Blood Chained (Dark Siren Book 3) (31 page)

Chapter 44

Rhane, Kalista, and Rion stood outside a code-locked, reinforced steel door. A loud hum came from the other side, overruling any other sound that might have reached Rhane’s ears. But this was the most promising lead they had on locating Bailen since entering the facility. So far, no one else had checked in with better news.

Looking at Rion, Rhane jerked his head toward the door. “Can you open that or do I need to force it down?”

“Take it easy, Clark,” Rion chided jokingly. “I saw the secret password on the security feed.” He swiftly entered the code, thinking how much more fun it would be to watch Rhane kick that massive door in. Plenty of action would be coming their way soon enough. Rion adjusted the strap securing the automatic weapon across his chest somewhat self-consciously. Rhane had made certain he and the others knew how to manage all sorts of firearms a long time ago, but Rion was far more comfortable fighting as a wolf or with pointy objects. Besides, the smell of gunpowder made him sneeze.

As the locking mechanism released, Rhane stood wishing York had known to bring Bellefuron. The men inside were packing some serious artillery. Using their own weapons against them would have to do. Rhane hoped the stupid gun didn’t jam. Although military grade, it wasn’t the most reliable model. He looked at Kalista, allowing his uneasiness to shine through. “Hang back, okay?” he said, hoping she wouldn’t argue.

“I can help.”

“I know you can.” Rhane forced a smile. “I just don’t want you doing it from the front line.” When she nodded, Rhane relaxed. “Aim first for the lights,” he said softly to Rion and then stepped through the doorway.

With the first shot, madness erupted. Rion did a good job concentrating his fire on the overhead lighting. The bulbs were small targets, but half of the room was rendered dark before they were forced to dive for cover. They all would have been pinned down by the subsequent barrage of blind shooting if not for Kalista.

Reciting words of an old language Rhane had either never gotten around to learning or had lost in decapitation, she bombarded the remaining lights with balls of fire, pitching the room into total darkness. As she started another strange chant, Rhane touched her arm. “Wait,” he whispered. Wolf eyes had found the slightest traces of lingering light and used them to see the enemy. Once their night goggles were in place, he whispered, “Now.”

An instant later, gray fire was blazing beneath the boots of the soldiers, driving them back. Building in height, the flames flashed up as high as ten feet. Several men screamed. Whether from burns or because their eyes were seared by the sudden blinding light, Rhane did not know. But it was the perfect opportunity. Signaling for Rion to follow, he ran toward the fire and into it. He carved through their lines, disarming the men before their ranks could recover. Seized guns were wrenched in two, and once or twice delivered the clubbing blow by which the next man fell.

Most of the soldiers were regular humans, but a few displayed the same heightened senses and exceptional strength as the guard Rhane had encountered in the main corridor. Superhuman or not, between his rage and Kalista’s fire, none of the soldiers stood a chance.

As the last human fell, the radio came alive with Orrin’s voice. “Back up is on the way, and headquarters is sending in a chopper. ETA in thirty. I suggest you get out in fifteen.”

The others affirmed receipt of the message, but there was no reply from Zone 5. Rhane, Kalista, and Rion were motionless before the globe-shaped device over twenty feet tall. This machine was the source of the strange hum, and imprisoned within it was the prize so many had died trying to protect.

When Rhane finally managed to speak, it was through clenched teeth. “Get him out of there.”

Inside the structure, Bailen lay on his side, impossibly flat and unmoving. He didn’t whimper. Didn’t cry out. Rhane couldn’t even tell whether he breathed or not.

“Rion,” Rhane said tersely.

“I’m trying. I’m trying.” Rion had located the control panel and was working as quickly as his fingers could fly. He pulled up screen after screen, navigating scrolls and scrolls of data. Everything about Bailen was being monitored and recorded. Some of it was continuous. Much had been catalogued. He was definitely alive, though his respirations and heart rate indicated significant distress.

“It’s a kind of gravity generator,” Rion said, spewing facts to both calm himself and curtail Kali and Rhane’s obvious distress. “Global Cures has managed to build a machine that can simulate a field twenty times greater than Earth’s natural gravity. It’s essentially the perfect prison. If you can’t move, you can’t escape.” His fingers flurried over the keys. Beads of sweat formed at his brow. “This thing is one of a kind. I don’t know if I can get him out. I don’t have the code or enough time to hack it.”

