“So, all this bullshit about a red-haired immortal? None of its true?” Quinn nodded as though she were confirming something she already suspected.
“Of course it isn’t. One person cannot overcome an empire. That’s ridiculous.”
“Uh-huh. So why wait for me? Why not capture me years ago?” Slade asked, not willing to believe a word this guy said.
“Well, it wasn’t for lack of trying. Truth be told, this plan was a failsafe, just in case. But it would appear I am surrounded by ineptitude and of course, I don’t have access to those nifty little portal disks your Mother makes. Well, I didn’t. My men should be following yours through their portal to Aurelia as we speak. I will have it, and all those they freed, within my possession soon enough. Didn’t you ever notice how many clans and camps were wiped out within days of your visit? I took no pleasure in it but it did give me a steady supply of test subjects and I was able to procure many different… talents along the way.”
Quinn looked up at Slade, her eyes wide and brimmed with unshed tears but he couldn’t allow himself to think about the meaning behind the King’s words. Something still wasn’t adding up.
“You’re lying,” Slade muttered. “If you didn’t want Quinn, why attack her clan? Why take her sister?” Quinn turned to look at the King, the same questions written all over her face. “It couldn’t have all been for my benefit. I didn’t even know her then.”
“Aha, maybe I underestimated your intelligence… fine. You won’t be leaving here so it makes no difference if I confirm a few things for you. Indeed, it may make your decision easier. You’re right, the Seer who first told me about a red-haired immortal did have a vision. One that had two possible paths. Your daughter heard only about one path but there was a second. You know how seers are.” Slade nodded, despite himself. “On one path, this immortal could be the end of my glorious empire, leading the rebellion to victory, blah, blah, blah… the other, on the other hand, was entirely different. This immortal, in the right hands could be the end of all gifted. She could be the most powerful weapon against the plague your kind represents this world has ever seen.” Quinn stared at him, dumbfounded.
“And what decision is it we’re supposed to be making?”
“Hmm, perhaps I was too quick in questioning my initial assessment of your cognitive abilities… isn’t it obvious? You must choose. Do we end your race with a cure or with a culling?” At his words, the soldier he had sent away before, the one that Slade had all but forgotten about, re-emerged, dragging a young girl with him. Her eyes were wild and her clothes were dirty but she appeared otherwise unharmed.
“Amira,” Quinn breathed, as the name echoed in his mind. Quinn’s sister was a pretty little thing, innocent looking and sweet. And very, very scared.
“Quinn?” she murmured, her voice breaking as tears began streaking through the dirt on her face. The tension that had been mounting around the table hit a crescendo as Quinn stood, knocking the chair backwards. It hit the floor with a clatter in the same instance as her gifts exploded from her at the speed of sound, enveloping her body in fiery black tendrils. The others started to stand as well but the white wooden chairs they sat in prevented them from doing so. Silver cuffs slid out of the arms and legs, gripping their wrists and ankles in place, leaving them powerless and impotent. Looking down, Slade could see the cuffs still reaching out, like sentient beasts, on Quinn’s chair. She had reacted too quickly for them to set in. He was glad she wasn’t confined as they were but, by the Gods, he didn’t want her to be standing there alone.
“Release them.” Her many voices echoed around the hall as she faced the King. Arrogant bastard hadn’t even bothered standing up. Instead he leaned back, a look of satisfaction on his face.
“My, my… you are as powerful as I was told you would be. I assume this means you choose fire? In that case, kill them all,” he said the last with a wave of his hand and the soldiers on the sides of the room started moving inwards. Quinn snarled unintelligibly, her tendrils flying from her. She didn’t even need to look at the soldiers… her gifts following her commands like trained pets. He heard the screams, listened to the squelch and spatter of blood hitting the marble floor as one by one, she slaughtered them all. When she was finished, she tilted her head to the side, looking the King square in the eye.
“You will release them, or you will be the next to die.”
