Chapter 28
Henry
Istumbled toward Nick, my body screaming in protest with every step from what I assumed was a cracked rib or two. Sparing a glance at the D’val, it was dazed but not dead. I used its condition to check on Nick.
He lay motionless on the dirty alley floor, an ethereal blue-white glow pulsing beneath his skin. His fingers twitched sporadically, and tiny arcs of electricity danced across his body. He was still drawing power from the electrical system, and if he didn’t stop, it would overload him.
“Nick, can you hear me?” I knelt beside him, ignoring the stab of pain in my side. His eyelids fluttered, but he didn't respond.
The surrounding glow intensified as I examined him. Shit. This was bad. I couldn’t tell him how to stop it if he wasn’t conscious.
Behind me, the D'val groaned. The damn thing had recovered already. Nick's blast had been unfocused, leaving it wounded but not dead. Now that the creature had fixed on Nick, it’ll keep going until the mission was complete.
This was one assignment it wouldn’t finish.
Instinctively I reached for a metal bar, but stopped when another spark jumped between Nick’s fingers.
Gently, I placed my hands on his. The contact sent a shock through my system, like grabbing a live wire.
There was so much energy coursing through his body that I didn’t need to be cautious.
I siphoned off as much excess power as I could, hoping it would break his connection.
My body shook as it filled with the raw, untamed energy. The flood of power healed my protesting injuries as Nick’s glow transferred to me. I was holding more energy than I’d ever held, but I absorbed more to drain Nick as much as possible.
The D'val regained its footing, and fixed its angry gaze on us—on Nick. I took my hands from Nick as the creature took a step toward us.
“Not today,” I muttered.
The deluge of energy I’d ingested left me shaking. It needed an outlet, and the D'val needed to be taken down. Perfect match.
I extended my hands, focusing the torrent of power into a concentrated beam of white-hot light.
The energy surge made my previous attacks look like firecrackers.
My blast hit the D'val squarely in its wounded chest, punching through its already damaged exoskeleton.
The creature's hideous screech was cut short as the beam expanded inside its body, superheating it from within.
For a split second, the D'val incredibly stayed on its feet. Its eyes, however lost their focus and it swayed forward. Its descent felt like a slow motion fall, until it gained speed and face-planted the asphalt.
I fell back, exhausted from channeling so much power. The excess energy had left my system as suddenly as it had entered, leaving me drained but functioning. My accelerated healing had mended the worst of my injuries, though I'd be feeling this for at least a day.
Turning my attention back to Nick, he was still unconscious.
Siphoning off the energy had relieved the worst of his condition.
He’d stopped drawing power, but his body showed signs of extreme stress.
His nose was bleeding, the skin around his eyes had darkened, and his breathing came in short, irregular gasps.
“Nick,” I whispered, cradling his face in my hands. “I'm here.”
I brushed his hair back from his forehead, and he looked so vulnerable and innocent. This was my fault. I should’ve pushed harder against Uriel's restrictions. If I had, I could’ve prepared him somehow.
Residual static electricity made his hair stand up slightly, but he was otherwise stable. Help was on the way, and we could get Nick someplace safe.
“Stay with me,” I whispered, hoping he could hear. “Help’s on the way. Just hold on."
Nick's face was serene despite the chaos raging inside him. He’d spent his whole life feeling powerless, and the irony was he held more power than he could safely contain.
“I'm sorry,” I said, resting my forehead against his. “I'm so sorry, but I can tell you everything now. Don’t leave me now that we finally have a chance.”
I held him closer, ready to divert any new energy he pulled toward him. “I love you, Nick. Just hold on.” Wind from above blew dust across my face. Zeke and Orion descended rapidly, the glow of their wings dissipated as they landed.
“Oh shit!” Zeke said as he surveyed the alley. “Ori, help with Nick while I keep us hidden.”
“Tell me what happened,” Orion said, running his hand over Nick’s body. “Where was he hit?”
