Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (60 page)

He couldn't remember the last time he was so angry.

"You guys better let me go," Tiffany said.
 
Despite everything, her voice was calm.
 
She angled her head high, trying to see under the blindfold.
 
"If you don't, bad things are probably gonna happen."

The men laughed as they continued to fill up on alcohol.
 
One of them spoke.

"Oh really, kid?
 
What's gonna happen?"

"Either my friend's gonna come, or my dad.
 
The last time people took me, my dad came."

Kevin blinked.
 
Tiffany had been kidnapped before?

"Wow.
 
And what did your daddy do?"

"He beat up everyone.
 
Then he threw trash on them and choked them with a garbage bag."

The men stopped laughing, looking at each other.
 
The thought of Jack and his rage flashed through Kevin's mind.
 
He was so distracted and in such a hurry he didn't even think about calling him.

Two of the men moved closer to the wall near Kevin, further away from Tiffany.
 
Kevin flinched before remembering they couldn't see him.
 
They lowered their voices.

"Look, I trust Sean.
 
The man's saved my ass more than once.
 
But a little kid?
 
I don't know."

"Just be cool.
 
Hopefully it won't come to that.
 
I'm not happy about this, either.
 
But if it's gotta be done, it's gotta be done."

Kevin frowned.
 
He didn't know who Sean was, and didn't care.
 
He would rescue Tiffany and take her far away.

He didn't hear the footsteps, didn't see the man sneaking up behind him.
 
All he felt was the hand on the back of his neck, and then pain as his head was slammed into the wall.
 
The metal siding hummed in response.
 
The world went dark for a moment as he fell to one knee.
 
It slid back into focus just long enough for Kevin to see the knee before it struck his nose.

His consciousness drifted in and out.
 
He was vaguely aware of being dragged across the ground.
 
He saw the sky for a moment, then the roof of the hangar.
 
The man dropped him, and his head bounced off the concrete.
 
He looked up at the man standing above him, a gun at his side.

"Hey, fellas," he shouted.
 
"Look what I found!
 
We got a little spy that looks just like Humphrey Bogart."

Kevin turned his head to the side and saw some of the men approaching, their legs moving sideways.
 
Two stayed back with Tiffany.
 
His hand reached to the stone under his shirt.
 
He closed his eyes and thought of one of the few people whom he'd gifted a magical rock.

"I need you to get back to the hotel," he said, his head throbbing.

The man at his feet looked down at him, confused.
 
He knelt down and slapped Kevin across the face.
 
The insult only helped clear his mind of the fogginess.

"Are you on something?
 
Who are you talking to?"

He hoisted Kevin to his feet and slammed him against the wall.

"Who the fuck are you?
 
How'd you get here?"

The other men approached.
 
Kevin picked out random details.
 
They were all men, varying in age.
 
They all carried guns, some larger than others.
 
One had a scar across his face.
 
There were six men he could see, but didn't know if anyone else was circling the hangar, like the one that attacked him.

"It's a damn kid," another man said.

"Kevin!" Tiffany shouted.
 
"Is that you?"

"Yeah!
 
Don't worry, I'll be right there."

The men laughed.
 
"You hear that?
 
He'll be right there."

A female voice emanated from Kevin's chest, and the men froze.
 
The man pinning him to the wall backed up a step.

"Kevin?
 
I'm in the middle of dinner with some very important people."

"Holy shit," the man said.
 
"He's wired."

"The hotel," Kevin said again.
 
"I need some help."

"Okay.
 
Give me two minutes."

"No problem."

The men moved forward again, but Kevin was already reaching in his coat.
 
He pulled out his flashlight and covered the beam as he switched it on.
 
The three closest men fell to their knees as he aimed the overpowering magical light at them.

He felt a slight pain in his chest as he heard a loud boom.
 
A force knocked him to ground, and he looked in Tiffany's direction to see one of the men holding a large rifle.
 
The bullet lay a few inches away, having been stopped by the shield created by Kevin's rock.
 
But the force shoved the rock into his chest, and it hurt.

"Shit," Kevin said, wincing.
 
"What the hell is he shooting?"

The remaining men approached, leaving Tiffany behind.
 
They approached carefully, their weapons at the ready.
 
Kevin didn't bother climbing to his feet.
 
The wall was directly next to his head; he narrowly missed smacking it.
 
He pulled his marker from his coat and drew a circle, just large enough to fit through.
 
A simple touch of his hand, and the portal came into being.
 
He grabbed the edge and pulled himself through to the outside, remembering to close it behind him.

He could hear the men talking on the other side as he pulled himself to one knee.

"Did he just…go through the wall?"

"What the hell is going on here?"

"We have to find him."

Kevin was already moving.
 
He calmly walked along the outside of the hangar, aware the men weren't far away at all.
 
The police cruiser was just ahead.
 
He reached for a potion, a very delicate one he purposely never completed, leaving it one ingredient shy.
 
Popping the cork, he pulled out the missing piece of the puzzle.
 
A simple packet of sugar.

He had to fight the habit to shake the vial, to mix it together.
 
Doing so would have had a rather loud result.
 
Carefully, he cocked the vial near his ear, and tossed it at the cruiser.

He'd never used the potion before.
 
In his head he'd seen what it would do, but seeing it for real was quite an experience.
 
The explosion was much larger than he'd expected, so much so that he fell backwards.
 
The car lifted in the air in a bright orange fireball, about ten feet off the ground.
 
