I followed him down the hallway past one door after another. Slug ignored the first few, but once we'd turned a corner and the hospital room was no longer in eyesight, he threw his body weight against every door. None of them opened.
"Stop," I said after he nearly knocked himself out on the fifth door. "This isn't working. You’ll have to think of something else."
Slug stopped and fixed his gaze on me. Something was different. He'd always struck me as way too smart for a cat. I looked at him, keeping eye contact for a few seconds. That was it. He was just a cat. Maybe with more attitude than other felines, but the preternatural intelligence I'd always seen in him was gone.
"Macha," I whispered. "Are you still in there?"
Slug turned and walked off. A few feet further on was an open vent. He looked back at me and climbed in. Quick steps alerted me that Farkas had caught up. I didn't want her to see me and figure out where the cat had disappeared to. So I phased through the wall, landing nearly in Amber's lap.
Lance and Kiernan sat next to her as an agent I hadn’t seen before droned on about health and safety protocols. What to do in case of a fire. What to do if alarms went off. And on and on. Kiernan had already fallen asleep, and Lance was about to. Amber kicked them both under the table.
“If I have to pay attention, so will you, dammit,” she whispered.
The agent interrupted himself. “Am I boring you?”
“On a scale of one to ten? You're at an eleven." Amber was glaring at him, her eyebrows pulled together.
The man smiled woodenly. "I'm sorry this isn't interesting enough for you. But we are held by government rules and regulations. They apply to all personnel."
"Are you now?" Amber's tone was dripping with sarcasm. "Funny how you people seem to pick and choose which laws you obey and which ones you won’t."
The agent's face was slowly turning red. I could have sworn I saw his lips move, counting backwards from ten. Finally, he took a deep breath. "Would you like me to call Agent Callahan so you can file a complaint?"
Amber pretended to consider it, but I knew her too well. She was riling him up on purpose, hoping he might slip something about their situation. But the guy was a professional GI, trained to hold up under pressure.
There was an ominous crack above the room. The agent looked up in alarm. His mouth opened, but before he could yell, a familiar large bundle dropped from the ceiling, landing on the man's head. Slug was holding on with his claws, hissing like an orange dragon.
Amber and the guys were staring at the tableau with open mouths for several seconds, while the agent tried to dislodge the angry cat. Then Kiernan and Lance broke into howls of laughter. Amber's expression underwent a change from disbelief to heart-broken.
"Guys, it's Slug."
The words dropped like lead balloons. The agent finally managed to get Slug off his head. "Did you bring that damn cat with you?"
His gaze wandered from Amber to Kiernan to Lance as if he suspected they'd brought Slug with them just to annoy him. Then he picked up his files and marched out of the room, slamming the door behind him.
Amber's voice was breaking as she approached the scared animal. "Macha. It's me. Come here, boy."
Slug pressed himself against the wall, both pissed and terrified. After several minutes of coaxing, he allowed himself to be picked up. Amber stroked his head and buried her face in his neck. The cat relaxed, and Amber dropped a kiss on his head. She looked into his eyes and froze.
"Guys," she whispered. "Guys. Look at this."
Kiernan and Lance surrounded her, unsure what she was trying to tell them.
"Look at his eyes. He's... Macha... he's gone."
24
Amber
I stared at Macha’s familiar blue eyes. They weren't sparkling with intelligence any more. They'd become ordinary. Slug was just a normal cat.
Tears burned in my eyes. Macha had confided his worst fear—to lose his humanity and be trapped in a cat's brain. How had this happened? We'd assumed the spell had broken either because Farkas had died or because we'd returned to our world.
I squeezed the cat against my chest, and Slug rumbled unhappily.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. He wriggled until I set him down. Then he walked to Kiernan and weaved in and out between his legs. The guys' expressions were as stricken as mine.
The door opened again. I didn't look up, my vision veiled with tears.
"Oh," a familiar voice said. "What's going on? Are you okay?"
I rubbed my eyes impatiently and looked up. Whitehall stood in front of me, looking from the guys to me and back. Lance was the first to recover. He cleared his throat. "We got some bad news. That's all."
