Storm Secrets, page 13
part #4 of Scarlet Jones Series
“Don’t worry about me.” I looked down at the dragon. So far, it had never failed me when faced with demons. It reminded me of blood, of pain, of heartbreak, but it also reminded me of triumph. Of freedom. No matter how I’d gotten that weapon, it was mine now, for better or for worse. I just hoped I wouldn’t die before seeing the others one more time. Ax, Ezra, Sienna, Grover, Fallon, Luca…so many beautiful souls had been trapped in that monastery, hiding from the world, from people and from monsters. We were finally free, and it was up to me to make sure that every one of them got to enjoy that freedom again.
The suit they provided was awful, but Wilder insisted I wear it. It was a navy blue, the fabric one I didn’t recognize, soft but also thick. It had a feel of leather to it, only much more elastic. The sheaths and holsters were awesome, though. I had five—two around my shoulders, one around my hips, and two around my thighs. I filled the sheaths with knives from the training arena, took two of the lightest, most balanced swords in their collection, and put four guns in the holsters around my hips. With the dragon, chances were I wouldn’t need other weapons, but they did make me feel better.
When we took the Pretters, they made us sign forms stating that we’d only use them if absolutely necessary.
“They’re expensive,” Archie whispered to me while the guy who’d come to bring the case watched us sign. “We’ll have to sign forms for the SUVs, too.”
I didn’t have it in me to think this was ridiculous, when we were all putting our lives on the line to fight a common enemy here. Not when we were so close to the demons. We each had five Pretters: a shield, a healer, two explosives, and a freezing spell. The holsters that came with them were for our arms. Not very comfortable, considering I had another two full of knives there, but I could use the spell stones as a distraction if needed. Even with the dragon, I wasn’t invincible against those demons.
Finally, we were on our way.
My heart slammed against my chest as I sat next to Stacey in the back of an SUV. Never would I have thought that I’d be riding in one of them of my own free will. In the past, whenever I saw them, I moved away. They meant trouble. Now, they meant protection. They meant a safe place from the demons, if it came to running away from the subway station.
The street around the entrance was crowded. The four ECU soldiers guarding the stairs stood with their guns in clear sight, but the paranormals who saw them looked the other way and the humans didn’t even notice they were there.
By the time we got out of the SUV, I thought my heart was going to fly out of my chest. Instead, its beating slowed down to a crawl. The yellow lights coming from down the stairs of the station flickered. The others could be there. There was no need to panic. Just focus and do what I did best: fight.
I started for the stairs, my hand itching to hold that lightning handle already, when somebody grabbed me by the arm.
“Stick to the plan,” Wilder hissed in my ear.
The plan?
Oh, the plan.
Six soldiers were going in first with their cameras, so Wilder could see exactly what was down there before we went in. They also had motion detectors, heat detectors, probably even Storm detectors, and that information would go straight to Wilder’s earpiece.
In the meantime, I had to wait.
God, I hated to wait.
“The sooner I see one of them, the sooner this comes to life. We want this to come to life, Wilder.” I showed him the dragon around my hand.
“We also want to live,” he said, his eyes stuck on the small tablet in his hand. The sight of it took me back to a time when I was chained to a bed and ECU workers came in and out to experiment on us. Not a happy reminder so I quickly looked away.
And I waited.
And waited.
And waited…
“How much longer?” Just staring at the people passing us by wasn’t enough of a distraction. The four SUVs surrounding us blocked most of the view. My flesh and blood craved action. My mind craved information.
“They’re in,” Wilder said, and despite the memories, I looked at the tablet. The blurry image showed the inside of the subway station, all the white tiles, the pillars, and the railway. The soldiers who’d gone in moved excruciatingly slowly. Their guns were raised and every few steps, they turned around to check behind.
“They have movement,” he whispered next, his eyes frozen on the screen. The soldiers in the station had stopped moving. One of the three in front of the soldier with the camera had a tablet in his hands, too, and on it, I could barely see something red. Red and moving.
“We need to get down there,” I whispered.
