A Stitch on Time 5 (26 page)

“Do you know where the open patch leads to?”

He shook his head. “Let’s go and find out.”

I swallowed the discomfort of being in the thick of this overwhelming environment.

The closer we got to the cavity, the more my heart sped. I spotted a line of orbs dotting the top of the torn wall like detonators waiting to go off, and my gut clenched. They were positioned on this side of the corridor.

As Oren and I made our way across the many obstacles, a variety of spooks whipped us with their tails. Some tried to scare the life out of us, or attempted to suck me into their zone, but I remained focused on what we had to do. I couldn’t afford to let the drumming inside my skull slow my progress. It wasn’t easy, not when the group of wraiths in the corridor writhed around each other, as if waiting for instructions.

I looked around. Sally and Lavie were busy beating up a luminescent being, while Roe had already awoken several girls. When I turned back to the hole in the wall, I realized it had shrunk. The widening closed further as Roe separated the catchers from the machines.

“I have no idea where this leads,” Oren said.

We finally reached the corridor and peeked inside. This was nothing like the ghostly patch, where spirits went before reaching their final resting place. Wherever this led, it was packed with spooks of all varieties. Burr was right—the energy was dirty. Was this the tear he’d referred to? He claimed it led into the abyss. Were the abyss and Tartarus the same place? The thought made me shiver.

I recognized some of the spooks on the other side, many I’d captured myself. Like the spiky-looking wraith that caught sight of me and licked its lips. This one had cut my cheek while I captured it last summer. The memory left me distracted and the spook rushed forward, all teeth ready to bite me. But missed when I shifted out of the way.

“We should step back,” Oren said. “You’re getting their attention.”

“Oren, I captured many of those spooks and stuck them into holding cells before they were to be sentenced.” I sucked in a quick breath, trying to stop my eyesight from blurring. “They’re not supposed to be anywhere near this building, and definitely not with access to this basement.”

“Expel all of them to their rightful place in Tartarus,”
Henry’s voice echoed inside my head. I wasn’t sure if it was a memory, or if his spirit was nearby. Either way, did this mean Mace hadn’t just been storing the spook energy below the Tower, but somehow managed to open a pathway into Tartarus?

The wraith reached for me again, this time shooting past the opening to slam into me so hard I fell flat on the ground. Oren rushed to my side, but I couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying because the spook had pierced my skin and energy was leaking from me. An orb floated near the wraith and was changing color. As soon as they collided, we were toast.

“Chant a protection incantation with me,” I yelled, sucking in the suddenly icy air. Hot and cold blended like toxic air inside this dungeon.

“What?”

“Take my hand and set up a protective barrier with me. Hurry!”

Oren didn’t hesitate and together we created a safety enclosure just as the two spooks smacked together and exploded. They faded into colorful smithereens and both of us were sent flying across the room, but the incantation held until we released it.

“What just happened?” Lavie ran to us, helping us to our feet. She was covered in blue, glowing blood.

“That’s the first explosion,” I said. “How’s Roe doing? Has he got all the girls?”

He rushed up behind Lavie and said, “I’ve managed to separate twenty girls from the chairs, but another six were too far gone.”

I nodded, their loss stabbing me. Saving even that many was a great feat, if we could get them outside. “Get the catchers out of this building as fast as you can. You said you know how to get out, so take them.”

“What about you?” His eyes were glistening.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“But—”

“Don’t forget the plan.”

Roe sighed. “I’ll sneak them out the back exit, and will take them home.”

I didn’t bother asking how he planned to get so many weak and stunned girls home without a bus, but he could deal with it. “Oh, and take Lavie and Sally with you.”

“No way!” Lavie protested.

“Sierra, we’re staying,” Sally added.

I accepted their choice. There wasn’t enough time to argue. “Roe, please be careful.”

Roe hugged me quickly and ushered the girls past the obstacles and into the back of the room. Most of them stumbled around on uneven footing, but were awake enough to keep moving.

Another wraith bolted into the room, spotted me and charged. I stumbled from the impact. “Shit, this is getting old, fast.” The wraith changed color and another orb bounced off it. This time we didn’t get the chance to protect ourselves from the detonation, and were sent flying into the brick wall. “I need to get inside and see if I can seal it off,” I said.