Whitehall jumped when he saw Slug. "How the hell did you get your cat in here, Amber? This is no place for him."
He bent to shoo Slug out of the room. Kiernan dived for the animal before he could escape and grabbed him tightly. "No. He's ours. He stays with us."
I slammed the door, making our point forcibly. "Mr. Whitehall. You could have told us that Mrs. Palmer was going to drop us here."
He shrugged. "Would you have gone with her if you'd known?"
"Probably not," I had to admit.
Slug seemed happy with Kiernan holding him and stroking his belly after we took our seats again.
"Agent Callahan asked me to brief you guys on what we're up against."
For the next few minutes, he ran through what we'd already figured out ourselves. Farkas had been selling kids to the Fae realm. The FBMA still didn't know why exactly, but they’d recovered bodies that showed signs of having been drained. Somebody in Faerie was using human life energy.
"Mr. Whitehall--"
"Call me Justin. We're on the same team now."
I pursed my lips. "Really? Weren't we on the same team before?"
Whitehall, sorry, Justin had the decency to look embarrassed. But before he could respond, a warbling noise in the hallway made me jump. It was so loud, I held my ears. “What the hell is that?”
Justin got up, looking concerned. "It’s the lockdown alarm. We need to get to the assembly point, double-quick."
I turned to pick up Slug, but his orange tail was disappearing in the airvent.
"Oh, crap," I muttered. A sickening feeling made my stomach slump. Would he be okay? Or would he starve in the ventilation system? But then he'd survived as a cat before. There had to be rodents in the compound. There always were.
Justin opened the door and shouted, "Come on. We've gotta go."
We rushed along our corridor to get to the assembly point. The place was eerily quiet, except for the "ahooga" of the klaxon. Justin turned the corner and stopped so suddenly, I ran right into him.
"What?" I asked irritably. He pointed at the floor ahead. I looked past him and froze. There were at least ten soldiers on the ground. They weren't moving, and their eyes stared at the ceiling or the walls. As we picked our way past them, I tried not to step into the puddles of blood on the floor. Just like in my cell, I couldn't avoid the pungent smell.
"Jesus," Kiernan muttered. "They're not much older than us."
It wasn't the first time either of us had seen death. But it was the first time we saw young men slaughtered by an unknown force. Justin's face was as pale as Kiernan's and Lance's.
"Who did this?" I whispered.
"I don't know. And where are the other personnel? The place should be teeming with people. The assembly point is just ahead." Justin seemed undecided whether to move on or not.
"Wait here." Lance stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" I stared at him. We didn’t know what was ahead of us. As far as we knew, an unknown enemy was waiting for us, ready to take us out.
Lance didn't seem to hear me. He picked up one of the fallen men's guns and straightened himself to his full height. Before he could move, I grabbed one arm and Kiernan grabbed the other.
"You fecking eedjit," Kiernan growled. "What do you think you're doing? You're not g
oing to sacrifice yourself. We're in this together. Like the fricking musketeers."
Kiernan picked up another gun, and so did Justin. My former teacher offered me a fourth one, but I shook my head. "I don't know how to use it. My magical power is enough if you give me backup. Anyway, whatever's waiting for us probably doesn't care if we carry guns."
We looked at each other, knowing this was it. Whatever was around the corner was bad. We all felt the oiliness in the air, the tangible thickness of evil waiting for us. Kiernan kissed my forehead and murmured, "Don't take risks, acushla. I love you."
Lance hugged me, lifting me off my feet. He kissed my lips tenderly before putting me down again. "If not in this life, then the next."
Both my men exchanged fist bumps with Justin whose lips were pressed together tightly. I was so proud of all of them. We'd gone from a harmless personnel briefing to a battle situation within a few minutes. I didn't know what my men's reasons were, but I was tired of running. Either way, this ended now.
Together, we stepped around the corner, powers at the ready, guns aiming forward.
On the other side, a large area opened up. The stench of pain and fear overlaid the coppery smell of blood. Everywhere we looked, there were men dead, some with their guts hanging out. Some had limbs torn off. All had an expression of terror etched into their faces.