The King just laughed at her and all Slade could think was that it would make his death all the more satisfying when she did kill him.
“You think I wasn’t prepared for this? You think I would be fool enough to leave myself vulnerable to you?” he stood finally, the self-satisfied smirk never leaving his face as Slade struggled against the silver binding his wrists. Amira caught his eye, not because she was crying out but because she had become strangely silent… The soldier holding her, the only one left alive having avoided Quinn’s outburst held a small silver blade to her throat and was whispering something in her ear. His free hand was travelling over her waist, gripping her dirt smeared shirt in a way that had Slade’s fatherly instincts kicking into overdrive.
“Hey asshole, you let your soldiers abuse little girls like that?” Slade shouted, drawing the King’s attention.
“She is not a little girl… she is barely even human,” Jackson murmured after a moment, a cold gleam in his maniacal eyes as he turned back to Quinn, effectively giving his soldier the go ahead to have his way.
“For all your intelligence and posturing, you haven’t yet realised, have you?” Quinn muttered, a tendril of shadow looming towards the soldier in question as she did. “None of us are human anymore. Not me and not you… I still have my humanity, can you say the same?”
“What good is humanity in a world overrun with beasts?” the King replied, moving around the table in that same alien, fluid way he had before.
“If that’s how you feel then what are you really fighting for?” Quinn asked, her face still clear of emotion as she moved to the left, away from the King.
“Do you know the story of how we came to be these… things? The human race was an imperfect thing… constantly searching for more, no matter the cost. Never content to just let nature take its course they abandoned it altogether, moving towards less conventional methods. The earth’s population was growing substantially, too many souls on a planet that could no longer sustain them. We were dying. Travel to the stars was not an option, science was moving too slowly for it to be viable and so… A chemical was created, an airborne virus that had unique side effects. It effectively weeded out the weak, the sick, those with imperfect genomes, and at first, as the population dwindled and the human race became a more manageable entity all was well. The virus didn’t care how rich a person was, the colour of their skin, their sexual orientation… real equality for the first time in human history. Of course, it didn’t last. A few were disturbed by the idea that their loved ones would not be strong enough to survive the process and so they manipulated the virus… instead of gently sending souls to meet their Gods, the pathogen mutated them. Those who were meant to die, did not. Instead they developed abilities that defied nature… disgusting, twisted things that have no place in this world. Some, who were strong enough to survive the initial virus could not adapt to the mutated pathogen. Their immune systems too strong to adapt, fighting until they could fight no more… so many died who would otherwise have survived.”
“And Sarah was one of those people,” Quinn murmured. It wasn’t a question but a statement. Slade didn’t have a damn clue who the hells Sarah was but the King sure did.
“You dare to speak her name? She was perfect. Beautiful, strong… and she was taken from me so that people like you, people who never should have seen the light of day, could live. Now you must understand? You are a mistake. A by-product of selfishness and self-entitlement. I pledged an oath to my country and whilst your kind still breathes, it remains unfulfilled.”
“You lie, immortal. You are not concerned with y
our oath or with your duty. You care only about vengeance. You must know that if you kill us all, it will not bring your daughter back? She is dead and she cannot be saved. I can see your heart, Jackson. I see the darkness festering there. I see the gifts you have stolen and the imprisoned souls that fight to be free from within your skin. You may not like it but in attempting to defeat us, you have surpassed us.”
“I am nothing like you.” The King snarled, a vein popping in his neck as he took another step around the table.
“No, you are not.” With that, Quinn threw up her hand, sending a tirade of fire filled shadows towards the King. He leapt backwards, an arc of clear water dousing her flames with a simple swish of his wrist. Her shadowy tendrils were not deterred by water, however, and Slade watched as they encompassed the King. For a moment, Slade thought that the fight would come to a very anti-climactic end with Quinn’s shadows relieving the man of his head but to his awe and horror, Slade watched as the tendrils, instead of ripping or tearing as they had so many times before, flowed through the King. He seemed to grow larger then, his chest puffing out as though she were filling him with energy… as though her gifts were making his stronger. Quinn seemed to realise this as well because she stopped pulling back her gifts with more than a little effort.
