What is it, Michael? Afraid of going fast?”
“No!” Michael retorted. “What I’m afraid of is having an accident.”
Rina laughed and patted him on his thigh. “It’s okay, Mikey. Joanna is used to sports cars.”
Emily and Joanna shared a weird look. Mikey?
They drove on in silence.
Joanna didn’t relent on the gas pedal. Emily felt like telling her to ease up since the engine’s thirsty noise would attract attention. But when she opened her mouth to speak, she didn’t get the chance, because Joanna pulled off the main road several junctions early and took them into a nice residential neighborhood.
Emily recognized the neighborhood. It was where Michael and his family lived.
14
Michael was the first person to make the observation. “This is not the way.” He leaned forward from his seat and grabbed the headrest of the driver’s seat. “Why are you bringing us here?”
Joanna grunted, never taking her eyes off the road. Although she had slowed to cruising speed and was navigating through the network of streets. “We need a safe place to park and send Emily on her way.”
Michael groaned. He made to say something, but then shut his mouth and reclined back in his seat—possibly trying not to vomit.
The neighborhood—pretty much the entire town they had traversed so far—was like a ghost town. The houses were dark and eerie. It seemed as though everyone had up and left. But Emily knew they were inside their houses. Static—immobilized by the waning effects of the nexus spell.
By the next morning, the spell should have worn off. Emily was no longer afraid for their lives. She knew that within a day, the town was going to come back to life. The Alfreds—or maybe The Man—needed the populace for something. She didn’t want to find out. She was going to defeat the Alfreds and The Man before it got to that point.
That’s the spirit! Selena cheered in her mind.
Emily only smiled.
“It’s safe for us,” Michael said later. “How do we know it’s safe for Emily?”
At first, Emily was surprised. So surprised that she glanced at Joanna, and they both shared a weird look—like, does Michael actually care about her?
“I’ll be fine.” Emily craned her neck to look at him. He glanced at her, his eyes morose. There was no joy or fire in them. She didn’t know if this was his natural disposition when he was terrified out of his wits or what.
“Are you sure?” Michael asked. “The Alfreds are powerful. I’m not entirely sure we can trust Marion.”
Emily frowned. “We’d be foolish to trust him outright,” she pointed out. “That’s why I’m going in first. With my keen eyes and powerful speed . . . and the fire demon . . . and my immunity to magic, I’m sure I can find out what’s really going on.”
Michael was about to spit off another string of concerned words, when Emily started talking again. “And I’m going to be flying so high they won’t be able to track me with their magic.”
Rina touched Michael’s hand and said, “In other words, she’s going to be fine. No need to be worried sick about your sister. It’s kinda cute, though.” Her tone was mocking but endearing.
Emily watched Michael’s distinctive blush.
“Err,” he muttered.
Rina rolled her eyes. “He cares about you. He’s just being a guy about it.”
Emily blanched. Was it true? It had to be if it was coming from Rina—the no-nonsense reporter.
“Um, can we focus, please?” Michael retorted, keeping his eyes away from Emily.
Emily returned her eyes to the front in time to see they had pulled up into the driveway of an old house. The house looked abandoned, and not like the other houses. It actually looked like no one lived there. There were other ritzy cars in other driveways. So the moment Joanna turned off the lights and switched off the engine, they were perfectly blended in.
“You’re up,” Joanna muttered to her. “I guess you know your way to the clinic, right?”
Emily nodded. “Three blocks south.”
“Good,” Joanna replied. “Now remember, this is a simple recon mission. You do a fly-by. Check to see if Marion is at the spot. Check to see if he is alone or if he brought someone. Also check for suspicious—well, anything. At the first sign of trouble, you get out of there and fly straight back to us.”
Emily brought her
hand to her temple in a salute. “Aye aye, Captain,” she said sarcastically.
“We have to have a plan for if they follow Emily back here,” Rina interjected. “I mean, we can’t lead them straight to the safe house.”
“She’s right,” Michael concurred. “If they pursue us, we need to lead them away from our team and not toward them.”
