Playing With Fire (Power of Four Book 2) (11 page)

“Get behind me and stay close!” he instructed roughly.

Aaron and the twins did just that as Michael made his way back to the line of cottages, desperate to find his only nephew and his friends a sanctuary. Michael kept his eyes on the battle, ready to fend off any more attacks.

In his panic, Aaron didn’t see the odd way his uncle was holding himself, not until Michael made his way to the front of the first flame-free door. He banged his bloodstained hands on the wood and called out for someone to open the door. There was no answer.

Michael was curling to one side, a hand gripped under his ribs, while the other continued to smack at the door.

“Uncle Mike?” Aaron called, cautiously. “Are you okay?”

Michael didn’t answer. He simply pushed away from the door. He swayed on his feet before managing to stumble down the pathway and to the next cottage.

“Gotta get you inside,” he managed, before his breath hitched and he stopped in his tracks. His expression twisted in pain but still he staggered forward, just reaching the door. He thumped his fist against it. “Open up! Please!” he yelled. “I’ve got...I’ve got kids here. They need to...to get–” He slumped against the door with a groan.

“Uncle Mike!” Aaron rushed forward and grabbed him as he fell to the ground.

With great effort, and the help of Sam and Rose, Aaron managed to get his uncle leaning against the door. Michael’s face was pale, sweat glistening on his forehead. His breathing was fast and shallow. Looking down, Aaron saw the reason. A large cut at his side was leaking blood. One of Michael’s hands was clutched around the wound, but that did nothing to stem the flow.

Aaron felt his insides grow cold with horror.

Michael reached out, holding on to Aaron’s shoulder to pull him close. “Get...out of here,” he panted with difficulty. “Get...indoors.” His eyes were losing focus. Aaron could see them glazing over in pain.

“Uncle Mike?” Aaron called.

“You...have to...be...safe.” Michael’s hand fell from Aaron’s shoulder just as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

“Uncle Mike!” Aaron yelled in panic. “No! No, no, no!”

Sam was by his side, two fingers held against Michael’s neck to check for a pulse. “He’s alive, Aaron, he’s alive,” he said in a shaky voice. “He just lost consciousness.” He quickly unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it off, leaving himself in his vest top. “Here,” he said. “Help me tie it around him, to stop the bleeding.

Aaron, Sam and Rose wrapped Sam’s shirt around Michael’s middle, trying to stem the blood loss. Aaron’s heart was beating so fast he felt sick. He looked behind his shoulder to see the fierce battle still going on. They couldn’t just stay there with an unconscious Michael – they would be sitting ducks. But leaving his uncle alone and unprotected wasn’t an option either. Aaron turned to look to Sam and Rose before back to his uncle, coming to a difficult decision.

“Help me lay him down,” he said.

They pulled Michael to lie flat on the ground, just at the doorstep of the cottage. Aaron put both hands onto the ground next to his uncle.

“Grow,” he commanded and before his eyes, the grass grew tall and thick. “Protect him,” Aaron instructed with desperation. “Keep him hidden.”

The grass did as Aaron asked and grew tall enough to cover Michael’s slumped form. The entire front lawn of the cottage grew to match the rest. With a heavy heart, Aaron got up. He had no choice but to leave and hope no stray bullets or jolts from vamages caught his uncle.

“Come on, hurry,” Aaron called to Sam and Rose before running back onto the street, going back to his original plan of getting onto the Gateway.

He raced past the battle, using the skill Kyran had taught him to block and throw back the jolts that got too close. He had just deflected three ice spears that would have impaled him when he found a vamage’s attention shift to him. Aaron stopped in his tracks, breathing rapidly, eyes fixed on the bloodthirsty demon that was grinning at him. Aaron raised the gun Ella gave him and shot three rounds, all of which the vamage dodged. Aaron threw down the gun and raised his hands. A ripple tore its way across the ground, hitting the vamage and sending him flying backwards.

“Aaron, move!”

Sam’s yell was accompanied by a shove in the back and Aaron hit the ground, just missing the fireball that blazed past his cheek and ear. Aaron turned to see Sam and Rose had to jump aside to avoid the jolts three vamages were sending at them. Aaron was up on his feet in seconds. Two ripples blasted the vamages back. But now the attention had shifted to the two defenceless humans amidst the mages. Vamages turned to seek out the twins, grinning with delight, hunger lurking in their cold, cruel eyes. Aaron deflected the jolts that came towards his friends, but there were too many. Sam and Rose were forced to duck and dive to avoid being hit.

