Fighter

by Jessica Wayne

  Night turned into day, and they still had found no sign of the missing. Exhausted, Dakota, Tony, and Shane returned to the village, while Argento gathered some of his Brutes to continue the search.

  They’d checked every inch of forest within a three-mile radius of the village, and Argento had told them they would move out to a full five before the afternoon hit.

  “Could Vincent have opened a portal directly into the village and taken her?” Shane asked as they made their way into the village’s center.

  People were still holed up in their homes, terrified the nightmarish monsters would return.

  Dakota looked over at the three bodies covered in white linen and clenched his fists. They would not add Anastasia, Sarah, and his mom to the list of the dead.

  “I sure as hell hope not,” Tony said. “We need to get some rest; we can reconvene in a few hours.”

  Tony placed a hand on his shoulder, and Dakota looked over at the other man. “We will find them, Dakota.”

  “I sure as hell hope so.”

  56

  Anastasia

  Anastasia opened her eyes, and the assault of light that hit her might as well have been daggers to her temples. “What the hell.” She groaned and tried to lift her hands, but they were tied behind her back.

  “Thank God, Anastasia.”

  Anastasia turned. Elizabeth sat beside her, bound to a tree.

  “Where the hell are we?” she asked, searching their surroundings. They were sitting at the edge of a burned village, and by the looks of things, it was what remained of Pilke, the first village she and Tony had convinced to pack up and join Terrenia a few years back.

  Only the house in the center remained partially standing, and grass had grown over the dirt paths that the villagers once traveled going to and from their homes.

  “I don’t know. The last thing I remember, Sarah had come for me because her mother had gotten hurt.”

  “I was in the trees after driving the Trepidos away.” Anastasia closed her eyes at the wave of pain-induced nausea. She’d never had a migraine before, but she was pretty damn sure she was currently experiencing her first one.

  Her head felt like someone had taken a jackhammer and was currently hammering it into her brain.

  “You got hit pretty hard,” Elizabeth told her. “They wouldn’t let me tend to you.” Her blue eyes, so like her son’s, filled with tears. “What are we going to do?”

  “We’ll get out of here, I promise.” The throbbing in her head made it impossible to focus, but she tried to reach down and access her power. Every time she got close, though, pain would radiate through her as she was thrown away from her magic.

  “It won’t work.” Anastasia looked up as Sarah entered the clearing, a dagger in her hand.

  “Sarah! Thank goodness!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

  Anastasia studied the young girl. She was far enough away that it was impossible to get a close look at her face, but the harshness of her body language and the stiffness in her stance was much like Brady’s had been when he’d been under Vincent’s control.

  “Sarah, what’s going on?” Anastasia asked cautiously.

  “He’s blocked your power.” Sarah stepped close enough that Anastasia saw the blackness of her eyes that were void of any humanity, just as her brother’s had been.

  But she’d brought Brady back, right? Surely she could do the same for his sister. “Who blocked my power?” Anastasia knew the answer, but wanted to keep Sarah talking.

  “Vincent. He told me I could get my revenge, for what you did to my brother.”

  “I didn’t do anything to Brady; I loved him like a brother.”

  “Lies!” Sarah screamed, rushing toward her. “You got him killed!”

  “Sarah, calm down. Vincent is controlling you,” Anastasia told her, trying like hell to get her hands free.

  Sarah brought the blade up to Anastasia’s cheek and pressed down. The bite from the blade was quickly followed by the warm sensation of blood dripping down her face.

  “I don’t need anyone to control me for me to understand you are the problem. You’ve always been the problem.”

  “Sarah, I know you’re in there somewhere.”

  Sarah got to her feet and smoothed out the lines in her brown dress. Her dark hair had been pulled back away from her face, and Anastasia tried to see past the young girl on the outside, to the monster she had controlling her.

  The only way the three of them would walk out of here together was if Vincent was separated from his latest victim.

