Reluctant Storm (17 page)

“So, sitting in the woods sucks,” Mikail says, brushing the leaves off his black jacket.

“It does.” I look over at him just as he’s pulling a leaf out of his hair.

We’ve been sitting in the woods for at least thirty minutes. From what I can tell, it looks like Jason’s doing a good job of keeping Claire occupied. That is, until she comes barreling out to the porch, and he walks up behind her doing this weird thing with his hands, almost like he’s trying to explain himself. Peering through the bushes to get a better view, I watch her face changed into a shocked expression, and then she takes off down the steps. Jason blows the human cover and is in front of her in a flash, throwing her over his shoulder.

Staring out into the darkness with only Mikail nearby, I can’t help but wish that was me throwing her over my shoulder and taking her into the bedroom. My phone buzzes, interrupting my thoughts, and I look down to read the text.

Jason: Took care of Claire.

Me: Roger

Jason: Claire’s pretty pissed, just FYI.

Jason: Shit, she got away.

Got away? Squinting at the phone, I read it again to make sure I read it correctly. What does he mean, got away? Just as I’m re-reading the text, the door slams open as a car pulls up the long driveway.

Fuck.

I watch Claire zero in on that car, look back towards the house, and make a beeline towards the trees. Son of a— this isn’t what we need right now.

“Go get Claire,” I whisper to Mikail.

He looks at me with a smirk. “She can take care of herself for a few, and you have no idea how powerful she is. You’re going to need my help more than she is,” he says, nodding to the second car that pulled up and the third car. Looking over to where he’s looking, I watch five heavily armed men jump out of the second car, heading for the house.

“Shit! What the fuck? It was just supposed to be Griffin. Who fucking tipped him off that we’d be here?” There’s only one person who knew the entire plan. Jason. Feelings of betrayal run through me, creating a fire that is running deep into my veins. Why would he do this? He was supposed to be the good brother, and I was the bad brother.

Looking around thoughtfully, Mikail says, watching the guys get out of the car, “It had to have been Jason. There’s no one else.”

Turning to him, I say
, “I don’t understand. He hates Griffin and always has.”

“Sometimes there’s no need for answers. Just knowing he did it is answer enough.”

Hanging my head, I grip my stake tighter and make sure my backups are secured. Arming my weapon, I glance at Mikail and notice he is doing the same and giving it a once over. Nodding at him, I take a deep breath and watch as the men stand outside of the house. It takes everything in me not to run deeper into the woods to try and locate Claire. Everything. In. Me.

Mikail turns his head to me. “Dude, I promise Claire is okay. She can and will take care of herself for now.”

Nodding at him, I pull another stake from my belt. “Let’s do this.”

We take a path at the woods edge and ambush the men standing guard, staking them in the chest and pulling it out before they even realize they’re dead. Working in unison, we grab the bodies and pull them quickly into the woods. I kneel down and take out the remaining men. I spot three more along the east perimeter and two more guarding the car, which Griffin most likely sits in.

“Did you see anyone go into the house?” I whisper to Mikail, only I don’t get a response. I spin around and all that’s there is air. I glance around but there is no trace of him. Where did he go? Hearing the snapping of a neck in the forest behind me, my stomach drops, and I slowly turn around to find Claire standing there over the dead body of one of Griffin’s men. If I had a heart it would have jumped out of my chest at seeing her out here like this. Grabbing her, I pull her down next to me, looking her over and making sure she’s okay. That’s when I see cuffs attached to her hands.

“I’m guessing your plans changed? Where’s Mikail?” she asks, peering through the branches at the guys in front of us.

“Right here,” he says, leaning down next to her.

“What the fuck are these?” I hiss, looking at her bleeding wrists.

“When I ran out to get away from Jason, he threw me over his shoulder and handcuffed me to the bed,” she says angrily, looking down at her wrists before peering through the brush.

Coughing quietly,
Mikails says, “Well, see part of that might be my fault. I wanted him to keep you safe at any cost, although I suggested rope. I didn’t know he’d turn traitor on us.”

Arching my brow at him, I ask, “Where’d you go?

“Had to grab this,” he says pulling out a leather-bound book from his vest, holding it reverently. “The Maji.”

“Where did you get that?” I whisper to him, eying the book.

“Look guys, can we talk about the book later?” Claire asks exasperated, looking at us. Mikail nods and puts the book in his vest and takes out his gun, looking into the night. “When I ran into the house from the back—”

“Wait, you ran into the house? Do you have a death wish?” Rubbing my forehead, I ask looking at him.