The jolts drove Sam and Rose apart, so much so that Aaron realised he could only protect one of them.

“Rose!” Aaron cried, seeing her pushed even further away from him and Sam by a mighty blast of air that threw her to the ground.

His panicked gaze moved from Rose to seek out which vamage was targeting her so he could fight back. His eyes caught Kyran’s. For the briefest of moments, Kyran paused. Aaron felt his thudding heart bruise his ribs as he held Kyran’s gaze. A flicker of something crossed Kyran’s features before he looked away. His vivid green eyes moved to rest on Rose instead, just as she was picking herself up from the ground.

It felt like time had slowed down when Rose looked up and found Kyran. They stared at the other as the battle raged around them. Then Kyran’s eyes darkened and his expression turned to fury. He pulled back his hand and threw out a stream of fire, straight at Rose.

9

Broken Trust

Aaron was sure his heart stopped when the flames raced towards Rose. She stood in stunned stupor, too shocked at Kyran’s attack to move out of the way. Aaron’s scream bubbled in his throat but didn’t make it out in time. His hand lifted and aimed a ripple at Rose, to push her out of the way – but he was too late.

Rose ducked but Kyran’s flames hit the ground before her feet. They spread out, encircling her, confining her inside a ring of fire. Aaron’s ripple died just as it reached the flames. Rose stood in the middle of the circle, staring in terror and confusion at what Kyran had done to her.

Aaron turned, his fury made him lash out and the ground at Kyran’s feet cracked. The gap would have swallowed him whole if Kyran hadn’t jumped back in time.

Sam belted towards his sister, screaming her name. Aaron was at his heels. Before they could reach the trapped Rose, a jolt of power came at her from a vamage. Trapped by the ring of fire, Rose could do nothing but duck to try to avoid it. The jolt was about to hit her crouched form when the flames surrounding her roared and shot upwards, forming a fiery wall that swallowed the jolt. Aaron came to a standstill, looking on in disbelief. Rose slowly stood up, staring at the flames that dropped back down to encircle her. They leapt up again to block an ice spear that came at her from the other side.

Aaron turned to seek out Kyran, meeting his blazing gaze. Kyran only held Aaron’s eyes for a moment, before turning to fight the Hunters that had taken his moment of distraction to get close enough to attack.

“Rose! Rose, oh my God.” Sam’s hysterical cries pulled Aaron’s attention. “I’ll get you out! Don’t worry, Rose, I’ll – I’ll get you out.” Sam was drowning in panic.

“Sammy,” Rose yelled back, separated from her brother by the fire that leapt up the minute Sam got too close.

“Sam! Sam, wait.” Aaron grabbed his arm, pulling him back from the flames. “She might be safer in there.”

“Are you crazy?” Sam yelled, tears shining in his eyes. “It’s fire!”

“It’s protecting her,” Aaron said.

“It won’t protect her from bullets,” Sam cried.

Not a second later, a deflected bullet from a Hunter’s gun came straight at Rose. It happened so fast, Aaron wasn’t even aware of it until the bullet ricocheted off the wall of fire that leapt up to defend Rose. Both Sam and Aaron stared at the tiny hole in the ground where the bullet hit.

“I guess it will,” Aaron said.

The sound of numerous motorbikes cut through the night and Aaron turned to see headlights come out of the darkness. The Hunters of Salvador had finally arrived. Evidently, Kyran noticed them too. He threw back the Hunter he was fighting with a vicious blow, knocking the boy clean out.

Kyran turned, his fierce eyes searching down the line of cottages, most of which were now ablaze. He found the one with Aric’s mark on the door. His fists clenched and he let out a thunderous cry.

“LAYLA!”

The window to the cottage smashed and Stefan, one of the Hunters left to guard the vampire, landed on the grass in a bloodied mess. Layla stepped out of the window frame with incredible grace. The chains that had bound her were gone, as were the two daggers in her leg. She flicked her hair behind her and smiled, her fangs now glistening, even in the limited light.

“You called?” she smirked.

