The Keepers: Declan (25 page)

“No,” Kate whispered, straining against her binds, her eyes widening as she saw the daggers coming for her. “NO!”

Pocketing one of the daggers, Jenna rushed forward in a blurry movement, the flare of her cloak offering a shield to them both as she hurriedly sliced at the binds that held Kate captive.

The relief was instant. Hope soared when Kate’s feet touched the ground. “What are you doing?” she asked, keeping her voice low as she shoved her arms into the sleeves of the cloak. Not her choice of clothing but right now, it was either that or her underwear.

“Jenna!” Hazel snapped, taking two strides forward. “What was that for? Kill her, damn it!”

Jenna pushed her mask back and twisted herself behind Kate. She jammed one arm under Kate’s neck, her grip unyielding, and shoved the dagger against her throat.

“Don’t move,” Jenna ordered, her heartbeat pounding against Kate’s back.

“You freed me only to kill me?” Kate gaped at her, the brief spark of hope she’d had moments ago suddenly a distant memory.

Ignoring her, Jenna shifted their bodies, facing everyone below.

They erupted into cheers, their anticipation for the death of the Null more thrilling than the ritual to harvest her blood. Not surprising considering the advantage they’d gain if they scavenged Kate’s powers.

Tension hung in the air.

“Jenna? What are you waiting for?” Hazel asked, her voice lined with suspicion. “
Now
!”

Jenna lowered the dagger, using her arm to wrap around Kate’s waist.

And took a wild leap onto the roof of a nearby tomb.

The air slammed out of Kate as they landed and she scrambled to steady herself, her head ringing from the sudden movement. Blood dripped from her wrists and she tore at the cloak, using the material to wrap the wounds, despising the dizziness that threatened. “What did you do that for?”

“You’d prefer to stay down there with them?” Jenna bit back, grabbing her around the neck again. Shoving the dagger against Kate’s throat, she met Hazel’s all-knowing glare. “You have the hybrid blood, but the woman is mine!”

The warriors rushed for the tomb and Hazel raised her arms, instantly fuelling a roar of flames from the large cauldron in the middle of the clearing that drew them to a screeching halt.

“WAIT!” Her words sliced through the confusion and excitement and they hesitated, rearing to go but curbed by the order. She lowered her arms, the flames settling back to a steady glow, and shifted her gaze to Jenna. “No one moves until I find out what the hell is going on!”

“Anyone so much as takes a step closer, I will slit the hybrid’s throat and she becomes useless to you!” Jenna shouted.

There was a murmur of confusion that rippled through the crowd.

“She wants to scavenge the Null for herself!” called one of the larger warriors, his words dripping in a heavy accent reminiscent of the bouncer from Harper’s club.

“Clearly someone needs to brush up on the rules,” Jenna returned.

“She’s not one of us!” Hazel shouted, walking forward in a flare of red. The warriors parted, waiting for an explanation. Hazel stopped a few metres from the tomb, and glared up at Jenna. “You had me fooled, Jenna.”

“Apparently, you’re not the only one skilled in the art of deception,” Jenna retorted with a sly smile.

“Give me back my Null.” Hazel’s tone was low, dripping with a hidden threat, but Jenna simply shook her head.

“She’s no longer yours for the taking.”

“You’re outnumbered.”

“Maybe,” Jenna replied, jabbing the knife against Kate’s throat. “But we all know that a witch’s powers can only be absorbed if killed by a scavenger.”

“And you’re not a scavenger, are you?”

“Not in the slightest.”

Hazel’s jaw clenched, her expression tightening. “No one dupes me and gets away with it.”

Her word were clipped with fury and she raised her hand but Jenna was quick to jab the knife against Kate’s throat. “One swift movement and the Null’s dead. I’m not a scavenger so she dies by my hand and there’ll be nothing left.”

“You do that and you’re dead.”

“Maybe, but then at least I go down knowing you’ll never have her powers.”

“So what’s your plan, Jenna?” Hazel called out, waving a hand at the crowd of men and women beside her. “You’re surrounded and your Null is bleeding out. How far do you think you’ll get?”

Megan sidled up to Hazel, murmuring something in her ear.

Her heart pounding, Kate tried to twist around to look at Jenna, flinching as the blade dug into her skin.

“Stop squirming before I cut your throat,” Jenna murmured against her ear, not taking her eyes off the crowd below.

“I’m trying to figure out if you’re here to harm me or help me,” Kate said through gritted teeth, anger stirring in her belly.

“If I wanted to harm you, we wouldn’t be up here.”

“So why
are
we up here?”

“I was sent for you.”

“Would’ve been nice if you brought some help.”

“A luxury I haven’t had for a very long time.” Keeping her grip around Kate’s neck, Jenna unclenched her fist to reveal a small bottle. “Drink this. It’ll heal your cuts and counteract the Rose Thorn.”

