Coercion

by Tamara Hart Heiner

  Trey didn’t get the chance to respond, or maybe he was never going to, but at that moment the woman pulled her arm back and released the lightning ball.

  A wreath of light and smoke wrapped itself across the baseball field, nearly obscuring Samantha and Jods and the old croan. Jods held out a hand, and the light coalesced into a streak before flying into his outstretched palm.

  Samantha shouted, “You didn’t really think you could take us out that way, did you? We are not mere mortals.” Even from where I stood, I could see the sneer on her face. “But they are.”

  She gestured behind her just as the smoke cleared, revealing thousands of people standing ramrod straight on the baseball diamond, crammed together in tight rows about a hundred across. Before I could even wrap my mind around who they were or what they were doing, Jods released the lightning ball. He stepped out of the way, and the ball crashed into the mob of people behind them.

  Several bodies collapsed in the first two rows of people, and panic and fear ripped through my limbs. “No!” I screamed, lunging forward. Shock rippled through me. She was slaying her own army. Trey grabbed my arm, stopping my motion.

  One of the women beside me whirled around to the ragana. “Don’t attack again, you might hit the humans!”

  “Bring them to me,” Samantha said, her face contorting with an evil grimace.

  Immediately her army of soldiers began marching toward us. I sucked in deep breaths, my eyes scanning for Aaron. This couldn’t be happening.

  “What are we supposed to do? We can’t hurt them!” I said, tears thick in my throat.

  “We have to get to Samantha.” Trey took my hand and gave it a squeeze. “I can protect you, but you’ve got to free my powers.”

  “How?” I said, remembering our attempt in Maryland to defeat Samantha, feeling the utter helplessness as she claimed Aaron’s soul for her own purposes.

  “Last time your sister wasn’t Karta. Last time you hadn’t started remembering the past lives. Last time Meredith didn’t have control of her power.”

  He had a point. A lot had changed since last time. But one thing hadn’t. I couldn’t give him his powers back.

  Trey let go of my hand. “Defend yourself,” he said, and I turned to see the advancing army upon us.

  “I’ll try my poems,” Meredith said, stepping forward.

  “I’m not trained in hand to hand combat!” I cried. Since when was this in the job description?

  But it must be. The others on both sides were already fighting, arms and legs moving in synchronized battle moves. The only things lacking were swords and shields. Beth and I hung back, unsure of what to do.

  Trey leapt in front of us, fists swinging as he knocked a man aside. My throat clenched. He was only human right now, but he was still doing his best to protect us.

  “Do something!” he yelled at me, even as one of Samantha’s soldiers punched him in the face. It was a woman, and I cried out as Trey grabbed her hair at the back of her neck and knocked her to the ground with a punch to her temple.

  “Is she dead?” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her crumpled form. This was a woman who never should’ve been here. It wasn’t her fate to be in this army.

  “Jayne!” Trey’s nose was bleeding, and a guy had his arm trapped. “Which side do you want to win here?”

  I jumped into the foray. My doubts hushed as prime fear and instinct took over. I pulled my arm back and clocked the guy in the face with my elbow.

  The first time I’d ever punched someone was Samantha when we’d fought in Maryland. The same jarring pain shot through my forearm. Before I could fully appreciate it, the man let go of Trey and reached out both hands for me.

  Without hesitating, I dropped into a crouch. I thrust my head into his stomach, wrapped my arms around the backs of his legs, and threw him.

  I threw him.

  What the heck? I looked at Trey, wide-eyed, and he shot me a grin. “Didn’t anyone tell you you’re a goddess?”

  “What?” I gasped out. Someone approached in my peripheral vision, and my hand formed into a fist and lifted, smacking them in the nose faster than I could blink.

  Before I could examine my new abilities, a bolt of lightning shot straight out of the whirling storm clouds above us. When it hit the ground, half a dozen small creatures burst out of it and ran in our direction.

  Trey swore and said, “Vadatajs.”

  “What are those?” Beth squealed. She hadn’t moved, but stood pale-faced and frozen.

