Inner Demons

by Amanda Strong

  Because why on earth would Tonbo sabotage Jaxon?

  Blake’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying, Kate?” he asked through a tight jaw.

  “I’m saying I don’t have time for this. Sam, you need to come with me now if you want to stop this. Story time can happen later.”

  Blake didn’t release my hands. “I’m coming with you.”

  “So you can run back and warn Tonbo? No way.”

  “Then Sam stays here.” Blake wasn’t kidding either. I didn’t think I’d be able to escape the grip he had on my wrists, even if I tried.

  “Aw, come on, Blake. Don’t you trust me?” she asked, moving even closer to us.

  “About as far as I can throw you,” he muttered.

  “Well, in that case, you shouldn’t have a problem letting go of your girlfriend and letting us take care of business,” Kate hissed, grabbing on to one of my arms, tugging me toward her.

  I winced as Blake didn’t release his hold. “I’m going with you,” he repeated.

  “Not going to happen, Blake, so I suggest you let go of her before you leave her in bruises. Or worse.”

  I felt like a rag doll caught in between two stubborn forces. I knew Blake was terrified of letting me out of his sight and yet, I also somehow knew Kate really did have a plan. Something deep within me begged me to trust her, to trust Sammy. Just this once.

  “Kate,” I said firmly as both of them continued to argue over me, pulling painfully on my arms. “I’m not leaving without Blake, so if we’re in such a hurry, why don’t you stop wasting time fighting and let him out?”

  Kate scowled as Blake grinned.

  I turned to him next. “But Blake, we’re going with Kate. No one’s running to Tonbo. Not until we know if we can trust him. If he’s really the reason Jaxon’s not getting better, then we owe it to Jaxon to find out. If you can’t agree to this, then I’m leaving with Kate now, alone.”

  Now Kate grinned back at Blake. His mouth snapped shut, the argument he’d been ready to give me seeming to die on his lips.

  I tried to give him a reassuring smile. “Nothing has been adding up, Blake. We’ve hit too many dead ends. This might be our chance to get it right. Just this once, I’m begging you to trust me, Blake.”

  His eyes widened. Glancing down at his hands still gripping mine, he slowly let go. Meeting my gaze, he said, “Of course I trust you. It’s her that I don’t trust. But you have my word. I’ll go with Kate. Because if what she says is true,” his jaw bulged, “I want to know.”

  Kate rolled her eyes, sighing heavily. “Fine. Let’s just get this show on the road.” Unlocking his door, she added, “Better buckle up, Blake. You may not like me, but trusting Sam means trusting Sammy too.”

  Blake wasn’t smiling, but he gave Kate a nod that he understood. To me, he reached over and brushed the hair back off my face. Leaning over, he kissed my lips.

  “Oh my word! We so don’t have time for that now!” Kate huffed, throwing the door open and peering down the corridor. “Coast is clear. Let’s go.”

  Kate may not have had the time for a kiss, but I needed it. Having Blake by my side, I felt stronger. Like we could do this, maybe even win. Blake gave my hand a quick squeeze as we took off, flying through the now-empty building.

  “I should just find Mack and call this whole thing off,” Blake said as we came up to the glass wall. We had stopped long enough to see the beds were all empty now. There didn’t seem to be any Defenders left in the building.

  “No,” Kate said. “Let them finish carrying out Tonbo’s orders. Rounding up all the Defenders into one place will actually make this a lot easier. Let’s just hope we can make it before anything else happens.”

  “I don’t get it,” Blake said as we took off again, carefully weaving our way through the building, keeping a look out for bugs. “You say you have a plan, Kate. But how did you know about Tonbo’s plan in the first place? I mean, no one’s seen or heard from you in over a week, and suddenly, you have all the answers?”

  “I guess it would seem like that to you.” Kate stopped short, peering around a corner. Since she’d taken the lead, we both stopped next to her. “Main doors look free and clear,” she said, glancing back at us. “Those little Irukas must be singing their hearts out. Kory’s got to be in stitches over it. Here…” She pulled something out her pocket. “You’ll need these for the rest of the way.”