“That’s not going to work.” Oren shook his head while getting to his feet. “Those things will surround you and there’ll be no way to keep them from exploding on the wrong side.”

“But I have to do
something
. We can’t survive these blasts!” Especially since they would soon become more frequent and probably set off a chain reaction. Despite his professions of love, Mace lured me here knowing I would cause the explosion. “We don’t have long,” I said, thinking fast. “I need to let the wraiths surround me and attract the orbs. When they explode I’ll drag them into my dark patch and—”

Oren shook his head. “As clever as that sounds, I don’t think it will work.” He glanced at Sally. “I suggest you set off half a dozen of those things and take Lavie into the dark patch. Leave Sally and me to contain the explosion within the magical barrier.”

“What? No!” I couldn’t believe my ears. “No, that means…” I didn’t want to deal with what it meant. “I like my plan better.”

“Sierra”—Oren took both of my hands in his—“wasn’t the reason for coming here today to save innocent people from being hurt at the hands of this maniac?”

“Of course it was, but not at the expense of you and Sally!”

“There’s no other choice,” Sally interrupted.

“Aunty, you can’t be serious.”

Sally frowned. “Lavie, you and Sierra need to get out of this alive. You have to face the crazed sect and stop Jacinta. Oren and I are the only ones strong enough to manipulate and fuel sufficient magic to keep the explosion within
this
radius.”

“No!”
I screamed. “I won’t let you sacrifice yourselves.” This was the reason they’d used only their blood and refused mine. Had they planned to do this all along?

Oren squeezed my hands, forcing me to meet his eyes. “You know this is the only way.”

Henry claimed
I
could stop this on my own. It wasn’t until now that I realized he’d meant I’d serve as the detonator and sacrifice myself and the city to get rid of this threat. Oren and Sally weren’t supposed to be the sacrificial lambs, I was.

It makes sense now.

“There’s got to be something else we can do.”

“There’s no other way and certainly not enough time.” His eyes begged for my understanding. “You and Lavie need to go.”

“I won’t let you do this.” I recalled what he’d said to me when I’d insisted I tackle a dangerous situation alone, and decided to use it against him. “It’s not up to you to decide whose life can be put at risk and whose can’t.”

“Sierra, this isn’t your decision to make.” A rueful smile crossed his lips. “And throwing my own words back at me won’t work. Not with this.”

Sally stepped up beside him and touched my arm. “You know he’s right.”

“Aunty, you can’t!” Lavie said, distraught.

She touched her niece’s cheek. “Lavie, it’s time for you to spread your wings.”

Lavie threw her arms around her aunt and the tears slid freely down her face.

“Take good care of
Impressions
for me.”

I could feel my eyes burning, but refused to break down. I hugged Oren and whispered in his ear, “I love you, Grandpa.”

“I love you too, always have.” He clutched me so tightly I could hardly breathe, but I didn’t care. My tears wet his shirt, and when he pulled away, his eyes were glistening. “I can die a happy and proud man. Get Willow back. Make Duff and Jacinta pay. But mostly, I want you to be happy.”

I nodded and stepped away from him. Sally and Lavie cried as they held each other and babbled incoherently. They dragged me into the embrace and I thanked the older Grye for being so kind and helpful, for never doubting me or my ability.

“Sierra,” Oren called. “If anyone knows this isn’t the end, it’s you.”

“Are you going to haunt me?”

“Only if you want me to,” he said. “Set off as many spooks as you can, and run!”

I nodded just as a wraith struck me in the back of the head and bounced into an orb. I grabbed Lavie’s hand and ran across the room seconds before another explosion shook the basement. I couldn’t see Oren and Sally past the dust, but stepped into the chaos, enough to attract the searching spooks.

A multitude slammed into me, from every angle, and I lost sight of what I was supposed to do. The need to draw them in scratched at my insides. I wasn’t sure how many hit me before Lavie dragged me away.

“Sierra, come on!” She pulled me in the direction Roe had taken.