The Hunters turned their guns on her and fired. Layla dodged the attack, her movements swift and fluid as she ducked and dived from every bullet. Her speed was phenomenal. In the blink of an eye, she was halfway down the street. Vamages distracted the Hunters, giving Layla a moment to come to a standstill. Kyran was already on Lexi, speeding towards her. He stopped only long enough for Layla to climb on behind him. Her long-fingered hands went around his waist before inching back to pull out his twin pistols from their holsters. Kyran didn’t seem to care. He turned Lexi around and rode to the fallen Gate.

Layla shot at the Hunters to keep them from following after them. Even still, the Hunters made a great effort to stop Kyran, but the vamages held them back by their onslaught of bullets, blades and jolts of power. Aaron pushed Sam down onto the ground to save him from the attack. Behind him, Rose’s ring of fire came alive, leaping high to protect her.

The vamages were backing away, keeping up their attack on the Hunters as they followed Kyran. The Hunters blocked the attack while trying with everything they had to stop Kyran from racing to the exit. It was somewhat of a miracle that Aaron and Sam weren’t hit in the crossfire. It was only when Aaron dared to look up from his crouched position that he saw the reason why. Someone had stepped in front of him and Sam, knocking back the torrential rain of bullets and jolts that came towards them. Aaron’s mouth went dry.

“Mum?”

Kate didn’t turn to acknowledge him. She couldn’t. Her attention was focused solely on shielding her son from the attack, deflecting the bullets and jolts by using her power of air. Her concentration and energy were fast depleting, though. Aaron could feel it deep in his bones – an ache that didn’t belong to him.

“Mum!” Aaron was up on his feet, running behind her to catch her, just as she swayed and fell back.

Aaron lowered her to the ground, but the attack was over. Kyran had sped through the fallen Gate, leaving the city after having taken what he came for, once again.

The moment Kyran left and the vamages retreated, stepping out of the city and onto the Gateway, the ring of fire trapping Rose died, freeing her. The Hunters gave chase, darting after the vamages but Aaron stayed where he was, with his mum’s pale, shaking, barely conscious form in his arms.

Sam shot to his feet, reaching out to his sister as she shakily stepped over the black-charred ring on the ground.

“I’m okay, I’m okay,” Rose said, pushing Sam’s concerned hands away and hurrying over to Aaron.

Sam followed after her and both crouched next to their friend, not knowing what to say in the aftermath of an attack that left an entire city devastated.

***

Aaron was more than surprised when he learnt the attack on Balt had lasted only fifteen minutes. It had felt endless. But even in fifteen short minutes, Kyran and his vamages had left plenty of lifeless bodies in their wake. More were injured, so many so that there was hardly any room left in the numerous Empath huts.

The Hunters had survived the attack, except two of the three left to guard the vampire, Layla. Ray and Emma were found in the cottage, their heads almost torn off their bodies. Stefan had been bitten and thrown out of the window, since Layla couldn’t use the door that had been marked with Aric’s symbol.

Aaron could see Stefan’s unconscious form laid out before two Empaths as they worked to heal him. That was until an Empath moved to stand in front of the gap between the curtains. Aaron turned his head, focusing on his mum, who was being checked over by the same Empath that had helped his dad.

At last the Empath pulled away with a tired smile, and let go of Kate’s hand. “You’ll be fine with some rest,” he said. “It was just exhaustion from using your powers for too long.”

“I told you I was fine,” Kate said, quickly getting off the bed. “Your time and touch is needed elsewhere.”

The Empath’s smile slid away. His head tilted towards the commotion of various mages coming in or out of the huts – some injured, others moderately healed. “Unfortunately,” he said, “that is true.” He excused himself politely and left to help the injured Hunters.

Kate turned to Aaron, and for a moment neither spoke. Then Kate walked over to him and wordlessly wrapped her arms around him, holding Aaron close for long, silent minutes. Aaron returned the hug. When Kate pulled away, she cupped his face in her hands.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again, you hear me?” Kate’s blue eyes were dark with worry. “If there’s any sign of a fight, you find a place to take cover and you
stay
there.” She shook her head. “When I saw you standing there, right smack in the middle of the battle–” She paused to hold her breath, as if collecting herself before she could go on. “I tried to get to you but...but there was so much going on. I thought I wasn’t going to reach you in time.”

Aaron didn’t say anything. He had no idea his mum was involved in the battle. He had thought she was still in the Empath’s hut, safe from the attack.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Good,” a voice said from behind him. Aaron turned to see a disgruntled, but otherwise perfectly healthy-looking Michael. “You should be sorry.”

