Bad Storm (12 page)

It just seemed so logical.

I opened my front door, the wind much stronger than before.
It was pushing back hard against me, and I suddenly had doubts about making the
trek back.

But the soothing necklace betrayed my better judgment, and I
felt bizarrely calm as I stepped out and locked the door behind me, opening my
umbrella and taking my first few steps down the stairs.

And that’s when it hit me, like a ton of bricks.

Like, literally I fell back on to the steps, hitting my head
hard against the cement stairs.

“Fuck!” I howled out in pain. I couldn’t even open my eyes,
the pain was so overwhelming. And something, or someone, was pressing me down,
keeping me from moving.

“Gotcha,” came an eerily familiar voice. I opened my eyes
slowly, the stinging tears making it hard to see.

But in the faint yellow light of the street lights, I could
make out the shadow of a face, covered in a familiar black hoodie.

“Lark,” I muttered, anger, pain and confusing all seething
inside of me.

“The one and only,” she said with a wicked laugh. then she
tossed me over her shoulder like a bag of flour, and she was off, ripping
through the hectic night wind.

It was the place I had dreamed about. Dark, dingy, the
gutted out inside of an old diner.

The crab shack.

They had claimed the old crab shack. But why hadn’t it been
more obvious?

I couldn’t think about anything else as I struggled against
the metal diner chair, my arms tied behind the back of the chair with some
invisible rope or curse.

I was sweating profusely, my legs sticking to the cheap
plastic seat cushion beneath me.

And before me, was a familiar, tall, statuesque woman with
hair the color of midnight and searing blue eyes.

“Gita,” I grimaced, trying to intimidate her, and failing
miserably.

“Save your breath you impure infidel,” she growled,
narrowing her eyes at me. She was sitting on the old counter, her legs crossed
casually and resting on the red cushion of a bar stool, some of the stuffing
ripped out and falling over her heel.

Yeah. She kidnapped me, tied to me to a chair with
witchcraft, and was wearing heels.

I hated her on oh so many different levels.

“I don’t know who you think you are, interfering with my
brethren and turning yourself into some monster’s bride, but I’m going to make
an example out of you.”

“Where’s Lola,” I seethed, still struggling futilely against
her magic chains—or rather, the chains she had made Austin, Fun Aim’s
roadie, bound me with. I wasn’t going to give in without a fight—I had
spent so much of my life in fear thanks to bossy, pretty girls like her.

Well, not today. Not if my life depended on it.

Which it did.

“So concerned for your little bitch friend,” she smirked
wickedly. Lark laughed behind her, turning her head from the window for a
moment to sneer at me. It seemed like she was keeping guard or something.
Austin had his arms crossed over his chest, standing right in front of me, as
if waiting for Gita’s commands.

“Don’t call her that,” I said, suddenly terrified that they
had hurt her. Austin snickered.

“Oh, a soft spot for the one who put you in this position,
huh?” she laughed cruelly.

“What does that mean?” I asked, even though I knew that I
probably didn’t want to know.

“She wants you dead, Bailey. We used her to tap into your
mind. That’s how we knew where you were.”

“Bullshit,” I said, feeling a tremor of fear come over me. I
fought hard to keep the grimace on my face, to keep her from winning. But she
was already getting to me, making me wonder if all this wasted effort on Lola
was going to get me killed…

“I like your spunk,” Gita laughed. “Too bad you went and
wasted it on being a dog’s bitch. It’s a shame you have to die.”

“Don’t call me that!” I yelled.

Gita shook her head, closing her heavy lashes. “We’re going
to have to shut that filthy mouth of yours.” She snapped her fingers, and
 
Austin looked at me intensely—suddenly
my lips were stuck together by some invisible force, like glue was binding them
shut. I tried to yell, but it just sounded like a muffled noise of a child
screaming into a pillow. From what I could tell, Gita was transferring the
energy to Austin, meaning Austin was an empath.

“Now, where was I? Right. We were going to sacrifice you.”
She turned her head to look out the window, and then turned back with a wicked
smile.

“The weather is fabulous, isn’t it?” I could only think as
hard about my panic as I could, and scream Trent’s name over and over again in
my mind.

“Don’t bother trying to be better than it. This storm isn’t
ordinary, it’s cutting off all of that sick mental communication you dog people
have.” She stood up, sliding her lithe body off the counter.

“Now, with the power of three, this storm will give me the
life force of one.”

I had no idea what she was talking about, but Austin didn’t
seem phased at all. Lark, on the other hand, turned around with a perplexed
look.

