Chapter 40
Chapter forty
Raegan
Charles is on an island that’s a ferry ride away from the coast. The entire island is a town. There are no cars, one main road, and a grid of houses. The town hall is at its center.
The town mayor is Charles Whitman.
One guess who that is.
Reid drops us off behind a building at the dock, where we’ll draw the least amount of attention at midday.
Part of me wonders if these coordinates were a way to wear Reid out, too.
He’s been hopping around the world to get everyone in position.
Charles may not want him available as an escape route, and he used this to drain his strength before the fight.
Silas peers around the corner of the building. “There’s no one here.”
The main Guild fighters are with us to help with any obstacles sneaking into town hall. Or to draw Charles’s attention away until we’re ready.
Fabian pops a handful of peanuts in his mouth. “Maybe it’s their lunch break.”
Aiden strides to Silas’s side to look for himself. “We knew he’d be expecting us. If he’s cleared out the town in advance, that only makes things easier.”
“Harder to hide, though,” Dane adds.
Sam moves next to me, offering his hand. He and Alice wanted to join us on this final mission. Even though they’re both terrified of their dad, they’re putting their trust in us that we’ll defeat him this time. Like Harvey had. I won’t let Charles get to them like he did to Harvey.
I’ll keep them safe, Harvey.
Reid, these two, and the others are the start of a family I never thought I’d have. I’ll protect them just as much as the other family I’ve built with the Guild.
Smiling at Sam, I take his hand and hike the cloth bag over my other shoulder.
“We aren’t hiding. Only you and Raegan are... at least until the anti-teleportation devices are in place,” Aiden explains again. I’ve got three in my bag, and Dane has the controller and the last one.
Alice places a trembling hand on Dane’s shoulder. He looks at her, and she glares daggers at him. “Yeah, I’m scared. What did you expect?” She forces herself to take a deep breath. “Let’s get this over with. Either I’m dead tonight or maybe I’ll sleep without nightmares.”
They disappear for everyone else but me and Sam.
Aiden’s gaze passes over the group. Silas, Evie, Fabian, Gabe, Zedd, and a handful of others. Cassandra and Cibrina are safe at Hype, ready for whoever returns first. “Let’s go.”
He leads the way, strolling across the boardwalk to the single main road and then following it. Past the little shops. Into the quaint neighborhood.
“Wait!” one of the Guild members shouts, running to grab Aiden and yank him back. The ground explodes where he’d been standing.
Bullets rain fire overhead. Aiden molds a shield to cover the front of the group. “Get behind me!”
Fabian takes the rear, his long tongue flicking out to catch the hot lead and swallowing it down. Silas covers above us with a shield of thick vines. Leaves and tattered greenery fall around us with every bullet. His jaw tightens as he struggles to consistently replenish the vines.
Evie brushes her hand along a length of vine, and it rapidly expands to cover more area. She follows that vine across the rest until we’re fully covered.
The Guild member who alerted us to the buried explosive is squatting with his hand on the ground. “The road is littered with bombs. We can’t go this way.”
I kneel. “Yes, we can.” My gift surges through my veins, eager to be used when I call on it. I send it into the ground and spread it under the road. The second it comes into contact with a bomb, it detonates. My gift branches out, setting them off in waves.
When my gift doesn’t find anymore, I reel it back in. “It’s clear,” I report, standing.
“Ah!” Silas curses. “Fire.”
The green barrier becomes an instant oven that fills with smoke. Flames eat away at the vines faster than he can replace them, and we find ourselves surrounded by agents.
“Ah, we found you!” Gabriel exclaims to the agents.
Zedd steps forward.
“Silas, Evie, Gabe, Fabian, stay with Zedd. The rest of you come with us to the town hall,” Aiden directs.
“Block your ears,” Zedd tells us. We stuff the plugs into our ears. I help Sam with his to make sure they’re in all the way. He starts singing. His words are dulled by the plugs, but the melody is there. My eyes start to droop.
Dane shakes my shoulder. “Don’t try to listen. Come on.”
Fuck.
That was way too easy to fall for.
