by Dora Blume
She dropped her voice low, “Erik, we have to go back. There’s another guy in there. We had to leave him because we were being chased, but we have to go back and get him. We just have to.” She pleaded.
“Jess, it was a trap. They wanted to get you. You can’t go back there. Do you know how bad it would’ve been if they got you?” He sighed into the phone.
“I know, Erik. But we can’t just leave him there. He’s one of us. We have to save him.”
“Jess, you don’t even know this guy.”
“It doesn’t matter if I know him. We have an oath or have you forgotten? I’d think you of all people would support me, Erik.” She spat his name. She couldn’t believe after everything; he wasn’t supporting her in this. He left her because of his damn sense of duty. Why wouldn’t he agree with her? Jessie slumped against the counter. She’d never felt so lonely, at this moment. She took a deep breath.
“I know the oath, Jess. But I love you, and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “What did you say?” She was surprised. She wasn’t expecting him to say I love you.
“Jess, I said I love you. Now, will you please wait until I get there? Caroline and I are on our way. We’re only about ten minutes from Denver. Please, just stay put until I get there.” He pleaded.
“Fine, I’ll stay. But this conversation isn’t over. We are going to save that guy.”
“Okay, okay, just stay there. I’ll be there soon.”
“Okay, bye.” She hung up the phone before she could hear him say anything else. She would wait, but she didn’t like it. The longer they waited, the more demons could show up at the warehouse. She knew if they’d gone back right away, they wouldn’t be expecting it. They would have had a better chance against ten; now they would have to go against however many they would call in for reinforcement. Which meant it would be even harder to get Erik to let her go. She wasn’t sure there was even enough Shikari in Denver to scale a full-on attack. Demons had possessed many of them. Jessie cursed and walked back into the living room to find Mike and check on Sloane. Sloane would be willing to go back. She was sure of it.
Chapter 15
“Have you woken her up, yet?” Jessie asked as she walked up to the sofa.
“Not yet, why?” Mike asked.
“Just asking.” Jessie studied Sloane’s still form.
“You’re never just asking, Jessie. What’s up?” Mike held Sloane’s hand in his as he studied Jessie. She felt his eyes bore into her as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Fine, I want to go back and get the guy we left behind. I know Sloane will side with me on this one. She’ll want payback for those assholes taking her. She can’t side with me while she’s passed out.” Jessie bit her lip and studied Sloane. Her face was ashen and pale. Jessie could see the blood around her wrists from the restraints. Jessie looked to the ground. She knew she was selfish. Sloane shouldn’t be going to battle in her current state. She just wanted one person to agree with her.
“Jessie, you think Sloane is going to be ready to fight? She lost a lot of blood and had a pretty bad concussion. I’m not even sure she’s going to wake up easily. She’s got a bad head injury from when they knocked her out at the school. I think they may have knocked her out twice based on the size of the bump. She’s in no shape to fight.” Mike traced a finger along her cheekbone, admiring.
“I know, but it’d be nice to have at least one person on my side.” She stood rigid.
The door opened, and Erik strode through, “I’m always on your side, babe.” He reached his hand out and laced his fingers with hers. “Unless it’s going to put you in extreme danger.” He gazed down at Jessie knowing why she was asking.
“We can’t just leave one of our own. It’s not right.” Jessie dropped her head. She let go of Erik’s hand, crossed her arms, and walked back to the kitchen.
A moment later, Erik walked through the door behind her. “Jess, we will go back for him, but we need help. It was a trap. They were trying to get you. Did your powers even work when you got in there?” He placed his hand on Jessie’s shoulder and squeezed lightly.
She turned around, head still down. “No, my powers didn’t work at the warehouse.” Her voice was small.
“I know. We found out from the kid; it was a trap meant for you. You’re damn lucky they didn’t get you. Jess, I was so scared when I couldn’t get a hold of you.” Erik stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She dropped her hands to her sides and let him hug her.
