by G. Bailey
“I told you,” the assistant protests. “There’s no way of isolating the blood serum. Her DNA is scrambled -- that’s the whole reason she’s a hybrid in the first place.”
“Then take more,” Hawthorne commands. “Take as much as you need!”
“It’s not the device,” the other man says. “We could drain her dry and it will still be useless. We need isolated strains from each species, preferably a lot of them. That’s how she was made in the first place.”
There’s the sound of a crash, and I open my eyes to see that Hawthorne has kicked a table in fury, sending medical supplies flying. “We haven’t gotten the okay from the board to start testing on the students yet,” he says. “Everyone’s on edge after that damned convention centre attack-”
I choke out a strained laugh. “You organised that!”
“Shut up.” Hawthorne doesn’t look at me. “Where are we supposed to get more test subjects? I thought the whole point of the girl was to save ourselves the resources.”
“We’re just going to have to wait,” the assistant replies. “I know that’s not what you want to hear, but-”
“We are running out of time!” yells Hawthorne. I’ve never seen him lose his composure like this before. “Shifters everywhere are shaking us off. They’re mobilising. We don’t have time to wait for the fucking school board.”
“Then don’t,” I say quietly, a last desperate hope coming to me. It’s a gamble and I know it, but it’s like a light at the end of a tunnel, and I cling to it with everything I have.
Hawthorne turns to me. “Excuse me?”
I give him a humourless smile. “I happen to know four good shifters. And if I’m going to die here -- which considering how I’m feeling right now seems pretty likely -- I’d rather have them by my side.”
“You would send your boy toys to us?” Hawthorne laughs. “What makes you think I believe that? What makes you think they’ll even come?”
"They will," I insist, looking at him long and hard out of the corner of my eye. My body is weak, on the verge of giving out, but the anger I feel in me is enough to make my eyes flash just the same. I could almost swear I see Hawthorne look taken aback for just a second, caught off-guard by my sudden spirit. "They'll come because you have me."
Chapter 19
Silas
I was the first of their group to be taken by the Academy to be experimented on, so in some ways it feels almost appropriate that my cell phone is the one that rings. We head southwest, on a mission to get as far away from the city centre as possible. My heart leaps into my throat when I see that it’s Millie calling, and for one hopeful moment as I answer the phone, I wonder if she managed to escape after all; if anyone could do it, Millie could. Either way, we are going to find her and get her back. Nothing else is important. I know where she is and once we are out of the city, I’m building the biggest army of supes and raiding the fucking academy.
All hope is dashed when I put the phone to my ear. Gone is the musicality of her voice, gone is the touch of self-deprecating humour that sends my nerves into overdrive even as I laugh. She sounds like a shell of her former self, and it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to hear that she’s not well. “Hey, Silas.”
Just those two words are enough to sow the seeds of panic into my chest. “Boots! Where are you? What happened?”
At the sound of her name, Shade, Landon, and Hunter all stop dead in their tracks, whirling around to stare at me . Landon’s eyes flash with questions -- where is she? Who took her? Is she okay? -- while Shade looks like a live wire, dangerous and liable to explode at any moment.
For his part, Hunter is suddenly awash with emotion: regret, disappointment, worry, and fear flash across his features in the space of a few seconds. It’s like ripping the scab off a wound that’s only just started to heal, only to realise that it’s been infected since the beginning. He can’t help but blame himself for some of this, at least in part for everything that’s gone wrong so far.
I know Hunter wishes he could snatch the phone and tell her he’s sorry, tell her he was a fool to think himself worthy of her; he’s never been under any illusions of superiority. His abilities are pitiful in comparison with the rest of the group’s, and he’s unqualified to be receiving affection from someone so steadfast, so determined, so pure, in spite of everything the world has thrown at her.
When I put the call on speaker, holding a finger to my lips, her rasping voice comes through, and we all share the same emotion. Anger.
