The following morning, Sage woke Genevieve up at
six in the morning and barked at her to get dressed. After a night of
fitful sleep, Gen had only gotten a few hours combined of actual rest.
Even still, her eyes shot open at the sound of Sage's voice, and she slid
out of bed without complaint. Sage might not be prepared to kill anyone,
but Gen didn't trust her not to drop kick her if she didn't get out of
bed.
Diana Bethany was on her way down the stairs a half an hour
later, as the girls were heading out the door. She must have been used to
her daughter taking off early in the morning, for she didn't question the
brief explanation of, "Going to Sensei Michael's."
Sage took the
lead once they reached Michael's house, throwing open the door and heading
straight to the back room to change. Gen shut the door behind her and
wandered toward the kitchen, where she found a pot of coffee on, and
Michael taking some mugs out of a cupboard.
"Don't you ever lock
your door?" she asked.
"Don't you ever knock?" was his curt reply.
"First of all, that was Sage. Second of all, considering people
are like trying to kill us and stuff, it makes sense that you'd lock the
door."
"You think they wouldn't get in?"
"I think at least
we'd have some warning."
He took his time pouring the coffee into
a pair of mugs. "I told you to be here in the morning, so I unlocked the
door when I woke up."
"Oh."
He took a hold of one of the
cups by the rim and thrust it in her direction.
"Uh, no thanks,"
she said, but he didn't move.
"Take it to Merri."
"She's
awake?"
"Should be."
Gen took the cup by the handle,
careful not to burn herself, and gazed into the depths of the coffee for a
moment. "Hey, you aren't going to offer me any?"
"Do you want
some?" he asked, his nerves clearly well frayed. She wondered if he got
any sleep at all.
"Well, no, but the point is that you should
ask," she muttered, and went to take Merri the drink.
In the loft,
she found Meredith sitting up in bed. The black comforter was drawn over
her legs, and she read a book.
"More spells for me to do that
knock you out?" Gen guessed as she set the coffee on the nightstand and
pulled the rocking chair over to sit near the bed.
Merri held up
the book up, revealing the title
What's Bred In the Bone. "Robertson Davies, for
English."
"Damn, when are we supposed to have that read by?"
"Test is in two weeks."
"Oh well. That's plenty of time."
They sat in silence for a few minutes as Merri sipped her coffee.
"So you stayed here last night."
Merri nodded.
Gen
resisted the urge to ask if she and Michael were, indeed, having a torrid
affair. The thought had crossed her mind a few times since she and Sage
discussed it the day before, and she wasn't yet certain if she was ready
to know the truth, in case the answer was, "yes." She was still lingering
somewhere around,
ewww as a response.
"Didn't your parents get
mad?"
Meredith pushed some strands of hair behind her ear in a
gesture Gen interpreted as nervous.
"No," she said quickly. "I
already told my mom I might be staying overnight at a friend's place."
Jeez, that must be nice—a parent that didn't insist on having the
name, number, and full background check on the person whose house she was
going to? A dream come true.
Silence took up again, until Meredith
spoke at last. "What happened wasn't your fault. You don't have to feel
bad."
"Uh, I think it kind of was my fault—I said a bunch of
words, and poof!" She made a dramatic gesture with her hands. "You had a
seizure."
"It was my choice, Gen. It's okay."
"Are you
going to tell me what I did?"
Merri nodded, took a final gulp of
her coffee, and then set the cup down. "I'll come down and tell everyone."
Gen put the chair back where she got it and waited while Merri
rose weakly from bed.
"Merri, I'm sorry," she said just as they
started for the stairs. "Just...for what I did—"
"It's okay—"
"—and for being such a bitch about everything—"
"Really,
it's okay, Gen," she assured her with a warm smile. "I understand."
Genevieve nodded, accepting that she was forgiven—or at least that
Merri would never tell her if she wasn't—and followed her friend
downstairs to the sitting area. Michael sat on the couch sipping his
coffee and reading, while Sage had changed into her training clothes and
was busy stretching.
While Gen opted for the chair, and as far
away from Michael as possible, Merri took a seat on the couch. She leaned
over and gave his coffee a quick whiff.
"Irish-ed up, I take it?"
she guessed.
"Only way to drink it."
"Should you really be
having liquor when someone could burst in to kill us at any second?" Gen
asked.
Michael fixed her with a cold gaze. "How about I shoot you
in the chest a few times and you can see how you do without proper pain
killers?"