  “What’s this?” I asked, taking the small pieces of foam from her.

  “Ear plugs. Let’s just hope they’re enough. I haven’t exactly tested this out beforehand.” She shrugged and stuffed one into her ear.

  “Ear plugs,” Blake repeated, following her example. “How did you know about all this again?”

  “Because,” she said, her voice becoming muffled and distant sounding as I finished putting my earpieces in. “Tonbo’s plan wasn’t just hatched to deal with Sam running off to the island with Kory. Tonbo’s known how he would handle Kory’s bug army for a while. He just didn’t know where it was yet. Guess he was just too lazy to do it himself. He was happy to let you guys do the leg work in finding it.”

  We’d flown to the main front doors. Blake out flew Kate and beat her to opening them. At first, I’d thought it was a strange moment to be chivalrous, but then seeing how much Blake struggled to open one of the metal doors, I realized we probably needed a code to open them automatically.

  Blake opted for the manual, brute force method. It worked.

  We flew through and entered the jungle beyond. The night was black, lit by the stars and the half moon. A light breeze rustled the canopy of trees overhead. We flew low, keeping our eyes out for anyone.

  “So saying Tonbo had this in mind, how did you know about it then?” Blake asked, not wasting time harping on Kate. “I’m guessing he didn’t just tell you during visitor hours while you were being held there.”

  “No. He didn’t. In fact, I found it quite insufferable how differently he treated me from Mack, but I guess you wouldn’t be bothered to notice things like that. Shame too. Maybe if you’d seen the fraud Tonbo is instead of worshipping the ground he walks on, we wouldn’t be in this mess now, Blake.”

  “What are you talking about?” Blake demanded. I knew he got defensive when others spoke ill of Tonbo. I didn’t like it either, but I also knew things were off. Something wasn’t right.

  Kate stopped flying. “Listen, we need to switch to camo and shut up so no one overhears us. So I suggest we wait on all the questions.”

  He was in her face instantly, grabbing her by the shoulders.

  “Blake!” I cried

  He ignored me. “And I suggest you give me one damn reason not to tear you to shreds right now.”

  “So much for trusting Sam.” She scowled at him.

  “You’re not Sam,” he growled back at her.

  I flew toward them, tempted to bang their heads together. “Stop it! Both of you! You’re wasting time. Blake, we’ll get answers later. We have to stop Tonbo from killing the Defenders. Because they aren’t here anymore, which means they are flying across the water right now!”

  Blake’s chest was heaving. I’d never seen him so angry. For a moment, I was worried he’d give into his dragon side completely.

  Then he exhaled through his nose and shoved Kate away from him.

  Seeing a smile creeping on her lips, I said sharply, “Kate, you will answer every question we have after we stop the Defenders from being gassed. Understand? Or I may just let Blake have his wish.”

  Both Kate and Blake stared at me. I guessed my threat had been believable because with one last disgusted look at each other, we took off again without another word.

  Chapter 41

  It didn’t take us long to catch up to them. Not being in camo, they were a horrific sight. A hundred monstrous, black forms flew through the night as even more Irukas weaved through the water below them. From a distance, the Irukas’ bobbing fishtailed bodies reminded me a bit of the salmon run along the An
imas River. My dad had taken me fishing enough to know how driven the salmon were. They were going to make it upstream, no matter what the costs.

  Mack must have found the proof they’d needed because I had no doubt the Irukas were driven now. They were protecting their own.

  Since we were in camo, no one stopped us as we sped alongside the massive, moving army. Although, I could swear a few of the closest Defenders seemed to stare right at me. The earplugs only muffled the melody rolling along the waves; the tantalizing desire to join the throng was as strong as the ocean’s tide itself. After Blake pulled back on me more than once to keep me from being sucked in, he’d insisted on all of us holding hands. Kate had made a silent fuss, but in the end, she’d relented, grabbing on to my other free hand. I’d seen Blake’s outline shrug. Wordlessly, we continued.

  At the front of the procession, I spied Mack, gripping Kory’s arm. Not that it mattered; it didn’t look like Kory was fighting back. In fact, even Kalepe, who flew next to Kory, seemed totally compliant.