“...doing well,” she says. “Hanging in there, but I don’t know for how long.”
“Where are you?” I demand.
There’s a sound, followed by a new voice. “Nice try, Mr. Aconite. You will be brought here when you’ve met with our arranged contact.”
The sound of that bastard’s smug voice is enough to make me want to break the phone into pieces. It’s all I can do is remain silent, to not call the self-righteous prick every name in the damn book. But the thought of Boots tied up somewhere, half-drained and fighting for her life, keeps me quiet.
I never, ever thought I would be in this position, bent out of shape over a girl, but here I am, silently panicking. She’s beautiful, yes, and she’s spirited, but I have had beautiful girls before. And had damn good sex before. This is something else, something deeper, something no piece of shit delinquent like me should be experiencing.
But…
Love. I’m in love with the damn Brix girl.
* * *
I close my eyes and swallow hard. “I want to talk to Millie.”
“Are you really sure you want to-”
“I’m not agreeing to anything until you put her back on.”
A pause, and then Millie’s voice comes through again. She sounds like all the strength has gone out of her. “Silas, please. I need you guys to come here.”
“What if it’s a trap?” I ask, knowing they’re listening but not caring.
Boots hesitates for just a second, but it’s enough to tell me everything I need to know. “Please,” she says at last, her voice cracking. “You guys are all I have left.”
“We need to go get her.”
“Like hell,” snaps Shade. “That has ‘trap’ written all over it.”
“I know,” I say. “We don’t have a choice.”
“Academy agents are going to be crawling all over us the minute we show up,” Landon says.
“I know,” I repeat. “But Millie’s there and I can’t leave her a second longer, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to save her.” She did the same thing for me once, I think. She barely even knew me, and she put her life on the line to save me. Now it’s my turn. Eyes flashing, I look from Shade to Landon to Hunter. “And if any of you guys feels the same way about her that I do, then you’ll do the same.”
Hunter looks at his feet while Shade and Landon exchange a glance. None of them need to use the L-word; it’s there, practically written on their faces, hanging around them in all its fullness and beauty, and they know it isn’t a discussion.
It never was.
Chapter 20
Time has lost all meaning for me. Have I spent hours strapped to this table? Days? Someone must be giving me fluids, or I’d be dead by now -- that much I’m sure of. Pain has become the centre point for my entire existence, and although god knows I’ve had plenty of time to get used to it, it hasn’t gotten any easier. It feels like my body is giving out on me, all hope of accessing my powers now long gone; the essence of my magic is now dripping into a beaker on the other side of the room, and I’m helpless to stop it.
The laboratory technician doesn’t say much during my ordeal, but Hawthorne paces restlessly at the front of the room, his hands clenching and unclenching as the gears turn in his head. He’s wondering if the guys will take the bait. To be honest, so am I. If this were a movie or TV show, I would have found some way of warning them, of encoding my words with a secret message about what waits for the guys here, but I’m barely h
olding together anymore, and even speaking has become an immense challenge. A horrible possibility keeps dawning on me: what if they didn’t realise the danger? What if they show up here, expecting an exchange, only to get blindsided and captured? That would be it for me, I think; there’s no way I could live with myself if I led them into danger. All I can do now is wait and hope.
Eventually, though, Hawthorne’s voice filters back to my ears. “...at the main entrance.”
“Will you go meet them?” asks the assistant.
“No,” he replies. “Hugh is on his way, along with a few of my other enforcers. I’m not taking any chances until they’re inside and prepped for the procedure.”
My heart sinks. They came after all, and by the sounds of it, not with guns blazing. I drop my head back to the exam table and squeeze my eyes shut, already bracing myself for the worst. Who would have thought the greatest torture imaginable wasn’t being drained of your life force, but having to watch the men you love walk into a trap?
“Yes, Sir.” The technician steps away from me. “Should I go prepare the other rooms?”
