Authors: Cindy Charity
Finn caught her before she hit the floor. Though he was shaken by what Ali had said, his concern was solely for her. Her small frame couldn’t possibly continue taking this punishment. Gently, he lowered her to the floor. Sweat beaded on her face, her eyes were squeezed shut. Then she started to shiver, and her body began to feel like ice.
Constantine came over and crouched down beside the woman, and observed her pale face with detachment. His role in this fight was to provide assistance in battle. However, he had seen in the woman’s eyes that she knew he was withholding information. At first, he had thought it just a coincidence, the woman couldn’t possibly see what he kept hidden, but she had looked at him so strangely. It impelled him to provide information, to become more involved with this group. His reasoning: preparation.
The other Fragments will soon feel the impact of this awakening and they had to be ready to face the outcome. The weight of his decision did not resonate in his voice when he spoke, “Agrona’s enchantment and the woman’s mind have been protecting her since birth. This was aided by the drugs given to her. Yet, it could not compete with the intense emotions that have been slamming into her.” Now, he looked at Finn. “As you know, each of us is connected to a Fragment. This one clearly is yours. As she is connected to you, she is connected to us all. Of course, yours is a more intimate connection.”
Finn spared him the briefest of looks before his attention was back on Ali. “You share nothing new, Constantine. While I had my doubts about who Ali is, I have them no longer.”
“There is something you do not know.”
That had Finn’s full attention. “Care to enlighten me?”
Not affected by the quietness of the question, Constantine imparted what had been told to him by Agrona. “Their powers, and ours, are entwined. If Mikel succeeds in destroying even one, it is done. The warrior connected to her will die with the destruction of the Fragment. Lugus will come for her.”
Constantine’s causal announcement stuck Finn with the force of a hurricane. He looked at Ali. His heart convulsed at seeing her in so much pain. He smoothed back her hair, her skin was clammy. If she didn’t need him right now, he would have gone after Constantine.
“You could try, but I promise you, it would be a mistake.” Standing, he scanned the room. “The others will be feeling the effects. The darkness in this one must be neutralized before Mikel uses it to get to her, and to the other Fragments.”
Drake, his eyes glued to Ali pale form, growled. “I can’t believe that all this time, you had that tidbit of information tucked in the back of your head.”
Constantine’s demeanour never changed. “I understand your anger.”
With his eyes still on Ali, Finn asked, “Why weren’t we told? We all serve the same goddess.” Grumbles from the others went around the room.
“Agrona weaved a powerful and complicated spell. A price for such a feat had to be paid.”
“So she gave our lives as that payment?” Finn had a hard time wrapping his head around it. Anger towards the woman he served sparked. “Gambling away our lives warranted an explanation.”
Constantine held Finn’s angry stare with ease. “We all do things in haste, things we sometimes come to regret.” Without further clarification, he faded from the room.
“Where the fuck did Agrona dig him up? Can you believe this? All this fucking time—”
“Drake,” Tristan’s voice hissed out, but his eyes were on Ali. Drake grumbled some more, then remained silent.
Finn blocked them both out. His energy was focused on Ali. He held her hands, they were like ice. He didn’t like that her face was so pale, hated the short, shallow breathing. He felt Cian’s hand settle on his shoulder.
“Join with her, Finn; go beyond your shared mental link. I will do what I can.”
Finn didn’t hesitate—he quickly merged with Ali. The pain was almost more than he could bear. It was so hot, and the brightness of the power building was blinding. But he stayed focused. He searched for Ali and found a tiny light. It was zipping around in dizzying patterns. Though Cian and the others were there to come to his aid should there be need, it was up to him alone to bring her back.
Pushing his anger at Constantine down, he called to her. The longer she stayed in the far recesses of her mind, the more difficult it would be for her to find a way out. When she moved further away from him, he blocked her. The move tested the limits of his abilities. He felt a surge, and knew the others were joining their energies to his.
Ali—lass, I’m here with you. Concentrate on me, on my strength. You need to come back lass—we cannot do this without you.
Heat slammed into him but he held on, but the hold was fragile. Ali’s mind was fighting to protect her. He tightened his hold, surrounded her energy with his, and began to pull her out. Just as they reached the cusp of awareness, a black substance squeezed around her. She cried out and his hold on her began to weaken. It was ominous, this black ribbon. Finn had never encountered anything like it. It was like a living entity and it was determined to keep Ali from awaking. He understood why Constantine had stopped him before. This—thing, did not want to let her go.
You have to fight Ali. Do not let this thing beat you.
He held his breath, not sure if she even had the muscle to do as he commanded. Then, she began to fight. Pride rose in him, and he added his strength, felt the addition of the others. Together, they severed the ribbon.