At the far end stood Farkas in front of hundreds of soldiers and FBMA agents. They kneeled in long rows, awaiting their fate. I saw Callahan as well as the nurse and the doctor who'd looked after Macha. Two large Fae warriors grabbed a soldier younger than us. When they picked him off the ground, whatever spell had held him fell away. The young man blubbered, tears running down his face. I'd never seen such utter panic in a person's face before.
"Amber. Why don't you and your friends join us." Farkas had spotted us and beckoned us closer.
"Shit. How is she doing this?" Kiernan took one step. Then another. His face was distorted with the effort, but he couldn't fight off whatever spell she'd cast on him. Lance groaned, and Justin cursed. Both men followed Kiernan with wooden movement as if they'd handed control over their limbs to Farkas.
I felt the tug, but it didn't coerce me as much as it seemed to do the men. Problem was, I couldn't stay here by myself. So I followed them, calling on the ball of lighting swelling in my power center.
The closer I got to Farkas, the harder it became to find a path forward. The floor was slippery with blood and viscera. The stench was so dense, it made breathing difficult. I'd never been to an abattoir, but that's what I imagined it would smell like.
Kiernan, Lance, and Justin had no control over the direction their legs were taking them. They tried to lift their feet, but at one stage, Justin stumbled over the outstretched legs of a dead soldier, and went sprawling across his body. As he went down, he scrambled for a handhold and pulled Lance down with him.
Farkas still held the young soldier in her thrall. When we'd reached her, the compulsion stopped. My men rushed to my side, and Justin lifted his gun at our former head witch. She ignored him and turned her attention back to the young man trembling in front of her.
She looked straight at me. "Let me show you what these duds are good for."
Grabbing the man's throat, she threw her head back and inhaled. The soldier grappled with her hand, trying to pry her fingers off him. She ignored him. Whatever she was doing, it was hurting him. His muscles cramped, and his face turned red as his eyes rolled back. He gurgled and spluttered without making a sound. His body shivered and twitched while the witch kept inhaling.
Justin shouted, "Let go of him," and opened fire. The bullets swerved around her and tore huge chunks out of the wall. He must have augmented the gun, and still it isn't enough.
We watched helplessly as blood spouted out of the soldier's nose and ears. After that, he died quickly. One moment, he struggled, and the next, his body relaxed. Farkas held him a little longer while blood and bodily fluids dripped from the dead man onto the floor below him. Then she tossed him as if he weighed nothing. When he landed, he skidded like a ragdoll, his face distorted with the agony of his passing.
Farkas whirled towards Justin. "That's right, Mr. Whitehall. Those duds' energy is maybe a tenth of a magic-born's, but what they don't have in magic, they make up in numbers."
She pointed her finger at my former teacher. "Step up, Mr. Whitehall. I want to see how you compare to this trash."
Justin took a faltering step. Then another. His terrified gaze met mine. "I can't... I'm trying..."
I was frozen to the spot with fear. My knees shook, and I barely managed to stay upright. This was beyond my worst nightmares. Farkas looked like a true fairy tale witch, tall, with an unnatural wind tugging at her black hair. Her accent was more pronounced than at the Academy, and her eyes were filled with fanatic glee.
My former teacher had reached her. Farkas spoke her incantation quietly. I couldn't hear individual words, but the effect was immediate. Justin threw his head back and screamed. When Farkas grabbed his neck and lifted him off his feet, his voice climbed to an agonized howl while his legs kicked ineffectively. That's what broke my paralysis.
I shouted, "Let him go, you fucking bitch."
Raising my hands, I waited until I couldn't contain my power any longer. Then I flung a blue-white energy ball at the head witch. She dropped Justin who hit the ground hard. Kiernan and Lance sprinted to his side and pulled him to safety.
Farkas moved her hands to the side in a sweeping motion. The lightning ball didn’t come near her. Instead, it hit a wall and fizzled away. My mind went empty for precious seconds. Other than the groans of dying men, there was no sound in the hall.