Orion’s question gave me something to focus on other than Nick might die. “He wasn’t. The D’val threw a dumpster at me when I was distracted. When it hit me, Nick’s powers kicked in and he blasted the thing. He collapsed right after that, but was bursting with energy.
I felt Orion’s gentle probe as he assessed Nick's condition. “This is beyond me. I’ve been trained to handle battle wounds. His energy signature is chaotic. He needs a healer not a field medic.”
“Uncle Raphael is on his way,” Victoria said. “He needs to get the van through the police lines.”
Given the gridlock and police barricades I didn’t think even my uncle could get a vehicle into the alley. Brenda landed a second later.
“I’ll go help Zeke,” she said without stopping for approval.
Vicky knelt opposite Orion and her hands glowed when she held them over Nick. “His nervous system is slightly bruised, but otherwise there are no internal injuries. I can stabilize him until Uncle Raphael gets here.”
The light around her hands expanded, but a flash blinded me. Vicky fell back on her butt.
“What the…?” she said looking at her hands.
Whatever she tried to do, Nick’s unconscious mind perceived it as a threat. Energy started to build up in him. Not as quickly as before, but his damaged body couldn’t absorb much.
I connected with him and Nick let me siphon off the energy again. Without a target to attack, I had to slowly release it into the air as heat. “How do I stop him? He’s taking in energy faster than I can safely remove it.”
Vicky shook her head, but Orion held out his hand. “I don’t know but give me what you can. I’ll distribute it to Zeke and Brenda. Hopefully we can keep him at a safe level until Raphael gets here.”
“We need to move,” Brenda said. “There’s a massive police presence out there and they’re calling for heavier weapons.”
“Just keep everyone away from here until we’re gone,” Vicky said. “Raphael’s almost here.”
Had my cousin not answered Brenda, I might have been less polite. I wasn’t going to push to move Nick until I was sure he’d be okay. Grabbing Orion’s hand, I let him take all the energy I’d pulled from Nick. “Let me know if it’s too much.”
Once I’d emptied myself of the excess power, I pulled the rest from Nick. Like before, once I’d removed most of the energy, Nick stopped drawing so much.
“It’s a good thing he recognizes you,” Vicky said. “He appears better, but I don’t want to scan him again.”
A van entered the alley, and Raphael’s aura washed over me. My uncle exited with a sense of urgency and approached Nick.
“Don’t touch him.” I raised a hand protectively. “Vicky tried and he drew more power from the electrical grid.”
“Incredible,” Raphael said, extending his arms. A gold light pulsed from his finger tips, surrounding Nick in a protective cocoon. I held my breath waiting for Nick to react negatively, but nothing happened.
The glow faded and Raphael frowned. “He's overloaded, but you figured that out already. Keep doing what you’re doing and make sure he doesn’t fill up again.
Wallace put the body in the back of the van.
Victoria, you’re in charge of the scene.
Hold the shield until we’re gone, then meet us at the house. ”
Everyone moved with a purpose. I scooped Nick off the ground, his body disturbingly light in my arms, and carried him to the van.
The roads leading out of Dupont Circle were empty because the police had blocked off every street leading to the incident area. Raphael was keeping us hidden, which was a monumental effort I didn’t think I could replicate.
“Is this the beginning?” I asked when we left the immediate area.
“Probably.” Raphael's expression darkened. “Hopefully, if we quickly take out their scouts, it will delay things for another decade, but the Earth is in their sights.”
“What the hell happened back there?” Wallace asked from the driver seat. “There was a hole the size of a basketball in his chest.”
I knew Wallace was nervous and trying to fill the quiet, but I didn’t want to talk about almost losing my HKarlin. “Nick happened,” I said, catching his eyes in the rear view mirror. “He saw the D'val hit me and lost control.”
The van swerved suddenly, and Nick moaned. The dashboard lights flickered, and the engine sputtered.
“Shit,” Wallace muttered, wrestling with the steering wheel. “He's affecting the electronics.”
Leaning down, I stroked Nick’s hair. “Nick, it's me,” I whispered. “You're safe now. We’re both okay.”
