by Tenaya MKD
The last man was facing us, blocking our exit. Cayde stepped in front of me to take him on. Eric had his opponent scrambling to stay standing. These guards were well-protected by their padded vests. And they were definitely well-trained fighters. But I was confident that Eric and Cayde were better, so I turned my attention to Crowley.
Anger fueled my steps as I strode toward him. It was time to make him pay for the pain he’d caused. For what he had done to the little boy we saved tonight. For enjoying my suffering. For everything.
I expected him to hide behind the chair, to cower in a corner, or to call in more of his men. He did none of that though. He stood there. Steady. Spinning the blade in his hand.
He doesn’t know what I’m capable of. He's underestimating me.
I closed the gap between us, grabbed his arm, and smacked it into the back of Janine's chair. The knife dropped to the ground. Before he could react, I grabbed his throat and lifted his feet off the ground.
I expected fear to change his smug face now, but it didn't. In fact, he pushed out a strangled laugh.
“Oh, Janine! You are so full of surprises! I gave you two powers?! This is amazing!”
“It's a shame you won't live long enough to find out how you did it.”
“I wouldn't be so sure. You aren't the only one with secrets.”
Then his hands erupted into flames.
I had no time to move before he clapped them around my hand that held his throat.
My skin cooked.
Pain shot up my arm and gripped my chest. A scream forced itself out of my throat. Crowley dropped to his feet as I fell to my knees.
“Nova!” Cayde yelled, still fighting his own battle.
“Wha—Holy shit!” Eric yelled.
Crowley was standing over me with a foot of red flames in each hand. Cayde started to rush toward me, but a hit to his lower back pulled his attention away. Then more men ran into the room, taking Eric’s focus too.
It felt like my skin had been melted off. I couldn't bring myself to look at it, to see what was left. The pain was extreme, but adrenaline kept me determined to fight. My hand would be useless now though.
I forced myself upright to face Crowley again. How I would fight him without my right hand, while avoiding his fire, I didn’t know. But I had to end him.
We stared each other down. A wicked smile lit his face, and he narrowed his eyes. Taunting me. Waiting for me to make a move. Clearly believing I didn't have one.
Cocky bastard.
I was sure I had one; I was just having a really hard time seeing it. You don't realize how much you rely on a limb until you can’t use it.
“Face it. You’ve lost. I told you, fate is on my side. Give yourself up, and I’ll still consider letting your friends walk away from here with their lives.”
I looked back at Cayde and Eric. They were holding off the gang of guards just fine. Cayde was matching every move thrown at him, and Eric was throwing around men two at a time. They both looked tired, but otherwise okay.
“My friends seem to be doing alright on their own, actually!” I scoffed. “You keep giving me ultimatums, but you have nothing I want!”
His face twisted into a scowl. His flames spread to engulf the whole of his arms. Wings now blazed off of him. I couldn't help but be impressed. And pretty damn scared.
He slashed his arm in my direction, sending flames shooting off of him. I dove to the ground, just in time. The smell of singed hair filled my nose.
Eric ran up and grabbed me from behind. “It’s time to go!”
The fire Crowley had thrown ignited something in the cupboards behind me. Flames were spreading fast across flammable liquids, papers, and the cabinetry. Toxic smoke clouded the room in seconds.
The conscious guards retreated for their own safety, finally giving us a clear path to the exit. Eric helped me to my feet, and we ran for it, staying low to reach what little clean air was left.
Crowley threw balls of fire at us as we ran, only missing us by inches. It pained me to leave, with him still alive, but there was no other option.
“See you soon, Janine!” I heard him yell from behind us. My stomach clenched.
We dashed for the stairs. I hadn't seen anyone coming after us yet, but we ran hard, as if they were.
I started up the stairs, but Cayde grabbed my arm and redirected me. “We're going down.”
“But down is so much farther!” I protested, while following down the stairs as fast as my legs would take me.
“There won't be a way off the roof. Everyone has already left.”
“Is everyone okay?”