“Three? I thought you said two.”

“I lied,” Gita grinned, before sauntering towards Lark,
staring straight at her. Lark looked like she was getting tired, and she held
her hands to her face as she cried out, “no, you bitch!”

Then she passed out on the floor, lifeless. Her brown skin
turned gray, and then cracked, chipping off slowly into dust until there was
nothing but a pile of dust in black clothing.

“Now,” Gita turned to look at me, taking slow, steady steps
in my direction, until she was standing next to Austin. “You’re number two.
Don’t worry, you’re no vampire. You’ll have a body your loved ones can find and
mourn over.”

I was silently screaming, trying to call Trent. But it
wasn’t working—just like Gita said it wouldn’t. And after I saw her kill
Lark in cold blood, I knew she wasn’t bluffing.

I was going to die.

She pointed a red, polished finger forward, dragging it down
the side of my face.

“What’s this?” she said, her eyes glowing with curiosity.
She moved her hand down to my throat, where the pendant sat against my skin.
Then she looked angry.

“Aamir made this,” she said, her voice hushed. Then her eyes
flicked back up to mine. “That idiot gave this to you.” She curled her hand
around the pendant, and tugged at it harshly, the chain digging into my skin. I
wanted to yelp, but it was muffled.

“Never mind him,” Gita snapped. “Austin, are you prepared to
receive her energy?”

“Ready,” he replied, his face hard. The nice, buoyant guy I
remember joking with Aamir was completely gone.

“You see, Bailey,” she said my name like it was poisonous.
“I’m going to take your life force away, your energy. But Austin here, he’ll
turn it into something constructive. See, the storm gives us one life once we
sacrifice three. He’s going to secure your power, and use it to wipe out that
nasty little pack of yours. That way you heathens are eliminated,
for good
.”

‘
No
,’ I thought. I
was screaming in my mind, relentlessly, but in vain. I couldn’t believe that
this was going to be the end, but when Gita stared at me, her gaze cool and
filled with that penetrating heat, all I could think about was Trent.

And how much he needed to know that I loved him.

But just as I felt the tingling, draining feeling, Austin
said in a low gravely voice, “he’s here.”

She snapped her gaze away from me, and I took a deep breath
in from my nostrils, regaining what little composure I had. Thankfully, she
didn’t get to far in draining my energy.

Gita ran over to the room and turned her gaze to Austin,
snapping her fingers. Austin nodded curtly and followed behind her, crossing
the room in several impressive steps.

The door to the shack swung open, revealing Aamir in the
doorway, staring them down with an intensity I had never seen before in his
normally calm brown eyes.

“What the hell, Gita,” he said angrily, his words like
rolling thunder.

“Why hello, Aamir. Nice of you to join us. Unfortunately
we’re a little busy right now,” she sneered, jerking her head in Austin’s
direction. He raised his hands up, and Aamir went flying back out into the
torrential rain.

But Aamir came back with in seconds, raising a hand and
sending Austin flying to the other side of the room. He collided with the wall
with a loud “thud” and slid down to the floor, a crumpled, unanimated body. He
groaned, and it was the only thing that indicated he was alive.

Suddenly, even Aamir filled me with fear.

“Gita,” he growled lowly, “what is this?”

“
This
is what
happens when you start fraternizing with the enemy, Aamir. I had to put you in
your place. To remind you what being one of us is about.”

“You are absolutely insane!” He looked in my direction and
raised his hands. I felt a warm energy come over me, and suddenly, my wrists
fell to my sides free. I opened my lips, warm with a tingling sensation.

“This is not going to make you The High Priestess of Cyrus.
This is going to get you ostracized!”

“We have very different opinions,” Gita said with a small
laugh. I was so annoyed, so enraged, that I could hardly think or hear anything
but her shrill, obnoxious laughter. I charged at her, running square into her
back and knocking her to the ground.

“Get off of me!” she screamed. I raised a hand and curled it
into a fist. Without even thinking I struck it into her pretty face so hard
that my own knuckles ached.

Aamir pulled me off of her, but he wasn’t very forceful
about it. It was more like he was helping me up than anything.

“She’s not worth your time,” Aamir growled, staring down at
her with the most intense contempt I had ever seen.

Gita’s face had a bright red mark on it, and I realized with
shock that I had caused it. I looked down to my own hand, as if trying to
figure out how it happened.

“Whatever,” she hissed, “even if you got in the way, that
little blonde one is still going to die.”

