“What do you want, Jackson?” Quinn heard Slade mutter, tears in his throat.
“I want you all. The mind meddler has an unusual gift that I desire as does the girl,” he gestured towards Amira. “I will keep your daughter here to ensure you do not fight me throughout the process of using your gifts to create the ‘vaccinations’,” Jackson actually used air quotes as he smirked. There was no vaccination, Quinn realised. Jackson planned to use Slade’s gifts as some sort of poison. “You know the process can be quite painful. As for your brother, he is of no use to me. He can die.” Quinn glanced towards Aaron, expecting to see him upset or scared… instead the sick bastard had a ‘come at me’ smirk on his face, his blades twirling round his fingers. She would have laughed had she the capacity to do so at that moment. Instead, there was just confusion and uncertainty… something big, something life-altering was about to happen but she couldn’t see what it was. She just knew she had to be prepared for it.
“As for you… harnessing your gifts for my own will ensure that my empire is never defeated. Finally, I will be able to wipe your kind out of existence, the way it was always meant to be,” he muttered.
“One minute you want us dead, the next you want our gifts. Make up your fucking mind,” Slade murmured, taking a step towards Shay and the traitorous Rebellion fighter.
“Silly boy, alive or dead, it doesn’t matter. I have the technology to harvest your gifts regardless,” raising his hand once again. At his gesture every soldier in the hall began moving forward as one, except for Diana and the soldier holding Amira captive. Quinn realised as they surged towards her that they were exactly where they had been before they entered Union City. Outmanned, outgunned and outmanoeuvred with Amira and Shay being held to ransom… so much fighting and yet nothing had changed. Well, it was about to…
With a rallying scream, she threw her hands up, sending her tendrils in every direction. She felt the spatter of blood against her legs, the smell of copper in the air and the ecstasy of all-consuming power as her gifts got to work. She had an idea but she wasn’t sure if it would work… she could only hope she had enough strength to see it through. Her shadowy tendrils flowed forth, dismembering and slicing through flesh and as they did, she moved with them… going from corpse to corpse, pulling the grey and black orbs of blackened souls from the dead. Every time her hands closed over one she felt the power inside her increasing, felt the rage increasing… knowing that she had barely got a hold on her sanity, her morality… she felt them, all of them, staining her soul… soon she would be nothing, a blackened husk of humanity, just like Jackson…
No! No, she was better than that. She had something to live for… didn’t she? Something… what was it? Under the crushing weight of her own power and the souls she had consumed, she couldn’t remember… couldn’t identify it. Like a word stuck on the tip of her tongue, there but just out of reach. It didn’t matter anymore… the only thing that mattered was the death and destruction she could reap. All that mattered was the power she was entitled to.
Turning away from the carnage, the soldiers’ ranks severely decimated as Aaron, Kieron, Liam and Slade worked through those that were remaining, shoulder to shoulder, brothers at arms, she turned towards Jackson, just a hunter stalking her prey. Walking on air, she headed towards him… her shadowy tendrils deflecting the men and women that came towards her. She didn’t notice who they were, didn’t know if they were friend or foe… she didn’t care.
“I will kill them both,” Jackson murmured, his mouth set in a grim line as he gestured towards the two girls he had standing beside him, each with a blade at their throats. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew that she didn’t want that but she couldn’t understand why… irritated by the distraction she threw out her hand and sent a black smoky tendril towards the girls, watched as it wrapped around the throats of their captors faster than the eye could track. She smiled, a wide eyed, orgasmic smile as they dropped, their heads rolling a few feet away in opposite directions. Jackson… her prey, seemed somewhat impressed, not that it mattered. He would be joining them in the realm of the dead soon enough. She threw out a tendril towards him and once again, watched as it flowed through him. She felt it bleeding from her, felt him taking her power… just as she had intended. As his eyes closed and his head fell back, enjoying the feel of her abilities inside him, she pulled at the long forgotten throwing stars in her belt. One by one, she threw them… the first three hit home, cutting into his flesh before he looked back up, eyes blazing and deflecting the next two with a little less ease than he had the bullet. She smiled as he roared in pain and fury… and then it truly began…
Bolts of lightning and ice flew towards her, her shadows working overtime to beat them away as she moved forwards, drawing her knife as she sent balls of fire towards him with the other hand. He couldn’t keep up with her, though he tried. He may have more gifts than her but hers were natural. She was born to wield the power she had, he had to manufacture his. She wasn’t sure were the words had come from but they rattled around her mind and she knew they were right. Step by step, she pushed him back until he was against the wall and she was barely three feet away from him. One well-placed blow from her knife and it could all be over. She felt movement behind her and whirled around, ready to parry a blow as she met a pair of familiar amber eyes. Eyes that spoke to her. Eyes she knew better than her own.