“Look, I’ve been doing this type of stuff for years. I can get in and out of a house without being caught,” he says confidently.

Holding my hand up, I watch as two guys walk almost directly in front of us I motion for Claire to get down. I give the signal for Mikail and
I to go get the guys. We quietly grab them from behind and stake them. Just as we’re about to pull the bodies into the woods, I feel a gun pressed against my temple.

Swallowing, I drop the guy to the ground before turning around to hit the person holding the gun. I don’t give a damn if he has a gun pointed to me. But I’m pushed down from behind. My face is in the dirt, and I hear Mikail behind me being kicked and punched. The sounds I hear coming from him make me wince, and all I can think about is Claire hidden in the brush right behind them. I hear a car door slam shut and lift my face toward it and feel a foot on my back, pressing me down. Expensive leather shoes stop in front of my face, and I don’t even have to look up to know who it is.

“Well, well, look who we found!” Griffin says in that sarcastic voice he uses. It’s usually the one before he beats the shit out of me. My muscles are already tensing at the memories that his voice brings back, the prodigal son. Leaning down, he motions for the guys to lift me up. I rear my head back, ignoring the pain as it connects with one of them, and I punch the other one as he releases me. Just when I think I can take out a few more, I’m grabbed again. I growl at the person who has me in their grip. My fangs tingle at the smell of blood. I’m in attack mode as I watch my dad walk closer to me.

“You know, you could have had it all, son,” Griffin says, waving his hand around. “It could have all been yours, but no you had to go rogue. Rescuing that damn girl was your downfall. The joke is that you have the audacity to think you could protect her from me. From me of all people.” He laughs maniacally. “You were never worth anything anyways. I was going to do you a favor and give it to you and now you’re as good as dead.”

“Jason!” he calls over his shoulder, and I watch with anger as I fight against the guards’ tight grip.

When he saunters out of the house, I look him dead in the eye as I pull against the guard again. I want to get at my brother so I can punch the living shit out of him. Before I can even get a chance to get loose again, I’m hit from behind and the world goes black.

I peer through the brush and maneuver closer. I wince as my knee leans on a branch. Trying not to make a sound, I bite my lip in pain. I watch Riley and Mikail grab the guys and take them down and that’s when I realize someone’s behind them. I don’t have a chance to warn them as they’re grabbed from behind with guns pointed at their heads. Lifting my hands in horror, I cover my mouth and hide as the bigger of the two take Mikail down and start beating him, kicking him over and over again. I’m positive there isn’t a part of his body they haven’t kicked. For them to take a fighter like Mikail down, I know they must have surprised him.

Riley is pushed to the ground by a guard as Griffin steps out of the car. I shiver and hide deeper in the brush as he walks over to him. I listen to him say that he could have had it all and that he wasn’t worth anything. My rage towards Griffin intensifies as the guard grabs Riley and lifts him up. I watch as Riley actually breaks out of the hold and manages to hit the guy, getting loose only to be grabbed again. Riley’s head looks up, and I lean closer to see what he’s looking at and zero in on Jason walking up to Griffin.

Riley pulls against the guard and gasp as I watch him break Riley’s neck and let him fall to the ground. They’ve finally stopped kicking Mikail, and he doesn’t make a sound, just lays there limp. Tears stream down my face as I’m frozen in horror, staring at the scene in front of me. I shove my fist right against my mouth so I don’t make a sound. I just sit here doing nothing like a scared kitten. Noticing how Jason smiles at them while shaking hands with Griffin and pulling him into a hug makes me sick.

Why would he do this? I mean there’s no rhyme or reason for him to switch sides like this. I move closer through the branches and watch quietly as he holds Griffin tightly against him and slams a stake into his back and through his chest. Blinking fast, I watch the blood pouring out of Griffin’s chest as Jason roughly pulls the stake out of Griffin’s chest, lifting the stake up and staring at the blood that stains it. As Griffin falls gracelessly to the ground, Jason looks up in the direction where I’m hiding with a glint in his eye that scares me.

My hands feel like they’re burning, and I lift them up and gaze at them and they are glowing, truly glowing. Gasping, I fall backwards in shock and continue to stare at them. They shine brighter and brighter. Once again, it’s as if I no longer have control over it all as this new energy gathers into me. I can feel the heat of the magic running through my veins. It gives me the confidence I need to stand up. I feel as though I could rule the world with one single swipe of my hand.