Aiden’s already running toward the town hall with the others. Dane, Alice, Sam, and I follow, dodging the holes in the ground from the explosions. The double doors to the town hall burst open, and agents flood out.
“Fuck’s sake,” Dane mutters when we come to a halt.
Aiden withdraws his whip sword. “Sneak in while we keep them busy.”
“Aiden—” I start to argue, but he cuts me off.
“I’ll meet you inside. Get those devices planted. Then stay hidden until I get there.”
“We’re leaving now,” I tell him, since Dane and I are still invisible.
He nods, preparing his weapon.
Dane and I skirt around the others, keeping a wide berth from the agents, then circle back around them to the open doors.
We creep inside, careful to keep our steps soft and deliberate on the smooth tile.
The entryway is massive, like entering a mansion rather than a public government building.
Everything is white except for the black tile floor.
The walls. The ceiling. Most of the furniture.
And then a gigantic chandelier hangs from the two-story ceiling.
Two opposing curved staircases greet us straight ahead.
Black double doors are on our left, and another two sets are on our right behind a long desk.
The receptionist is speaking into her desk phone.
“Yes, sir. They’ve been split into two groups.
” A pause. “No. Not yet.” Another. “Yes, of course. I’ll be right there.
” She walks to the stairs, her heels clicking with every step.
I watch her until she disappears down the hallway to the right.
If I assume she was talking to Charles, that means he’s up there.
The sound of a doorknob jiggling snaps my attention to the door on the left. Dane’s trying to open it, but it’s locked. Sam and I walk over. Dane looks up when he sees us, then steps back and motions to the door.
I grab the knob and dip into my gift, shooting it through to the other side without touching the door. The knob disintegrates, leaving a hole in its place. The door falls open.
A room packed with people stare wide-eyed with fear at the creaking door and no one there. Some are clinging to each other, while others stand protectively at the front. They creep closer to peek through us.
“What was that?”
“What do we do?”
“Don’t move. He said we’d be safe if we stayed in this room.”
“But they could see us now!”
“Hurry! Help me block the door to keep it shut.”
The ones in front grab the bookcases in the corner and start dragging them to the door.
We hurry out before they close it again and start barricading themselves inside.
“They’re humans,” Alice explains softly. “The ones who live here.”
They’re hiding.
From us.
We’re the bad guys to them.
Dane squeezes my arm and shakes his head.
Right. We don’t have time to worry about that. The point is that we can’t use that room for our plan. We’ll need to find another one.
After we’ve planted the devices, Dane texts the location to Aiden, and we meet in the foyer. Alice and Sam slip away for their next part, leaving the three of us in the open.
“This better work.” Dane scrubs his hand through his hair, nerves making him agitated. “How much time do we have?”
“Not long, I’m afraid.” Charles’s voice echoes from the second floor. He’s standing at the railing between the two staircases. “I wondered what was taking you so long to find me, but it appears you’re waiting for something.” He lifts his hand. “Let me ruin that plan.”
Aiden swings his whip sword. It slashes through the railing where he stands, and Charles is forced to teleport. “Run!”
Dane and I dash down a hallway with Aiden covering us. Charles appears in our way with a laugh. I shove Dane to turn down the hallway to the left. This building is a maze with hallways and rooms galore. It’s easy to get lost in it if we don’t pay attention.
Something yanks us back off our feet. It’s like a magnet drawing us in, and I remember how Charles had done that just before striking with a blast that hit every inch of our bodies at once. Reaching for my gift, I send an uncontrolled burst through the ceiling.
It’s nothing but drywall and plumbing. There’s nothing heavy as I’d hoped for to hit Charles with as it cracks and falls apart, but burst pipes flood the hallway. He drops us without the attack, and once again, we’re rushing to our feet in the growing puddles.
“I can’t help but notice you’re more focused on running away than fighting. What are you waiting for?”
He shows up in front of us again. I drag Dane to a stop, switching directions as fast as possible on wet tile flooring without slipping.
Dane does exactly that, his shoes squealing from the fast spin, but Aiden’s right there to catch his other side and help me bring us back to the last hallway we’d passed.