“Just one more—”
“Wilder, if the demons come out, those soldiers are dead.” I pushed his tablet away and stepped in front of him to meet his eyes. “I’m sorry.”
I just couldn’t allow myself to sit there and wait to hear the screams, to see the blood. I turned around, and I ran down the stairs. I appreciated everything Wilder had done for me, but his orders were for his soldiers. I was a Storm witch.
My ears whistled as I took the stairs three at a time. Wilder called my name but I didn't turn. The six ECU soldiers dressed in their black uniforms looked like shadows in the otherwise empty space. They’d gone deeper into the station than I thought. With a gun in my left hand, I ran forward full speed. No point in keeping quiet now. I wanted the demons to know I was there.
The soldiers turned to me all at once, their guns raised, but I didn’t bother to tell them I wasn’t a demon. They saw for themselves.
“Get back!” I shouted when I saw the shadow moving behind them. To my left was the railway, and to the right were the benches, the ticket cabin, and the newspaper stands. I couldn’t see the toilets anywhere, but there were no lights deeper down the station. Good thing I didn’t need them to know that the shadow was a demon.
He came out like they always did—a smile on his face, his vertical pupils zeroing in on me, his speed incredible. I raised my gun and shot a bullet out of pure panic. Instinct was hard to resist, but my mind took over and calmed me.
No need for bullets.
I need them to attack me.
I need them to think they’ve won.
But then, before the demon could get to me, another guy dressed in navy just like me flew forward and slammed onto him. A vampire. The vampire in Wilder’s team.
“No!” I shouted, but it was too late. Everybody was there. Stacey and Wick positioned themselves to my right and Wilder and Archie moved to my left. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Turn it on, Scarlet,” Wilder called, keeping his guns raised as he watched his vampire fighting the demon.
“I’m trying!” I shot forward, but two hands grabbed me by the shoulders. Wick and Archie. “I explained this to you. I told you that I needed them to—” I was cut off when something hard slammed against Archie’s body.
The vampire. The demon had thrown the vampire off like he was a rag.
And more of them were coming.
I hated to hurt Wick, but I jerked my arm forward then slammed my elbow in his face. He’d thank me for it later. Wilder was in front of me, already shooting his gun, so he didn’t try to stop me. Others were behind, too, shooting like they had to use all those bullets. The demons moved from left to right, trying to get away from the bullets, but there were too many. None of them got hit, and when I was finally close enough and almost completely covered in darkness, I went down to my knees and slid the distance.
Like that, I found myself in the very middle of all…eight of them. I locked eyes with the one right in front of me. He was surprised to see me, surprised to feel my magic now that I was releasing it, putting away the block. To make him attack me faster, I raised my gun and aimed at his face. He moved away before the bullet reached him, but my plan worked. His friend to my left began to suck my energy.
It was as sickening as the first time. My whole life seemed to drain, slipping out of my pores, my magic calm and peaceful inside my chest, waiting to be let out. Begging for it, like that’s what it was truly made for. It was hard to let go, this time more than others for whatever reason, but I did. I thought of the others, of Ezra, of his wide eyes looking at me for help, and I gave the demons what they asked for—my magic. Someone grabbed me by the hair and pulled me down to the ground. Someone else called my name. Darkness enveloped me, but the smell of hair burning reached my nostrils.
Then, it was over.
I was let go. The cold tiles beneath me gave me reassurance. My eyes popped open, and I felt for the handle of the sword in my hand. It was there.
So was a demon.
He stepped on either side of my waist. In his hand was a sword, one I’d handpicked myself that had probably fallen off its sheath on my back, and the demon had grabbed it. He was bringing it down to my heart. It was a funny view. A demon with a sword?
The fear came a moment too late. The sword was coming, and my body was still frozen by the aftermath of having been sucked almost completely dry. Then, something flew above me, and when I blinked, the demon was no longer there, aiming for my heart.
I sat up with a jolt. Fire burned on both my sides. My sword threw lightning, burning bright blue against the orange. Ahead, Wilder was wrestling with the demon who’d tried to kill me. Others were jumping to the sides, trying to keep away from the flamethrowers. For some reason, I smiled. I remembered Sienna, her pure power, her energy that had gone into my dragon. The energy that had saved me.
