Colt and Liam went first, walking together, their heads held high and their shoulders back with certainty and self-assurance though Quinn was positive they didn’t feel it. Well, maybe Colt did. He didn’t strike her as the type of man to ever doubt himself, though another small voice told her it wasn’t true. Peering around the corner of the alley, she and the others watched as the men marched towards the sewer systems. Colt stood still just before them, surveying the marketplace as though he were just another soldier on patrol whilst Liam worked on the pipe opening. It was a large flat, black metal slab on the floor that needed to be hoisted above the ground and moved to the side. She watched him struggle with it for a moment or two before he quietly moved it aside. Colt nodded in response to something Liam muttered and touched his fingers to his ear in the predetermined signal they had agreed on. Liam jumped down into the pipe as Diana and Aaron made their way across the street. Leaving only Quinn, Kieron, Dax, Slade and Shay’s ghostly form to go. Quinn watched them march over, her eyes wandering to the Market place. What type of people lived here? They all seemed to damn happy. Joking and laughing as they peddled their wares from metallic carts laid out in a semi-circle. Some sold colourful fabrics, others sold beautifully rich smelling foods and some sold odd technical looking equipment, like some of the things she had seen in the book shop. Didn’t they know what was going on in this damn infernal place? Then again, did she? Before entering the portal she had had one view of the King and his practices… he was an asshole. A bully incapable of feeling empathy for others, a tyrant who despised anything he didn’t understand. And yet, now, having seen a glimpse of his history… experiencing his pain and loss as he cried into his daughter’s unmoving chest… Hells, she didn’t know what she thought anymore. But, one thing had not changed. They had a mission and she was damn sure going to see it through. Somehow she would help Shay get back into her body, though she wasn’t sure how that was going to happen yet, she would save her sister and as many other captives as she could and then they would escape… be free of this place. Move out as far north as the land would allow, past outlander territory if they needed to but far beyond the King’s reach. There they would be free. There they could live and not just simply survive.
Turning back to the pipe opening she caught a glimpse of the top of Aaron’s head as he dived inside. Dax and Kieron were next. Kieron moved with a soldier’s gait, the complete opposite of Dax. He moved leisurely across the path, without a care in the damn world, jumped down into the opening with a little wave behind him. Colt rolled his eyes and Quinn found herself doing the same. She had never met anyone as carefree as Dax. She was fairly certain that had he been any more laidback he would be practically horizontal. She looked up at Slade who tentatively reached for her, thought the better of it and gave her a nod instead. She looked away, shaking the pain of yet another rejection at his hands away and, after taking a deep breath, she started her own walk of doom towards the pipe opening. The sounds of the market place, alive with chatter and the sounds of happiness was in stark contrast to the fear and anticipation causing her heart to race faster and faster with each step. Still, she made it to the pipe entrance and climbed inside without any troubles. There were none of the King’s soldiers around and it was starting to make her paranoid. Slade climbed into the pipe, quickly followed by Colt and together they pulled the large slab back over the opening, sealing them all inside.
“Something’s not right,” she whispered, her voice echoing around them anyway.
“I know. I feel it too,” Colt agreed, the others nodding in unison.
“So what do we do? Turn back?” Diana asked, sounding almost hopeful.
“No. Keep going. We’ve gotten this far and there are people relying on us. We each knew the risks, right?” she murmured, looking up at them. “If anyone wants to turn around and go back, this is the time to do it but I am seeing this through,” she finished.
“I’m with you, Red,” Aaron murmured, squinting down the darkened pipe as the others nodded in agreement. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see Slade’s outline above her. It was much darker inside the pipe than she had thought it would be and the stench was horrendous. Moving slowly through the slog of piss and shit, gagging on the tangible smell, they moved as quickly as they could without splashing the disgusting waste over themselves. They slid and slipped, catching each other before they hit the pool of sludge beneath them. It felt like forever before Liam announced the opening was just up ahead, his voice thick. She nodded even though she knew he couldn’t see her, not wanting to open her mouth in case she threw up, which as the smell intensified and the heat inside the pipe grew was looking more and more certain. Eventually, Liam stopped and she could vaguely see him point towards a ladder on the side of the pipe, his hunched shoulders and ducked head scraping across the top of the pipe. He started to move towards the pipe but Colt stopped him.