  “The goblins,” Meredith said behind me. “Little troublemakers.”

  And trouble they were. One of them raced right up to Meredith and bit her ankle. She let out a shriek and collapsed, wrapping her hands around the bite.

  “It’s just a flesh wound, the goblins can’t hurt you,” Trey said, directing my attention back to him. “Stay in the fight.”

  “But they can,” Amy said.

  I hadn’t noticed her circling our direction as she and the other members of our side fought their own battles. Now I tried to see who she meant, and the sight sent a cold dread to my belly.

  Several other beings had appeared on the field, large and shaped like men, but with the heads of something like a dog. They stepped forward, thrusting some kind of staff into the ground with every step. The staff was tipped with what looked like a very wicked pitchfork.

  “What are they?” I asked.

  Amy’s eyes narrowed and her lips pinched together. “Cynocephalus. Men with the heads of jackals. The jackal represents their true selves. They made bargains with evil and are no longer men.”

  Trey turned around and threw his arms around me, hauling me backward. “She’s right. They can hurt you.” He gave me a shove, sending me stumbling away from the fight, before he turned back around and ran for Beth.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Trey grabbed Beth and dragged her toward me. Meredith was still on the ground, her hands around her ankle, eyes trained on the approaching demons. Beth joined me, taking my hand.

  To my right, the other ragana threw another lightning ball. It blew up in the middle of the field, knocking over five or six humans, several goblins, and one demon. One.

  “Get in the truck!” Trey shouted at me and Beth, then he ran back into the battle.

  “Do as he says!” I said to Beth.

  “Jayne!”

  The deep male voice jolted me in my tracks. I turned around, scanning the fallen bodies before I saw a man approaching me. Armor covered every inch of his exposed flesh, a tall staff in his hand. Why was I so ill-prepared? Where was my staff?

  “Jayne!” he called again, and this time something familiar in his voice had me catching my breath.

  I shaded my eyes and took a step closer, my heart in my throat. Could it be Aaron? Had he regained the use of his senses?

  In a moment he was beside me, chest heaving. I lifted up my hands, ready to yank his helmet from his face. But he did it first, revealing the wavy brown locks and sharp green eyes.

  Not Aaron. I pushed aside a sharp stab of disappointment and focused on the boy in front of me. “Stephen! You’re okay!” I reached for him, but he pushed my arms down.

  “Oh, I’m better than okay, Jayne. But this scene here—” He gestured to the makeshift battlefield behind him. “This doesn’t have to happen. All she wants is for you to join her. All of you. She needs your power, she needs your strength to accomplish her plan.”

  “She? You mean Samantha?”

  “Yes, Samantha!” he said with an eye roll. “Why are you standing in her way? She only wants what’s best for humanity!”

  How could he make Samantha’s plan sound so reasonable? What had she told him? “I can’t, Stephen. Innocent people are dying.” I tried pleading, imploring to his emotional side. “Why don’t you help me? We can end this if we stop her!”

  “No, you don’t understand. Things will be better. People won’t die when they shouldn’t. My parents—” He shook his head, but his countenance
fairly beamed. “She can fix it.”

  “Fix it?” I whispered.

  “Their deaths.”

  My hope sank like a stone in the ocean. “Is that what she told you? It’s not true. Nothing can change that now.”

  Fury flashed across his face, transforming Stephen’s handsome features into something dark and sinister. “You’re wrong. You don’t know anything. The god of the dead has already agreed. And if you stand in the way, I swear, Jayne, if you do something to keep it from happening, I will take you down myself.”

  The friendship, the gentleness, the relationship we’d built over the past year was completely gone. I did not know this boy in front of me. My lip trembled and I blinked back tears, forcing myself to remember the bigger picture. “Where is Aaron?”

  Something like disbelief crossed his face. “Still interested in him? He’s nothing now. He was too weak.”

  My hurt turned to panic, and I lunged forward and grabbed Stephen’s arm. “What do you mean, he was too weak?” What had she done with him?

  Stephen tried to shake me off, a sneer on his face. “He’s just one of the masses. He wasn’t strong enough to keep his identity when Samantha took his soul. He has no position.”