"That wouldn't make me like whiskey any better. And
maybe
you should have gone to the hospital."
"Are
we ready to get started?" Merri said, pre-empting Michael's next harsh
reply.
"Sage," Michael called, while not taking his eyes from
Genevieve. Gen squirmed a little under his gaze then dropped her eyes,
cursing his ability to freak her out so easily.
Sage rounded the
couch and sat down cross-legged by Gen's chair, and eventually all eyes
turned to Merri expectantly. No one seemed ready to speak yet, but whether
Michael was just waiting for someone else, or he wanted to finish his
Irish coffee first, Gen couldn't be sure.
"Can you tell me now
what we did yesterday?" Genevieve asked to break the ice.
"I told
you, we were taking away the element of surprise," Merri said.
"And that would mean...?"
"I know where they are and what
they're planning," she stated flatly.
"Um...what?"
"The
purpose of the spell you two did was to allow Merri to see what your
enemies were planning," Michael explained in that "you're so stupid—shut
the hell up, Genevieve" sort of voice that made her want to stab him in
the eyes. "It put her in their minds."
"Michael was passed some
information that we thought might be a plant," Merri said. "It coincided
with..." her gaze drifted to Sage sadly, "with the attack on Hayden. An
informant told Michael where the other three guys were hiding—"
"And you didn't tell us yesterday?" Sage cut in, rage edging her
voice. "What the hell—"
"It seemed a little strange that this tip
would come in so suddenly," Michael said. A warning look in Sage's
direction, and she was effectively silenced. She didn't hide the glare in
her eyes, but her mouth tightened and she didn't say a word.
"So
you asked Merri to do that...spell last night?" Gen asked.
Michael
nodded.
"And?"
He sent his gaze to Merri, and once again
Gen detected worry there. Worry for what she was about to say, or just for
Merri herself? She'd never been able to read him before, and obviously
Genevieve wasn't about to miraculously get any insight into his thinking.
Idle speculation it is, she thought. Whatever history
might be there, she wouldn't be hearing about it any time soon.
"It's a trap," Meredith said. "They are where Michael was told
they'd be, but they know we're coming. The idea was to make us strike
first at where we thought they'd be—last night, actually—and then get
ambushed."
"Or divide us," Gen said quietly. The comment was more
a remark made to herself than the group, but suddenly they were all
looking at her and she felt her face heat up with embarrassment. Michael
and Merri were the ones who knew what they were doing—she certainly didn't
want to be talking tactics with them. Along for the ride...that's how it
was for Gen.
"Sorry, keep talking," she said, bowing her head. A
curtain of straight blonde hair slipped off her shoulder and fell over
part of her face, helping to hide her expression of discomfort.
I sound
like such an idiot—just get on with it, Mer. "Well..." Merri began,
but Michael interrupted.
"No, what?"
Gen ventured a glance
up at him to find his green gazed fixed on her, unwavering. She couldn't
be certain whether or not this would lead to another reprimand for
bothering them.
"I don't know," she said with a shrug. "I just
thought..."
"What?" he prompted again.
Well, colour me shocked—he actually wants to hear
what I have to say. "Why come after Hayden?" she said.
"Because we killed one of them," Sage said coldly, as if this fact
would be clear to anyone with a quarter of a brain. "That's what he said
when he called me."
"Except why Hayden?" she said, turning to
Sage. "Why at school, in the parking lot, with so many people around? And
why call you? That doesn't sound like what these guys do..." Her attention
returned to Michael, expression animated. She felt sure of herself
suddenly, and the ideas poured forth, without any hint of doubt in her
voice. "You said they know us. They've been following us, right? Hayden as
a target wasn't to draw all of us to them—it was to get Sage. They think
she's the threat. They don't know Merri killed that guy—they're guessing
its Sage. Obviously, they know I'm not very useful, and who would expect
the Seer to be off shooting people? When that guy didn't come back, their
options were you," she gestured to Michael, "which was probable, but
you've already said you're not the one they're after. And then there's
Sage. They assumed she did it, and since she's the strong one, they went
after Hayden—her weakness—trusting somehow their location would get back
to her, and she'd take off after them. They ambush her, and that's
it—we're without a Warrior."
Her little explanation done, Gen
leaned back in the chair and felt some of her energy dissipate under their
stares. This was why she never tried to be serious—they looked like they
all thought she was nuts.
"You're right," Michael said at last.