Ali’s eyes fluttered open. Her vision was blurry at first, but then cleared up in a few seconds. She felt as though she had run a marathon and she was drenched. With Finn’s help, she sat up. She felt as weak as a kitten. Yet, at the same time, everything was amplified. She felt different, but couldn’t quite put a finger on how. She felt Finn’s fingers slide through her hair, she leaned into them. Every bone, muscle,
cell
, of her body hurt. She fought against the overwhelming urge to sleep. There was still so much she needed to know. But that would have to wait because Cian announced that she had to be moved. “Excuse me? I need to leave my home?” The man had the decency to look ashamed. “No way, not gonna happen.” The air seemed to still at her refusal. She felt the arguments well up in the men, the looks on their faces showed it. She didn’t care.
He would rather face a legion of a thousand warriors than to be here now. Swallowing his discomfort, Finn looked to Cian only to see his cousin grinning like an idiot. Tristan and Drake wore similar ones. Bloody hell. Taking a deep breath, he faced Ali. “’Tis not safe here lass, whist protection has been placed around your home; Lugus would make quick work of it. My home will be safer.”
His accent was rough, scrapping over her nerves, making her shiver. Leaning away from him—instantly missing the contact, what was the deal with that? Ali crossed her arms. They wanted her to leave the first place she had felt at home in, a place she had worked her ass off for. “If my home is unsafe, it’s because you guys made it that way.”
There were muffled chuckles. Finn swore, and stood. Dragging his fingers through his hair he stomped away from her. As he passed Tristan, he saw the mirth in his eyes, and narrowed his own. Right, there was only one way he could think of that would get Ali moving, and he didn’t care if he sounded like an ass, or desperate. Turning back he held out his arms in surrender. “Fine, have it your way, lass. We will remain here and wait for Lugus.”
Her mouth fell open. Ali stared, incredulously at Finn. Then her gaze went to the others to see their reaction. “He wouldn’t do that, would he?” Shrugs were her only answer. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. She glanced around her small apartment, her salvation, and tried to imagine Lugus there. Not a sight she wanted to see. Standing, she threw up her hands in surrender, “Fine! Alright, I’ll go.” Grumbling, she stormed towards her bedroom to pack an overnight bag. Stopping she twisted back around, “When we get to wherever it is we’re going—and just to be clear, I’m going under duress—someone better give me a detailed explanation.” She made eye contact with each of them before turning and walking to her room.
Finn watched her go, he couldn’t believe it worked. His body rocked forward as Cian slapped his shoulder; he shook it off with a muttered curse. “Leave off, go, look for any signs of the other Fragments.” He had to suffer through their laughter before Cian, Tristan and Drake vanished.
Lugus ordered the men in his command to their positions. Finding the Fragment had been effortless, her energy—a familiar essence to him now, rippled along the air. Locating the woman did little to sooth his mood however. He was still smarting from having to deal with Mikel’s lapdog. Vega saw herself as Mikel’s equal, and threw orders around expecting them to be followed. He despised demons, they were nothing but trouble. Their volatile personalities often conflicted with what had to be done. But, Mikel believed Vega was useful, so as long as
his
involvement with her was minimal, he would tolerate her.
Pedestrians strolled about but Lugus wasn’t concerned with their presence. They would soon be running for cover, their minds filled with horror thinking that a natural disaster was upon them. The lumbering Rocco came to him. Lugus didn’t have to hide his bigotry from Mikel’s latest puppet. Rocco, and his crew of two, were nothing more than jacked up shells. Fortunately, he had thought to bring some heavier artillery. Mikel might think these mortals were entertaining, but to him, they were nothing more than useless appendages. His opinion was justified when the imbecile spoke.
“Want me to barge into the apartment?”
At his eagerness, Lugus was tempted to let him to do just that. It would be quite interesting to see the warriors slice through the mortal. That he couldn’t was regretful. “The Fragment is protected by one of the warriors of Agrona.” The name meant nothing to the fool. Mikel never felt the need to inform his puppets exactly who they were up against. “You are nothing but an insect to him.”
Rocco puffed out his chest. “I can handle some asshole warrior.”
Lugus curled his lip in loathing. “You will do as ordered.”
There was some complaining, but Rocco slunk away to take up his position. When he was certain the men were in place, Lugus raised his arms. Instantly there was a surge in the air. Drawing energy from the environment, as well as the many power lines in the vicinity, he harnessed it within his body, building it up. As it grew, he set his mind on the squat building across the street. Then, he sent it forth. It hit the building with the force of a bomb. The building shook, creating cracks in the foundation and setting off alarms of the cars parked on the street. The whoops and cheers of the men were crass, befitting their breed.
As he predicted, people ran in fear. Some looked to the sky, others shouted, pointing to the ground. The declaration of an earthquake was humorous. While they burned up the phone lines to the local news station, he would continue his attack. The inevitable arrival of law enforcement, and emergency task forces, will create the perfect smokescreen. Within the pandemonium of the situation, Lugus and his men would be able to move about freely ready to ambush Finn when he fled with the Fragment.