He’s siphoning them from her, Slade thought, doubling his efforts to get free. If he could just get out of this Gods damned silver…
“You cannot best me, girl.”
“I can try,” she replied, throwing both hands out in front of her. The power that flowed from her was pure fire, blue and white flames so hot he could feel himself sweating even though they were several feet away from him. Jackson once again sent a steady stream of water towards the fire but he wasn’t strong enough to deflect them all. A fierce ball of fire broke through his defences hitting him square in the chest and sending him careening backwards with a guttural snarl. Quinn didn’t stop there. Marching forward, throwing one flame-filled ball after another she struck him, again and again until he didn’t move. She stood panting there for a moment, her white on red on black eyes wide and angry, before turning to him and getting to work on the silver bindings. She found a mechanism beneath the chair arm and disabled the silver band on his left wrist before moving to his right one.
“Let’s get the hells out of here,” she muttered, looking up to see the frightened face of the soldier holding her sister. She brought up her hand to send a tendril of shadow in his direction but before she could release it she was sent soaring forwards, landing on her back squarely on the table before him.
“Quinn!” he and Amira shouted in unison as the King climbed to his feet, a crazed, tooth filled smile on his face.
“You thought it was over?” he asked, his voice low and dangerous. “We’re just getting started.”
“Gods, what the fuck do you want?” Slade shouted. “Take me! Just take me, dammit!” he meant it. Hells, he’d never been surer of anything.
“Too late. You chose fire, just as I hoped you would,” the King sneered.
“You never planned for us to choose anything different. I’m here because I’m as big a threat to you as she is, isn’t that right? If I can stop her gifts then I can stop yours.” Slade shouted, angry and frustrated.
“Clever boy…” the King muttered as Quinn climbed off the table with a groan. She wasted no time in rushing towards the King, her gifts in full effect as her feet left the floor. Once again, Slade was struck by the power emanating from her. Balls of fire formed in her hands as she once again began hurling them but, apparently tiring of her attacks the King flung out his own arm. Instead of water, a large shard of ice flew from his fingertips, hitting Quinn in the stomach. With a strangled gasp she fell backwards, not in pain but from the sheer force of the blow. Slade had been working on the cuff on his right wrist and as she hit the wall behind her, he finally managed to free it. Working quickly, he started on the cuffs around his ankles, listening to the cries of pain from behind him. He could tell that both Quinn and the King were taking hits but he wasn’t sure who was on the winning side. Finally able to stand from his chair he wished he still didn’t. Quinn was flagging, her auburn hair stuck to her face with perspiration whilst the King looked as though he had been playing tag on a damn picnic. Thinking on his feet, Slade quickly untethered Aaron from his seat and pulled the portal disk out of his pocket. Throwing it on the ground after clicking the side he started towards Amira and the soldier holding her. Quinn had saved Shay, now he was going to repay the favour. Aaron was untying Kieron and within a moment all three of them headed towards the soldier. They stopped short when the door behind the soldier opened and another staggered inwards, clutching his blood soaked side. The soldier holding Amira glanced back with a grin which quickly disintegrated as the other plunged a small dagger into his throat. Slade looked back at Aaron, his eyes wide, as Amira slouched to the floor with a stifled sob.
“Hey… miss me,” the soldier muttered, leaning back against the wall, looking more than a little worse for wear.
“Liam?” Slade murmured, his shock making him laugh out loud.
“Oh my Gods, let me help you,” Amira’s soft voice echoed around the room as she quickly turned to see to the man.
“Don’t worry… don’t think I’m making it back from this-,” Liam’s eyes widened in shock as Amira placed her hands over his wounds. A soft white glow emanated from them, a glow that Slade recognised instantly… a glow he had seen from only one other woman. He watched, transfixed, as the fresh blood pouring from Liam’s wounds began to flow the wrong way, back into his wounds as they sealed over. Healed. Completely healed.