"I am?" Gen resisted the urge to check if he was bleeding again,
since a loss of blood seemed the only logical explanation for him agreeing
with her.
"They only really need to kill one of you. Everything
I've ever read about this mentions the importance of having you three
together...kill one, and the fact that the other two live is a moot
point—you won't succeed, and they automatically win."
The thought
sent a chill down Genevieve's spine. "So these other times they came after
us...Michael was able to help me and Merri, and Sage took them on by
herself. They
were testing us..."
"Just not for the weakest
link," Michael finished for her, "but for the strongest."
"Who
cares?" Sage snapped. "Just tell me where they are and I'll deal with
them. I'm ready."
"No, you're not," Michael said.
"Yes I
am! I'm not going to just—"
"Go." He gestured behind him, and with
the look he was giving her, Gen was more than glad to not be the source of
his anger for once. "Sit in
seiza while the rest of us discuss this."
Whatever internal conflict went on in Sage in the following
moments, no one could tell, but eventually Michael's command won out. She
silently stood and walked to the training area behind the couch, then
dropped down onto her knees and sat with her legs folded under her. She
stared straight ahead without a word.
"The only problem is that I
didn't get a sense they were expecting just Sage," Merri said.
"Would they know all this, though?" Gen asked. "They're like some
guy's lackeys, right? Michael said there's someone controlling them...he's
the one who'd have the details."
Merri nodded. "True. They were
told to kill whoever showed up there...and they wouldn't care about
specifics."
"So...what are we going to do?" Following the gaze
exchange between Michael and Merri, Genevieve suspected that they'd
probably already discussed potential plans of action before, and whatever
they had in mind, was going to be bad. "They're expecting us, so it's not
like we can just go over!"
"They won't stop," Michael said. "It's
time for action."
"Can 'action' involve reconsidering calling the
police?"
"It's simple," Michael said. "If the enemy leaves a door
open, you must rush in."
Gen had no idea what door Michael might
have been talking about, but she was more than a little worried. "Meaning
what, exactly?"
*~*~*
As late-morning rolled around, the group sat in
Michael's car. Sage still had to visit Hayden in the hospital, so Michael
pulled the vehicle around the visitor's entrance and the rest of them
waited for her return.
Sage slipped past the main desk, and went
straight for Hayden's room. She wasn't sure if they were still
implementing the "family only" policy, but if she managed to get in there
the night before, that morning shouldn't be a problem.
She found
Hayden awake and flipping through T.V. stations.
"Nothing on?" she
called from the doorway.
"I get like twenty channels," he said
with a sigh as he turned the television off. "The sooner I get home, the
better."
She went to his side and sat on the edge of the bed. When
he reached toward her, she folded her fingers over his, finding them warm
and comforting.
"Called you today," he said, raising his brow
questioningly. "About an hour ago—your mom said you and Gen went to your
Sensei's?"
"Wanted to get in some practice this morning." Offering
him a shrug, she did what she could to look casual about it.
"Yeah, but...you're hanging out with Gen?"
He was
rightfully confused; even her claim to be helping her study seemed out of
character, and Sage knew it.
"The truth is..." The truth. Would he
believe it? Think she was crazy, maybe? Tell her to leave?
"It's
okay, I think I figured it out."
"You did?" she said quickly,
immediately worried.
"Yeah. Lev was worried about her—said some
guy was bothering her, and he thought she should learn to take care of
herself better. She asked you to hook her up with some self defense
lessons?"
Sage relaxed. At least that was a partial truth. "Yeah,
yeah, that's it. Her parents would be worried, so we haven't been telling
anyone."
"And does this have anything to do with your supposed
gang connections?"
Dammit, so he did remember she said that... But
by the expression on his face, he still didn't believe her, even after
having a night to think about it.
"Let me guess," he continued
with a teasing grin. "Genevieve Weist—of all people—has joined your gang
too? Or is this maybe like a kung fu movie with rival martial arts
schools?"
At least he'd given her an opening...
"Yeah,"
she said suddenly. "It's kind of like that."
"And I suppose I was
attacked by this opposing school?"
She nodded.
His grin
lingered for a few moments longer until he realized she was serious.
"Jesus, have you been to the police—"
"They can't do anything. Not
about this."
"Well, of course they can—"
"They can't." She
felt her eyes moisten. "And I'm sorry..."
"Look, if you're in
trouble or something—"
A squeeze of his hand and he went silent.
"I'm going to take care of it," she promised.
