Chapter 8 Palmer #2
The first punch came fast, but I was faster. I dropped and rolled, sweeping my leg out to catch one of the puppets in the ankles. They went down hard, but two more took their place. Behind me, I heard Hunter grunt as he engaged Slade directly.
"You always did have a death wish," Slade snarled. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed through the club.
I wanted to turn, to help Hunter, but the crowd was pressing in.
Their movements were different now—more coordinated, more lethal.
These weren't just random people anymore. Slade was using them like an extension of himself, each one moving with trained precision. Fuck, it wasn’t looking good. I needed to do something—
The mate bond flared with sudden energy. Jasper.
I spun just in time to see Jasper materialize behind Slade, his ghostly form solidifying enough to land a crushing blow to Slade’s spine.
The impact sent him staggering forward, his concentration breaking just enough for some of his puppets to falter, but only for a moment before he regained control.
“Holy shit,” Hunter gasped in shock, tossing me a quick “did you just see that?” expression.
"The ghost appears," Scorpio laughed as he straightened his back, but there was an edge to it now. "How convenient."
I ignored him. We’d rattled him, I figured it was probably best to keep that going. "Hunter," I called out as I dropped another mind-controlled fighter, "want to tell me why you're really here?"
He ducked under a wild swing from Scorpio, moving to stand beside me. Even with one arm hanging uselessly at his side, he was still deadly. “It’s a long story,” he panted. “I’ll tell you after we kill this fucker.”
"Enough!" Slade's voice boomed through the club. The green in his eyes blazed brighter, and suddenly every person under his control went rigid. "I tried to do this the easy way."
Goosebumps erupted on my skin as the temperature in the room dropped dramatically. I felt Jasper's alarm through our bond a second before it happened.
Slade raised his hands, and every one of his puppets started screaming, not in pain, but in a synchronized chorus that made my teeth rattle. The sound built to a crescendo, and I realized too late what was happening.
"He's drawing power from them," Jasper's voice was urgent in my ear. "Palmer, we need to—"
The explosion of power knocked us off our feet and even sent Jasper flying.
I saw Hunter hit the wall hard, his head snapping back with sickening force seconds before I slammed into the bar, glass shattering around me.
The burning sensations along my arms as some of the alcohol splashed told me I’d been cut a few times, at least.
"I was going to keep you alive." Slade's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. "But now? Now I think I'll just take what I need from your corpses."
I pushed myself up, ignoring the glass cutting into my palms. "Hunter?" I called out.
No response.
Jasper materialized beside me, his form flickering with effort. "Palmer, his power... we need to get creative here.”
"You think?" I spat blood onto the floor and squared up. "Any brilliant ideas?"
Slade stalked toward us, his possessed army moving in perfect synchronization behind him. The green in his eyes had spread, consuming the white and pupil until they were just glowing orbs in his face.
"Well," Jasper said, "I do have one idea. But you're really not going to like it."
Through our bond, I felt Jasper's intention a split second before he spoke. "Remember how our powers merged when we..." He cleared his throat meaningfully.
"Now is not the time to bring up our sex life," I hissed, dodging a chair that went flying past my head.
"Actually, it's exactly the time." His voice was urgent. "The mate bond—we can use it. If you go spirit form while staying connected to me, your spirit powers and my actual, well, spirit itself…"
"I might be able to break his hold," I finished, catching on. "It’s a mental hold, and what is the spirit of a human if not their very fucking mind?!"
"Exactly! I think you can reverse it."
Scorpio's laugh cut through our planning.
"How touching. The ghost and the witch, working together.
" He gestured, and two of his puppets dragged Hunter's unconscious form to their master, through broken glass and debris, leaving a trail of blood. His dark curly hair had come out of his bun and dripped with blood from a wound I assumed happened when he hit the wall. I didn’t think it was possible for his arm to look worse, but it appeared to be hanging on by skin alone.
Fuck, he was in bad shape. I clenched my fists, rage building to an inferno.
"But you're forgetting something crucial.
" He pressed his boot against Hunter's throat. "You're out of time."
"Palmer," Jasper whispered, "now."