“My mate,” she murmured, her hand reaching for him. He took a step towards her, his eyes searching but before they could touch he glanced over her shoulder, his mouth opening in horror as she turned to see Jackson, a blade in his hand swinging down towards her. She couldn’t defend against the blow but she could minimise the damage. The knife came down towards her throat and she threw herself back a step, causing it to miss and slash her stomach instead as she dropped her blade to the floor. Her blood poured from the wound, a sliver of silver still embedded inside. She could feel her strength waning, feel the heat of her blood as it drenched the front of her clothes. But it wasn’t the only heat she could feel. The fire inside her was crawling through her veins, boiling her from the inside out… it felt angry, all consuming. She didn’t have long until it exploded from her, taking them all down with it. She roared low and deep, not recognising the sound that came from her. The pain in her stomach was bringing her back to herself, dampening the rage she felt… there wasn’t much time.
“Let’s end this. You may have defeated my soldiers but there are many more on their way.” Quinn glanced behind her to see Liam, Kieron and Aaron all standing tall, covered in cuts and gashes and blood but breathing.
“You’ve lost, Jackson… just accept it,” Slade murmured, moving towards Shay who was rooted to the spot, her face pale and full of fear. Amira had backed away from the wall and was moving towards the men, moving towards Kieron, to offer her gifts and heal them but she suddenly stopped, looking at Quinn, horrified. Suddenly, she clasped at her throat, gasping. Her hands clawing at some invisible force as the breath was choked from her. Quinn moved towards her but a gasp from the other side of the room caught her attention. Shay’s knees had given out, her hands also gripping at her throat. Aaron, Liam and Kieron were soon to follow. She felt the same force reach out for her, grasping at her throat but her own power batted it away, barely keeping it at bay as Jackson took a step towards them.
“You could escape, both of you… but you will not be leaving here victorious. I will take them all from you and when you have gone, I will come for you,” the King sneered, his face ugly and tainted revealing the evil inside him. Slade was gripping at Shay’s neck, desperately trying to free her. “Make your choice, Immortal.”
“I’ll kill you, that’s my choice,” Quinn muttered, grasping the hilt of her knife as she moved towards him.
“Ah-ah, you touch me, they all die. I’ve tested this particular gift. You know I had to choose between duty and love once… I wonder what it will be?” he staggered, the use of his power draining him. He was ripe for the kill but what if
he was right? What if they all died?
“Kill… him,” she heard Kieron gasp from behind her but her eyes went to Slade. He was desperate. A father on the edge of losing his baby for the second time… powerless to stop it. She stepped towards him, her hand landing on his cheek. He turned from Shay’s almost purple face to look at her, panic and fear all over his face.
“Quinn… please,” he begged, clearly not sure what he was begging for. But she knew. She reached up pressing her lips to his, one last sweet kiss before oblivion.
“There is no choice, Slade. I’m sorry,” she whispered and he shook his head, angrily, pushing her back with the back of his hand as he continued to fight for his daughter’s life. Quinn looked over to Amira, her feet almost tripping over themselves as she mouthed ‘sorry’. Amira nodded, closing her eyes, accepting the inevitable. Without any more pre-ambling, Quinn walked towards Jackson as the faint sound of marching in the distance reached her ears.
“So you choose duty as well, do you?”