What had just happened? I'd hit her with everything I had. Everything. I already felt the fatigue creep through my limbs.
Kiernan muttered, "Oh, shit."
We recognized in each other's faces our knowledge that this was it. This was the end. She'd somehow learned to deflect my fiercest attack as if it were nothing.
Farkas grinned, pulling herself to her full height. "Amber. If you don't come to me voluntarily, I will kill your lovers one by one. They will die howling in agony as I strip the marrow from their bones."
I gulped. Every molecule in my body urged me to run, but I knew it would make no difference. We'd lost.
When a large object landed on Farkas's head, spitting and howling like a demon, for a moment I had no clue what I was looking at. Farkas yelled and swore as the creature held on tight. She whirled, hitting Slug with her fists. His red fur was unmistakable, and his blue eyes sparked with fury. He yowled and scratched her face with its claws.
"Amber," Kiernan called. "Run."
This time, I acted immediately. Lance and Kiernan half-dragged, half-carried Justin between them. Whatever Slug was doing, it was distracting Farkas so much, her hold on the other humans failed. Men and women in uniform ran past me, pushing and jostling in their panic. I tripped and landed on my knee, terrified I might get trampled in the melee. A hand pulled me back to my feet.
"Follow me!" Callahan dragged me by the arm away from the main corridor. The others were right behind us. The agent stopped in front of an elevator and pushed a button. I glanced back nervously, but Farkas hadn't followed us. When the door dinged open, we crowded into the small space. A sign read, "4 persons only."
When the elevator rattled up, I closed my eyes, hoping we weren't overloading the mechanism. But the cabin rose steadily with just a little shuddering until it spat us out at ground level. Up here, there was no indication of the pandemonium below.
"Wait here." Callahan keyed a number combination into a keypad on the wall and hit a red button.
A computerized voice repeated over and over, "Code 189. Evacuate immediately. Deadly and imminent danger. Code 189."
Doors opened, and personnel streamed towards the exit. But there was no sign of Slug. I kept looking over my shoulder, hoping against hope to see him bounding after us.
Callahan gesture
d. "Follow me."
Justin had recovered enough to keep up without support. The agent tapped another code into a door, and when we entered, we found ourselves in a garage full of military vehicles and familiar-looking old cars. That's where Mrs. Palmer had gotten hers from, I bet.
Callahan opened a top-of-the range SUV and pressed a button to start the car. The men piled in, but I stopped and turned back.
“What are you waiting for?” Lance shouted from the inside of the vehicle. I wrapped my arms around my body and didn’t answer.
Callahan roared the motor and yelled, “Get in, Whitman.”
I couldn’t wait any longer. Swallowing my tears, I scooted onto the bench in the back. I was just about to close the door, when I heard the desperate scrabbling of claws on tile.
“Stop!” I screamed, and Callahan hit the breaks. I opened the door fully, and with the force of a cannon ball, Slug hurled into the car. Sobbing with relief, I clutched him to my body while the agent sped out of the garage.
25
Amber
Callahan's local knowledge enabled us to leave the compound before the mass evacuation clogged up the roads. The agent drove without saying a word, his face pale but determined. I waited for him to say something, to explain himself.
Eventually, I had enough. "What the hell was that back there? How did she infiltrate your base? I thought you knew what you were dealing with? Why wasn't the place shielded?"
"I don't know. It should have been. We have several powerful magic users in our ranks who are capable of creating barriers nobody can penetrate. Not Fae, not human."
"And yet she did." That was Kiernan from the back seat. Callahan’s expression was thunderious, but he didn’t offer any more explanations.
We drove for a good hour before the agent pulled off the road. At the end of a long driveway stood a massive white farmhouse, well-hidden behind mature trees.
“This is a safe house. We’ll stay here for a few days until we receive new instructions. It’s probably a good thing to lay low until the shit storm passes. The massacre is going to attract public attention.”
Second Chance Heat, a reverse harem magical academy HEA paranormal romance: Book Four of the Second Chance Academy Series Page 14