  The problem was, though, that she currently couldn’t access any of her magic.

  Sarah strolled over to Elizabeth, her movements smooth like she was gliding instead of walking. She knelt in front of Dakota’s mother, who refused to move.

  Sarah lifted the blade and sliced Elizabeth’s cheek.

  “Stop!” Anastasia yelled.

  Sarah looked over at her. “Why? You took someone I loved, so I should take someone you love, too. It’s only fair. It would have been Dakota, but he said no.”

  “Who said no?” Anastasia asked.

  “The King.”

  Elizabeth had paled, but turned her focus back to the current threat. “So Vincent wants to be called King now?”

  Sarah laughed, the chilling sound so unlike the girl it belonged to. “You have no idea what’s truly coming.” She straightened and Anastasia tried like hell to access her magic. The pain barriers slammed up in front of her, but she blasted through.

  As soon as she felt the familiar pulsing of her magic, Anastasia dissolved the ropes around her wrists, and pushed to her feet.

  Sarah gaped at her, and for a moment, her eyes faded back to their normal brown. She looked down at the knife in her hand and dropped it. “What is happening?” she asked.

  Anastasia took the time to slam Sarah’s mind with blocks to keep Vincent from re-entering. “You should be fine now.”

  “I don’t…” Her eyes went blank, and blood dripped from the corner of her mouth. She began to fall forward, and Anastasia lunged for her.

  “Sarah!” she screamed, catching her just before she hit the ground. “Sarah, wake up!” The young girl’s face was completely pale, her eyes wide and lifeless. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

  “What the hell just happened?” Anastasia looked up at Elizabeth in shock. How had she just died?

  “You happened.” Vincent said from behind her.

  Anastasia closed her eyes on a long blink. This ends now. She set Sarah down and got to her feet, the power humming steadily in her blood.

  “You killed her!”

  He stood just on the inside of the clearing, flanked by half a dozen pale Brutes. He wore a suit much like the one she’d seen him in back in Seattle, and his eyes blazed silver.

  “No, you killed her, dear niece. You shouldn’t have invaded her young mind like that.” He folded his hands in front of him and rocked back and forth on his feet.

  “What?”

  “Young minds are so easily broken. When you invaded her that way, you caused her mind to shut down, and since you are so powerful, it killed her.”

  Anastasia felt the blow of his words as if he had punched her, and she shook her head. “No.”

  “Oh, yes.” He smiled. “And now I’m going to do what I should have done years ago.” He nodded to the Brutes, who started moving toward her. His eyes flashed blue and he shook his head. They returned to silver again. “Tell me, do you still think you’re better than me?”

  Anastasia reached back for her magic, but was unable to access it anymore. What the hell had he done to her?

  “The fact that you haven’t answered is telling enough. You slaughtered that girl.” He motioned to Sarah. “You could have frozen her, couldn’t you?” The mirth in his eyes only caused his words to hit her harder.

  “It’s because you and I are the same. You wanted to feel the power, and it’s time you embraced it.”

  “I am nothing like you!
” she screamed.

  “You are everything like me!”

  The Brutes closed in around them, and Anastasia reached down to untie Elizabeth. She was ripped away and slammed into the ground before she even touched the ropes.

  “Anastasia!” Elizabeth’s voice carried through the night, and Anastasia’s vision swam.

  Vincent wrapped his hand around her throat and lifted her from the ground. “Tell me why I shouldn’t just squeeze.” He gripped her throat harder and black spots began to invade her vision again.

  “You will pay, Vincent,” she choked out.

  “You know, people keep saying that to me, and yet, here I stand. With not a scratch on me.”

  She spit in his face, and he wiped it angrily.

  “Brat.” He threw her back, and she bounced off the Brutes that stood around her. “Finish her, then kill the woman,” he instructed. “After that, go and get the boy. There’s someone who’s quite interested in meeting him.”