“It’s highly unlikely they’ll track me to your location,” Emily started. “I won’t go as the crow flies. I’ll take a convoluted path here. However, if they do follow me here, then our only option would be to lead them away from the town. I don’t think they’ll follow us as far as Dallas.”
“That could work,” Joanna confirmed. “Plus, this car is really powerful. It can get us to about a hundred miles per hour in six seconds.”
“Exactly my point,” Emily lied—she hadn’t actually thought about that. “Now, if there are no other issues, I’m going to leave here now and go see what Marion is up to.”
No one said anything as she stepped out of the car and gently shut the door behind her. The cold air helped her relax her mind easily. She could feel the presence of both Zee and Selena.
This was the moment of truth for Emily. This next step was all that was required to get to the end of this fight and the end of the Alfreds. She rubbed her palms together to generate heat. She regretted coming out without a hat or gloves. Having spent her whole life in muggy Texas, she got cold even in the slightest breeze.
When she felt she was ready, she started off in a run. She shut her eyes for a moment, allowing the Owl power to saturate her being. She cast off all her restraint. Owl energy pumped into her legs and into her hands. It filled her mind and body. When she opened her eyes next, she could see clearly in the dark, as The Owl’s eyesight had already shifted into place in her eyes.
She leaped into the air and let go. The Owl burst through her skin, her body instantly metamorphosing into a massive owl creature. What followed was a terrible whistle that rang through the air—she just couldn’t help herself. It was probably not the wisest thing to do considering their need for secrecy. However, this thing—The Owl—was hardly controllable. It was more of an excitement-driven reflex than something she had power over.
Emily flew a little above ground level for a bit until she reached the end of the road, where she twisted upward, headed for the clouds. She unleashed her magic, commanding the winds to gather in her tail. She flexed her tail feathers, coiling the wind into a mini vortex, which had the effect of pushing her higher, farther, and faster.
Emily rose to a height of five thousand feet. Then she found her bearings and soared toward the clinic. As she approached from the north, it wasn’t long before she caught sight of the building. It was a nondescript white block of building in the midst of a small forested area of the town. It had several roads leading to and from the parking lot.
The roads leading to the clinic were deserted. As Emily approached, her vigilant eyes fell on the parking lot. The parking lot was a perfect semi-circle around the building, with several cars in it, which made it very difficult to catch sight of Marion at first. Just as she swooped in for a first pass, she caught sight of a raven-haired guy standing on the side of a Cherokee Jeep.
He was as handsome as she remembered. He stood, looking so confident and serious by his Jeep, his hands in the pockets of his jeans. His T-shirt had the following letters splayed on the front: OWLS TASTE LIKE CHICKEN.
Oh, good lord! The audacity! Selena chimed into Emily’s thoughts. Where did he even get that!?
Emily tried not to think too much into it as she did her first bypass. She was so silent and hidden by the night that the Alfred boy didn’t see her at first. Emily didn’t turn for the second pass yet. She traveled about a thousand yards before she turned around and began to approach again.
This time, she flew a wide circle around the general position of the parking lot. Her eyes scanned every square inch of the prescribed area for signs of trouble and threats. She was so sharp-eyed that she spotted everything that moved, including a few squirrels scampering across the ground.
When she did her final pass, she swooped low enough that Marion looked up. The moment he saw her form, he pushed off against the Jeep and was suddenly interested in watching her. This made Emily feel super self-conscious. She felt naked—figuratively and quite literally, since she wasn’t wearing any clothes, just feathers.
For a brief moment, their eyes met. Marion looked shocked to see her. She wondered why—did he not expect her to show up? But he didn’t really react. He didn’t try to attack her. He didn’t try to stop her. He just watched her fly by him before she ascended into the air again.
Emily went in the other direction until she was outside his range of vision. Then she turned around in the air and headed for the car, making sure not to fly within range of the clinic in case Marion was actively seeking her.
Minutes later, she dived for the street where their car was parked. At fifty feet, she shifted. She landed perfectly, in a crouch, before drawing to full height. Right next to the Benz.
Everyone hopped out to greet her.
Joanna was the first person out. “How did it go?”