"Sage—"
"I
have to do this. I'll be back in a few hours." Though she started to
stand, his grip on her hand tightened and drew her back.
"What's
going on?"
"I'll tell you everything when I get back."
"Is
that a promise?"
"Yeah. Everything."
"No...I mean, you're
coming back?"
If I'm sure of anything, it's that I'm coming
back to you. "Absolutely," she whispered. He gave her
hand a tug, and she fell into his embrace, tears glistening from her long
lashes as she hugged him back. For a moment she forgot the others awaiting
her in the car, let go of what she had to do that day, and lost herself in
his embrace.
"I love you, Sage," he whispered. She felt him press
his lips to her forehead. "You'd better come back to me."
"I
will," she returned.
This won't be the last time I hold
you,
she swore to herself.
I'll do this somehow...I'll see you soon.
*~*~*
Gen sat in the backseat, chewing at her thumbnail.
She'd gnawed off three fingernails on one hand, and she figured she'd make
short work of the other one too before they reached their destination.
She couldn't for the life of her grasp their logic, no matter how
she tried. They knew where the people who wanted to hurt them were all
grouped together. Why not then go in the
opposite
direction! Running straight for them seemed like suicide...
Sure, Michael and Merri had a plan. And they were both armed. And
they seemed to have plans for Gen and Sage as well. But in between moments
of numb surrealism, Genevieve was terrified.
"I want to call my
dad," she said suddenly.
Michael sent her a look in the rear view
mirror. "I don't think that's wise."
Tears gathered in her eyes,
but she was determined not to shed them. Not yet, and certainly not in
front of him.
"I don't care what you think. I'm probably going to
die in like an hour and—"
"Gen..." Merri turned in her seat,
looking concerned. "You're going to be fine—"
"I want to say
goodbye to my parents."
"Hurry up," Michael said, but Gen was
already opening the door and slipping outside the car.
For awhile,
she simply stared at the phone. Around her, people went on with their
lives, oblivious to what she and her companions were about to do. A couple
of nurses and patients stood outside the hospital doors smoking, the
apparent irony of that being lost on them. Another group of nurses sat on
a park bench, their lunches balanced on their laps, enjoying both
conversation and the beautiful autumn day.
If only it could have
been cold. And Damp. Maybe a little misty. There should be something
foreboding in the air, but instead it was like a freakin' Disney movie
outside, with the tree leaves brilliant shades of orange and red, and
birds chirping happily.
Genevieve's fingertips trembled as she
dialed her home phone number. It took three tries before she got the
number right, but all too soon the line was ringing. She paced outside the
car.
"Hello?"
Her voice stuck in her throat for a moment
and she bit at her bottom lip to keep from crying.
"Hello—" her
father said again.
"Hi Dad."
"Hey sweetheart. Still at
your friend’s house?"
"Uh, no," she said, trying to keep a level
of composure to her voice. "We're at the hospital—she wanted to visit
Hayden."
"Is he okay? You sound upset."
She squeezed her
eyes shut, a few tears hitting her cheeks. Between the cool autumn breeze
skimming her face and the bright sun, they dried almost instantly. A few
deep breaths later, and she attempted to speak again.
"Yeah...yeah, I'm fine." Though she forced her tone to remain
casual, a few cracks still showed. "It's just...a lot has gone on, that's
all. I'm...I'm really tired."
"Do you need me to pick you up?"
Oh God, yes... She wanted them to pick her up
and take her home, and she could forget all about everything. No
apocalypses. No special powers.
"Genny?" her dad prompted.
"I think I have to stay with Sage a bit longer," she said despite
her better judgment.
"I'll get you if want to come home...but I
think it's good you're helping your friend through this. She probably
needs you right now."
Sage needed her...the thought seemed so odd,
she nearly contradicted her father right then. But her gaze strayed to
Merri and Michael in the car, then towards the hospital where Sage sat
with Hayden, knowing she might not come back to him as well.
On
some level, it was possible they did need her. This was where she
belonged.
"Yeah," Gen said quietly. "I think I'm going to be gone
a little while longer. Is Mom there?"
"She went out to pick out a
fruit basket herself for the Greenes—couldn't trust the lady at the store
to do it, of course."
Gen smiled absently. "Of course."
"Do you want her to call you back later?"
"No, it's
alright."
"Are you sure you're okay, Genny?" her father asked
after a long pause.