“Holy shit,” Liam breathed, looking up at Amira as though he’d just met a God in the flesh. A crash from behind them caught their attention as Quinn and the King continued to battle. Quinn looked worse, her tiredness getting the better of her as the King through bolts of electricity and shards of ice towards her. She was able to dodge several but more than a few crashed into her with a force that shook him to his core as she landed on the ground beside him. He pulled his pistol free from his belt, belatedly realising it hadn’t been taken from him. There is nothing better than arrogance in your enemies, he thought, raising it as he cocked the barrel and aimed down the sight. One, two and… Bang. He watched the specially designed silver bullet whip through the air, heading straight for the King’s heart, his own his throat and just as it was about to hit, when he could taste victory, the King lifted his hand and the bullet dropped to the floor losing all momentum in the blink of an eye.
“Holy shit,” Liam muttered again. Amira had moved to heal Kieron and Aaron, her eyes lingering on Kieron a little longer than he was comfortable with.
“Liam, take her through the portal,” Slade growled to him, pulling his blade free. Liam nodded as Aaron and Kieron pulled their own blades free, readying for battle.
“I’m not leaving without my sister,” Amira said, loud and clear… just as stubborn as the other female in her family.
“Fine. If it looks like we’re all going to die, drag her through if you have to,” Slade added the last in a mutter, ignoring Amira’s look of disdain as he turned back to the fight in front of him. Signalling to Aaron and Kieron the three moved round, taking a position beside Quinn as she stood to her feet, quickly rising an inch above the ground, arms and gifts at the ready.
“This has been bracing, but I’m afraid the time has come to end it,” The King murmured, barely breaking a sweat as he took a few sure steps forward, throwing his arms up melodramatically. As he did, every door slammed open and the soldiers he had sent away with a wave of his hand earlier streamed inside, making a solid wall of blue and purple uniforms around them.
“Holy shit,” Slade wasn’t sure who had said it, it could have been himself, but it pretty much summed up the situation. Somehow, it felt as though the King had anticipated their every movement, their every action, engineering them into this position. The suspicion hadn’t even fully registered in
his mind when the King moved again, all but confirming it. With a come hither motion, he flicked his wrist and the portal disk slid across the floor landing beside him, its flowing purple abyss with it. Quinn released an animalistic snarl, her power carrying her higher as her rage consumed her and all Slade could think was… oh fuck…
Chapter 26
Quinn had never felt like this before. Never had she felt so consumed and for once it wasn’t by the gifts that had ruled her so completely in the past… it was by an all-encompassing hatred, a need to paint the floor using Jackson’s blood… a desire to make him suffer beyond his capacity to feel. He had been right when he said she was a beast because she felt nothing beyond the instincts and desires of an animal and right now, her mind was fixated on the kill. Throwing her arms up, she called her power to her as she stalked towards her prey. He was nothing. He was… he was doing something… She stopped, watching him, the knowing pain in her chest exploding. Something was wrong… something was very, very wrong. Jackson turned towards the portal expectantly, waiting. A few moments passed, the only sounds in the room came from her, guttural snarls and growls as she truly became the wild animal he had warned against. She was about to take a step forward, screw it all, when the purple vortex began to move a little faster and a figure, no two figures, stepped through.
“No!” Slade shouted from behind her as she felt vomit crawl up her throat. Shay stood there, a silver blade pressed to her throat by another Blonde immortal.
“I-I’m sorry… I had no choice,” Diana murmured, her puffy cheeks raw from her tears. Quinn could see the darkness threading into her soul. She was not lost but losing…
“Yes, yes… it’s all very heart-breaking,” Jackson muttered, signalling to another soldier from behind them. The soldier moved towards Amira, swiftly subduing her with another blade to her throat.
Dancing with Shadows Page 27