“He’s alone,” Emily replied, completely certain of it. Then she went on to explain all the passes she’d done and how she’d been thorough and careful. She told them in detail how Marion hadn’t seen her until the last pass and how he’d reacted.
“He just stared at you?” Rina looked genuinely surprised.
“What, were you expecting him to blast her with fire?” Joanna asked sarcastically.
“I would think he should have at least done something,” Michael stepped in to defend his girl.
“He did do something,” Joanna replied. “He looked at her.”
“Look, we can stand here and debate all night, or we can go meet him,” Emily intervened. “He’s alone.”
“And how are you sure of that?” Michael questioned her. “For all we know, his family is hidden in the shadows right next to him.”
Rina’s mood changed from cautious to terrified. She glanced at Emily. “Is that a possibility?”
Emily nodded. Sadly it was. “We can only hope it isn’t.”
“Right. That makes me feel so much better,” Michael huffed.
Joanna cleared her throat. “Well, if Emily says it’s okay, then it’s okay. I don’t care what y’all think. I’m getting in that vehicle, and I’m driving to the meeting. You can either join us or remain here. We’ll come pick you up when it’s done.” Joanna motioned for Emily to get into the car.
Emily obliged.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Emily asked, when she noticed that Michael and Rina didn’t join them immediately.
“I hope so.” Joanna sounded distracted. She was looking in the rearview mirror at the couple talking outside the car.
She watched them for a few seconds before she started the engine. As soon as she did, they jumped to attention and climbed into the car.
“Sorry, guys, Rina is feeling a bit unnerved,” Michael explained.
Rina was frowning away from them. She said nothing.
“Is she good?” asked Emily. “We don’t want her to do anything she’s not comfortable with.”
“Yeah, we’re good.” Michael squeezed Rina’s hand. “Let’s do this and get it done with.”
Joanna didn’t need any further instruction. She pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the main road. Even though they knew where Marion was waiting for them, Joanna didn’t take a direct route to the place. She maneuvered around the clinic until they approached the building from the south.
Joanna explained that she didn’t want to give them any ideas about the general location of the safe house—as in, north or south of the clinic. Emily praised her for thinking ahead like that.
They arrived in the parking lot with only seconds to spare before the stipulated one hour. Marion hadn’t moved since Emily flew by. He stood by his vehicle
, watching them as they pulled into the parking lot.
He didn’t appear perturbed. Instead, he calmly waited for Joanna to park the car adjacent to the nearest exit—about a hundred yards from where he was parked.
Emily felt her heart beating in her throat as Joanna killed the ignition. A myriad of emotions ran through her mind. Fear of the unknown. Anxiety to see Marion again. Uncertainty at what they might find out.
“This is it,” Joanna said. She gestured for her to come down. “It’s your show. You’re in the lead.”
Emily nodded and stepped out of the car. Marion was already looking at her. He remained where he was and allowed her to approach.
There were several cars in the parking lot, so she had to navigate through them. Luckily, Marion was parked near the entrance of the clinic, so there was a wide space for them to meet.
The clinic itself looked deserted, although the lights were on, and they seemed to be open for business. However, Emily didn’t see a single soul around.
Behind, Emily felt the presence of her friends. They were with her, but they were giving her a wide berth so as not to scare Marion.
Nevertheless, the truth was, Marion didn’t look even remotely bothered. He looked perfectly relaxed. Almost lazy, even. The typical Marion she had come to observe since she met him.
“I see you brought the whole crew.” He motioned toward the others.
She nodded. “I hope you don’t mind.”
Marion shrugged. “As long as you don’t mind that I brought company as well.”
Just then, a shimmering light manifested inches to her side. Before she could react, hands grabbed her as a man simultaneously materialized beside her.
15
“Duck!” was all Emily heard just as her heart leaped to her throat. She threw herself to the ground, yanking her hands away from the rove’s grip. The moment she hit the ground, she heard the roar of fire as it blasted above her head. She felt it singe the air above her, smelling the distinct stench of burning hair.
Born to Raise Hell: The Owl Shifter Chronicles Book Three Page 8