“I don’t like it. We need to get back there. The longer we wait, the more time they have to plan for us. Then we could have an even harder time. They could also speed up having him possessed because we were there. We need to save him.” She pleaded, gripping Erik’s shirt in her hand and looking up into his eyes.
“I know, babe. We need to save him, but we also need to be smart about it. We can’t go charging in there without a plan. They want you, and I absolutely will not let them have you. Jessie, I love you. I can’t let anything happen to you.” He placed a hand under her chin and raised her head to meet his eyes. He bent and kissed her. His kiss was filled with worry and relief. She responded instantly, wrapping her arms around him, and pulling him closer. She needed him, his comfort. She always felt safe with Erik. She kissed him for several minutes before breaking away.
“Okay, so let’s make a plan. The sooner we get on with it the better.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the living room. “Okay, Mike we need to make a plan to go get the guy. We’re going to need help — any idea where Magnus is?” she asked.
“No, I only saw Jolene since we got here. Speaking of Jolene, I haven’t seen her in a while. She bandaged up Sloane and disappeared.” Mike ran a hand down Sloane’s face before standing. “We should find her. See where Magnus is, and if we can get some help from the Shikari here in Denver.” Mike strode down the hallway. He opened doors along the way looking for Jolene.
“Jolene?” Jessie called down the stairway. “Isn’t Magnus’ study down here? We should check for him here.” She turned toward Erik.
“Yes, we’ll check downstairs. Mike, you want to head upstairs.”
“Yeah.” He turned around and left.
“Magnus, Jolene? Anyone down here?” Erik called as they walked down the hallway.
“Well, where the hell did, they go. I know Jolene and Penelope were here when we got here. Jolene took care of Sloane. Where did she go?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re upstairs. Hopefully, Mike had more luck than we did.”
“Oh yeah, didn’t you come with Caroline? Where is she? You didn’t come in with her.”
“She was checking in on her daughter. She attends school here. I’m not sure what’s taking her so long. She said she was just going to make a quick call.” They reached the kitchen and went back into the living room. Caroline was standing over Sloane. She looked up when they walked in. “Hey, did you get ahold of your daughter?” Erik asked.
“No, I haven’t been able to reach Nick or Nicole. Neither of them is answering their cell phones, which isn’t like them at all. I’m going to try again in a few minutes. If I have to, I’ll drive over to the house, then the school.” She clenched and unclenched her fists.
Mike and Jolene walked down the stairs. “So, we need to make a plan to go back and get the guy at the warehouse. Jolene, do you know where Magnus, is and can we get any help to go back?” Jessie asked.
“I can certainly call him, dear. I didn’t realize there were pressing matters such as these. I will call Magnus straight away and see what he can spare to help. If you’ll excuse me.” She walked into the kitchen.
“Caroline, do you think you could help, too? You and Erik have the power to hear thoughts, so we would know where everyone is before we go in. Last time it was just Mike and I, and we didn’t have an advantage.” She studied Caroline.
“I don’t see why not. I do agree with you that we need to g
et him out of there. Did you find out anything about the man while you were there?” Caroline asked.
“I know he has power over the elements, but that’s about it,” Mike explained.
“What? That’s a unique power to have. I only know of one person to have that particular gift.” She pulled her phone out again.
“Who do you know who has that power?” Erik asked.
Caroline dialed a number into her phone. She met Erik’s eyes and said “Nick.” She turned away from the group and began pacing, the phone pressed to her ear.
“Oh shit,” Erik said. “Okay, time to wake up Sloane.” Erik looked to Mike. He nodded and knelt next to Sloane. Mike reached his hand to shake Sloane’s shoulder lightly. “Sloane, love, Sloane wake-up. Sloane?” he called, leaning over her. He had one arm on her shoulder, the other he ran down her bare arm.
Sloane bolted upright in an instant colliding with Mike. “What the hell? Where am I?”
Mike lifted his hand to his head where Sloane had just connected with it. “Love, you’re at Magnus’ with us. You’re safe.” He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips.