“Try,” Kalista said. “Please.”

Rion stopped working to meet Rhane’s eyes. “A failsafe was triggered with the alarm, putting this thing in lockdown. I can take a stab at going around their protocols to disarm the field but I don’t know what will happen if I do that.”

Watching over Rion’s shoulder, Rhane understood exactly what the boy had not said. Attempting to tamper with the system holding Bailen prison could make things worse. A lot worse. Once security was compromised, the machine’s function had switched from containment to suppression no matter the cost. The people who put Bailen inside this cage had gone to extreme lengths to make sure he stayed there. “Screw the computer. We can just pull him out of there.”

“Bad idea,” Rion said, shaking his head quickly. He pointed to a line of data on the screen. “There’s like a million volts of electricity running through the frame of that structure, waiting to barbeque whoever touches it.” Okay, he may have exaggerated about the exact voltage, but Rion needed to be sure the point was made.

Orrin came through open channel again. This time his tone was more urgent. “Rhane, everyone else is out. You guys have five minutes.”

“Rion, do
something
. Or I will.”

“You might have to,” Rion muttered softly. Things weren’t looking good. Mentally crossing his fingers, he keyed in a final command sequence. What happened next was precisely what he’d been afraid of. The monitor flashed a warning. Every alarm sounded as the gravity field increased beyond safe limits. Bailen’s pulse shot through the roof. His ensuing yelp was a pitiable, miserable sound of absolute suffering.

Rion attacked the keys with every shred of hacker’s might he possessed. But it was no use. He shouted Rhane’s name even as the white fur rippled across Rhane’s face and forearms. “You need to get him out. Get him out now.”

Waves of energy vibrated the machine’s surface, and they could feel its pull dragging them to its center. The structure began to buckle. Bailen was silent now, even as his small, dark form was slowly crushed by the power of the device. Blood started to trickle from his nose and mouth as Rhane completed the transformation and Kalista screamed helplessly.

When Banewolf’s claws touched the globe’s surface, his body was electrified. It was an excruciating, mind-hollowing pain that sought to blacken his vision. Rhane shoved aside the agony and pushed through the blindness, demanding everything Banewolf was and could be.

It started with a crack. Then the fissure succumbed to Banewolf’s power, and the entire globe was ripped in apart, sending a concussive wave through the room that knocked Kalista and Rion from their feet. Tiny fires started, quickly erupting into a bigger and more dangerous threat.

Grabbing Bailen by the scruff, Banewolf pulled him free of the prison. Rion was already on his feet and helping Kalista up. The wolf paused long enough to listen to their escape into the hallway, and then it staggered behind them, carrying an unconscious Bailen to safety.

“We gotta get out of here,” Rion said. “Secondary explosions are going rip this place apart.”

Severe burns covered his body. Rhane felt the damage with every step, especially as his shoulders wedged into either side of the corridor. The space was far too cramped to move as a giant wolf. Laying Bailen at Kalista’s feet, Rhane abandoned the wolf form. He immediately kneeled next to Bailen and poured the remainder of his strength into the canine’s ravaged body, bringing him back from the brink.

Kalista touched Bailen’s blood soaked fur. “Is he going to be okay?”

“He’ll be fine.” Rhane rubbed a thumb across her cheek. “You need guys need to get out of here.”

“Correction. We all need to get out of here,” Rion urged as an explosion boomed in the adjacent chamber, rocking the steel wall to near collapse.

But Rhane shook his head, noticing how wide and beautiful Kalista’s gray eyes had become. “I’ll only slow you down. Take Bailen and get to safety. I’ll follow when I can,” he said.

And then another part of Zone 5 ruptured with a violence far surpassing the primary blast.

Chapter 45

As Kali watched the white wolf carry Bailen’s limp body, she didn’t know who to be more worried about. Banewolf was charred and bloodied.  Not even a fleck of pure white existed on the once gorgeous coat of fur. When Rhane ditched the wolf form and became human again, his forearms shook as he knelt beside their son. The gash in his skin used to heal Bailen continued to gush blood, refusing to mend itself. Gone was the usual brightness of his green eyes. Weariness had dulled them, making Kali very much afraid. But she would not panic. If things were going to be okay, they’d have to make them okay. They had to stick together.