His eyelids fluttered again, but the electrical disturbance subsided. I soaked up the energy he’d absorbed and gave it to Raphael when he held out his hand. For the rest of the ride I maintained contact with Nick, hoping to keep him calm until we got to the house.
“That’s good. Keep him calm,” Raphael said. “We’re almost there.”
We turned onto a quiet, tree-lined street in the expensive section of Northwest D.C.
“Pull into the garage,” Raphael told Wallace when we stopped in front of an utterly ordinary looking house.
Wallace hit the remote, and the garage door slid open. We pulled inside and the power dampeners activated. The floor lowered, taking us twenty feet below ground. Bright institutional style lights illuminated the space.
"Get the D’val to the containment room," Raphael directed Wallace as we exited the van. “Henry, take Nick to a bedroom on the second floor.”
I carried Nick upstairs, entered the first room I came to, and gently set him on a bed. Grasping his hand, I ran my thumb over his skin. He was warmer than usual, but otherwise seemed calm.
The lights overhead flickered briefly, and I felt Nick was still pulling power from the electrical system. It was an extraordinary talent that rivaled my father and uncle’s, which was also astonishing since he was completely untrained.
“How is he?” Victoria asked from the doorway.
“Calm, but still drawing energy.”
“That’s unbelievable,” she said. “Trevor’s here, by the way. He wants to see Nick, but is afraid to ask you.”
I smiled because when I first showed up he’d have barged in first and dared me to make him leave. “Tell him he can come in.”
Trevor slunk around Vicky and cautiously approached the bed. “Is he okay?”
He sat on the other side and picked up Nick’s free hand. Remarkably, Nick didn’t react like he had with Vicky and Raphael. “Raphael said he’s in overload. I think he’s still reliving the fight. If anyone other than me—and now you—touches him, he reacts like he’s under attack.”
“I think you’re right,” Raphael said. “You need to gently bring him back to consciousness before we can treat his burnout.”
I heard the words, but was afraid of the implication. “What do you mean?”
“His unconscious mind doesn't understand what he’s seeing isn’t real,” he explained. “You’ll need to use your bond to speak to him. Once you convince him the fight’s over, he’ll wake up.”
The last thing Nick saw was me getting slammed into a wall. “He thinks I'm hurt.”
“That would explain the continuous energy pull,” Raphael said. “He’s trying to save you.”
I squeezed Nick's hand, drawing off the excess energy. “How do I reach him?”
“You're his HKarlin,” Raphael said. “He’ll recognize you instantly.”
He made it sound so easy. “I’ve never spoken with him mind-to-mind. What if he doesn’t believe it’s me?”
“You need to convince him.” Raphael's expression turned grave. “If you can’t, then we keep drawing energy until, he wakes up, we exhaust ourselves, or his body gives out.”
Nick wouldn’t wake up on his own. He was trapped and needed someone—me—to guide him out. “I think everyone should leave. If he detects someone else, he might not believe it’s me.”
“I’d like to stay and help if I can.” Trevor’s eyes pleaded with me.
“Henry’s right—” Raphael started.
“Trevor can stay,” I said. “We may only get one chance and Nick might need some persuasion. Trevor’s closer to Nick than I am in some ways.”
“Very well,” Raphael waited until Vicky left the room. “Be very careful, Henry. He’ll control everything you see in his mind. If he kills you off, you could get trapped and we’ll lose you both.”
The door closed, and I looked across Nick at Trevor. “Thank you for offering to help. If I start to convulse or appear in distress, don’t wake me, go get help.”
“I can’t leave you.” Trevor didn’t take his gaze off of Nick.
His objection came from the best place, but it was misguided. “If you don’t get help, Nick and I will die.” It was that simple.
“Do me a favor.” He lifted his head and stared me in the eye. “Don’t put me in that position.”
I moved Nick to the other side of the bed and sat next to him. If anything happened, I didn’t want to fall off the chair. “I’ll do my best.”