He didn't answer me right away. I grabbed his arm and forced him to stop and face me. “Is everyone okay?”
“Mostly!” he said, pushing me forward.
“What does that mean? Is Zane hurt?”
“He’s fine!” Eric yelled. He took my wrist and pulled me forward. “Focus!”
The stairwell was quiet, except for the sound of our ragged breaths and our feet stomping down the stairs. It had felt like a long way up them earlier, but going down them now felt even longer.
We were on the fifth floor when a door not far behind us flew open and a stampede of feet flowed onto the stairs. More guards.
“Damnit,” Eric said.
I couldn't move any faster, but I tried. Every inch of me was sweating. My melted hand stung like it was still cooking. The sound of the men's boots against the stairs was getting closer to us by the second.
Finally reaching the second floor, I flung myself into the exit, expecting it to open, but I bounced backwards off the door. If it weren’t for Eric catching me, I would have fallen on my ass. We rammed into the door together, but the doorframe only splintered. It was reinforced.
The men’s footfalls were so close now, just around the corner. We turned ourselves, readying to fight them off, but before they reached us, the door swung open.
“Hey, guys!” Zane said, flashing us his bright smile.
“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked.
“Saving your ass! You're welcome!”
Cayde pushed us forward. “Time to run!”
When we reached the top of the staircase in the lobby and I could see the front doors, my stomach did a somersault.
We’re going to make it!
By the time we hit the lobby floor, the guards were reaching the stairs. That's when the bullets started flying.
The sound of each shot was booming in the high-ceilinged room. The first one scared the shit out of me. I had to force myself to keep moving, instead of instinctually dropping to the ground.
They wouldn't be aiming for me, Crowley wanted me alive. But killing Cayde, Eric, or Zane would probably earn them a bonus. I pulled Zane in front of me to cover him. “Get yourself out of here!” I yelled.
“I'm not leaving you!”
“Damnit, Zane!”
Bullets were flying through the lobby. They destroyed the chandelier art, sending glass shards raining down over us. Sharp pieces shredded my shirt and cut into my back.
Cayde cried out in pain from just behind me, and my heart dropped to the floor.
“No!” I spun around frantically. He was clutching his shoulder, with blood already dripping from his hand.
“I’m okay!” he assured me. But he was pale, and pain was twisting his features.
I put his good arm across my shoulder to support his weight. “Don’t you dare die on me!”
Eric and Zane were nearly at the door. A bullet flew past Eric's shoulder and hit the glass in front of him. It stayed in the doorframe but shattered, sending web-like cracks outward from where the bullet left a hole.
Not slowing down at all, Eric brought his arm up to shield his head and ran straight through it. Zane leaped through the empty doorframe, right behind him.
“We’re almost there,” I assured Cayde. His face was whiter with every step we took.
Eric and Zane met us just outside the door. “Where
are we going?” I asked Zane.
He pointed to the right. “Quinn has a car waiting!”
As we turned the corner around the building, I slowed us just enough to look over my shoulder. “They aren't following us!”
“Don't slow down!” Eric replied.
But the slight bit of relief I felt was enough to let my adrenaline dip and exhaustion to catch up to me. My legs burned, my chest was tight, and my hand hurt like a bitch. Cayde’s head suddenly drooped, his eyes fluttering. His shirt was slick with blood now, his hand useless to stop the flow.
I scooped him into my arms, cradling him as I ran. “Come on Cayde, stay with me!”
“There it is,” Zane said, pointing to a black SUV just ahead.
Eric reached it first and threw the door open.
“Just a little farther. We’re almost there,” I pleaded. We were ten feet from the car when he went limp.
“Damnit!” I was crying again.
Zane opened the front door first, and I set Cayde into the seat as carefully as I could.
“Get in, Nova,” Zane said, holding the back door for me.
I collapsed into the seat.
Before Zane could get in, a tall, hooded figure in all-black, appeared behind him.
“Zane!” I yelled.