I closed my eyes, letting the mate bond flood through me. The transition to spirit form was easier this time, more natural. I felt Jasper's power merge with mine, amplifying it, directing it.
"What are you doing?" Scorpio's voice carried a note of uncertainty that bordered on hysteria. He knew something big was happening. Good.
I opened my eyes, seeing the world through an ethereal haze.
Every person under Scorpio's control glowed with that sickly green energy, connected to him by threads of power.
But now, I could see something else—weaknesses in his control, places where his power flickered and strained.
Spots where the green shades of infectedness softened and waned.
Those fracture points were where I could see the spirit of the individual, desperately trying to regain control.
"Something impossible," I said, and pushed.
The sensation was overwhelming. Dozens of minds pressed against mine as I forced my way into Scorpio's network of control. Each person under his power became a battleground, their consciousness reaching for my offered freedom while his power tried to maintain its grip.
"No!" Slade snarled. The green in his eyes flared brighter as he fought to maintain control.
Blood began to trickle from his nose, matching the warmth I felt running down my own face. The strain was immense, like trying to hold back an ocean with my bare hands.
"I can't—" I gasped, feeling my grip starting to slip.
Jasper grabbed my hand, and his power surged through our bond. "Yes, you can. Together."
Hunter stirred at Slade's feet, his eyes fluttering open. Even through the haze of spirit form, I saw the moment he assessed the situation. His good hand moved slowly toward his boot, where I knew he kept a blade.
"You think you can match my power?" Slade's tone was strained now. "I've evolved beyond anything you could imagine. I am—"
The knife caught him in the thigh, buried to the hilt. I would’ve been surprised if it wasn’t lodged in his femur. Scorpio's concentration shattered for just a moment, but it was enough.
I pushed harder, feeling Jasper's power amplifying mine. The green threads connecting Scorpio to his puppets began to snap, one by one, then dozens at a time.
People dropped to the floor as they were freed, unconscious but alive. Slade stumbled, blood now flowing freely from his nose and eyes. The look of pure disbelief on his face was priceless.
"This isn't over," he snarled, but his voice was weak. His hand pressed against his bleeding thigh as he backed away. "You have no idea what's coming."
Before any of us could move, he threw something across the room, and a small fire flared to life.
What the hell? I tore my eyes from the flames, and Slade was gone.
Frustrated, I ran to grab a fire extinguisher near the stairs and extinguished the fire before it had the chance to spread.
Burning the place down wasn’t Slade’s plan; that was just his distraction tactic so he could make an exit.
I dropped the extinguisher at the same time I ripped the mask off.
My legs actually gave out beneath me, but Jasper caught me before I hit the floor.
I did it, I finally fucking did it. I bested that son of a bitch in a way that he never saw coming.
The fury and indignation on his face was something that was going to live in my head for the rest of my life.
The small pang of frustration I felt that he’d still gotten away was easily overshadowed by the feeling of victory.
I wasn’t going to be a victim anymore, and when he ultimately showed up next time—the stab wound wasn’t going to be enough to take him out, and I knew it—I’d know what I was capable of.
"That," I panted, "was definitely not in any of Asrael's training manuals."
Hunter pulled himself to his feet, grimacing as he cradled his injured arm. "Speaking of Asrael..." He looked at me seriously. "We need to talk."
That was going to have to wait because loving little furry paws suddenly braced my brain. "Incoming," I announced, preparing for the arrival of Snake. My familiar scampered along the railing above us, and the second he spotted—
"Oh gods," Hunter followed my gaze and fake groaned, laughing.
Snake's ears twitched, having heard his voice.
The sound that came out of his little mouth would've been alarming if it weren't for the fact that he was already dead.
This was his happy sound, it just... resembled the unholy shriek that a dying creature would make.
He ran full speed at the bannister, sliding down the thing at record speed before he hit the bottom and flew, arms outstretched like a parachute, nailing Hunt right in the chest.
Hunter tried to cradle the undead rodent against his good shoulder, wincing as Snake scrambled excitedly up to perch on top of his head, little skeletal paws disappearing into Hunter's tight curls that had completely escaped their bun.
The patch of exposed skull on Snake's head gleamed in the dim light as he chittered happily.