  Man, those Irukas pack a punch when they want to. Right below Mack, Aster swam. Each time she soared out of the water, her lips moved along with the song. It was eerie and beautiful at the same time. Her tailfin would flip, and back into the water she’d go. I held my breath, waiting for the split second until she emerged. Because of the mass numbers of Irukas, the song never ended but continued rolling out. It reminded me of a choir staggering their breathing while holding a particularly long note. Aster came back up, adding her voice to the choir again.

  Blake pulled me back toward him—again. Oops. Better keep my eyes on the road.

  It felt weird to pass Mack. Shouldn’t we tell him something? Let him know we’re free? I could only guess the plan had been for Mack to take the lead, getting the Irukas to woo the Defenders away, and then once they were in Tonbo’s cage, he could come back and free Blake and me.

  Kate must have sensed my very thoughts because I saw her shake her head vehemently as we shot past Mack and Aster, leaving the army behind.

  Now what? I wished we could ditch the camo, but we’d agreed we’d keep it until we arrived. Kate had insisted it would be safest since Tonbo had spies everywhere. Blake had snorted back at her, but he’d gone along with it. Now that the army was well behind us, and the sucking pull of the Irukas melody had finally ebbed, I half expected Blake to break his word and appear. To my surprise, he didn’t, but that didn’t stop the questions.

  “Since no one will hear us now…” Blake said as we all continued flying tightly together. I felt Kate try to release my hand, but I didn’t let go. “You can start explaining yourself. I want the straight-up truth. No more half answers. How did you know about Tonbo’s plan? You said Sammy talked with Tonbo. When? Is that how you know?”

  We heard Kate sigh. “I suppose I have to tell you everything now, huh? Can’t it just wait until this is all over?”

  “No. It can’t. Because I have to make sure you really have Sam’s best interest at heart. How do I know this claim to save the Defenders isn’t a ruse to get Sam alone so you can get Sammy to come back?”

  “Oh,” I said, my breath catching, Blake was right. What was I thinking telling Kate I’d go with her? She wants Sammy here, not me. She could have all sorts of things waiting for me wherever we are going. I shook my head. What had come over me back there? It sank in even deeper. Pretty sure Sammy came over me. She wants me to trust Kate, but why? So we’ll save the Defenders? Like some kind of PBS special on save the killer whales? Or does she really have other ideas for me?

  “I swear, Blake, you’re so aggravating sometimes,” Kate muttered, “Alright. I’ll tell you what I know. Then maybe you will stop wasting your energy hating me. And Sammy for that matter. Heck, you might even like us.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Blake said darkly. “I don’t know if I can ever forgive you for what you did to Sam.”

  “Why not?” she asked with a laugh. “Like I said, you’re all chummy with Mack again. Not that we mind, really, since Sammy cares for Mack. She’s happy you’ve forgiven him. She’s a bigger person than I am.”

  “You know it’s really creepy how you keep talking about Sammy,” Blake said, “Like you two have regular phone chats all the time. Because I’m pretty sure Sam has been the one in charge for a while now.”

  “Hello… It’s really creepy how you both keep talking about me like I’m not even here,” I blurted. No one said anything. I sighed, sensing both of their gazes. “You guys have no idea what it’s like to hear you talk about Sammy… when I’m her. It’s my body she uses. You both carry on like you should decide what’s best for Sammy and me. I’m getting kind of tired of it, truthfully. I think it should be my choices—my decisions.”

  There, I said it. I knew they were staring now. Oh well, it needed to be said.

  “Sam, I’m just trying to protect you from psycho people like Kate,” Blake said, obviously not caring if he offended her.

  Kate didn’t say anything, but I could tell by the way she abruptly pulled her hand free that she didn’t like it.

  I didn’t fight her. I was done fighting. Besides, holding hands while flying was tedious and a bit awkward. We could use scent to keep track of one another, and I could still make out the rough outline of Kate’s form.

  Still holding Blake’s hand, I drew nearer to him. “I get it, Blake. I do. But I’m done with being sheltered and protected. In my experience, it has meant one thing. People I love have kept things from me. Like I’m too fragile to handle anything.”