Hawthorne nods to him, waiting for him to scurry away before turning back to me. “Looks like the gang's all here, Ms. Brix,” he says with a smile. “You got what you wanted. Let’s just hope it’s worth it to the rest of them.”
“We’ll see,” I spit out through gritted teeth. My voice sounds foreign to my own ears, like the voice of a dead person.
Hawthorne chuckles but says nothing. A few minutes later, the sound of approaching footsteps can be heard outside. Hawthorne perks up and shoots me a look before leaving the room to meet the group. If I weren’t so weak, I could try to work on my restraints, but I’m past the point of being able to struggle by now. “Well, boys,” I hear him say, sounding like the cat that ate the canary. “It’s nice to be seeing you all again. I wish it were under better circumstances.”
“Cut the crap.” The voice is achingly familiar -- Shade’s, if I’m not mistaken. “Where is she?”
“Now, let’s just take it easy for a minute,” Hawthorne begins placatingly. “I don’t want anyone doing anything they’ll regret-”
“Let us see Millie, or we’re going to make this a lot harder for you.” That sounds like Hunter, and his tone is brokering no argument.
“Believe him,” Landon mutters. “We will.”
“You had to know we would want to make sure she’s still alive,” reasons Silas.
There’s a long pause on the other side of the door. I hold my breath. Finally, the bolts slide away and Hawthorne shoves the door open again. I find myself face to face with a cluster of familiar faces, and my breath hitches in my chest.
I can feel Hunter staring at me from the other side of the room, his expression drawn and menacing. Slowly, he turns back to Hawthorne. I feel like we’re on the edge of something, and the window of opportunity is shrinking fast. If something is going to happen, it needs to happen now. Otherwise…
“On second thought,” Hunter says, his tone more dangerous than I ever could have imagined coming from him, “maybe we’ll make it hard for you, anyway.”
Chapter 21
It’s astonishing how fast everything goes to hell after that, although maybe that’s just my altered perception from whatever energy-draining procedure they’ve been using on me. Either way, the world seems to move almost in slow-motion for the next few minutes, and I’m helpless to do anything but watch.
Hunter is the first to move, shifting into his vampire form with a speed and precision I’ve never seen from him before. His rage is written all over his face and if it weren’t for one of the henchmen -- an equally fast vampire shifter -- he would be tearing Hawthorne’s throat out right now. As it happens, though, he ends up locked in close-quarters combat with the woman behind him, the two vampires grappling each other with a ferocity I’ve never seen before. She appears to be a bit stronger, and I watch in horror as she pushes him into the wall, wrestling to maintain her grip on his arms as Hunter leans back into her with all the strength available to him.
“Get off!” That’s Landon, already using his siren’s voice , and the command is enough to give the woman pause. She looks like she’s resisting it on her end, but the momentary diversion is enough for Hunter to regain the upper hand, whirling around and slamming her face into the wall with an animalistic growl.
Looking now, I can see that there are a handful of other henchmen escorting my would-be rescuers. Almost as soon as the fighting is going down among the others, everyone seems to be shifting at once.
Silas, whose powers have been giving him trouble ever since he was in my position, seems to shake off his difficulties with no trouble now. I wonder if it could really be because he sees that I’m in danger. Shifting and giving a flap of his enormous wings, he unleashes a massive gust of wind in the enclosed space. The vampire shifters are able to maintain their footing, but Hawthorne, the only human in the room, is blown back by the force of it; he stumbles into the far wall, nearly tripping over his own feet.
“What are you doing?” he yells, all of his composure out the window at this point. “Stop them!”
One of the other guards looks like a wolf shifter, and he’s halfway into his form when Landon charges him, body checking him from the side and breaking his concentration. I’ve never seen the siren shifter go so readily into the melee before, but a flash of his now-green eyes tells me he’s beyond caring about his own safety at this point. The thought brings tears to my eyes, the reality of it sinking in: they came for me. They actually came for me.
