Chapter 19 #2
“It’s too late,” Gael said with a panicky wince. He dropped to his knees, hyperventilating as the venom from a single cut coursed through his bloodstream. “He poisoned me.”
“What?” Carter dropped beside Gael, checking him over and finding the small nick on his forearm. “What kind of poison?”
“Deadly.” Gael shrugged. “Snake venom. Don’t remember the name, just that a single drop will kill me in minutes.”
“Then we better purge it in seconds.” Carter slapped a hand over Gael’s cut and another on the boy’s chest.
Carter’s mind whirled with the anatomy of the human body he’d worked on memorizing since the day he saved my life.
It was a beautiful sight, watching Carter blossom and grow from an event that once paralyzed him, from a trauma that haunted him for months.
Now, he’d taken the fear he had when stitching together my slashed throat and used it to save lives with medical knowledge and a unique use of his rejuvenation branch.
With a dash of telekinesis, Carter altered the ebb and flow of Gael’s blood, forcing the venom back to the open wound. Gael squirmed, uncomfortable and uncertain.
“It’s almost done,” Carter said with a soothing smile. “Just so you know, this is not the way to extract venom.”
“Then why are you doing it this way?”
“Because with my vitality coursing through your veins, I’m giving you the edge against the toxins,” Carter said, delicately adding a pulse of telekinesis to circulate the venom out of the cut.
An added benefit to Carter’s vitality magic was that it created a subtle glow to Gael’s bloodstream, muscular system, and body in general.
It wasn’t something I saw, but something Carter fixated on as he worked.
The dark droplets flowing through Gael’s body represented the poison Carter still needed to extract.
“And that’s the last of it. You’re welcome. ”
“Dude, I could kiss you.”
“I have a girlfriend.”
“I’ll kiss her too, if you want.” Gael grinned until Carter thunked him on the head.
“Why’d I just save your life?”
“Because I’m adorable.”
“Look out,” I yelled.
“Mr. Frost?” Carter turned to find Finch lunging directly for him and Gael, claws drawn and fangs bared.
Another watery portal opened, and a blurred figure zipped through, kicking Finch off course.
Before he could recover, another portal opened, and the blurred figure knocked into Finch again.
This process continued until a dozen watery portals were opened and Finch had been struck a hundred different times.
“We got your back,” Vik said, stepping from one of the portals they’d created.
I smiled, in awe of how well they’d mastered Jamie Novak’s branch. They gave life to his memory every time they used his watery portals.
Name: Vik Smythe
Branch: Arcane (Copycat)
“Woohoo!” Zoya shouted, punching Finch across the face, before vanishing into a portal and reappearing with a cackle of delight as she kicked him in the back.
Name: Zoya Khan
Branch: Alteration (Speed)
Finch changed his erratic composure, stilling himself, even as Zoya continued leaping from portals faster than the eye could see, and striking him before vanishing again just as quickly.
Dammit, his senses were tracking her patterns.
“Gotcha,” Finch hissed, turning to slash a blurred figure of Zoya as she came up behind him.
She altered her stance, attempting to dodge, but she was coming in too quickly. Gladiatrix had worked with her on ways to channel her speed to turn it into a heavy-hitter attack, but the precision of altering her momentum was still something they had to train.
“I don’t think so.” Vik fell through a portal and reappeared between Zoya and Finch. They punched Finch in the face, knocking him back with a blow twice as brutal as Carter’s punch earlier.
Vik had made mastering Jamie’s branch a personal mission of theirs; however, they’d been assigned to master Gladiatrix’s branch while under her tutelage.
Sure, Vik would never manage to mimic Gladiatrix’s attack power one hundred percent, but they’d come closer than any other witch with their copycat magic.
“You fucking brats,” Finch roared. “This ends now.”
“I agree.” Diaz leapt into the fray with his sword drawn. “Can’t let these interns show me up, now, can I?”
Diaz jumped at Finch, sword aimed, and enchantments glowing. The pair clashed, Diaz moving faster than I’d ever seen before. His enchantments enhanced his reaction time, but they stalled Finch’s reflexes, and after several careful slashes, Diaz brought Finch to his knees.
Finch’s eyes turned glossy and returned to their normal brown. Smoke sizzled and wafted from his body, taking with it the animal traits that’d enhanced his skills.
Diaz hit Finch in the back of the head with the butt of his sword. When the witch keeled over and passed out, Diaz summoned rope from one of the symbols of his sword.
“Whoa, how’d you do that?” Gael asked, fully recovered from the venom scare.
“It’s important to make sure your certified enchantment weapon is stocked with all the best supplies,” Diaz explained as he hogtied Finch, restraining the Celestial Coven enemy.
“Don’t worry, I’ll show you all the best enchantments to add to your weapon.
If, of course, you decide to keep it when you enter the field. ”
“Oh, definitely,” Gael said with glee.
After Diaz dealt with Finch, he messaged Global Guild superiors for his next move. Since the station he guarded wasn’t set up for Finch, he didn’t know if he had the authority to bring in the detained witch.
I contemplated reaching out to him, warning him that something had trapped my core self inside. But if other witches from the Celestial Coven arrived, I’d need to ensure Diaz held this line. It turned out he and his interns were quite capable.
“Woohoo,” Gael yelled. “Impressive as hell, Texas Daddy.”
“Thanks, kid.” Diaz tipped his hat. “You and your familiar were pretty amazing yourselves. You two should be very proud.”
Gael grinned. “You hear that, bestie? We’re the frickin best.”
“I mean, we pretty much saved the day,” Zoya said, planting her hands on her hips. “But yeah, take all the credit.”
“Gladly.” Gael grinned, shooting her a wink, which of course made the girl blush.
I buried the memories that surfaced in each of their minds of the nights they spent getting to know each other.
“Not that I’m not grateful for your timely arrival, but what are you three doing here?” Diaz asked.
“Gladiatrix sent us here,” Carter answered. “She’s meeting with the others from the top ten before bringing them to this facility.”
“Well, that was the plan,” Vik added. “But if the Celestial Coven is here…”
“Then she’s probably kicking their asses all over town,” Zoya said.
“Those idiots picked the wrong time to attack Chicago,” Gael said. “Isn’t that right, buddy?”
Gael went to pick King Clucks up but faced the wrath of the bird’s swift pecks.
“Ow, ow, ow…” Gael backed away. “Let’s hope those pheromones wear off soon.”
“Agreed.” Diaz sighed.
“Hey, where’s Priscilla?”
“Oh, no worries,” Diaz said. “Even without our bond, I know her hangry face. I lured her into the nearby sushi place, told them to clear out, and left my card. Christ, Vanessa’s gonna kill me.”
“Yikes.”
“Here’s hoping the Global Guild covers it.” Diaz chuckled.
Despite everything, it seemed they had things under control. I needed to move inside and find my core self. Hopefully, I could assist in whatever release from a trap my core self needed.
As I drifted inside, I found the typical wards were already stripped. A convenience for me, but bizarre that someone managed to remove every single protection without triggering a single alert.
“Child’s play,” Katherine said with a nasally huff as she snapped her fingers, forcing the next door open.
What the fuck was she doing here? And why was my student breaking into the Global Guild facility?