The figure grabbed him by the shoulder with a gloved hand. There was only enough time for my friend and I to lock eyes before the both of them disappeared.
Zane was gone.
36
Quinn sped as fast as she could through the shitty city traffic. But as fast as she could go, wasn’t fast enough.
“He needs a doctor now, Quinn!” I yelled.
“If Crowley wants to find you, he’ll be able to do it the second we check Cayde in to a hospital! Trust me. I’m taking him somewhere safe.”
“We have fake IDs! Please, Quinn!” I was trying so hard to keep my voice firm, but I couldn’t stop the tears from running down my cheeks.
“There’s a nurse at the apartment, waiting to take care of him. He’s going to be okay.”
My fists clenched, and I pressed my skull into the headrest. The urge to hit something was getting stronger with each second. I felt so helpless. I hated feeling helpless.
Eric laid his hand over my fist. I expected his face to be filled with pity. I must have looked pathetic. But when I glanced over at him, I found nothing but concern. My hand loosened slightly under his, and I swallowed down the need to punch my hand through the car door.
When I got to the door, Markham was already there, letting us in.
“Where’s the nurse?” I demanded. “Cayde needs her now.” Eric was right behind me, carrying him in his arms. Markham’s face fell. “What happened to him?”
“He was shot.” My heart felt mangled by the night we’d had. Seeing Cayde look so helpless in Eric’s arms was twisting it up further.
“She’s in the bedroom down the hall,” Wyatt said.
Eric rushed down the hall. I went to follow, but Markham stopped me. “What happened? Where is Zane?”
All I could do was stare at him. My insides were swirling. Tears were threatening to spill over for what felt like the thousandth time that night. I couldn't say out loud that Zane was missing. That I had failed to keep him safe.
“Where is Zane?” he repeated.
My throat clenched.
“Crowley is powered,” Eric announced, as he walked back into the room. Everyone turned to him with wide eyes and slack jaws, taking the attention off of me. “He made fire with his hands, like it was nothing. Nearly burned the place down, with us inside.”
Markham wiped his hand across his brows as that news sunk in. Shadow was a threat before because of the power that their resources gave them. The fact that their leader had actual powers too?...
Markham’s lips were pressed into a thin line, his eyes no longer in the room. Like he was putting together a puzzle that the rest of us couldn’t see. If I’d had the energy, I would have demanded that he share with the room what was on his mind. But as sick of his secrets as I was, I couldn’t bring myself to care. It didn’t matter. He left the room and Quinn followed him.
“Jesus, Nova. Your hand!” Wyatt said, with wide eyes glued to my charred skin.
“Yeah, it's pretty fucked-up. I've been trying not to look at it.”
Eric put his arm around me and led me over to one of the three couches in the huge living room.
“I need to go check on Cayde,” I said.
“Sit down for a minute, Nova. Let the nurse do her job.”
I sighed, but sat down with him. “Okay, but just for a minute.”
We collapsed onto the couch. For a split second, I worried I’d never be able to get up again. The couch wasn’t very comfortable. It was firm, and the leather squeaked as I fell onto it. But now that I’d relaxed my body an inch, it was wanting to take a mile.
Eric sighed, probably feeling similarly, and turned his attention to Wyatt. “Did everyone make it out okay?”
I had nearly forgotten about our new friends.
Wyatt’s eyes dropped to the floor. “Adalyn and Dawn are the only ones who made it… And the boy who Zane got out. His name is Jacob.”
Eric leaned forward, dropping his face into his hands.
Three people died tonight—because we tried to save them.
“There was a lot of gunfire in that room…” Eric said, quietly, after a moment of deafening silence.
The whole night piled onto me at once. The overwhelming feeling of loss filled my mangled chest and twisted into rage. My past was gone, Zane was lost, Cayde was badly hurt, three innocent people were dead, and Crowley had gotten away with all of it.
Without thinking, I punched my good hand through the oak coffee-table in front of us. The whole side of it exploded into a pile of wood chips and splinters.
Wyatt shot off the couch, five feet into the air. “What the hell?”