Slowly, I rose to my feet between the flames. And I got to work.
It hadn’t been long since the last time I’d fought demons. If I could see them all, we were fighting against eleven of them. My sword was as long as ever, light as air, and I swung it like it was part of me, an addition to my hand, not a different object. To get to them, I had to move away from the flamethrowers because I was in no hurry to end up in ashes. As soon as I was in the open, the demons came for me. All ten of them while Wilder fought the last. They hit me, their strength that of a wolf, their fists fast, their kicks faster. They had weapons now, some swords and some knives, one had a rod and another a baseball bat. They meant nothing to my lightning sword, though. And my resolve was stronger than the pain they put me through every time they touched me.
The flames stopped. To burn the demons, the others would have to burn me, too, as I was in front of them. The gunshots began again. I swung my arm as fast as my muscles allowed, but the demons had one intention only: to grab my left arm and pin me against the wall. So when one managed to kick me in the chest and push me against a pillar, I reached for an explosive spell stone around my left arm, and I threw it at their feet. I didn’t even need to charge it. I suspect the energy from my sword was enough to activate it, and in two seconds, the spell went off.
I miscalculated the time. Before I could hide myself behind the pillar, the magic hit me square in the chest, knocking my breath out. A couple demons fell back, and I hit the ground on my knees. Others rushed to me fast, and if it hadn’t been for the bullets coming from the rest of the team to our side, they’d have gotten me by the time I managed to stand again. The team joined the fight. Two demons were dead by my sword, but they went through the others fast, their goal to make me bleed. The explosion spell had hurt me more than I thought it would, but I still swung my lightning sword and reached for a metal one strapped to my back. That way I made sure they wouldn’t be able to grab me anywhere.
People screamed, blood everywhere—blood and charcoal. As much as I hated to admit it, the demons wore me out, their movements too fast for me. But I wasn’t alone, and though the others couldn’t do any damage to them, they distracted them. They gave me seconds here and there, and soon, only five demons were standing.
“Scarlet!” Wilder called just as my sword cut a diagonal line through the face of a demon, and when I turned to look, I found him with one knee on top of the stomach of the demon, both his hands around his throat. The demon tried to move, his face a bloody mess, but Wilder wouldn’t let him. I shot forward, my sword ready.
“Move!” I shouted at Wilder, and he jumped back, rolling on the ground. The demon sat up just like I’d expected, and the lightning made a clean cut throughout his neck. His head fell and broke into piece of charcoal while his body remained in the same position.
When I turned around, ice cold pain shot through my left arm. The demon came for me growling like an animal, his hands in tight fists, aiming for my chest. The dagger he’d thrown at me was buried deep in my flesh, cold at first, now burning me. I swung my sword at his face, gritting my teeth to make the pain bearable, but he saw my movement coming. He ducked and slid on the floor much like I’d done at first, and took my feet from under me before I could jump. The fist on my face almost broke my nose. Blood rushed down my throat and out my mouth, almost choking me. I’d fallen on my back but I charged him again with my sword. He jumped, and when he landed, he did so with a foot on my right forearm. I tried to reach for a gun, but my entire left side was paralyzed. The demon kicked me under my chin. I lost consciousness for a few seconds, and when I came back, I tried to kick him on the back, but he was too far to reach. Instead, he kicked me again.
Then, he was gone.
A growl later, I sat up to find Wilder on top of him, his fists on the demon’s face faster than I could blink. Holding onto my left hand, I made it to my feet and rushed to the demon’s legs. A cut and he was gone, but I screamed in pain. The dagger was still in my shoulder, and the movement seemed to have sunk it even deeper in my flesh.
“Scarlet, here!” Stacey called, standing a few feet away behind a demon, who was on his knees with a thick rope around his neck. Stacey held onto the rope with all her strength, sweat and blood glistening on her skin. I tried to move fast to spare her, but it was impossible. I couldn’t get that damned dagger out of my body because I couldn’t move my left arm at all. My right was busy with my sword. And when that demon was dead, I only had two more to kill, two who had their skins charred already by the flamethrowers.