  Without her magic to help her, she was at a loss. Part of her wanted to fall to her knees and beg for death, for an end to all of the pain. But Elizabeth deserved better. She would get Dakota’s mother back to him and then deal with picking up the pieces of her soul, if that were even possible at this point.

  The first Brute attacked, and Anastasia ducked out of the way just in time to avoid a crushing blow from its fist.

  “Mouse is fast.”

  “Let’s play with her first. Then the other,” another added and swung a meaty hand at her.

  She didn’t move fast enough, and its fist knocked the wind out of her. She gasped for air, and before she could recover, another hit her from behind. Everything began to blur together. The pain eventually subsided, and the numbness told her that she was close to death. Elizabeth’s screams were the only sound as the Brute wailed on her, and Anastasia briefly wondered why it hadn’t killed her yet.

  It had called her mouse. It must believe itself to be the cat, and this the game.

  Her vision faded in and out until, eventually, there was nothing but darkness.

  57

  Dakota

  Blood pounded in Dakota’s ears making it impossible to hear anything as they snuck up on a group of Brutes. As soon as the clearing came into full view, Dakota’s anger took over.

  His mother was tied to a tree, tears streaming down her face as she screamed.

  Red-hot rage surged through him and he plunged into the clearing with Shane, Tony, Argento, and half a dozen Brute warriors on his heels.

  “Dakota!” Elizabeth yelled, as she struggled to get free. “They have Anastasia!”

  He fought, blood splattering him as he moved through the beasts. He saw nothing but a blur of action as he fought his way to the crumpled form in the center. One Brute hadn’t turned his attention away from her, and lifted her broken body by her arm.

  She dangled in the air and Dakota yelled out as he attacked. He slammed all of his body weight into the beast, and it dropped Ana back to the ground. His blade cut down through the beast’s neck, and a hot spray of blood hit his face.

  Dakota lunged for where Ana lay on the ground. Her face was so swollen she was barely recognizable. Blood covered most of her skin and had matted into her hair.

  He checked for a pulse and let out a sigh of relief when he felt it, even though it was faint.

  Someone freed his mom and she rushed to his side, quickly checking Ana.

  “Anastasia, can you hear me?”

  Her breaths were ragged gasps.

  Dakota lifted her. “We need to get her back to Carmen.”

  “It’s a long ride, Dakota. I don’t know that she can make it,” Argento said.

  Shane whirled on the Brute King. “Then what the fuck do you expect us to do? Let her die?”

  “That is not what I’m saying.”

  “Good. Then let’s go.”

  They jumped on the horses and raced through the trees. Dakota kept checking to be sure she was breathing, but it was faint. He could feel her fading away from him with each minute that passed.

  If she died tonight, he was going to die with her.

  After what felt like an eternity, the village came into view. Dakota pushed his horse faster and rode straight to the medical cottage.

  Carmen sat on the porch, and her eyes widened with agony when she caught sight of Ana’s broken body.

  “What happened?”

  “I will fill you all in,” Elizabeth began, “but we have to get her stable. Where’s Tilly?” Elizabeth looked around the room.

  “I will get her,” Argento grumbled and jogged out of the cottage.

  “Internal bleeding,” Elizabeth noted as she cut open the front of Ana’s torn shirt.

  Bruises and contusions were everywhere on her abdomen and chest, and the twisted angle of her arm told him it was broken, as was her nose and probably multiple ribs.

  “Oh my God,” Tilly choked out when she entered the cottage.

  “Get me a knife. We have to stop the internal bleeding.” Elizabeth grabbed the sanitized blade Tilly handed her and made an incision along Anastasia’s ribcage.

  Dakota watched, completely helpless, as his mother worked relentlessly to save Anastasia’s life. She stopped breathing twice, and both times, his mother performed CPR to bring her back. Each time he held his breath, waiting for hers to start again.

  When Elizabeth finally stopped the bleeding and set her wrist, she adjusted Ana’s nose and turned to Carmen.

