Fighting for Infinity (29 page)

Dedric
k’s rage ignited. “Give me the starstone or I’ll start this massacre with her!” Evelyn’s eyelids were barely open as she lay at his feet, bound and gagged. He lifted her head by her hair.

“Don’t touch her!” I snapped. This time my anger was genuine. River thrashed and grunted even harder.

“Would you like to do the honors?” Dedrick asked his flame thrower. Before I could utter another word, she splayed her fingers and shot fire at Evelyn’s feet. Smoke rose, and the smell of burnt flesh choked me as I screamed. “Stop! I’ll give it to you!”

Dedrick waved his hand, and the flames ceased. “Wise girl, but you’ve taken m
ore from me than just the stone. I want Rina back.”

“No,” I growled.

“Ahh. Such a protective tone. You know who she is, don’t you? You know she was yours and I took her from you, just as I will take her from you again.” He motioned at the flame thrower. This time, Evelyn’s face was burned as she thrashed and screamed through the rag gagging her.

“Okay! Stop!” I yelled. We never meant for Evelyn to be tortured. We knew he’d hurt her, but we didn’t
think he’d burn her to death. “I’ll give you the ring and Rina. Just promise not to hurt her.”

“I have never hurt Rina.” He placed his hands over his chest. “She’s like my own daughter.”

My blood boiled at the thought, but this is what we counted on. Dedrick would never give up his prized possession.

“Unparalyze Rina,” Dedrick commanded.

Rina threw her arms around me, but I couldn’t hug her back. I was still paralyzed from the neck down.

“I’m so sorry,” I told her, loud enough for Dedrick to hear.

“Rina,” Dedrick snarled. “Come to me now before Mommy Evelyn suffers to the point of death. And don’t forget the ring.” 

“Remember,” she whispered to me, “The shield then the paralyzer. After that, you’ll have all the help you need.”

She pulled away and slipped the ring from my stiff thumb. She stared into my eyes. My daughter. My friend. The glue to my strings. She was my rock, or more accurately, my
stone
.

Rina’s soul was the part of Meru I brought back with me.
She
was the starstone.

She squeezed my hand three times—our secret signal.

“You’re ready,” she whispered. “I believe in you. I always have.”

“Rina!” Dedrick shouted. “I won’t ask again.”

“Jupiter adsit.” Her hand slipped out of mine. She took two steps backward. The first step shattered my heart, the second my soul.

I bowed my head so no one would see my teary eyes.

But also because that’s the only way the plan would work.

FOILED

Nathaniel

I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even turn my head to look at them. I was trying so hard to part my lips so I could tell them no. Rina couldn’t go to him.

How could Maryah give her up so easily?

I tried keeping a tight grip on Rina’s tiny hand, but she slipped free.

No, don’t go to him!

I tried traversing over and over as I desperately fought to do or say something, anything, but I failed.

We swore we would protect her, and now we were giving her back to the devil.

Rina took off Maryah’s ring.

I stopped internally screaming in time to hear Rina whisper, “I believe in you. I always have.”

Was this part of their plan?

Rina stepped away from us then turned and faced Dedrick.

She inched forward as if her feet were arguing with her head. I couldn’t peel my eyes away from her as she walked away from us.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to traverse to him and rip out his throat with my bare hands. I tried again and again, but every time my energy hit a brick wall.

In my peripheral vision, Maryah stood to the side of me. Only an arm's length separated us, an empty space where just moments ago, Rina stood grasping both of our hands.

Rina paused at the energy barrier. Her legs visibly shook. She stepped into the wall of light, crossing from family and safety into monsters and peril. 

The man who was acting as Dedrick’s shield stepped forward. His hand glowed silver as he reached through the Nefariouns’ protective force field. He offered Rina his hand, but she had her head bowed.

He grabbed her by the hair then yanked her inside.

A part of my soul was yanked away with her.

ONE INFINITE SOURCE

Maryah

Rina’s skinny legs shook with every step forward. Whether it was fear or adrenaline that made her shake, I wasn’t sure, but her legs carried her body to the shield protecting Dedrick and his goons.

Rina had suffered so much. I had to keep her safe. She trusted me. She believed in me. She had put her life in my hands, literally, and I wouldn’t fail her. I had failed enough in the past. It was time for me to be the brave and powerful soul I had once been.

I had never felt a heart hammer so fast and loud.

I took a deep breath. This had to work.

Someone yanked me through the
protective barrier. It was Thomas.

We were in.

I raised Rina’s gaze enough to see the shield’s snakelike glare—and his moment of panic when he realized it wasn’t Rina’s soul looking up at him.

It was mine.

Rina’s words rang through my mind again.
Shatter the glass
.

In a flash, I reached into Rina’s boot, grabbed the dagger, and drove it into Thomas’s heart before he could yell to Dedrick.

“I’m sorry,” I said to him. “I hope you return much less evil.”

It was just as Rina said it would be. I felt each of the kindrily member’s powers as if they were strings connected to my soul. I yanked on Anthony’s first, but it was just as difficult as before. I couldn’t stop time, but I slowed it down.

Time stretched out to infinity, slowing everything and everyone. Rina was right; it gave me an advantage. Dedrick’s head was still turning. His hand, in slow motion, was still reaching for the gun at his belt.

Tugging at the thread connecting me to Carson, I used his speed and strength as my own. I moved like a bullet through water. No one would be able to anticipate my next move, forget about trying to catch me.

