Chapter Twenty-Five
My mom finally lets me go and I take a step back and look at them all standing on the steps leading down into what looks like from here to be a huge cavern.
Holy fuck I know that I knew that they were in here but the reality of the sheer number of them is finally starting to sink.
“I’m sorry I know you guys want to catch up and reunite but we really need to get going.” Levi says firmly but gently at the same time I have no idea how he manages to do it so flawlessly.
“Yes of course.” Thomas says, his voice just as serious.
“Is this all of you?” Levi asks taking the lead and directing the question to the elder Centre who is clearly the leader as all of the others stay silent and wary behind her.
“Yes dear.” The elder replies her voice soft and calm despite the horrific things she must’ve been through in her life.
“I thought there would be more of you.” Kysen comments, frowning.
“There were.” She replies sadness shadowing her eyes.
“Some of them didn’t have enough faith that you were coming.
They’ve been through a hell of a lot and decided to try and escape.
They were caught and we were made to watch as the Order brutally murder them all deeming them too much of a risk and not worth keeping alive in case they convinced the rest of us to try and escape. ”
“They murdered one hundred and fifty of us.” My dad growls.
“That’s fucking disgusting.” Ty snaps.
My blood boils as rage tries to consume my vision and sadness takes root deep in my soul.
“I’m so sorry. They will pay.” Levi says sadness and anger fighting for dominance in his voice, he takes a deep breath trying to calm himself before continuing. “Are you all well enough to travel? Its not going to be easy to get you out.”
“They haven’t brought any infants in for years so our youngest are around fourteen or so.
We are all physically fine but when they have no use for us they give us something that suppresses our gifts.
We are magically useless and unfortunately anyone who was caught practising any sort of fight skills was punished so it became too dangerous.
We only have minimal skills in that area to.
Apart from the older of us who were trained in the old ways.
We are more than capable to help take out a few of the bastards. ” She grins viciously.
She is truly an inspiration after all they’ve clearly been through she hasn’t lost her fight, I admire that.
“Fucking hell.” Kai curses at hearing what they’ve been through.
“Lets get the fuck out of here then.” Levi says to her before turning to us. “Spread out down the edges of the group and behind. Any fighters among you stick to the edges and keep the most vulnerable in the middle.” He orders and everyone nods.
Levi takes point once again, with Ghost perched on his shoulder.
The rest of us wait behind as they start to funnel out of the cavern below.
I try to smile reassuringly at them but people skills aren’t really my forte and anger at their expense is still riding me hard so I have no idea if I pull it off or not.
As they funnel past me I keep my eye out for Rebecca and her team, I don’t see them anywhere and I have an awful feeling that they were part of the group that tried to escape.
We quickly make our way through the halls and I’m glad to find that the woman was telling the truth and they are all fit with no visible injuries. I guess that having injured Centre’s make them less compliant and their gifts not as strong for when they wanted to use them for their own purposes.
Darkness keeps trying to take over my vision at the sheer rage I feel for these supernaturals but I push it back.
I’m not sure what will happen if I let it take over but it wouldn’t be a good thing to experiment with right now, that I am certain of.
I manage to keep it so its just darkening the edges of my vision, that’s about as good as its going to get with the rage still coursing through my veins and there’s fuck all I can do about that right now.
I think it will be a long time before that diminishes.
Humans have a long history of taking what doesn’t belong to them and claiming it as their own and then destroying it completely. I’ve always hated that. Not all humans of course but the history is there.
We run into a couple of guards on the way out, Kai takes one of them out brutally, showing that this situation has affected him as much as its affected me. Kyle takes out another one with almost as much brutality.
“Any trouble?” I call out to Erin as we near them.
“They haven’t even tried to get out.” She says her eye’s scanning over the crowd now filling the hallway.
I raise my eyebrow at her answer and pointedly look at the five guards piled up to the side of the door.
“Apart from them.” She smirks. “Although I can’t take all the credit the guys took out a couple.”