“I’m not leaving you.”

“You need to take our son and get out of here. I’m immortal,” he added when she didn’t budge. “I’ll be fine.”

Kali gently held his hand against her face. “But what if all of you doesn’t survive?”

After the beheading in his homeland, Rhane had lost over four centuries of life, only retaining fragments of memories from the years preceding that. How much would he lose if he died again? Kali couldn’t bear to think of it.

“Kalista…Kalista, go,” he pleaded. “If both of you were to get hurt—don’t force me to make that choice.”

A third explosion shook the foundation beneath their hands and feet. Kali gritted her teeth. “
Damn
it
,
Rhane
.” She watched fire roar toward them like a starving beast. “Lean on me this time,” she whispered and touched her forehead to his.

“Crap-ola,” Rion said as the wall of flame came down.

Closing her eyes, Kali thought of her own fire. Shades of gray and black were already dancing in her mind, ready to do as she commanded. She pictured an interlocking of her flames with the orange madness that blazed all around. When they had intertwined she ordered them back and not to harm those in her circle, but to protect them from the raging monster hungry to taste flesh. When Kali opened her eyes again, an orb had surrounded them.

The sphere itself burned with gray fire, but patterns of orange light streaked across the solid surface, originating from the inferno beyond it. Inside the circle they were safe. Nothing touched them. Even the air remained cool.

Rion and Kali observed the incredible display with varying degrees of awe and delight. Kali glanced at Rhane and those beautiful green eyes held her gaze, refusing to let go. She leaned forward and kissed him, letting the caress of his lips quell the ache stirring deep inside her. Fingers entwined her hair, and he pulled her closer as his tongue moved against hers. A rush of heat flooded into her belly, and Kali fell deeper as his spark called to her. But she dared not drink. Rhane was far too weak. 

Lost in his touch, Kali didn’t come up for air until Rion’s voice shattered the spell. “Bailen’s coming around. But you guys can totally keep going if you don’t mind both of us watching.”

Her smile broke the kiss, and Rhane laughed. “Sorry.”

Rion hadn’t been kidding. Bailen still lay on his side, but his tail wagged slowly when Kali’s eyes found him. She and Rhane went to him. “Hi, Bailen,” she said, placing a hand on his furry hide. Rhane rested his atop hers, interlacing their fingers. Bailen’s heartbeat surged excitedly, growing stronger beneath her palm. In that moment, trapped inside a tiny bubble, and overwhelmed with too many emotions to catalogue, Kali felt more at home than ever before.

As if sensing her state, Rhane squeezed her shoulder lightly. Then he leaned in close to Bailen’s ear. “You scared the shit out of us,” he whispered.

“Me too,” Rion chimed in. “I almost had a heart attack.” He pointed at the still burning shield. “Can we get out of here now?”

Kali looked questioningly at Rhane. He nodded. “It’s safe. At least in here. Outside is another story.”

She commanded the flames to leave, and they obeyed in an instant. While the dust settled, they discovered that their escape was blocked. Chunks of concrete, pieces of rebar, and fire-ravaged steel littered a path in both directions, reaching a complete blockage where the upper level had caved in.

“We could climb,” Rion suggested but sounded uncertain.

“Bailen remains too weak.” Shoving to his feet, Rhane picked his way over the debris until he reached the opposite wall. Without a word of warning, he slammed his fist into the concrete. Fractures splintered from the crater that formed in the center and split into even deep fissures with the next punch. Releasing a guttural shout that would have made William Wallace proud, Rhane pummeled the damaged wall with his foot. Fresh air rushed in, along with the moonlit night…and also the pandemonium that awaited outside.

True to Orrin’s warning, more hired guns had arrived. But the small army was ill-equipped to deal with the supernatural forces who opposed them. Two vehicles were flipped upside down. Gabriel—in full beast mode—was currently in the process of overturning a third. York and Orrin barreled straight through a line of soldiers, shrugging off any bullet that touched them, knocking over the men like toy soldiers. War and Matthias had strategized to work together. One corralled while the other picked off stragglers.

At least one poor soul dangled helplessly from a tree.

But something had shifted in the atmosphere. Before Kali saw anything, she sensed the otherworldly presence lurking within the forest, electrifying the air. Fine hairs lifted all along her forearms as the power grew nearer.