Shade tag-teams with Landon, lunging for the struggling wolf shifter and completing his transformation before he even hits the ground. He pins the man to the floor, sinking his powerful jaws into his shoulder and eliciting a cry of pain from the trapped guard. It’s only as my attention turns to Silas in the doorway that I realise the worst has yet to come.
They have a dragon shifter of their own. Of course they do . The giant reptilian beast, his scales a shimmering green colour, is doing his level best to force his way into the room. Silas is keeping him at bay, his wings spread defensively as the two of them exchange blows with their mighty claws. Because dragons are immune to the effects of dragon fire and highly resistant to other kinds, Silas seems to be using his own body as a shield to deflect the majority of his opponent’s flames. My heart leaps into my throat when I see that he’s flagging a little. The second that dragon shifter makes it into this enclosed space, he’s going to light us all up, Hawthorne included.
Hawthorne...
Wait a minute. Slowly I force myself to turn my neck, every single muscle in my body protesting the movement, which feels as difficult as running a marathon. My former school president is nowhere to be seen, but there’s an emergency exit door now standing open in the back of the room. The coward can’t even be bothered to stand and fight his own battles! Well, no matter, I guess. We’ve got our hands full enough as it is. If he comes back with reinforcements, though…
I begin to thrash weakly against the straps holding me to the table, for all the good it does. We might be evenly matched right now, but there’s no telling how many other Academy loyalists he has working in this facility.
The enemy vampire shifter sees my renewed efforts to free myself and immediately ignores Hunter in favour of lunging at me. Adrenaline rushes through me, and I close my eyes, bracing for the death blow, but a snarl from Silas makes me glance up. He’s craned his neck around and unleashed a targeted fireball, not enough to catch me, but enough to hit the vampire squarely between the shoulders.
She gives out an inhuman shriek, self-preservation instincts kicking in as she drops to the ground, giving Shade a perfect opportunity to pounce. This gives the other wolf shifter a window, however, and soon enough there’s a second giant wolf charging us. Hunter zooms across the room, picks him up by the neck, and hurls him into the back of the room, where there’s the sound of laboratory equipment scattering across the floor.
/> “Hunter,” pants Silas. Hunter and I look up at the same time to see the enemy dragon bearing down on Silas in the doorway; he’s the bigger of the two, and it was only a matter of time before he would turn things around.
“Go!” Shade snaps, still in wolf form. “I’ll cover you!”
Hunter nods and rushes to help Silas hold off the dragon, and in the meantime Shade, now unoccupied, charges across the room to assist Landon with the remaining guard, another siren. His commands are useless against the guys, and within moments they’ve overpowered and dispatched him.
With the vampire shifter still fighting the flames and the wolf shifter lying dazed in a heap of medical supplies, all four can now turn their attention to the dragon in the hallway. “Get out of the way,” Hunter commands Silas, squaring his shoulders.
“What?” Silas demands. “What are you…?”
The vampire shifter turns his red eyes on the dragon , and I see them burning with a vengeance. “Trust me, Silas.”
There’s a brief pause, and then Silas releases his grip on the other dragon. They both come tumbling backward into the room, knocked off balance by the sudden shift. Hunter wastes no time seizing his chance. Without a second thought, he leaps onto the dragon’s long neck, grabbing it at the base of its head with his powerful arms, and breaks its neck with one swift movement. The dragon shifter crumples to the floor, already changing back into human form as Hunter leaps off. And just like that, it’s over. The guys shift back, breathing hard from the exertion. Somewhere in the facility, I can hear an alarm going off.
Hunter is the first to my side, already fumbling with my restraints. “Boots,” he says, his voice breaking with worry, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t…” I rasp. “Don’t apologise. Nobody’s fault.”
“I shouldn’t have tried to push you away,” he murmurs, pressing his forehead to mine as his voice breaks a little. “I should have listened to you. I should have…”