Aiden doesn’t know how to get to the right room, and I think Dane’s already messed up the directions because he’s missed opportunities where we could have turned.
We made sure to walk every hall before picking a room, so we knew how to get here. No matter which hallway we take, I can get us there.
The only question is, if we head there now, is it too soon? We only get one chance.
We’re coming up to the room.
Do I take it, or keep running us in circles for more time?
I grasp the doorknob.
And I’m thrown backward, crashing into another door and room. Dane and Aiden run in after me. Charles blocks the door and only exit in the room.
“I think I understand now. You were trying to lead me to that room there, weren’t you?” He uses his gift to block the doorway with all the furniture in the room. “You shouldn’t have been so obvious by not fighting.” He smiles, confidence dripping from him, while he looks down on us as if he’s won.
“You okay?” Dane asks me, helping me to my feet.
“Yeah. Hurry,” I urge, keeping my voice low for only him.
Aiden’s dark stare is focused on Charles, who stands between me and him. I move up to his side, and he places his arm across me to keep me from getting any closer to Charles.
“You’re still children playing checkers when I’ve been playing chess all along,” Charles continues, enjoying his boasting. He’s so self-assured that he’s won.
It’ll feel great to bring him down a peg or two.
“That’s funny,” I call back, and his attention zeroes on me. Good. Dane’s already moved behind Aiden and toward the wall. “Aiden said something similar about you.”
Charles’s brows shoot to his forehead. “Oh?” His blue eyes slide to Aiden. “And how is tha—”
A sharp beep followed by four shorter beeps interrupts him.
Dane smirks from where he’s crouched beside the device controller along the wall.
While Charles is busy looking at Dane, Kellan leaps out of thin air with a gift-blocking cuff. Charles sees him and knocks him back with his gift.
Click.
Jackson secures the second gift-blocking cuff around Charles’s wrist and then stabs him in the neck. Blood sprays. Charles grabs at his neck, his eyes wide as he stumbles back. He chokes, blood dribbling from his mouth.
I’m barely breathing.
Somehow, it all worked.
It worked.
Relief floods through me in a wave, my body trembling from the adrenaline as I watch Charles bleed out.
We’re free.
Harvey’s siblings are safe.
The Guild is safe.
His chokes subtly shift to a chuckle. A low, terrifying laugh that gets louder with every breath.
He’s breathing.
My heartbeat slows, cold fingers of dread dragging down my spine.
Charles lowers his hand, and I stare—stunned—as dark bronze scales spread from the side of his healed neck to the back of his hands, and his skin darkens with Kellan’s gift. He clutches Jackson’s knife in his other hand.
No...
Charles’s laughter is unhinged as he takes in our shock.
He digs his fingers behind the cuff and then snaps it free.
“Did you think I spent years learning how to manufacture these cuffs with his gift without considering someone might try to use them against me?” He tosses the useless and broken cuff to the floor.
Kellan bares his teeth, his jaw feathering as he witnesses his own gift blocking us from winning. Jackson has moved to my side, his expression serious.
As long as he has Kell’s gift, he’s untouchable. We’ve blocked his ability to dodge, but what does that matter if we can never break that shell?
We need time.
It was a flaw of Kellan’s for a long time. What are the chances it’s still a flaw for him? If his clock runs out on his gift, it makes him vulnerable again.
Will we all survive however long that takes?
My stomach twists, not liking those odds. Kellan can outlast him, I’m sure. But the rest of us?
Charles keeps talking. “His gift may work on me directly, but every cuff, every collar, and piece of jewelry... they have a piece of me in there to protect myself. To counteract his gift if it comes into contact with my blood.” He smiles at Dane.
Something Reid once said comes back to me, and my blood chills.
“If he feels cornered when it comes to Dane, he’d rather kill him for the emotional blow it will have on Raegan than allow someone to threaten him.”
He would rather kill him.
Dane’s gift is the only thing that can stop him now.
I run.
“Dane!” I shout as Charles raises his hand.
Dane’s airborne.
I throw myself at him.
If I can knock him down...
If I can at least get between him and Charles...
Something slams into my gut, wrenching the air from my lungs.