Rion stepped through the improvised doorway carrying Bailen in his arms. From his expression, Kali knew he felt it too. He looked back at Rhane who leaned against the side of the building, looking worse for wear. His face was grim. His eyes had already turned black as Banewolf reemerged for the second time that night.

Two hues of light radiated beyond the tree line. A purple fog was spreading slowly toward the ongoing battle and, converging on a parallel course, a mist of blue descended at a much faster rate. As Gabriel and Rhane ran to intercept the creatures, the blue haze took on a different shape that was all too familiar.

“Builders,” Kali whispered.

The white wolf and the black demon reached the entity at the same time. Shifting forms, the Builder of blue light attacked first. Eight giant pincers sprouted from the light and surged in all directions as undulating waves of unpredictable trajectories. When one of the claws struck Gabriel, thunder let loose in the clearing as if lightning had struck. The Builder’s energy flowed through the fallen Prime’s body as a visible charge. Gabriel writhed with the pain it must have caused him, but he did not cry out.

Looking back at Bailen, still helpless in Rion’s arms, Kali was briefly torn. She finally met Rion’s eyes. “Keep him safe,” she said and ran to join the fight.

She had traveled less than ten yards when Banewolf seized the opening he waited for. Launching its great hide between flailing appendages, the wolf latched onto the center axis with both claw and teeth. In the same instant, Gabriel broke free—ripping the arm that imprisoned him from the trunk-like body—and battled back the claws seeking to grab Banewolf. Seeing the amount of damage Gabriel endured as he sacrificed his body to shield the attacks and the struggle of even a creature as powerful as Banewolf, Kali’s priorities shifted.

Having won the battle with Global Cures, the other kin raced to assist their warlord. Kali raised a wall of flames to cut off their charge, encircling them in flames. Of course Orrin would break through. So she raised a second wall, higher and thicker, forcing him to turn back. But Kali could barely maintain control over both formations.

“Orrin!” she shouted. “Just stay there!”

Behind them, the tide was finally turning. Banewolf and Gabriel held opposite sides of the Builder’s body and pulled with all their might. At first nothing seemed to happen. Then a high pitched shriek reverberated in the night sky. The blue light shifted spasmodically, unable to sustain its shape, as the shrieking rang louder and harsher.

Until the Builder was ripped apart, and the air shattered with one final deafening howl. Then everything stopped.

Gabriel and Rhane stood holding opposite halves of their kill. They spat them out, and the fragmented parts disintegrated. The two turned to the remaining Builder in silent challenge, but the purple mist receded into the forest.

Kali banished the flames. When she and the kin moved forward to receive their warlord, Banewolf let loose a raging snarl and lunged. Straight at Matthias.

Yelping as Banewolf’s teeth sliced into his withers, Matthias flailed in a useless attempt to escape. Shock held Kali frozen. The others must have been numbed as well for it was Gabriel who came to the young kindred’s rescue. He threw himself into Rhane’s flank, knocking the wolf off balance and Matthias free from its jaws. Banewolf turned on Gabriel in a flash, and the former Prime narrowly avoided a vengeful swipe of its claws. Gabriel roared, recovering into a stance that was prepared to fight. Returning the challenge, Banewolf leapt for his throat.

Finding her voice, Kali screamed Rhane’s name. Wrenched out of attack mode, the wolf jerked to a halt. Murder slowly faded from its eyes as Rhane regained control.

Once everyone was human again, York was the first to speak. He looked first at Matthias clutching his ruined shoulder and back at Rhane. “What the hell was that?” he said.

Rhane shook his head. He was kneeling on the ground exactly where he’d stopped with blood dripping from his nose profusely. Kali ran to him and whispered his name, making it a question.

York wasn’t feeling as gentle. “Rhane, talk to me,” he demanded in a worried tone.

Rhane took a breath and finally looked up. His guilt stricken eyes were only for Matthias. “I lost control. God I’m so sorry, Matthias. I promise it will never happen again.”

Pale and wide-eyed, the kindred nodded. Apology accepted.

Beneath Kali’s hands, Rhane’s muscles were still rigid. He started to push himself to his feet but faltered, so she leaned into him, offering her shoulder. When he didn’t refuse the help Kali darted a glance at York.

Yes, she hoped her eyes said.
There is more to this, but not now.

Mercifully, York nodded and held his tongue.