The windows shattered, throwing glass everywhere, and Kevin had to cover his ears.
 
It slammed back to earth, almost bouncing slightly.
 
The fire remained, continuing to nibble away at the wreckage.

Kevin stood up and walked away, wincing at the destruction he'd caused.
 
The men all ran to the bay door and shouted and swore when they saw one of their two vehicles on fire.
 
Kevin kept walking, knowing if any one of them turned they'd spot him.

The female voice came from his chest once again.

"Kevin?
 
I'm ready.
 
Is everything okay?"

"Shhh!
 
Keep your voice down.
 
Just give me a second."

He created yet another portal back into the hangar.
 
The men still gathered near the bay door, their backs to him.
 
He calmly walked across the hangar toward Tiffany.
 
She was still in the chair, moving her head around.
 
Wire-ties bound her wrists and ankles to the chair.

"Did something just blow up?" she asked.
 
"You guys are in for it now.
 
I told you."

He knelt next to her as he pulled the scissors from his coat.

"Tiffany, it's me."

"Kevin!"

"Quiet down!
 
Whisper.
 
I'm getting you out of here."

"I knew either you or Jack would come get me.
 
I have the best family in the world."

Kevin froze for a second after removing her blindfold and freeing her ankles.
 
Family.
 
His already strange family was growing.
 
She looked at him and smiled a bright smile before he resumed cutting wire-ties.

As soon as she was able, she threw her arms around his neck.
 
He squeezed her quickly.

"Do you know why they grabbed you?" he asked.

She shook her head.
 
"He was dressed as a policeman, but I know better.
 
Policemen can be bad, too.
 
That's how I met Jack, when I saw a policeman and a monster kill somebody."

Kevin stood in shock.
 
It was possible Tiffany had seen more than he had.

"Okay, let's get you—"

"What the hell!" someone shouted behind him.
 
"He's over there!"

He turned to see the group of six men approaching.
 
Several of them raised their guns.

"No, you idiots!" one shouted.
 
"You'll hit the kid—"

They either weren't listening, or didn't care.
 
They opened fire, but Kevin was already in front of Tiffany.
 
The bullets stopped inches from him, each one pounding his magical rock repeatedly into his chest.
 
He made sure Tiffany stayed directly behind him.
 
He couldn't help but flinch.
 
In the past the stone was either in his palm, or on his finger as a ring.
 
With it being on his chest, the bullets came much closer.

Still, they didn't touch him, and fell near his feet.
 
But Kevin made a mental note to revisit the idea of the magical rock around his neck.
 
His chest stung.

They stopped firing, each one staring in amazement.

"I said stop!
 
Sean didn't say we should kill the kid!"

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?
 
They're still up!
 
Fuck the kid!"

One of them sprinted toward them.
 
Kevin shoved both hands into his coat.
 
One hand found the stack of photos he kept, while the other clutched another vial.

He tossed the vial directly at the man, striking his face from ten feet away.
 
The man grunted as the sleep potion splashed across his nose and eyes, and he fell at Kevin's feet.
 
Tiffany squealed when he slid and came to a stop inches away, then let out a loud snore.
 
He'd be dead to the world for the next four hours.

"Jesus Christ," Kevin said.
 
His hands shook as he quickly flipped through the photos.
 
There were plenty of his bedroom, and even more of Leese posing.
 
He mentally scolded himself for not having the one he needed on top.
 
"These assholes are serious."

"Kevin!" Tiffany shouted.

He looked up to see the same rifle aimed at him from before.
 
He didn't have time to wonder if his chest could take another round from the high-powered weapon.
 
The large bullet stopped three inches from his nose, but sent him sprawling backward, nearly falling on top of Tiffany.
 
She tried to hold him up, but they both went down together, the pictures flying in the air.

For the first time, panic began to set in as he looked through the mess of pictures before him.
 
He needed to get Tiffany to safety.
 
That was the main goal.

Tiffany shook his shoulder.
 
"They're coming!"

He glanced up to see them holstering their weapons, mumbling with each other.
 
They grabbed other weapons from the long table near them.
 
A baseball bat, a loose piece of wood, a metal crowbar.

Kevin nearly gave up, content to use any picture, any escape path available, when his eyes found the photo he was looking for.
 
A picture of a hotel room, very far away.
 
The vial was already in his hand as he picked it up.

"Hold this," he said, handing the vial to Tiffany.

He grabbed his flashlight once again and blinded them.
 
They stopped and turned, trying to shake the magical light from their eyes.
 
Tiffany gasped next to him, then giggled quietly.

"Okay," Kevin said, taking the vial from her.
 
"It's time for you to go."

"But I want to stay with you."

"No, Tiffany.
 
You need to be far away and safe."

"Where am I going?"

Kevin smirked as he quickly drew the connecting portals, one on the wall, the other on the photo.
 
He was aware that he was using magic in all its glory for Tiffany to see, but that was the least of his worries.
 
Slapping the picture on the wall, the bright light was almost overwhelming for a moment, followed by the familiar hum of an active portal.

The redhead stood on the opposite side, her arms folded across her chest.
 
The beautiful nighttime skyline of New Delhi, India was visible in the luxurious hotel room window behind her.
 
She wasn't joking when she said she was in the middle of an important dinner.
 
She looked the part.
 
A lovely black dress, showing more cleavage than Kevin was used to.
 
Her skin was pale and perfect, like it always was.
 
Her hair was long and straight, flowing over her shoulders.
 
She even wore heels.