Orbs fell from the ceiling, smashing into the wraiths and setting them off like dominoes. Lavie and I ran out of the dungeon room, and the large door shut behind us as we raced across the concrete corridor. We sprinted and had made good distance when the explosion struck and sent the door we’d just shut chasing after us.

“That’s the way out!” Lavie yelled, pointing ahead. “Roe left it propped open.”

Another exit door lay ahead, but this one clearly led outside. I could see the landscaped garden. How many times had I hung out there with Mara, Lee and other catchers, or ventured outside for a quiet moment? I’d shared my first kiss with Mace in that garden. I fought against the memories.

Lavie and I crossed the doorway together but we weren’t fast enough. Our feet were swept off the ground, just as I managed to grab Lavie’s sweater. The exploding glass, steel and concrete mushroomed outwards, the debris smacking into the magical barrier Sally and Oren had sealed. The destruction bounced off the invisible walls as if it were caught inside a cylinder, swirling above our heads like a tornado.

“Sierra!” Lavie yelled.

Her sweater slipped from my fingers, but she caught my forearm before being sucked into the twirling mess. The remains of the building spun in circles and I thought we were going to get drawn into the maelstrom. But the Tower imploded on itself and shot out a dust cloud, shattering the circle keeping us inside this mess.

Lavie and I were spit out, freefalling towards the motorway.

I sucked in a gulp of air and dust, drawing my dark patch. When the black walls cascaded around us, I sighed in relief. But it didn’t last because I couldn’t focus and released it too early, leaving us in the middle of the road.

A semitrailer headed straight for us, and wouldn’t have enough time to stop. The massive grill got bigger and the screech of tires filled my ears.

Out of nowhere, a black car materialized between us and the semi. The door opened and I jumped to my feet, practically shoving Lavie inside. We were both breathing uncontrollably when Diana swung the wheel so the Terraplane faced the right way. She sped down the motorway, heading back into the city. I could see the damage from here. The explosion had flattened the Tower, making it crumble into the ground. The surrounding buildings still stood proudly, covered in dust.

Oren and Sally had sacrificed their lives to save everyone else’s. I could only hope Roe and the girls had been well and truly out of range.

“We really should stop meeting like this,” Diana said, peering into the rearview mirror. “How much trouble can one person get into on a daily basis?”

“Sierra has a knack for attracting trouble.” Lavie was eyeing Diana. “My name’s Lavie, by the way.”

“I’m Diana.”

“Like Wonder Woman!”

I looked at my friend, wondering if babbling about a superhero was her way of dealing with losing her aunt to a steel and concrete structure. I wouldn’t judge, not when I wasn’t willing to accept Oren was gone. I half expected to go home and find him sitting at the kitchen table, drinking tea with Sally.

“Shit,” Diana said.

“What’s wrong?” I made a move to peek over my shoulder and as I did, the car was rammed so hard Diana lost control of the wheel. The car spun and before it stopped, we were hit again. The impact caused Diana’s head to smack into the steering wheel and bounce back against the driver’s seat.

“Sierra, what’s going on now?” Lavie asked.

“The
Obscurus
is here.”

“What?” Lavie glared out the back window just as the door on her side was ripped off its hinges. Black-sleeved arms reached inside. “Get off me!” She tried to pull out of Duff’s grip, but he was too strong.

“Don’t fight him,” I said. “Let’s get this over with.” I checked to make sure Diana had a pulse seconds before my door was ripped off as well. The hands that reached for me were covered in leather.

Mace leaned into the car. “You didn’t think you were going to get away from me, did you?”

“No, I didn’t.” If I wanted Mace Clamber out of my life, I’d have to trap him inside one of the witch’s bottles I had in my pocket. The opal ring on his finger caught my attention. There was one other alternative. But for now, I met his black eyes and took his offered hand, letting him guide me into the waiting vehicle.

“Where are we going?” I asked as I settled into the backseat.

Mace wedged himself between Lavie and me. “You’re going home.”

As the car sped away from Diana’s, I looked out the window and spotted Oren and Sally sprinting out of the Tower wreckage. Relief washed over me.
They made it out after all.

“Lavie, did you see them?”

“See who?”

I pointed out the window at their fleeing figures.