“Oh shit, sorry babe. Are you okay?” She scooted closer to him, placing her hand on his cheek, and examining his head.
“I’m fine. I should’ve expected it. At least you didn’t wake up swinging this time.” He curved up the side of his mouth, and she blinked. “You okay?” he asked.
“I think so. My head hurts like hell. How did you guys get me out of there? It was a trap. Mr. Hall wanted Jessie, bad. He was going to get a demon to possess me.” Sloane lifted her wrists to examine them. “When he threatened to have a demon possess me, I tried to get free. I would rather die than be possessed.” She looked into Mike’s eyes. “Thank you for coming for me.”
“Of course, love.” He lifted her wrist to his lips placing a gentle kiss on the bandage. “My life would be boring without you in it,” he whispered.
Sloane blushed and captured his lips with hers in a fiery kiss. She curled her fingers in his hair pulling him to her. She kissed him wildly for several seconds before Erik said, “Ahem, do you two mind? We have some pressing matters to attend to.”
“Oh, of course.” Mike moved to sit next to Sloane on the couch, taking her hand in his as he went. Jessie smiled at the closeness of the two. She was genuinely happy for her friends. She glanced over to Erik, and the look of pain on his face surprised her.
“Sorry Sloane, we have to go back to the warehouse. There was another Shikari member there. We think it may be Caroline’s ex-husband Nick. He has power over the elements, so we need to save him. Are you up for that?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, I want a piece of the asshole who got me. I’m going to have a bruise on my head for weeks. I’m in; I’m always in for a fight. Do you have to ask?” She huffed and touched her head.
“Love, you were just unconscious. Are you sure you’re up for it? No one would fault you if you sat this one out.” Mike reached his hand to cup her cheek and looked into her eyes.
“Hell no, I’m not staying here. I’m going. I want to get my hands-on Mr. Hall. That bastard deserves a good beating. I wanted a chance at him back at the warehouse. Now, I get one.” She rubbed her hands together, eyes alight with glee.
“Sloane, you scare me sometimes.” Jessie shook her head.
“Sloane, you always want to charge in. We need to think this through. You guys already charged in without thinking about what could happen.” Erik eyed Jessie. “We need to have a plan.”
“I don’t feel right leaving that guy in there. He’s one of us. We need to try to get him out of there if we can.” Jessie glanced to Erik and held his eye. “You’d do it for one of us.” She whispered.
“You’re right; I would.” Erik took Jessie’s hand.
“Okay, so we’re going. Hopefully, Magnus will come through with some help for us.” She looked over to the kitchen door. She was wondering what was taking Jolene so long. “I’m going to check on Jolene.” Jessie strode into the kitchen. Jolene was dropping the phone from her ear. She turned and jumped.
“Oh dear, Jessie you startled me.” She raised her hand to her chest.
“I’m sorry. I was just checking on you. What did Magnus say?” she asked.
“He said he would have a car of four head over to the warehouse to meet you there. He was hoping with you four it would be enough. He has another matter going on of some urgency, and that’s all the men he can spare. Bryant will be with them, I believe.” Jolene set the phone back on the counter. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to fetch something for Magnus. Will that be all?”
“Okay, is he sending them now?” Jessie asked.
“Yes, he said they would be on their way, but they’re coming from the other side of town, so it might be about fifteen minutes before they arrive.” Jolene turned and walked down the stairs.
“Okay,” Jessie went back to the living room. “Magnus is sending four guys to the warehouse to help us. Bryant will be with them. They’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Is everyone ready to go?” Jessie looked to each of them. Caroline was still pacing with her phone in her hand. She took a step toward Erik and lowered her voice. “Has she gotten ahold of either of them, yet?”
“No, not yet. We need to go to the warehouse. If it is her ex, we need to get him.” Erik laced his fingers with Jessie’s.