Stepping forward, I no longer care about staying hidden. I move to the edge of the woods, and with all the anger I feel, I raise my hands towards the sky, and turn it grayish black. It brings the brute force of the weather down on us. It flows behind me whipping back and forth, whipping my hair wildly. Words pour out of my mouth heedlessly as I watch the guards drop to their knees. They grab their stakes positioning them towards their hearts and stake themselves in one single move. Frozen, standing in awe and fear of what I’ve done, I let down my guard and fail to see Jason heading toward me with a stake of his own.

His eyes are filled with a cold rage that makes me move back as he moves closer. This isn’t the same Jason I knew and that once protected me. He’s a monster now. Lifting my hands, I try to do what I just did, only I have no idea how I did it in the first place, so it’s not working. I do the only thing I can think, I turn around and run.

Running through the forest, I know there is a hideout nearby. Mikail mentioned it the other day, only I’m not sure where it’s located. I run as fast as I can and can feel him right behind me. I turn my head to see how close he is, but I don’t see him; I feel him but can’t locate him. I’m getting slower the farther I run. I grab hold of a tree to help me stand and hold on to it as I feel myself waiver. My energy is waning from all the magic I’ve used recently and lack of blood I’ve had in the past few hours. I’m so exhausted that I fail to hear him until he’s almost upon me. Feeling his eyes on me, I inhale as he lifts the stake toward me, ducking as he swings it at me. I take off deeper into the forest away from him until I reach a cliff.

I take in my options. I stare down at the white caps, fear rolling in my stomach, when I hear them crash angrily together as they hit against the rocks. Looking behind me, I hear branches breaking and know Jason is drawing near. Not having any other choice, I close my eyes and jump, freefalling until I crash into the white swirling water. I feel the impact as my head hits the river’s bottom. I manage to finally burst through the raging waters and feel blood streaming from my head, running into my eyes. I desperately reach my arms out but can find nothing to grab on to, or any area to get out of the water. Looking up, I see Jason on the edge of the cliff staring down at me. My head goes underwater again, the current dragging me around, tossing me as if I was nothing. I turn my head to the right but fail to see the tree branch in front of me until it’s too late. It hits me in the head and knocks me out.

***

Opening my eyes slowly, I feel a soft comforter on top of me and a pillow under my head. I rub my eyes and look around in confusion; I’m not sure how I got here. The last thing I remember was floating in the water and fleeing Jason. Inhaling deeply, the smell of coconuts fill my lungs. I shake my head and sit up. I glance around and see someone else in the bed with me. It’s Mikail!
I rub my eyes to double check. What’s he doing here, and how did I get here? What happened to Riley? Sitting up, I look quickly around the room and find no sign of anyone else other than the two of us. Myself and Mikail.

“Riley isn’t here,”
Mikail’s voice breaks the silence.

Confused, I looked down at him as he turns toward me with the blanket falling away from his naked body. He reaches out for me and grabs my hand and squeezes. I look away, confused as hell, yet I’m in a state of unnatural calmness.

“Listen, we don’t have much time here. This isn’t real life but a dream world that I created so I could find you.”

Looking back to him sharply, I say, “What do you mean, a dream world you created?”

“Remember when you told me about us in the mirror? And then the dream?”

Twisting towards him, I stare at him aghast. “Those were real?”

He nods giving me a small smile.

“I had the same dream; I dismissed it as just that, a dream. Until you mentioned it the other day. I finally put two and two together. Did you never think that when we first met at the college something just felt right?”

Thinking back, I do recall a feeling of home, and it just felt right to be near him, only I never really thought about it since I didn’t know any better then. Nodding, I lift my eyes to his questioningly, “But that doesn’t explain how you’re able to do this dream sequence, or whatever it is.”

Standing, he walks to the window that overlooks the ocean, unconcerned for his nakedness, and stretches his arms over his head.

“Why do you think I was so interested in the Maji and keeping it safe? I never got the chance to teach you about your magic. If anyone got a hold of you and the Maji – well, I don’t want to think what would happen,” he finishes softly.

I get up and stand next to him, staring out at the ocean, which is really weird since the last thing I remember is that I was in the river.

“You need to tell me where you are Claire, so I can find you,” he says, leaning closer to me.

I close my eyes and sift through my memories. “I was running from Jason and remember slowing down. I had used my powers and they took most of my energy. I ran until I hit a cliff, and as Jason made his way closer to me, I jumped into a river. It was my only option. The last thing I remember is being in the river and hitting my head and everything going black.” I shudder, recalling how the water was everywhere with no way out. Placing my hand on the window, I watch perplexed as my hand goes right through the window.