There was no doubt in his mind that Finn O’Shea would flee. While the temptation of facing him and his men would be overwhelming for a warrior, the oath made to Agrona forced a mindset. Finn’s duty was to the protection of the Fragment. That would be what brought him down. Once again, he raised his arms. This time, his focus was on the top far left window.
*****
Ali tossed some clothes into a duffle bag, all the while she argued with herself. What she was about to do was crazy. Five strange men had fed her an unbelievable story and here she was, packing to go off with them. How can you explain last night then?
Ali screwed up her face at her inner voice. She couldn’t explain last night—or what she had seen in that haunted cup. Which is why you are going, until you have all the information, you can’t do anything. A deep sigh escaped her, hating that her practical self was right.
After throwing in a few more things, she zipped the bag closed. The floor beneath her shifted, throwing her off balance. Her first thought that it was an earthquake, followed quickly by how that was ridiculous, because she lived in New York, and earthquakes were just not the norm. Unease sliced through her. Grabbing her bag, she fled her room. She skidded to a halt when she saw Finn standing at the large window of her living room. A quick inspection of the room showed that he was alone. “What’s happening?” Her apartment shook again. “Where are the others?”
Finn hurried towards her. Another blast hit the building. This time Ali saw the windows frost over—frost? They were having the best late summer weather, and now there’s frost? Watching the patterns race across the panes, she felt a surge of fury. It simmered in the pit of her stomach. The urge to march over to the windows and punish the ones responsible was great, but before she could do so, Finn grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards the door.
“Lugus is out there and he’s brought friends. Not surprising. You have no control yet, making it easy to trace your energy. We have to leave—now.”
Ali stumbled along behind him. The air became cold, like the frost on the windows had gained entry. When they reached the door, Finn dropped her hand. Taking advantage of the pause, Ali reached into her tiny hall closet and grabbed some running shoes and a jacket. Using the wall for support, she put on her shoes. “They can’t come in here right? I mean, don’t I have to invite them in or something?” Fear had replaced the fury, and it skated along her spine. Her breath came out in small clouds. This was insane; she’d almost trade what was happening now, with another interrogation with detective Ballen. If only she could go back. Shoes and jacket on, she waited for Finn to answer her. He was halfway out into the hallway when he did.
“You can’t turn back time, Ali. And you’re mixing up your creatures. Vampires require an invitation.”
She heard the smile in his voice. Her mouth fell open. She was trying to be flippant—guess the joke was on her. Now she had to worry about more demented things out there, waiting for her. “Terrific. Can we just go? I mean, isn’t there some kind of spell you can say that will pop us out of here?”Another tremor hit, the floor vibrated, just before there was a flash of light followed by a blast of ice cold wind. Ali held her arms out for balance, “Finn?”
The urgency of needing to get her out of there had Finn blurting out what he’d hoped to keep from her for a while longer. “I can’t ‘pop’ us out of here, Ali, not without assistance.”
Surly she hadn’t heard correctly. “What do you mean?”
Cursing, he turned to her and reached for her hand. “I mean, that while I’m an immortal and a warrior, I possess no magick.”
Ali pulled her hand back from his reaching one, his words echoing in her ears. He had no magic? “You came here, searched for me, knowing full well that all you had in your arsenal was a sword and a few immortal gimmicks?” Her voice went up an octave with each word. This had to be a joke. “You’re joking right?” Her stomach fell, he wasn’t joking.
“Now isn’t the time for explanations lass, we have to go.”
She deflected his hand when it reached for her again. “He knows, doesn’t he? Lugus knows you have no magick.” She felt sick. She recalled how Lugus had taunted Finn in the alley.
The next blast caused the floor to buckle and groan. Ali was thrown to the floor, pictures fell, sliding onto the floor and smashing. In an effort to protect herself, she wrapped her arms about her head and curled her body into a ball. Thousands of sharp points dug into her skin, her clothing offering no protection. She heard Finn shout for her, but she could do nothing—her body seemed to be frozen. All around her, she heard things being destroyed in her apartment. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying that it would end.
There was zap of energy, and then Drake was there. “The two of you better get moving. Lugus has brought a party mix. I’ll cover your backs—go”
Cursing, Finn made his way back to Ali. She moaned and tossed her head as if shaking something off of her. Cupping her shoulders, Finn gave her a gentle shake. “Open your eyes, Ali. We have to go.”
Her vision was blurry and her ears were muffled, but she nodded and took Finn’s hand, grabbing her bag with the other.
They went out onto the fire escape. Granted, her apartment wasn’t that far off the ground, but still, they could have taken the stairs
inside
. With her mind still trying to process Finn’s confession, she made her way down, Finn following close behind. She had a million questions. When they were on solid ground, she noted that they were in an alley—again. Her hand was grabbed up.