"Yeah. I'm okay." She saw Sage coming out the
front doors and swiftly walking to the car. "I have to go now."
"Talk to you later, sweetheart."
"I love you, Daddy," she
whispered and hung up before she could break down any more. Sage slid into
the backseat without a word, and Gen did the same.
"Ready?"
Michael said, taking a moment to meet everyone's eyes, but holding Gen's
stare a beat longer.
Never, Genevieve thought...and then she nodded.
"Ready," she said.
Whatever that means.
Michael drove them to an old farm house outside of
town. Abandoned and on the dilapidated side, Gen didn't have trouble
seeing it as the hideout for a bunch of crazy assassin guys.
"What's the plan again?" she asked Michael parked the car half a
kilometre from the house.
"We go in and kill," Sage said sharply.
"It's not difficult."
Gen was certain there had been more to the
plan than that, but she was too terrified at the moment to bother
remembering.
Michael, Merri, and Sage each got out of the car. Gen
lagged behind, but eventually pushed the door open and joined them. It was
all just too surreal still.
"What if they're expecting us," Gen
said, balking as the others went calmly to the trunk of the car to
retrieve their things.
"That's the point, Gen," Merri said.
"Yeah, but what if they're like standing there at the windows,
ready to start shooting?"
"They're having lunch about now," Merri
replied again, just as warmly as before, her voice fully composed as if
what they were about to do was completely normal for her. "You saw the
pizza guy on his way back—they're sitting down to eat, and they're not
expecting Sage yet."
Michael took the little white book Merri had
had the day before, opened it to a certain page, and handed it to
Genevieve. "You need to focus, keep repeating those words, and stay close
to us at all times," he said.
She reluctantly took the book and
read through the words in her head. It was one thing to have to read it
just sitting with Meredith at Michael's place, but another completely when
it came to heading into the lion's den armed with a spell she was sure
wouldn't work.
"Do you understand me?" Michael prodded, as if she
was a complete idiot incapable of grasping neither his words, nor his
serious tone.
"Yes."
Sage took the lead, heading up the
long gravel driveway towards the house. Michael and Merri walked a few
steps back while Gen brought up the rear. Each remained silent, no one
daring to speak. The gravity of the situation made words unnecessary.
Though Michael had said multiple times she was to keep close to
them, she wasn't sure how close "close" was, and asking him to clarify his
words didn't seem the best idea. Whether he was worried or even scared,
she couldn't tell...but if she were to guess anything about his thoughts
right then, it was that they ran along the lines of, "If Genevieve says a
word to me, I'm going to kill her."
Gen kept her mouth shut.
The group stopped before the front steps that led to the porch,
which wrapped around the house. Yellowed paint peeled from the old wood,
and as they stepped onto the porch, the floorboards creaked beneath their
feet. Any second now, Gen was certain the whole place would come down on
them...why couldn't the scary murderous guys be living in a nice condo
somewhere instead?
Sage strode to the front door boldly as if she
truly was unafraid. Either that or a little crazy...and given the gleam in
her eye, Genevieve was putting her vote in column B on that one. Merri
took position out of sight on Sage's left, while Michael took the right.
He grabbed Gen's arm on the way and dragged her to the wall beside him.
"What if they heard us?" Gen whispered. "And they're ready right
now—"
"Kitchen's at the back of the house," he hissed.
"But what if—"
"We don't have time for this."
They
didn't have time for her worrying about her own mortality? Especially when
she knew what this spell was supposed to do...?
"You said that—"
"I'll cover you," Michael said sternly, as if he thought it odd
she would doubt his promise to keep her safe. "Now start reading."
As she uttered the first word, Sage rang the doorbell.
Gen
stammered a bit, staring at the door, breathless and terrified, unaware
she had stopped reading until a rough nudge in her ribs from Michael got
her started again.
Sage leaned forward and pressed her ear to the
door, listening. Except for Gen's uneven whispering of her spell, no one
dared speak. A calm smile came over Sage's lips, as if she heard what she
was waiting for then she took a step back and swung a kick into the door.
The door flew open, nearly off its hinges, and a grunt within the
house suggested someone received the brunt of it.
"Keep reading,"
Michael ordered, rightfully worried Gen would stop as she mumbled through
a sentence, eyes wide with terror. She dropped her gaze back down to the
book and fumbled through the next passage until she found her rhythm
again.
Michael took her arm, and she didn't put up a fight when he
guided her forward, trusting him against her better instincts.