“Much to her disappoint,” Jett grins, “and I quote ‘but how am I going to beat Sage if you fuckers keep killing them before I can get to them?” He chuckles.
“Sounds about right.” Jax comments.
Kai catches my eye and nods towards the door. I want to get at least some revenge for what these Centre’s and their Bonded have been through but I don’t want to risk them coming after us.
“Erin can you hold up the shield on the door from a distance?” I ask and instantly I have the curious attention of everybody.
“I don’t think so that’s why I couldn’t come and get them with you and the others had to stay and lend me power, why?”
“Repeat after me and then step back, it should hold.” I say as the words form in my mind, I can feel the goddesses own rage fuelling them and I know that this is a decision she approves of.
“Ok.” Erin replies not even questioning me.
I love her and her awesomeness.
“Cibus et posuit in manu excurrit scutum et custodite mihi comburatur." I say slowly and she repeats the words perfectly after me.
There’s a glow of magic before she slowly steps back and it holds in place.
“That should give us a more comfortable escape.” Ty comments although he looks between me a Kai clearly sensing that’s something else is going on.
Whether that’s because he’s seen it with his gift or has just picked up on our restlessness I don’t know.
“Fire?” Kai asks me and the others pause in moving down the hallway to look back at where we are still stood by the doors to the dining room the sounds of laughter and fucking celebration still coming from within and fuelling my anger.
The darkness at the edge of my vision encroaches a tiny bit more.
“Abso-fucking-lutely. Lets do this.” I say crouching at the bottom of the door.
I start to gather my power as a word once again whispers through my mind thanks to the goddess. She gives me knowledge at the same time which means I know that as soon as I say it the shield that Erin created will be lifted off of the ground just enough for us to let our magic free.
Through the Bond lines I can feel Kai gathering his magic too.
“Ready?” I ask and he nods. The ball of flames between his horns glowing brightly as it hisses angrily and his wings outstretched behind him.
I hear gasps as the other Centre’s take him in, in all of his delicious glory and shocked exclaims when my own hair and eyes start to glow.
“Vitae!” I exclaim the power vibrating in my voice.
The magic from the word hits the shield and visibly lifts it up about half a metre.
I let the manic grin overtake my face as I release a torrent of fire into the packed dining room.
Kai does the same next to me and almost immediately you can hear screams of pain as I command my fire to dance through the room setting anyone who is guilty of the Orders beliefs and kidnapping the Centre’s ablaze.
I may be a vengeful bitch but I will not take innocent life and if there is anyone in there that my fire deems as innocent I hope they take this as a fucking sign and escape.
Kai’s fire rages and plays with mine. This is the first time that we’ve truly let our gifts free and it feels fucking amazing.
I know time is of the essence though and there could still be some guards around here.
I command my fire to burn until the last guilty fucker is all crispy and send the idea to Kai who grins viciously.
We both step back vicious grins adoring both of our faces and turn to face the shocked looks coming from everyone behind us.
The screams of pain and terror echoing from the room behind us echo around the cavernous hallway.
The reaction from the Centre’s and their Bonded is mixed some of them are grinning just manically as we are, where as some of them are watching us warily.
I know that not all of the Order are in there, it stands to reason that they are spread out all around the world but these ones have been dealt with and my rage lessens slightly now that justice has been served to these few.
“Alright then. Lets get going before whatever guards aren’t in there come to investigate the noise.” Levi orders us a proud glint in his eyes.
“If we follow this hallway right to the end it should come out near the kitchens, no one will be working now all of the servants confined to their quarters. There’s a door that leads from the kitchens into the courtyard with the stables.
They won’t have enough horses for all of us but they do have several carts that they brought us in on and there’s an exit out of the city.
They use it so that they don’t have to bring us through the main part of the city and risk the supernaturals there taking offence and trying to rescue us.
They may be criminals but even they would object to us being used by humans.
” The woman who first greeted us tells us.
“Thank you.” Levi replies as he starts to lead us in the direction the woman pointed out. “Ghost, go and scout ahead please.”