  “Is there anything you can do to help her heal? With your magic?”

  “She is a healer; her magic should help her heal faster than normal. I’m afraid that if I try and interact with her healing power, I may cause more damage,” Carmen said, her face white with fear.

  “She doesn’t have any. Vincent took it,” Elizabeth said softly.

  Dakota snapped his head up, his eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, he took it?”

  “That’s not possible,” Carmen said quickly. “Her magic is in her blood… he couldn’t have taken it. Unless—”

  “Unless what?” Dakota urged, begging for an answer.

  “Unless he blocked it, but I don’t… Son of a bitch!” she cursed. “He’s been playing at this since the day he captured her in Seattle.”

  “Playing at what?” Elizabeth asked.

  “He’s been manipulating her mind, toying with her. We all thought it was to take her out by turning her dark. But the whole time, he’s been playing at a different game.” She fell silent and Dakota held his breath as she pieced the rest of the information together.

  “He blocked her magic,” Carmen said. “He found the place in her mind where she’s most vulnerable, a place that he could exploit and erect a mental wall.”

  “Is there anything you can do?” Elizabeth asked. “Because I’ve done all I can, and I really need to sit for a moment, but I can’t do that unless I know she is going to live.”

  “Yes, I can help. But I need you all to leave.”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Dakota said, crossing his arms.

  “Fine, you can stay, but everyone else get out.”

  Carmen held her hands over Ana, her eyes closed. The magical charge in the room was nearly visible and the drain on Carmen showed in the slump of her shoulders. He wasn’t sure what help he could be, but he gripped her wrinkled hand lightly and closed his eyes, willing Anastasia to heal.

  He put everything he had into it. He pictured the two of them together as kids, running and playing in the woods at his parents’ cabin. He remembered brushing the hair out of her face, wishing he had the courage to kiss her.

  Carmen lightly squeezed his hand, and he opened his eyes to stare into her tear-filled hazel eyes.

  “I don’t know what else to do,” she whispered. “I can’t undo that block, it’s beyond me.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, fear getting a fresh grip on his heart.

  “If we don’t remove that block, she is going to die.”

  �
��How do we do that?”

  “We can’t.”

  “Then tell me who the hell can!” he yelled, desperation and grief taking over.

  “The Sorceress.”

  58

  Dakota

  “Who the hell is the Sorceress?” Dakota heart might as well have been ripped from his chest. Ana was going to die, and there was nothing he could do about it. “Isn’t that what you are?”

  “Hardly. There is only one with that title and the power that goes with it. She is the most powerful being in any world, and is tasked with caring for and maintaining peace between the worlds.”

  “Then where the hell is she? Why isn’t she fighting with us?”

  Carmen sighed. “Because she’s been in hiding for nearly thirty years.”

  Dakota pinched the bridge of his nose to keep the tears from streaming down his face. “Great. So our only hope lies with the biggest introvert in all the worlds.” He leaned forward to lightly brush a strand of hair from Ana’s face.

  “Without her magic, she won’t last long. Her healing power is what kept her alive when the Brutes had her before—we just didn’t know it. Now that it’s blocked, I fear she doesn’t have long left.”

  “What about Argento? Their healer? Is there something they can do?”

  Carmen shook her head, and what little hope Dakota had extinguished at the pain reflected in the old woman’s eyes.

  “We have to get her to Joceline.” Carmen shook her head sadly and covered her face with her hands.

  “We need a damn miracle, Carmen.”

  Carmen reached out and gripped Ana’s hand. “We need the Sorceress.”

  “Well, where is she?”

  “She is the only inhabitant on a world that can only be accessed through a portal conjured by a Silvan.”

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Gregory helped her hide, which means only his or Anastasia’s blood can open the door.”

  “This is just fan-fucking-tastic. Ugh!” He wanted to scream, to hit something. Shit, he wanted to bury his blade in the chests of those Brutes all over again, but none of that would bring Ana back.