“No. I choose sacrifice,” she murmured, dropping her knife and throwing her arms around him. She let it all go then. Every injustice, every death on her conscience, every soul she had consumed… the hate, the need, the love, the power… she let it all flow from her. She was nothing, she was weightless, she was… at peace. Her gifts exploded from her, a bright fireball of pure white energy mixed with flames… beams of light wrapping around her and Jackson both. She forced herself to turn to Slade one last time, watched as Shay slumped to the ground, free from Jackson’s bindings as she made him stronger with her gifts, his large body staggering beneath hers as she forced all of her energy into him. She didn’t have long left, she was glad the last thing she saw would be Slade’s face. He hadn’t wanted her but she didn’t blame him for it. She loved him, she realised. Was it possible to fall in love with someone in less than a week? Apparently so. Her lips quirked up in a lazy smile as she watched him move.
Chapter 27
“Quickly, get them through the portal,” Slade screamed at Aaron as he half dragged, half carried Shay towards him. Kieron moved to grab Amira, his arms enclosing around her as she started to drop. The boots of the soldiers in the background drawing closer and closer, echoing off the marble floor the King seemed to be so fond of. He watched as Kieron and Aaron carried the girls through the portal as Liam moved with him to grab Quinn. The King was convulsing beneath her, his eyes rolled back so only the whites were showing, smoke drifting up from beneath his collar as Quinn’s tiny form was bucked and thrown above him. Liam leant down, hissing when his fingers came in contact with her skin.
“By the Gods, she burning!” he shouted, the boots of the men getting closer and closer.
“Get through the portal, we’ll be right behind you,” Slade said, pushing the young man through before he could argue about it. He barely heard Liam’s yell as he pushed him, didn’t stop to see him tumble backwards, instead he leant down to pick Quinn up, gritting his teeth against the pain as her flesh burned his, roaring as she began to convulse in his arms, his own skin singeing beneath her. Jackson stopped convulsing on the floor, his eyes slowing returning to normal and Slade realised he too had a choice to make. Love or duty? Well, he’d never been the soldier type. Without a second thought, he jumped into the portal, the purple vortex turning a fiery red as Quinn’s sweat soaked body smoked in his arms. He couldn’t move, couldn’t comfort her, couldn’t yell at her, couldn’t say he was sorry for doubting her… he could only wait as he fell through the vortex, feeling his body stinging with sensation, feeling himself dying as he held her in his arms. And then, with a staggering step he was out, falling, breaking down. He heard a shout beside him, felt the energy from the portal rescind as someone shattered the disk with the screech of metal on metal. Felt his face stinging as though he had been slapped with a fire laden hand. Heard shouts and murmuring… he heard it all and yet he saw nothing but her face. Felt nothing but her pain. Quinn… Quinn, please… I need you…
***************************
Slade’s eyes opened slowly, his mind swirling with confusion as he sat up in his bed. His bed? How the hells did he get here? Where had he been last? He blinked as the room came into focus. Where the hells was he now? He didn’t recognise anything his eyes landed on. Nothing. Quinn… where the fuck was Quinn? His eyes widened as he started to climb out of bed with a pain-filled grunt.
“Whoa there, good looking. You need to rest,” a voice said beside him. A sarcastic, antagonistic voice. He knew that voice.
“Aaron?” the name came to him before he laid eyes on his brother. His face was grim but he was alive. “Where’s Quinn.”
Aaron sighed, running a hand through his hair. “She’s in bad shape, brother. Since you brought her back through the portal, she… she hasn’t woken up. She’s still burning… we can’t seem to keep her cool enough.”
“Shay? Amira?”
“They’re both fine. Better than fine, actually. Amira really does have the healing touch. It just… doesn’t seem to affect her sister,” he muttered as he helped Slade sit up properly.
“Take me to her,” Slade said, his voice raspy and hoarse. “How long have I been out?” he asked suddenly, feeling weak and hollow as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks.
“Two weeks… didn’t think we’d get you back for a while there. If it hadn’t been for Amira, I’m pretty sure you’d be dead,” Aaron replied, putting Slade’s arm over his shoulder as he hoisted him out of bed.
“Don’t sugar coat it, will you? Where the hells are we?”