Sloane stood with Mike. “We’re ready.” She turned to Mike. “Do you have weapons in the car or should we load up here?”
“I have everything you need, love.” He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a kiss. She pulled back and laughed.
“So, we’re ready.” She looked to Jessie and Erik. “Let’s do this.” Her eyes were alighted with anticipation. Jessie knew Sloane loved the fight. Jessie knew they were necessary but didn’t get nearly as excited as Sloane did. She was like a little kid every time a battle presented itself. Maybe it’s because she hasn’t been doing any fighting for years like Jessie had. She’d been heading into battle since she was a teen. As soon as the order knew what her power was, they would use her to defeat demons whenever they could. Jessie just wanted a break from all the fighting. Maybe when all this was over, she’d convince Erik to take a vacation to a secluded cabin where they could be alone together without any thoughts about demons. She smiled at the thought. She looked up and met Erik’s curious gaze.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Erik asked.
“Nothing, just thinking about what it’d be like to have a break from demons.”
“Oh, that’s all? Hopefully, we’ll get to find out soon.” He placed a kiss on her hand, keeping their fingers intertwined.
Jessie and Erik followed the other two to the car. Caroline came up a minute later. “I’m going to follow you in a separate car. I may need to take off if I can get a hold of Nicole. I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it.”
“Okay, do you want us to ride with you?” Jessie asked.
“No, it’s fine I want to be able to run if I need to. You understand?”
“Of course, your daughter is the most important thing. If you have to go to her, we understand completely.” Jessie reached out and took her hand.
“Thank you, Jessie. You always have such a kind heart. I will meet you at the warehouse.” She turned and walked to her car. Jessie and Erik got in the backseat behind Sloane and Mike.
“Ready?” Sloane turned and asked.
“Yeah, Caroline took a car in case she has to dart off for her daughter. She’s meeting us there.” Jessie explained. She reached to take Erik’s hand. He squeezed her hand when she took his hand, and she could see the worry lines around his eyes. She still had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she also knew they couldn’t leave one of their behind. She hoped she was right to push everyone into going back to the warehouse.
“Okay, and you said Bryant would be with the others?” Sloane asked.
“Yes, Jolene said he would be one of t
he four Magnus was sending. They are meeting us there but were driving from the other side of Denver.” She looked down at her phone. It was between rush hours, so hopefully, they would get there around the same time.
“So, what’s our plan once we get there?” Erik asked.
“We planned to go around back. We know that’s where they are holding him. Mike could sense both Sloane and him in the back. It should be the third door down on the left.” Jessie said.
“Okay, so our best bet would be to split up. Half going through the back to locate the guy. The other half was going through the front and dispossessing as we go. We need to find whatever they have affected our powers. We do much better in a fight when we’re at full capacity.” Erik explained.
“We also know that at least a few of the guys who’ve been possessed are Shikari. I could still sense them even though Jessie’s power didn’t work, so whatever they are using is ineffective against my tracking ability.” Mike explained.
“So, it may not affect my ability, either. That could be an advantage if I can still hear their thoughts. I know I was able to hear the couple in Minneapolis even though they had the amulets. We need to talk with a leader of the order. Someone who knows the extent of these amulets and how in the hell they could’ve gotten this information.” Erik shook his head. Jessie reached a hand to cup his cheek. She could tell he was worried about everything going on. The worry lines on his forehead softened when he looked at her.
“Let’s focus on one thing at a time. Once we get this guy out of there, we can focus on what’s next.” Jessie rubbed his cheek. She dropped her hand to take his.
“Okay, I agree we need to split up. Let’s send the others through the front, and we focus on getting to the guy. He’s our priority. Caroline can join the other group, so we have someone who can listen to thoughts at both entrances.” Erik put his finger on his mouth, thinking.
“We’ll need to fill in the other group before we go in. We have a layout of the building. We’ve seen some of it when we rescued Sloane. We need to let them know how many are in there.” Mike glanced back in the window and met Jessie’s eyes. She nodded.