“Hold still.”
Wilder was in front of me. I hadn’t even noticed him move. The pain turned to ice again when he touched the dagger inside my shoulder. I gritted my teeth to keep from screaming. Wilder pulled it out, slowly at first, and then fast. I fell to my knees, no longer able to hold myself.
“I just…I just need a second…” I said breathlessly, holding onto his hand. He kneeled in front of me, too, offering me more support with his chest, his hands quickly pushing the hair from my face as he searched for any other wounds. My ribs felt broken, too, from that stupid explosion spell. Bodies, blood and charcoal surrounded us. My head fell, and I hit Wilder’s chest. Just another second.
But that was it. There were some old, out-of-service toilets somewhere in that station, and other Storms could be in there. I just needed to see one. I needed to recognize one. I needed to know that they were all alive.
“Help me up,” I said to Wilder, pushing his arms from around me. He did so reluctantly. Wick was by my side, helping me, too. My shoulder still hurt, but it had mostly turned numb now. “Grab my healer.” I nodded at the holster around my left arm, a couple inches down from my wound, still bleeding like it didn’t intend to stop anytime soon. Wilder put the spell stone in my hand and closed my fingers around it. His hands were bloody but warm. He held my fingers together because I’d lost all sense in them, and I charged the stone with my magic, taking in a deep breath.
It wasn’t as good, as powerful as that explosion spell. It took its time before I felt the cool waves moving up my arm and to my wound. No time to wait for it to close completely.
“I’m okay,” I said to Wilder and pushed him aside. “Let’s go.”
“Scarlet, you’re—”
“No.” He wasn’t going there. He wasn’t trying to stop me.
To his credit, he let Wick guide me deeper into the station, a flashlight in his hand, but there was no need. My sword was still strong, the lightning strikes still shooting up the handle and back.
“Bring the team in! Let’s go, fellas. We’ve got ten minutes!” Wilder called behind me before he joined us.
Deeper into the station, the dust layer was thicker as if the humans had suddenly forgotten that that part even existed anymore. Probably the effect of the demons. There were no other doors until we got to a half broken sign attached to the last pillar before the dead end. Across from the sign were the doors, three of them. My heart picked up the beating, filling me with energy. The spell stone had turned almost all the pain in my shoulder away. My wound seemed to have closed, but I couldn’t tell from all the blood. I rushed my steps and let go of Wick’s arm. He immediately kicked open the first door.
The bathroom was big, equipped for handicapped people, and it was empty. The second was the men’s room, this one bigger, longer, and there seemed to have been four stalls once. Now, the walls were broken in, the toilets broken, tiles missing here and there, the sink in pieces. Rolled hiking beds were at the corner, and two bottles of water, together with countless cans of beans.
I opened the third door myself and stepped inside, ready to be amazed.
I was.
Just not the way I’d hoped.
Four people were in what had once been the women’s room. Only one stall stood at the corner of the room. The rest of the space was covered in hiking beds and the people curled up together at the other corner looked even worse than the ones Elisa and I had found at the abandoned hospital.
I didn’t recognize any of them. A sigh escaped me, but I didn’t allow desperation to cloud my mind. We’d found four Storm witches. We’d saved four Storm witches. It didn’t matter if they’d been at the monastery or not. They were safe now.
Fourteen
I sat on the floor, the cold tiles making me feel warmer than I really was in contrast. ECU soldiers swarmed the place. They’d gathered all the evidence, the charcoal, the weapons, they’d cleaned up all the blood and taken all the wounded people. Nobody had died, which was a victory, but two wolves were hurt badly, and Archie had hit his head so hard in the beginning of the fight, he’d fallen into a coma. Wilder was speaking to the medical team when he saw me watching him. I admired his calm, his professionalism, the way his energy rubbed off on people and everyone seemed to be more alert when speaking to him. But I was afraid of what he might say.