“Oh right… welcome to the resistance. They’re real hospitable,” Aaron’s reply was sarcastic and bitter. Can’t wait to find out what that’s about, Slade thought with a sigh. Now on his feet he was able to get a proper look around the room he was in. The bed was covered in simple grey sheets with a single feather pillow. The only furniture was a small shelf and a chest of drawers hastily thrown together from barely sanded wood but the thing that caught his attention was the lack of windows. The walls, floor and ceiling were all a muddy brown and appeared to have been hollowed straight out of the earth, the only lighting coming from little floating orbs similar to those he’d seen in the King’s fortress.
“Are we underground?” Slade murmured, allowing Aaron to escort him out of a rickety wooden door and into a short hallway, non-surprisingly surrounded by brown mud.
“What gave it away? The damp or the mud?”
“Both,” Slade muttered, doing his best to stay upright as his head started swimming. They walked in silence for a while, or at least Aaron walked. Slade was half dragged, half carried much to his own annoyance. Eventually, after a few more hallways they came to a doorway. There was no door on it, though judging by the blackened hinges still embedded in the mud there was once. The mud walls themselves looked warped, as though they were melting. Slade had no doubt Quinn was within.
“I’m glad you’re awake, Brother,” Aaron murmured, propping him up against a wall so he could catch his breath. “I’ll wait here for you.”
“You’re not coming in?”
“No, too fucking hot,” he murmured with a smirk.
“Pussy,” Slade muttered, though he felt himself smile as well. After a moment, he walked, well, staggered, through the doorway, the wave of heat slapping him in the face as he did. Huffing he made his way to the middle of the room where a simple metal table stood. Lying on it, surrounded by odd looking pouches that had steam rising from them, Quinn lay with her hair splayed out around her, her shoulders and legs bared to the elements. The first thing Slade noticed was how beautiful she looked. The second was the long streak of white hair running from her head, contrasting with the fiery red strands dramatically in the dim light. The third, was the markings on her body. They were no longer contained to her chest and stomach, now flowing steadily around her throat and up the sides of her face, down her thighs and around her ankles. They looked like beautiful shackles holding her in place, unforgiving, unrelenting and unbe
lievably stunning. Holding his breath, he reached out to her, hissing as the feel of her skin burned his flesh. He didn’t know what he expected to happen but nothing did. She didn’t stir, didn’t respond to his touch… just lay there, sleeping. Lost in her own mind. He took her by the shoulders, shaking her gently but still nothing.
“Quinn? Quinn, come on baby, wake up. I need you to wake up,” he said, getting louder and louder. Still nothing. He leant down, pressing his lips to hers, softly at first and then harder. Still nothing. He stood there, talking to her, nudging her, shouting at her for a long time. Feeling himself stagger as the heat grew to extremes. Aaron took a step inside the room and he felt himself growl at him, unaware where the animosity was coming from. He felt like an animal protecting his mate. Mate? He’d heard that before…
“Come on Brother, they’re coming to change the ice bags,” Aaron murmured, raising his hands in surrender, clearly understanding the situation more than Slade did. Slade said nothing, his breaths coming in short pants as sweat dripped down his face. “Slade, come on,” Aaron nudged, gesturing with his hands. Slade felt his head tilt to the side of its own accord as his feet moved towards the door. Once he made it to the other side of the doorway it was as though the fog was lifting. What the hells was happening to him?
“Don’t worry, apparently its normal,” Aaron murmured, as several women Slade didn’t recognise bustled past him, carrying several pouches similar to those he’d seen placed over Quinn’s body. He couldn’t speak, couldn’t make sense of the world around him, instead he just allowed Aaron to lead him down another corridor and then another. All in all, he was feeling pretty sick of fucking corridors. Aaron led him to a large room lined with tables and filled with people, as well as the scent of cooked meat. If it hadn’t been for the stony silence, he might have rushed towards the scent right then and there. As it was, he felt himself rooted to the spot. Like a cornered animal surrounded by predators. He felt himself growl again, his breathing speeding up as his eyes darted around the room, from face to face to-
Dancing with Shadows Page 28