Her
feet touched down in the doorway to the house. In her peripheral vision,
she caught sight of Sage in a scuffle to their left and Merri close by
keeping an eye out for the others.
Keep concentrating, keep
concentrating... She breathed in through her nose, then pushed the
breath out with her words, trying to will some power into them. But it
wasn't until Merri shouted for their attention that she had a chance to
see if it worked or not...
The other two men had rushed in, and
though they didn't seem the least bit concerned about their friend pinned
to the ground under Sage where his face was a mass of blood beneath her
fist, they were prepared to jump into action. Each grabbed a hold her arms
and yanked her back so their companion could stand and catch his bearings.
Gen's eyes shot back to the page and she continued reading, yet
her gaze floated up again, eager to see what was going to happen.
Merri sent Michael a look, and reached for the gun tucked in the
waistband of her pants, but he shook his head. They all knew that Sage
felt she needed to deal with this on her own, but at the moment Gen
wondered how wise a decision that was.
And then the older of the
group of men whipped out a knife and slashed at Sage's throat.
Gen
squealed out the next word of her spell and waited, breathless, for the
blood and the screaming...
But Sage didn't bleed. She didn't cry
out. Her skin was smooth, untouched by the knife and fully intact.
The strangeness of it did seem to register with her attacker and
he stared at her in confusion for a moment. Sage acknowledged his reaction
with a cool smile then kicked the weapon from his hand.
It worked! Oh my fucking god, it worked!!
"Read," Michael hissed into her ear, and
Gen realized she had stopped the spell while she stared at Sage. Before
she could drop her eyes to begin reading again, however, she found herself
staring into the blank stare of one of the assassins.
His eyes
went from her eyes to the book, then back to her eyes again. The other two
men turned to look at her as well, and she realized that
somehow...
they knew. It was as if they just noticed
her, Michael, and Merri standing there, and all their attention became
focused on Gen and her book...
And if they knew she was
responsible for the spell, did they also know it was only affecting Merri,
Sage, Michael, but not Genevieve herself...?
"Read," Michael said
again and Gen fixed her eyes back on her page.
She stumbled
through the words, fearful gaze flying up to see the men advancing on her
then fluttered back to the page, determined to continue.
Sage
hadn't forgotten about them yet, however. She insinuated herself into the
group and started taking swings wildly, not caring who's head her fist
came in contact with. Glass shattered, wood broke, bodies collided and
smashed furniture—soon Gen couldn't decipher one noise from another.
She wasn't strong enough to handle three people, though. Perhaps
she couldn't be physically harmed so long as Gen was reciting the spell,
but she seemed locked in a stalemate.
Just as Merri whipped out
her gun, the weapon was knocked out of her hand as the scuffle between
Sage and the three men made its way toward her. Gen could barely follow
the brawl, let alone read at the same time.
"Don't you dare move,"
Michael warned her with a stern glare, and then he left her side to see if
he could help. He grabbed an attacker with his good arm and threw the man
aside, giving Sage a bit more breathing room.
But though he
couldn't be hurt anew while Gen was reading, that did little to change the
fact that he'd been shot just days before, and when one of the men rushed
him against the stairwell banister, he let out a cry of agony. Michael
crumpled to the ground, breath lost for a moment.
And then
Genevieve realized with a sinking feeling that now she was definitely the
target.
He said he'd cover me...I'll be
okay...
But Michael was having trouble standing, and the man that put him out of
commission was lunging for her.
"M-Michael!" she screamed,
scrambling to get out of the way. Her back hit the wall, and she found
little space available to escape him...
Worse still, she then
realized that in uttering Michael's name in a cry for help, she had
effectively broken the spell, and she'd have to start over again.
As she was about to begin once more, the blank face of the younger
of their assailants was next to hers, regarding her strangely.
"Witch," he hissed in a little used voice.
In a time like
this, Genevieve wished she was someone clever and confident, who could
throw a witty retort his way, followed up by a badass spell. Instead, her
eyes got huge and she felt her heart beat so fast it seemed to leap
straight from her chest.
The man shoved her roughly. As Gen went
sprawling headfirst into the side of a cabinet, the spell book slipped
from her grasp.
Though her head smacked the cabinet hard, she
remained conscious as she slumped to the ground.
The book, the book... Gen's gaze travelled across the
floor—where the hell was the book?!