“Zane is in danger, if not already dead, and for what? Nearly everyone we tried to save died!” I yelled.
Eric grabbed my arm before I could take my feelings out on more of the furniture.
Wyatt’s expression softened. He slowly lowered himself back onto the couch.
Eric allowed me to catch my breath, then loosened his hold on me. He took my good hand in his, instead. “Jacob will live a full life because we went there tonight. Because Zane rescued him… Zane would call that worth it.”
“That’s not worth Zane though,” I whispered, holding back more tears.
Heartbreak was all over his face. Zane meant a lot to him too. He meant a lot to everyone.
“You need that hand looked at,” he grimaced. “It's pretty gross, sweetheart.”
Wyatt cleared his throat. “I’ll go see if the nurse is ready for you.”
Eric and I sat back down in silence, holding hands, until Wyatt returned. “Cayde is asking for you, Nova.”
I jumped off the couch and jogged down the hall, ignoring the protesting muscles in my legs. The sound of Cayde’s voice led me to the bedroom at the very end of the hall. He was lying on a layer of towels spread over the bed—conscious now, but still paper-white. His eyes were drooping, like he was trashed drunk.
“Nova!” he said, slurring a little. One corner of his mouth pulled upward, like he had meant to smile, but it didn’t quite work out. I went to his uninjured side and brushed his hair away from his sweaty forehead.
“Is he okay?” I asked the nurse. She was a tall, muscular woman with long, blonde hair twisted into an intricate braid that trailed down the back of her head. She had a stethoscope around her neck, but was otherwise dressed like she was on her way to the gym.
“He’ll be okay. I need to pull out the bullet though, so I’ve given him some medication. He asked for you.”
I took Cayde’s hand with my left. “It’s going to be okay,” I tried to reassure him. But the way my voice shook made it sound flimsy, even to me.
“You left,” he said. There was such sad
ness in his face, my eyes stung with tears immediately.
“I’m not going anywhere now. I’m here.”
“I need you,” he slurred again.
I sat on the bed, swallowing down the lump stuck in my throat. “I’m here, Cayde.”
The nurse sat on the other side of him, with a huge pair of tweezers in one gloved hand and a fistful of gauze in the other. He looked at me with innocent, wide eyes. If I could have switched places with him in that moment, I would have done it without a second thought. But all I could do was squeeze his hand.
“Okay, on three,” she said. “One… Two…” Then she pushed the tweezers in.
Cayde winced and clenched his teeth. He gripped my hand so tightly that I could feel my knuckles smashing together. But with the way she dug into his pec muscle, I was just surprised he wasn’t screaming.
I had to pull my focus to his face, to keep my heart from racing.
Finally, the bullet clinked against the bottom of the white ceramic bowl the nurse dropped it into. “It’s done.”
Cayde sighed, relaxed into the pillow, and immediately fell asleep. The nurse took another minute to sew in a few neat stitches, but Cayde hardly even moved. Compared to being shot, stitches probably didn’t feel like much.
“I’ll take him to the other room,” Eric said, from the doorway. I hadn’t noticed he was there. He picked Cayde up and carefully walked him through the doorway.
“Alright, your turn,” the nurse said, looking at me. She rolled up the bloody towels, and I sat on the somewhat-cleaner sheet. “Let’s see that hand.”
I gave it to her, keeping my eyes locked on her face. She didn’t waste time telling me how gross my hand was. She just set to taking care of it.
“You're lucky, believe it or not. This is only a second-degree burn. It is a severe case, and it’s serious, being that it’s on your hand, but there isn't any dead, deep tissue. It has affected the top two layers of skin and you are blistering, but if you keep the wound clean and moist, you'll be okay.”
I finally gave it a good look. And really wished I hadn't. Two quarter-sized blisters had formed on the top of my hand. Sheets of my skin were peeled back in many places, revealing bright, red patches that looked almost wet. If it hadn’t been my own hand, it wouldn’t have been so bad. But seeing my skin so messed up made my stomach churn.