  Blake went to say something, but I cut him off. “Anyway, we’ve gotten off topic. Kate, you have a lot of explaining to do. We’ve got a few hours before we get to Tonbo’s Island, and the army is behind us. So there’s no better time than now.”

  Whatever he’d been about to say to me, he let drop. “I agree. So how about you start at the beginning, Kate?”

  “Alright, but I’m warning you. You may not like what you hear.”

  “I already don’t like it,” Blake mumbled.

  “Trust me, it gets way worse.”

  “Spill it,” I said, tired of waiting.

  “Where to begin? How about with your transformation? The truth of it is, Sam, Sammy really did want to heal you both.” Blake snorted, but he didn’t interrupt. “She came to you at a time you needed help, when you were drowning. After she and Blake here saved you, she realized she wasn’t really… a normal person. She said she always felt like half a person, almost like a ghost. Saving you gave her purpose.”

  I felt Blake’s body stiffen in surprise. I knew he’d felt the same way about saving me from drowning too. Who knew that Sammy and Blake might actually have something in common?

  “She decided she’d find a way to heal you, since she realized her very existence meant you were broken. She spent a lot of time defending you, telling all the stupid people who made fun of you to bug off. She really had no patience with school drama.” “I saw that with Tonbo,” I admitted.

  Kate grunted. “We will get to Tonbo in a sec. For now, I want you to know that what you saw was real, Sam. Sammy may not be perfect. She tends to be a bit bossy and a know-it-all at times,” she said with a laugh. “But she really did all of this to help you and her become one.”

  “If she was so selfless and wonderful, couldn’t she have found a way to just go away? I mean, Sam didn’t need her. All this being one sounds great, but I think Sammy was afraid of not existing. I think she wanted to be one so she could have more control.”

  “You know what? I don’t really care what you think, Blake. You’re so hell-bent on seeing the worse in Sammy, and that’s fine. All that matters is what Sam thinks. So just shut up, will you?” I felt Blake moving toward Kate, so I pulled back with all of my strength on his arm to keep him from moving. “Please, Blake. Just let her talk. I need to hear what she has to say,” I pleaded. I’d seen some of those memories Kate referred to, and I’d felt Sammy’s intentions. Even with all that had happened, they h
ad started out altruistic.

  “I’m not saying I will buy every word, but let’s stop fighting long enough to see what her side is,” I added.

  Blake sighed and nodded. I’d never seen him so quick to violence, except when around his brother, but that was defending me. I glanced over at Kate’s outline. Blake sees Kate as the enemy. Probably how I should see her too, really.

  “So the cabin happened,” I said, “Let’s keep going.”

  “Yes, the cabin happened. It was a botched mess,” Kate grumbled. “It wasn’t supposed to be like that. We never wanted it to go on that long, but we needed Sammy to come out at least once during the process. Sammy felt like if both her conscience and yours were present during it, that with the DNA injected, you’d emerge out of it, melded into one. For a bit after, I wasn’t sure if it had worked. I mean, I wasn’t exactly one of your best buds, Sam. We’d never even met. So I had to take Mack’s word for it. Honestly, he was so torn up from the entire thing that he wanted to avoid you at first. He said he couldn’t tell who you were anymore. You’d slipped into such a deep depression. He’d been terrified we’d ruined you permanently.”

  I had to squeeze Blake’s arm, so he wouldn’t jump in. I knew he wanted to bark out, ‘You did ruin her!’

  “But then that all changed when lover boy here moved in. Suddenly, you came back to life.”

  Blake gasped softly. Obviously, her words surprised him.

  “You’re right,” I said. “I did. I had a reason to live again.”

  Blake pulled me closer to him. “So did I,” he said, kissing my forehead. To Kate, he asked, “So when did you figure out Sammy and Sam were still separate?”

  “It didn’t take long after you showed up, Blake. Mack had been waiting for you, Sam, to make the connection. To remember him as more than just a friend. Then when it was obvious you had feelings for Blake, Mack knew you didn’t share Sammy’s memories. The only thing we weren’t sure of was if Sammy was still around at all, or gone forever.”