“She
what
?” I
said, slightly hysterical. A grin crept across her lips, and I knew that my
reaction pleased her.

“You heard me. That same Lola that betrayed you? She’s the
other sacrifice. We were just waiting until we got a hold of you before disposing
of her. She was our link into your mind, so we knew the perfect moment to send
Lark after you. Then, we went out and left her to brave the elements. The storm
likes to devour one sacrifice on its own.”

“Where is she?” I wailed, throwing myself at her again.
Aamir caught my arms, keeping me from tearing up her stupid face. The image of
the dark, stormy swamp came back to mind.

“As if I’d ever tell you,” she jeered, standing up from the
floor and brushing the dirt off her skinny jeans. “Besides, she’s probably
already dead by now.”

“No,” I said, the thought running through my head in
horrific cycles. It just couldn’t be. Lola couldn’t be dead.

But just as I was about to loose it, the thought struck me.
She was in my mind, right? She knew what was going on with me. Maybe she knew
what I was thinking.

‘
Lola
,’ I
concentrated, shutting my eyes and holding my hands to my face, blocking
everything else out. ‘
Lola, please, tell
me where you are.
’

“If you’re trying to talk to her, tough luck. She’s so
dead,” Gita sneered.

“Can it, Gita,” Aamir growled.

I panicked. Nothing was happening.

‘
Oh my God, she’s dead
,’
I thought in a panic.

But then I felt it. A strong pull inside of me, leading me
outside into the horrific, insane storm. The wind was even stronger now,
pulling my hair in all directions. I stepped down the old wooden steps, yelping
as a frond flew into my face.

“Where are you going?” Aamir said, rushing outside behind
me.

“Is your car here?” I asked quickly, turning to him.

“Yes, but I’m not sure driving in this weather is the best
idea…”

“Lola’s life depends on it.”

He hesitated.

“I know you don’t know who she is. But she’s a person. A
human being and she doesn’t deserve to die.” I spoke over the howls of the wind,
holding my hair out of my face with cupped hands.

“Okay,” he said, nodding with a grim expression. “I
understand. Where to?”

“South,” I said, not sure of much more than that.

“That’s a start,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me out
towards the parking lot. I felt the familiar wash of warmth and calm, and I
pulled my hand away quickly.

“I need to feel!” I yelled out, the wind threatening to take
away my voice. I needed the anxiety. The exhilaration. I needed to make sure
that Lola survived.

But before he could respond, I feel to the ground, like some
invisible force had sent me flying against the pavement. I groaned, my leg
throbbing with pain as it was the limb that broke my fall. I looked up to see
Austin across the parking lot, looking straight at me.

Aamir stepped forward, ready to fight, when a dark blur
tackled Austin to the ground. Gita came outside and yelled something
unintelligible. The beast turned to her—and that’s when I realized, it
was Trent. Trent as a snarling wolf.

I stood up quickly and turned to see another slinking wolf
come towards me. I couldn’t be sure who it was, and the intuition that I
usually had with any pack member (with the exception of Lola, who was in my
mind somehow) was completely clouded thanks to the storm.

“I’m going with Aamir to save Lola! Don’t let Trent come
after us, just keep these crazy people away from us!” I shouted over the
howling storm. The large wolf looked at me as if it understood. I had no way of
knowing if it did, but it ran off and pinned Gita to the wall, growling
maliciously as it did.

“Come on.” I turned to Aamir and he led the way to a small
sedan.

We rushed into his car and slammed the doors shut. Just as
he revved up the engine, a loud “smack!” sounded from the roof of the car. I
looked up in shock, scared it might be Trent.

“What the—”

But without saying a word he backed up in reverse and zoomed
out of the parking lot onto the empty streets.

“We’re in a tropical storm, remember?”

“Yeah,” I winced, reassuring myself that it was probably a
tree branch and not the love of my life. “Just get on the highway and go south.
I’ll figure it out. Besides, can’t you protect us with magic or something?”

“I’ll do my best,” he said, keeping his eyes trained
forward. “But don’t expect me to be good conversation. This isn’t exactly
easy.”

“Okay.” Nerves shot through my body as I shut my eyes,
trying to concentrate on where in the world she could be.

South. I knew she was south.

A flash of where the two wolves were fighting in my dream.

“The Huntington Conservation,” I gasped. “She’s in the
marshlands.”

“Get ready to break some laws tonight,” Aamir murmured. But
I didn’t care if we broke a hundred laws. Human laws and the laws of my reality
had already been broken a thousand times over in the last two weeks.