“Mikail, I’m not even sure why I care, but why was I allowed on the bed but my hand goes through the window?” He glances down as I push my hand back through the window, looking down with his face in a frown.

“That means I’m losing my hold on the dream,” he says, grabbing my shoulders, one hand slipping through and turning me towards him. “I will find you and everything’s going to be okay.” He looks down at me seriously. “Don’t worry about anyone else but you. Do whatever you have to do to get out of the water, and don’t trust anyone that doesn’t give you the code word Rose.”

His words shock me, and I look at him quickly. “Code word?”

“It has to be done; it’s gotten so out of hand. I no longer know who our friends are and who our enemies are.”

Shaking, his words send chills down my spine and I watch as he gets more translucent by the minute.

“Oh, and the last thing, when you wake up repeat this phrase;
Amikor azt mondom hogy keressen nekem.
That should be enough to get a locater spell started on you.”

“What does it mean?” I ask, repeating the words in my head.

“It basically means, when I speak you will find me.” He continues talking, but I can’t hear him any longer even though I see his lips moving. He is fading. Straining forward, I am suddenly breaking through the water and gasping for air.

Taking a deep breath, I turn around in the water trying to find an area where I can get out. I finally see a tree that leans out over the water and reach up and miss it, only to grab a lower branch. I pull myself onto the grassy area next to the tree and lay face first on the grass.

I close my eyes and remember the dream, recalling Mikail telling me what I needed to say to start the tracing spell:
Amikor azt mondom hogy keressen nekem
. I shake my head; I can’t believe I’m actually going to try this.

“
Amikor azt mondom hogy keressen nekem,”
I repeat
softly as I lie there waiting, but nothing happens. Repeating them to myself for the second time, I look up at the trees that cover the forest blocking the blue of the sky out, making it appear to be night. Feeling stupid for still being prostrate against the forest floor, I stand, weaving a little as a wave of dizziness hits me.

Stumbling up the small hill, I grasp onto a root sticking out of the ground and maneuver myself up the incline until I am back on level ground. Turning around in a circle, I realize I am utterly and absolutely lost. I push forward, looking left and right. I stand there biting my lip as I try to decide which way to go, unsure where each path leads. I decide to go left and run right into a wall, only that wall lets out an “oomph”. With a sense of Déjà vu, I lose my footing and fall backwards onto the ground. I don’t even acknowledge the pain. I try crawling away, terrified that Jason’s found me, and crab walk backwards until my back hits a tree. I feel arms on me and my
fight or flight response kicks in. I start kicking and trying to twist to get away when his voice stops me.

“Claire, stop! It’s me, Mikail!”

I freeze and turn around and look into his familiar eyes. Relief flows through me. I throw my arms around his neck and inhale his familiar smell.

“So the spell did work,” I say in awe of Mikail.

“What, did you doubt me?” he asks, still holding me close to him.

Pulling back, he examines me from head to toe. “When is the last time you fed?”

Just the mention of feeding gets my fangs tingling. “Not since this morning,” I confess.

“Here, feed,” he says with a look of longing in his eyes as he holds out his wrist.

Taking it without hesitation, I lift it to my mouth and bite down, letting the blood flow into my mouth. I hear him groan in pleasure as I continue taking blood. After a few minutes, he places his hand on my head, signaling that I need to stop. I lift my head and look around the silent woods and realize Riley is missing.

“Mikail? Where is Riley? Why isn’t he with you?”

Avoiding the question, he looks at me. “Do you know how to get back to the house from here?”

“No, obviously I don’t, or I wouldn’t be lost.”

Shaking his head yes, he looks back at me. “I do, but we can’t go there. Jason found his way back and called for reinforcements.”

I run my hands through my wet and matted hair and gaze over at Mikail. “What happened with Jason? I thought he was supposed to help us and protect me. What happened?”

“We’ll talk as we walk.” He grabs my hand and starts pulling me toward a trail.

Once we’ve gotten a good start, he calls behind him. “I think it all has to do with the fact that he was dead and you brought him back to life. I’ve never actually seen it happen before.”

Stopped dead in my tracks, I look at his back. “What do you mean, you’ve never seen it before?”

“No one’s actually brought someone back to life that I know of, not even your grandmother.”

“Wait, how do you know my grandmother?”

“You still don’t remember meeting me that one time, do you?”

Thinking back to the first time I met my grandmother, I look at him, really look at him. My mouth drops in shock as I take in his features and think back to the little boy that was with her.

“Wait, are you that little boy that came with my grandmother?”