Relief swept up in Aaron at the sight of his uncle. He hurried over to him and Michael opened his arms to hug his nephew. “You’re such an idiot,” Michael chastised in a quiet, emotionally exhausted voice. “You know that? You could have really got hurt.”

Aaron pulled away, his gaze going straight to the bloodstained side of his uncle. Sam’s shirt was gone, but then, so was the wound. “You okay?” Aaron still asked, to make sure.

“I’m fine,” Michael said. “I got a little ambushed and stabbed in the process, but I’m not going down that easily.” He gave a small, half-hearted smile.

Kate went to her brother’s side to embrace him gently, and to reassure him that she was perfectly fine, since he’d come looking for her in the Empath hut.

“I tired myself out,” Kate explained as the three of them left the hut. “It’s been a while since I’ve used my powers. It got a little...overwhelming.”

Aaron looked at her but didn’t say anything. His parents had spent fourteen years living in the human realm, suppressing their powers in a bid to live a human life and protect him from this war. Aaron pushed back the familiar wave of guilt as it threatened to engulf him. But when he looked around, at the devastation and the charred remains of the street, his guilt withered away. Everyone deserved to be protected, not just him.

The mages of Balt were slowly picking up the pieces of their city, fixing what could be salvaged and mournfully letting go of what couldn’t. The fires had been put out, though most of the buildings were still left smoking. Broken plates and furniture littered the street. But the sight that took hold of Aaron with a gut-wrenching grip was of the bodies lined to one side of the street, covered from head to foot with sheets. How Aaron kept walking he didn’t know, but his eyes stayed on the morbid image of the dead mages. There were twelve of them, lined side by side. Aaron’s stomach rolled and had he eaten anything substantial that day, he would’ve turned and retched in the street.

His gaze moved from the covered bodies to the figure kneeling beside them. He recognised the powerful build of Neriah as he crouched next to his fallen people, his head bowed. Daylight was steadily turning the dark sky to a pale, cloudy blue, so when Neriah lifted his head slightly, Aaron clearly saw the heartbroken expression on his face. Aaron watched as Neriah slowly rose to stand but his violet eyes remained on the bodies. He stood there until Ella came to his side, slipping a hand into his. Gently she pulled her uncle away and they started walking up the street.

Neriah raised his head, and came to a standstill. His expression changed, eyes fixed to something in the distance. Aaron followed his gaze and stopped in his tracks as well.

“Dad?”

Kate and Michael turned at Aaron’s voice. They all saw Chris, slowly and very painfully, making his way forward. He had his bloodstained shirt on but left it unbuttoned, so the bandages wrapped around his torso were visible. Chris didn’t look concerned for himself, though. He was distracted by the ruined city around him. He stared at the street with wide, rueful eyes until he met Neriah’s gaze and Chris too came to a standstill.

For a moment, no one moved. Not a word was said. The essence of sorrow hung like a thick curtain between the Elementals – so much so that Aaron was sure both men were about to step forward and hug like mourning brothers would after a death in the family. But Chris and Neriah didn’t hug. They didn’t grieve together. They stood and stared at the other.

Chris was the first to look away. He shook his head and held out his hands, gesturing to the charred street on either side of him. “Do you need any more evidence, Neriah?” he asked. “Or will you believe me now?”

“They weren’t here for him, Chris,” Neriah said tiredly. “They came to take the vampire Balt was holding.”

Chris didn’t believe him. It was clear to see in his expression. “My son steps out of Marwa and is attacked by Lycans. Then the city he takes refuge in is attacked in a matter of hours–”

“By vamages,” Neriah cut across him. “Not Lycans, Chris. Vamages. This was at the hands of vamages and their Scorcher.”

Chris looked taken aback. His pale face seemed to lose more colour. “He was here?” he asked, and Aaron knew he meant Kyran.

Neriah didn’t answer, but stepped forward, walking over to him. “Open your eyes, Chris,” he said. “Look around you. This isn’t for Aaron. The vamages didn’t come for your son, and neither did Raoul and his Lycans.”

Chris’s expression hardened, his eyes a cold piercing green. “You still won’t believe me.”

“Believe
what
?” Neriah snapped and his voice boomed across the street. “Your ludicrous story about Raoul having a personal vendetta against your family? That he was hunting the Adams? Wake up, Chris. Raoul is after
all
of us, all of the Elementals.”