“Why should I believe you?”

“Have I killed you yet?”

Despite the threat, Kate smiled and reached for the potion. “Who are you?”

“I’m a Keeper.
Your
Keeper.”

Kate grimaced as she swallowed the vile liquid and tossed the bottle. “My Keeper? You slit my wrists!”

“Now’s not the time for this conversation,” Jenna replied, her eyes on Megan.

Megan pointed to the bowls of blood but Hazel shook her head, not taking her eyes off Kate. “Later.”

“Her blood’s still warm,” Megan insisted. “We need to finish this.”

“Later!” Hazel snapped, pushing her away. She raised an arm, pointing a finger at Kate. “I want
her
more!”

“Hazel, it’s Mason! Let’s finish the spell!”

The flames flared brighter and Hazel whirled around, shoving her face close to Megan’s. When she spoke, her tone was low, lethal, and Megan went quiet.

“We need to get out of here,” Kate said, glancing at Jenna. Blonde hair and blue eyes. Not quite the Keeper material she was used to – considering the three muscular warrior men back home.

Home
. God, she’d begun to think of Rapid Falls as home.

She glanced back at the crowd, wondering if maybe, just maybe, they stood a chance. Because home suddenly sounded like a brilliant idea.

“Feeling stronger yet?”

She looked at her wrist, surprised to see the bleeding had stopped. The dizziness had gone too and although the magical surge she’d hoped for hadn’t happened yet, there was a slight stirring of energy inside that gave her hope.

Megan took a step back, nodding. Hazel turned to face Kate and Jenna, her skeletal expression a tight grimace of rage. She pointed at Jenna, her finger trailing to Kate.

And then she laughed. A tight, high-pitched sound that mocked the tension and sent a shiver down Kate’s spine.

“Kill the Null, Jenna,” she ordered, causing a wave of whispers to break free. “I dare you!”

Another ripple of laughter grated the air.

“I think she’s calling your bluff,” Kate whispered.

“Time for you to pull your weight then,” Jenna shot back and released Kate, shoving her to the side. She stripped off her cloak, revealing a bow and a pouch of arrows attached to her back.

“What’s with the Pocahontas gear?”

“Shut up and get your Keeper on.”

There was a loud crack that tore through the air. In a lightning quick move, Jenna pushed Kate aside, cursing as she took a hit from Megan’s whip. She dodged the second attempt, caught hold of the leather and yanked the whip free from Megan’s hand. She quickly reeled in the weapon and tossed it to Kate.

“Don’t let them reach us!” she snapped, extracting an arrow.

Hazel’s anger flared and she pointed at them. “Kill the girl and bring me that Null!”

With a roar, Rick pulled out a knife and began to run, charging through the crowd of warriors with rage and renewed determination, his accomplices directly behind him.

“Do not let them get away!” Hazel screamed.

A flood of air rushed past Kate as an arrow slammed into Rick’s chest. He froze mid-stride, gaping at them, his eyes wide.

Megan screamed and bolted around the fire, skidding to a stop as another arrow ripped through the air, tearing into her hand.

Chaos erupted as the warriors charged with furious shouts, brandishing handheld weapons.

With rapid speed, Kate lashed out repeatedly with the whip, the snap of leather hissing at flesh, provoking yells of pain. Jenna released another round of arrows, the connection fierce, and in quick succession, she released several more. Her movements were so swift, almost blurry, the arrows erupting from her at a breathless pace.

Painful screams tore through the chaos, feeding the frenzy.

“Stop her, you fools!” Hazel yelled. Sensing she was about to lose her sacrifice, Hazel began to screech, an ear-splitting sound stoking the chaos.

Simultaneously, all the fires that burned in the clearing exploded in a burst of fury. The heat was so strong, the energy that fuelled it so ripe that Kate could feel it from the roof.

A jumper landed on the roof behind Kate, a blade in each hand, but Jenna had another arrow ready to go. “Kate!” she screamed, and took aim. Kate ducked as the arrow flew past her, but his reflexes were quick and he dove to the ground as it passed over him.

And tore through Hazel’s shoulder.

The witch gasped and stumbled backward, the impact interrupting her flow of power. The flames lessened and there was a momentary lull in the fight as Megan and a few other warriors surrounded Hazel, their fear of losing their leader more of a concern than their prey.

“
Kill them both
!” Hazel shouted, her voice tinged with pain, and shoved her people away.

Fierce warlike cries erupted from the warriors as they charged.

The two women bolted for the nearest exit but Jenna spun around, still moving backward. She grabbed the two remaining arrows from her pouch and readied the first one.

“What are you doing?” Kate gasped but she’d already set off the second arrow.

“A bit of sabotage.”

The two bowls they’d used to catch her blood toppled over on impact, extracting a roar of frustration and disbelief from Hazel.