  Spots danced in front of my vision, and I tightened my grip on his arm. “Did she take your soul, too?”

  “I gave it to her!” His eyes flashed. “And she let me keep my connection to it. I’m stronger now. More than any other human in her army.” Anger twisted his features, darkness burning in his eyes. “She said you’re one of them, the ones that try to control us. The ones that say we have to die before our time. Did you know, Jayne?”

  For a moment, it seemed the battle around us stopped. Everything went silent, and it was just me and Stephen facing off.

  “Know what?” I whispered.

  “That my parents were going to die.”

  How was I supposed to answer that? I stared at Stephen, for the first time feeling afraid.

  And suddenly Trey was at my side, bringing with him the rush of the battle, the screams, the clanging of weapons and the thundering of feet. He panted from the effort of holding Meredith, who clung with her arms around his neck, face turned into his chest.

  “What are you still doing here? We have to get to my truck. Now.” He spotted Stephen then and came between us, his jaw tightening.

  “Go, Stephen,” I said, not wanting Trey to toss Meredith to the dirt and fight him. “Tell Samantha we won’t join her.”

  Stephen jerked backward as if someone had yanked on his head, and then he shot me a final glare. “You’ve picked your side. Remember that.” He turned and raced back toward the baseball diamond.

  “Into the car!” Trey said.

  “Where’s my sister?” I asked.

  “In the car!” Trey snapped. “I’m putting Meredith inside and I expect you to be there also!” He started to turn away and then froze, eyes landing on something on the battlefield.

  I spun around, seeking whatever had startled him.

  “Jayne,” Trey said, “Let’s go.”

  Something in his tone commanded me to leave with him, but it only fueled my desire to know what he’d seen. Stephen had already retreated, and I considered myself lucky he hadn’t taken me captive. In fact, only the jackal-men and perhaps a hundred mortals remained. And one man who marched in front of them.

  “Jayne!” Trey shouted, his voice panicky now. “I can’t wait for you. I have to help Meredith. Let him be!”

  I think I stopped breathing. My heart might’ve even stopped beating. I wasn’t sure why the sight of that soldier should cause such a reaction, but my body spasmed, leaning toward him even from this distance. And my mind caught up a moment later, recognizing the gait, the movement of the soldier. Not to mention the sweater and pressed pants.

  “Aaron,” I whispered.

  His hand moved to his belt, and then he withdrew a sword. Behind him, the jackals and minions did the same.

  Swords? Really?

  Around us, everyone was in full retreat. But I didn’t move. I wasn’t leaving Aaron here.

  “Jayne!” Trey returned to my side, empty-handed this time, his face haggard. Wind picked up, tugging on my curls, whipping across my face. “We’ve got to go!”

  I stood my ground. “It’s Aaron.” I gestured toward the battlefield, not expecting Trey to understand; he’d never even met him. “If I can just talk to him, I might be able to get through to him.”

  Trey grabbed me above the elbow and jerked me backward. “It’s a trap! Samantha sent him to get to you! We have to go!”

  I yanked my arm away and gave him a shove. “Then go! Aaron gave himself up for me. He won’t hurt me now!” I faced forward, ignoring Trey. But I felt him step up beside me.

  “Jayne, he’s not in there,” he said in a voice so quiet I shouldn’t have been able to hear him. “You and I both know the only way to get him back is to go to the underworld. And we can’t until I get my powers. You see that sword in his hands?”

  I couldn’t help looking at it as Aaron and his army approached.

  Trey continued. “That’s not a toy. It’s not designed to kill you. It’s designed to strip you of your powers. To shackle you, just like I have been.”

  His words sent a shiver through me. Somehow that sounded even worse than dying.

  Aaron picked up speed and then broke into a run, his sword lifted high over his head. I turned around, defeat bitter in the back of my throat, accepting Trey’s pronouncement.

  We ran for the truck. A whirlwind rose up from the dirt, whipping the debris into a frenzy. Leaves and branches flew around us, blinding me. A limb hit me in the side of the head, and I staggered, tripping over my feet and stumbling to the ground. Heart pounding in my throat, I flipped myself over to see the armored demons mere feet from me, Aaron leading the way.