“I’ll go first, soldier boy,” she heard him mutter. She rolled her eyes but she understood his reluctance to trust the younger man. He had been fighting for the enemy just days before but though she knew it wasn’t logical, whenever she looked at him, his young face and shadowed eyes all she saw was a good man caught in a bad situation trying to make the best of it. She watched as Colt stood upright as his hands found the rungs of the ladder and listened to the sound of his boots on the metal bars as he headed upwards towards a soft light emanating through the slats of a grate above. She held her breath, feeling the others do the same, as he quietly lifted the grate letting a steady stream of light rain down upon them. He took one tentative step up, poking his head out the grate, then another… and another. He climbed out and then signalled down for the others to follow after him, his hand descending into the darkness like a lifeline. Liam followed after him eagerly and the rest followed suit. Blinking against the sudden brightness of the room as her eyes acclimatised to the light she looked around slowly. Well shit… this is about as far from the clan-grounds as you could get.
Chapter 22
Slade looked around the room they had climbed into. He could practically smell the silver built into the walls and he sluggish, slow and heavy as the weight of it pressed down on his gift. The walls were an opulent golden white and the floors a decadent marble, buffed to perfection. A single table made from an iridescent white wood lined one side with two chairs pushed beneath it. A series of floating lights filled the ceiling too bright for anything to cast a shadow. Despite the brightness and the emptiness of the room, Slade couldn’t help but feel threatened. He took a step towards Quinn despite the rift between them. He still wanted to protect her, shelter her from the storm, even though they stood in its eye. She glanced up at him, her grey eyes wide and anxious. Some of her crimson hair had fallen loose beneath her cap, framing her delicate features. It was almost too much. Right then, he wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms, carry her back through the pipe and off to freedom. He wanted it so badly he could taste it. A soft glow beyond the room caught his eye and as he turned to face it, he cursed himself for his cowardice. Shay floated there, just beyond the room, her eyes large and frightened as she bit her lip waiting for them. How could he forget his whole reason for being there? His whole reason for breathing. Fuck, he was a terrible father. Shaking himself from his reverie and self-flagellation, he took a step towards his baby girl with renewed vigour but stopped suddenly. Shay had whirled round, a soft scream falling from her lips as the ground began to thunder with the sound of boots… lots and lots of boots. She turned, iridescent tears falling down her ghostly face. Though only he and Quinn could hear her cries, the others could certainly feel the soldiers that were running towards them.
“It’s a trap,” Diana hissed, drawing two short swords from her belt.
“Of course it is,” Colt replied, turning towards Liam with a threatening glare as he too pulled free his weapon. Without another word he rushed towards the larger man, his blade raising high ready to arc downwards and decimate the traitor.
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“I didn’t, I swear it!” Liam cried out, raising his hands in surrender.
“He lies, kill him,” Kieron hissed, his weapon out and prepared to do the job if Colt failed.
“Colt, stop. In less than a minute, they’ll be here and we’ll need to fight our way through. We’ll need him,” Quinn hissed, stepping forward.
“He betrayed us, Quinn,” Colt growled, his blade still poised for the kill.
“We don’t know that, besides it doesn’t matter now. We’re here and they know we’re here. We’ll deal with the betrayal later,” she snarled, losing her temper. Colt snapped his eyes to hers and a silent conversation seemed to pass between them as the thudding of feet on the ground grew louder and louder.