She went wild.

The ground began to rumble and there was an explosion of glass as the lanterns burst, followed by several nearby windows.

“Time to go!” Jenna snapped, discarding her bow as two jumpers hurtled through the air to land on the roof in front of them.

Jenna propelled herself into the air, her body twisting around twice mid-air, before she lashed out with two powerful kicks that sent the warriors hurtling backward against the ground below.

The crash sparked an explosion of orange embers, their curses drowned out by the noise.

Three more warriors scrambled up the side of the tomb and onto the roof, charging for the women in a roar of swinging punches.

Kate took on the bouncer, refusing to be intimidated by his size or the handheld spikes wrapped around his fist. She ducked his first punch and grunted when the second connected with her cheek. The blades sliced her skin, the impact throwing her backward like a rag doll. With a speed that stunned him, she straightened and bolted forward, jabbing her elbow into his nose as hard as she could. Blood spurted, bone shattered, but he stood his ground.

Jenna launched herself at Kate, hooking their elbows, and used Kate’s body as a brace as she swung toward the bouncer with one perfectly aimed kick. The impact plunged him into his friends and they plummeted to the ground in a spew of curses.

“What the hell was that?” Kate asked between breathless gasps as they both readied themselves for the next attack.

“My dad took me to self-defence classes,” Jenna shot back between gasps of air, holding up her fists in front of her.

“All I learned about was mace spray.”

This was martial arts at their best.

The onslaught of more warriors drowned out Jenna’s reply. Her movements were controlled, her blows delivered with such forceful precision as she fought men far larger than her. Kate fought back with a strength and speed of her own but Jenna possessed fighting skills that Kate had never seen before.

Hazel stood rigid and glaring, a vision of flaming red fury. She clutched the arrow in her hand, blood pouring from her shoulder. Raising her arm, she erupted into chanting and threw the arrow at Jenna.

Kate watched in horror as the arrow changed its shape, taking on a life of its own, becoming a black flying creature. It flapped its wings, gaining momentum. Claws outstretched and screeching loudly, it tore toward them.

Jenna lunged for Kate and leapt onto the adjacent roof, missing the attack by moments.

More warriors charged and Kate and Jenna moved along the rooftops of the tombs, defending themselves with every ounce of fight in them, dishing out as violently as they received.

But their enemies kept coming and the women were exhausted, injured and outnumbered.

Sensing that the fight had turned in their enemies’ favour, they turned and ran, catapulting from roof to roof.

Hazel released another high pitched screech and sent her magical fury directly after them. The trees rustled from the eruption of energy and glass windows exploded.

The earth rumbled with such vicious force that the tombs began to shudder beneath them.

And as though Hazel had sent a flow of rage chasing after them, chaos erupted. Statues mounted on the rooftops of several graves burst simultaneously, fragments of cement flying everywhere.

Holding up her arms to shield her face, Kate glanced over her shoulder, a shudder ripping through her as she saw the stampede of warriors chasing them. The jumpers had taken to the rooftops, others ran along the ground below.

An army of skeleton enemies out for their blood.

The bird circled above, squawking with excitement.

The tremor grew stronger, the cement tombs shaking beneath them as they ran.

And one by one, the roofs began to cave in an explosion of bricks, cement and dust.

Kate screamed as the roof beneath her feet gave way and she plunged into the tomb below. It was dark, the small room lit by a thin stream of moonlight. The air was stifling, the stench unbearable, and she shuddered as she struggled to her feet.

Everything hurt, the adrenaline raged, and she groped frantically for a way out. Her hands closed over something round and hard and she screeched to see the skull in her hand, tossing it to the ground as though it had scalded her.

She hoisted herself out of the tomb, gasping air and coughing through the dust, horrified to see Jenna in hand to hand combat with John. He’d shed his mask and cloak and seemed to revel in the challenge.

Their punches were evenly matched, their kicks well timed, but Jenna had the advantage of speed. They fought in skilled movements so perfectly executed that Kate stopped breathing.

The earth tremors intensified, more tombs began to crumble, and dodging Jenna’s punch, John sprang to the roof beside him. The cement gave way, devouring him as he fell.

Jenna scooped up the skeleton mask and cloak John had discarded, grabbed Kate around the waist and took a flying leap across several tombs, landing with a soft thud on the ground.

“How are we going to get out of here?” Kate grunted between gasps of air as they backed up against the wall.

Scanning for warriors, Jenna grimaced, favouring her right arm.

“You’re hurt,” Kate said, casting a quick glance around her.

“We’re both hurt. Time for a new plan.”

Jenna tossed her the mask, readjusted her own, and shoved her arms into the cloak.

Kate grinned at the instant transformation, tracing her thoughts, and pulled on her mask.

Tugging on their hoods, they turned the corner and disappeared into the storm of skeleton warriors.

Anonymous.