  “Aaron!” I cried. His only response was to raise the sword, and my stomach twisted so hard I thought I would puke. Trey was right. He wasn’t Aaron anymore. I propelled myself backward on my hands as fast as I could, but he moved faster, the sword swiping down at me.

  From out of nowhere Beth appeared, throwing her arms out to shield me. I screamed as his sword came down on her forearm, horrified that I would see him chop it off.

  Beth arched her back, her mouth falling open in wordless agony, but her arm did not come off. Instead her whole body pulsed with a blue, flashing light before Aaron pulled his sword back.

  Arms went under my armpits and hauled me to my feet. Somehow the pick-up truck was right beside me, and I barely registered Meredith behind the wheel before Trey tossed me into the bed of the truck.

  “Beth!” I cried. “What about Beth?”

  “I’ll get her,” Trey huffed.

  He just left her? Indignation burned through me, but Trey was already gone, too far away to hear my rage. Two seconds later he was back, depositing my sister into a heap next to me in the back of the cab.

  “Go!” he shouted at Meredith through the open window. He hovered over Beth and me, his body like a human shield.

  Meredith didn’t hesitate. The gas pedal slammed down so hard the tires spun as the truck kicked into reverse, sending the three of us crashing against the cab. Then she spun it in a circle and we fishtailed away from the park. I peered over the side to watch Aaron and his legions disappear in the dust.

  A man walking on the distant battlefield captured my attention. My gaze was riveted on his tassel skirt, grass tunic, and washboard abs, striding among the fallen. He stopped next to each body, holding his hand above the face. I thought I saw something travel from the mouth to the palm of his hand before he moved onto the next.

  “What’s he doing?” I whispered.

  Trey didn’t seem to hear me. “I knew this was a bad idea,” he huffed as we booked it out of the park. “Gathering all of us in one spot, making us more vulnerable. We look like a joke, not even somebody a half—” His language went downhill from there, but I could barely flinch at
the words he used.

  Everything had gone so, so wrong.

  There was no plan for an organized retreat, and all of the vehicles scattered in different directions. Maybe Meredith and Trey had talked, though, because she seemed to know where to go.

  Either that, or she had decided for herself. Meredith slammed the truck to a halt outside a corner pharmacy.

  “Stay,” Trey said, hurdling out of the car.

  I cradled my sister in my arms, who was unconscious. Her skin still radiated a blue glow which seemed to be soaking into her, leaving behind small blue lines that made her look like a broken porcelain doll glued back together. Blue runes marred her wrist, much like the ones on Trey’s.

  “What’s wrong with her?” I cried out, fear thick in my voice.

  “She’ll be okay.” That was all Trey left me with as he went to the front of the car. He opened the car door and spoke with Meredith, then turned and jogged into the pharmacy. She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes.

  Beth groaned, and I turned my attention back to her, relief warming my heart. She was alive.

  A moment later Trey pulled down the ramp on the bed of the truck. “I want to get you guys inside the car. Here, I’ll take Beth, you go sit by Meredith.”

  I nodded numbly, overwhelmed and confused. Meredith sat in the middle now, and I saw an open first aid kit on the driver’s seat, with what looked like a roll of gauze wrapped around Meredith’s ankle. Tears had dried into dirty tracks on her face. She looked haunted and wooden. I touched her thigh as I squeezed in next to her.

  “You okay?” I whispered.

  She swiveled her head to look at me, her eyes glistening. “My poems didn’t work. It didn’t affect the soldiers at all. Trey’s right. We’re a joke. We were created for a task we’re not even capable of doing.”

  My throat closed as she voiced the feelings of failure I’d been fighting. Why had Laima chosen us for this? Why were we not able to utilize our powers the way we needed to?

  The passenger side door swung open, and Trey laid Beth next to me. Her head flopped over onto my shoulder, and I held her against me as he shut the door. A moment later Trey was in the driver’s seat.