Shay screamed out, “they’re coming!” and Slade pulled free his own blade and a little something extra from his pocket. Beside him Dax and Quinn did the same, retrieving their weapons and Colt released Liam, pushing him in front of them so if he did turn on them he wouldn’t be literally stabbing them in the back. To his credit, Liam didn’t falter. He pulled free a short blade and a dagger from his belt and prepared for the onslaught himself. The thudding grew louder still and Slade had barely enough time to calculate their odds of survival as the first horde of blue and purple uniforms rushed towards them. Suffice to say… they were shit. Quinn glanced up at him, excitement in her eyes and a murderous grin on her lips. Gods, she was a crazy bitch but that was what he loved about her. Loved? No, he hadn’t meant that… had he? He started to frown but the rallying war cry of a soldier aiming a hatchet at his head distracted him from the burning question he felt he needed to ask. He leapt backwards, raising his sword in time to parry the incoming blow. He jumped backwards once again, but instantly jumped forwards in an empty fade, slashing diagonally with his blade, the silver slicing through the soldier leaving behind a thin dark line that grew thicker. The soldier coughed, blood escaping from his mouth as he fell to his knees. Slade didn’t wait to see the soldier fall, his attention immediately diverted as two more soldiers advanced on him, their steps cautious but certain. He parried one blow then another, fading left and then slashing right. Another soldier down, a hole where his heart had been and three more advancing. He stepped backwards, retreating a moment and feeling outmanned, when a soldier coming towards his right stopped still with a grunt of pain. The man fell forward, revealing a knife protruding from his back and Quinn crouched behind him. There was blood spattered on her face and her red hair had fallen loose completely making her look like some sort of avenging fire angel… or demon. The grin on her face as she threw another knife caused him to lean on the side of demon. He ducked as a blade came towards him, narrowly missing his head by a hairs breath, and stuck his blade out wildly, catching a soldier in the gut by luck more than any kind of skill. Growling at himself for getting distracted he pulled free his gun and shot the other soldier advancing on him. The soldier fell down as the gun shot reverberated around the room. There was a moment of silence, quickly followed by a roar as more soldiers ran for them. They were never ending, a steady stream coming from all angles. He slashed, parried and shot, the sounds no longer causing the soldiers to pause… it was as though they had no choice but to attack. Like machines set on automatic. No fear, no thought of survival… just the kill. There was too many… at this rate they weren’t going to survive making it past this room… they had willingly climbed into their own coliseum and now they were never going to leave it. Quinn apparently had the same thought because she stopped beating the soldiers down where she stood and began moving slowly, still fighting, through them. He tried to call out to her but a sharp sting in his shoulder caused him to cry out in pain instead. A small blade protruded from his skin, the silver burning through his flesh, with a roar he pulled it from his shoulder throwing it at the offending soldier, hitting him in the eye. He wished he could claim that he had simply had better aim but in truth, he had been aiming for the soldier’s heart. Still, blade in the eye? Did the job.
“Aaron!” he shouted, moving towards Quinn, watching as his brother gracefully cut through the soldiers in front of him with his blades. They moved in tandem until they were barely a foot between them and Quinn and Slade held up the small metal balls his mother had given them signalling Aaron with them. His brother nodded and turned away as Slade threw three of them up in the air.
“GET DOWN!” he screamed. He watched, almost in slow motion, as Diana, Kieron, Liam and Colt hit the floor as one but Dax, surrounded by soldiers, was cornered. He made eye contact with him just once as the balls exploded, sending an array of tiny silver bolts flying through the air. Several of the soldiers had hit the floor as well, clearly smart enough to understand his intent, but those who were left standing were bombarded with a rampage of silver. It hit them with enough force to pierce through flesh and bone and body after body hit the floor. Quinn was the first to stand, throwing a blade at a soldier who also began to stand. He hit the floor with a huff and didn’t move again. Colt stood as well, cutting through the remaining soldiers on his side of the room, Diana and Liam helping him as they fought their way towards Dax. At least, where Dax had been seen last. At the same time, Quinn climbed over fallen soldiers, lunging downwards with a small blade, making sure they were dead. She finally reached the corridor where Shay still hovered, her eyes wide and her spirit broken as she stared at the carnage ahead of her. Quinn stopped beside her, touching her shoulder with a tenderness that seemed out of place amidst the death and destruction. Shay nodded at something Quinn was saying, turning away from the scene. Quinn watched her move for a moment until she turned back, her hands out in front of her as she closed her eyes. No longer shackled by silver she called upon her gifts, her hair whipping around her with some unseen and unfelt breeze as those white on red on black eyes of hers opened. More soldiers were up now, reaching for their weapons, obviously planning on resuming the fight but they stopped as the walls shook with her power. She threw her hands out ahead of her, her fire-wrapped shadows flowing forward taking no prisoners as they danced, hurtling through the air and ripping through the remaining soldiers. He watched in awe as they worked, more soldiers hit the ground gripping at severed limbs and screaming out in agony.