A pair of legs clad in dark
jean came towards her, and beyond them she saw the spell book, about five
feet away. Impossible to reach. She'd be dead herself whether she reached
it or not, but perhaps she could have bought the others a little time...
Gen jumped back against the wall as a body collided with the floor
beside her. Merri lay flat on her stomach, eyes closed and body unmoving.
"Merri?" she called, reaching for her friend's throat. There
seemed to be a pulse there...
She glanced around the room again to
see Sage tangled with two others—clearly losing—and the third still hell
bent on stalking her. There was little she could to do stop him as he
grabbed her by the throat and hauled her to her feet.
It came as
little surprise that he produced a knife, similar to the ones they all
carried, and she felt tears of dread pool in her eyes and spill over her
cheeks.
Over his shoulder, she spotted Michael.
Their eyes
locked and an even greater terror gripped Genevieve then…
The look
in his gaze frightened her more than the current threat to her life; it
wasn't defeat, worry, or anything she might have imagined him feeling at
the moment... No, no, he was
thinking. Deliberating. She was about to be stabbed, and
though he'd promised her he'd look out for her, he was clearly
reconsidering. Did he desire to just give in and let them all die? Forget
about everything he'd told them and watch the world go to hell?
Or
was there something more going on?
Whatever it was, the look and
his hesitation sent a chill down her spine for the long, breathless
moments they gazed at one another…
The knife drew her attention
again and she squeezed her eyes shut.
A gun fired, and Genevieve
felt something hot and wet hit her face. The grip on her throat loosened
and she chanced a glance at her attacker. Blood ran from his shoulder, and
the splatter had hit her face and neck. Another bullet later—this time in
his head—and he fell to the ground and didn't move again.
Michael
stood over the body, Meredith's gun in his hand.
"Start reading,"
he said.
"But Merri—"
"I'll take care of Merri. Read."
She scrambled out of his way so he could check on Meredith, and
then she crawled towards the book.
Unfortunately, when she dropped
it, the thing fell shut. Her throat went dry. She didn't have a clue what
page the spell was on.
Gen flipped through the book madly,
scanning the pages as she went, trying to remember how the spell began,
but failing utterly.
A metal object hit the hardwood floor and
someone grunted in pain to her left. Michael's old bullet wounds were
bleeding heavily now after being hit again and she had no idea where his
gun went.
Hurriedly, Gen went back to skimming the words of the
book, hoping for anything familiar.
But it's a spell book...there's
got to be something in here—something useful... Granted, she didn't know if
the book had a specific type of magic within its pages or not, or if any
of it required something other than her speaking the words...but at this
point, she'd try anything.
She flipped to a random page, hoping
somewhere within her was a magical sort of intuition she had never been
aware of before that day, and that somehow it would lead her to the right
passage. It was unlikely, but besides trying to pick up a gun and shoot,
it was all she had.
Gen found the phonetic spelling of an
incantation on one page and began to blurt out the words, trying hard to
concentrate with all the scuffling around her, all the while praying
whatever she said would be helpful.
About midway through the
second paragraph, a sense of nausea overtook her. Head spinning and
stomach twisting, she struggled through the final words until she felt
ready to pass out. As the last words left her lips, the room went dead
silent, and she was sure she'd already lost consciousness...
But
her eyes were still open. She blinked a few times and looked around the
room. There was Sage, standing not far from the stairs, looking around
thoroughly confused. Merri was still unconscious, and Michael was beside
her, his eyes fixed on Genevieve.
Noticeably absent were the
people who had been trying to kill them.
Genevieve swallowed hard,
certain that lump in the back of her throat was her heart or something.
"What happened?"
"What were you reading?" Michael asked coldly.
"I-I don't know...I lost my page and I didn't know what to do—"
"What were you reading!"
Gingerly, she held out the open
book for him, and he stood and snatched it up. After glancing over the
page, he folded it closed and handed it back to her.
"Where did
they go?" Gen whispered, as afraid to breathe as she was to know his
answer.
"They won't be back," he said as he knelt by a stirring
Merri and helped her sit up.
"What did I do?" She neared tears;
she didn't want to hurt anyone, no matter the situation they were in...
"It worked and they won't be back," Michael said again. "Do you
really care the reasons why?"
Did she care? Yes. Did she want to
know at that moment what horrible thing she had possibly done? Absolutely
not.
While Sage and Michael helped a dazed Merri to stand, Gen
wandered through the open doorway and sank onto the porch steps. They were
alive and more or less safe...
This time, at
least.