“We have to keep moving.” Finn cupped her face with his free hand. Taking pleasure in the knowledge she was his. There was much they needed to talk about, especially now that he had admitted his inadequacy to her. However, this was not that time. “Things are going to get dicey, when they do, I want you to run.” He interrupted her protests. “I am a warrior of Agrona. My duty is to protect the Fragments—protect you.” The worry and fear Finn saw in her eyes made him want to sooth her. Before he could stop himself, he closed the gap and placed a tender kiss on her lips. The brief touch sent a burning through him. He caught her soft gasp of surprise, felt her lips tremble. He pulled back. “I need to know that you will run.”
Her lips felt as though they had been branded. The kiss had been as light as butterfly wings, but it had reached down into her soul, evoking emotions she had never experienced before. Her body came alive. It terrified her. Feeling his stare, and not able to form words, she gave him a jerky nod to let him know she understood. She didn't like it, but she knew she wouldn't be much use to him as a fighter.
The wealth of emotion, the kiss—it all caught her off guard. They had just met. She shouldn’t feel anything for him. Okay, maybe gratitude, he did save her from Lugus, and was now standing between her and the men sent to grab her. But how could she just abandon him? It didn’t matter that he was a warrior, Lugus wasn’t alone. She didn’t know how many others were lurking around; surely Finn couldn’t fight them all at once. She was jarred out of her thoughts when Finn jerked her arm, and pulled her into a run. They didn’t get very far. A bear of a man stood in their path.
“Going somewhere buddy?”
Finn didn’t hesitate, dropping Ali’s hand, he called up the wind and sent it toward the man, knocking him backwards, slamming him into the brick wall. It wouldn’t deter him for long, for he had seen the madness in his eyes, the mark of Mikel. Not giving a chance for recovery Finn advanced on him, his intent was to render the mortal unconscious, giving him and Ali a chance to escape.
The man laughed and spit on the ground. “That all you got—thought you were some bad ass warrior?” With that, the man charged like a bull. Finn met the attack with a solid fist to his midsection. He didn’t want to kill him, tainted with dark magick; the man was helpless to its seduction. However, that didn’t mean he was going to allow him to get to Ali. Wrapping an arm around the man’s neck, Finn exerted pressure. Arms came up, searching for something to grab. Finn avoided them, but couldn’t miss the sharp jab of an elbow. His breath whooshed out. Fine, good old fashioned fisticuffs weren’t going to cut it. Calling for his blade, Finn raised it.
The man laughed again before producing his own sword. “I got one of those too.” He then gave a signal and two more men emerged from hiding. “And I got back-up.”
Swearing, Finn rolled his shoulders back. It looks like he was going to have to dispose of them after all. Centering himself, he prepared for battle.
Remembering Finn’s instructions, Ali began to run. She resisted the temptation to look back. Her legs protested but she dug in, using pure adrenaline as fuel. Scenery blurred as she continued to move, putting more and more distance between her and Finn and his assailants. What if he didn't make it out? She slowed down, it was three against one. She had to go back, she couldn't leave him there. He was outnumbered, and if Lugus showed up, he’d be outmatched. Slowing down, she pivoted and started to make her way back to Finn. Drake appeared before her, two wicked blades gripped in each hand.
“You were told to run.”
Her mouth opened and closed a couple of time before the words came. “Finn—”
“I’ll worry about that, go.” His eyes then looked passed her. “Keep her moving.” Then he turned and ran to where the sound of steel against steel echoed.
Ali whirled to see Tristan. “How—I thought you guys had left.”
Giving her a lopsided grin, Tristan took her bag, then her hand. “We’re never far, Ali. Let’s go, we’ll travel my way—hold on.” They didn’t get the chance. A staggered line of bright light slammed into Tristan’s shoulder, sending him back. Ali’s own shoulder was nearly pulled out of its socket from the force. Before her brain could understand what was happening, Tristan was yelling at her. “Run, Ali!”
Like a fire had been lit under her, she took off, hoping like hell that he would be okay, that they all would be okay. When she hit the sidewalk, she stopped, her chest heaved with every breath. She made a quick assessment of which direction was best. Her mind fired information at her, sifting through it quickly; Ali took off to the right, heading up the street.
When she came to an intersection, she stopped again, her head whipped around. Oh God, all these people. They had no idea what was happening. Looking at them, she felt a punch of envy for their ignorance. Knowing she couldn’t just stand around, she searched for a place she could hide. There was a club, across the street. She could hear the music pumping, and there were a lot of people, thank God for Manhattan’s nightlife. She could lose herself in the crowd, slip inside, and catch her breath. Yes, a plan. Now all she had to do was get there.