“By the Gods…” he heard Aaron mumble under his breath and he remembered that though they had seen a small measure of her power, they had no idea what she was truly capable of. Come to think of it, neither did he… Less than a minute passed and the threat was gone. The soldiers lay on the ground, covered in blood and sinew as was the floor. The only sound was the haggard breathing of those left standing and the intense thudding of his own heartbeat. Quinn recalled her shadows and the others shock seemed to subside with them.
“Help me with him,” he heard Colt growl as he pulled an injured and bloodied soldier from a pile beside the table. Kieron, Diana and Liam went to help and though Colt sneered angrily at the larger man he allowed him to assist anyway. Slade stood, taking a step towards them with a frown, until the soldier coughed. A hacking, spluttering cough that sounded as painful as the soldier’s wounds looked. Except it wasn’t a soldier… it was Dax and he was dying.
“Shit!” he moved to help them as Dax cried out in pain, blood leaking profusely from his side.
“It’s going to be okay, buddy. Just hold on,” Colt muttered, though even to Slade’s ears the words sounded empty. Quinn started to move forward but the silver around the room caused her to hiss out in pain. Apparently, she was more susceptible to its effects when her gifts were active. Instead they came to her, clambering over the dead with difficulty as Aaron tried to clear a path. Tried and failed. Eventually they made it through the sea of bodies and placed Dax on the floor. Quinn knelt beside him, her movements slow and alien.
“Q-Quinn… I…”
“Shhh, soldier… this will hurt,” she murmured, hundreds of voices flowing from her lips. Tilting her head to the side she pushed her hands onto his stomach, blood pouring out between her fingers. Dax cried out, his bac
k arching in agony.
“Stop! Quinn you’re killing him,” Colt shouted, leaning down to pull her away.
Slade went to stop him but a shadow snaked out of Quinn’s hand and wrapped around his waist, pinning him to the wall behind. He shouted out but the shadow kept him where he stood. Quinn didn’t turn from Dax though Diana and Aaron both took a step back from her. Only he, Liam, Kieron and Shay stood their ground around her unafraid… or maybe too afraid to move, judging by the horrified expression on Liam’s face. Quinn’s fingers delved inside Dax’s stomach as he writhed on the floor beneath her.
“Hold him,” her many voices demanded and Slade knelt down pinning Dax’s shoulders as Liam did the same to his legs. The kid still looked terrified but defiantly loyal. He couldn’t have been the one who betrayed them, Slade thought. His face was a roadmap of pain and misery as he looked at their dying comrade struggling on the floor. A moment later and Quinn’s nimble fingers pulled free a silver bolt, dropping it on the floor with a clink. She moved to his chest and did the same there. Luckily for Dax, the shrapnel had embedded itself on the opposite side of his heart. When that silver bolt hit the floor as well, she sat back, her hands hovering above the man who now lied still, his breaths coming in quick short pants. Her power flowed around her, not the dark shadows or fire he was used to but the same light filled tendrils he had only seen on a couple of occasions before. Seeing the tendrils wrap around the man on the floor he frowned, inexplicable jealousy pouring from him. The only times he had seen this power in her, she had been in his arms… or in his bed. The tendrils seemed to pass through Dax, around him and inside him until his breathing evened out and his expression cleared. Gone was his pain… replaced with ecstasy. Quinn sighed a little as her power rescinded, her eyes reverted back to the steely grey he knew so well and she started to fall backwards. He reached out with a gasp as Colt was released from the wall and the others moved forward.
Dancing with Shadows Page 22