One shield down. One paralyzer to go.

I blurred past Dedrick to the paralyzer while grabbing the gun from my other boot. I aimed it at the side of his head. Rina’s arms were stronger and steadier than I expected. I had complete control over her body as if it were my own.

I shot him in the temple, wincing at the guilt of ending a life. But the guilt vanished when I felt my kindrily unfreeze.

Dedrick still stared, mouth agape, at the empty space where I—in Rina’s body—had just killed his shield.

It won’t be easy
, Rina had said while training me.
You haven’t had enough practice to build up your endurance. Using one ability will make you tired. More than one will drain you fast.

My core shook as my soul struggled to maintain use of Carson’s and Anthony’s powers. Like a fatigued muscle snapping from exertion, my hold on time snapped away from me.

Everyone, the kindrily and the Nefariouns, sprang into action.

All the Nefariouns swarmed Dedrick, circling him like a defensive barrier.

Amber cawed, and black birds dove out of the elemental walls, attacking only Nefariouns. Hands flailed every which way, trying to defend against scratching claws, pecking beaks, and flapping wings.

A flood of voices bombarded my mind. I pressed my hands to my ears, trying to disconnect myself from Gregory’s ability.

Nathan appeared in front of me, throwing his arms around my torso as I felt heat engulf me. We traversed and reappeared to the side of the flame-throwing woman. Nathan threw a knife into her back without ever removing his other arm from my waist. He traversed twice more, pulling a knife or dagger from a holster each time, throwing with deadly accuracy.

I couldn’t tune out the rumble of voices, but no matter how loud the noise was in my head, I had to stay focused on the battle.

Nathan disappeared without me. I saw him reappear by my body, shouting something. Rina took off running. I prayed my legs were fast enough to carry her to safety.

People scrambled all around us. Faith and Shiloh fought three of the Nefariouns surrounding Dedrick. They punched, kicked, and leapt through the air like ninjas. Shiloh swung nunchucks across the side of a Nefarioun’s head, and blood went flying through the air.

A bald Nefarioun dashed out from behind some trees, running straight for Harmony, but she was clotheslining the redhead and wouldn’t see him coming. I aimed my gun and fired, missing the first shot, but hitting him in the ribs on my second. He fell to the ground, grabbing Harmony’s ankle on his way down, but she mule-kicked him in the face and ended whatever plan he had.

Carson was nothing but a white blur, leaving crumpled and broken bodies in his wake.

Even Louise and Helen had a gun in each hand, aimed and waiting, ready to fire at anyone who attempted to attack them or one of our kindrily.

I focused on my energy net and found the string connecting me to Mikey. It took immense concentration, but I visualized his energy spreading through me and into every connecting string.

The Nefariouns paused. Heads whipped in every direction as I made our entire kindrily invisible.

Something that looked like small saw blades sailed through the air and into the throats of the two gorilla-sized Nefariouns flanking Dedrick. They both crumpled to the ground, one almost falling on top of Dedrick in the process.

I could see Dylan’s aura directly in front of Dedrick. I sorted through the remaining thoughts and voices, which had thankfully decreased as Nefariouns were taken down.

Dylan’s power of persuasion came in crystal clear.
You will stop fighting. You will command any other hidden Nefariouns to surrender, and then you will release them from your spells. You will put your hands behind your head and kneel before us.

I took a much-needed breath as Dedrick’s eyes glossed over. He slowly put his hands behind his head and knelt down. I lifted the invisibility veil. No one remained standing but our kindrily.

My own voice screamed from somewhere behind me. “Krista! Come quickly!”

My body with Rina’s soul occupying it was yards away, crouched over Dakota’s body.

Krista and I bolted across the valley. Krista skidded to a stop on her knees, dropping her ear against Dakota’s chest. “What happened?”

Rina’s soul gazed up at me through my own pained face. A warm shiver rippled through me. I gasped as our souls swapped places again, each returning to its own body.

I was clutching Dakota’s hand. Rina, back in her own body, dropped to his side across from me. “I don’t know. Nathan gave me a gun and told me to hide so I ran and hid behind these rocks. I was watching Dakota until everyone became invisible. When I could see everyone again, Dakota was here on the ground, unconscious.”

Krista’s hands had been furiously scanning his body. She adjusted his head, arched his neck, and started pumping against his chest. “I think he had a heart attack.”

I stared, not believing that Dakota could have a heart attack at such a young age.

“I’ll bring him back,” Krista said before breathing into his mouth. “Don’t worry.”

“Maryah!” Nathan called to me from the middle of the valley where he stood beside River. At their feet, clutching his chest, was Dedrick.

Even from a distance, I could see the pool of evil blood.

RIPPLE EFFECTS

Nathaniel

Rina ran toward Maryah. Or vice versa depending on whether you meant bodies or souls. I rushed toward Dedrick.

Anthony, Gregory, and Carson all braced themselves, preparing to hold me back. But River reached him first.

He plunged a blade of bone into Dedrick’s chest.

I closed in on them, close enough to hear River say, “That was for ruining my life.”

Dedrick clutched River’s wrist, but River stabbed him again. “That was for making people believe I was a psycho murderer like you.”

The third stab sent Dedrick’s eyes rolling back in his head. “And that was for telling me my mother was dead.”

Stunned, I called out for Maryah.

“Whoa,” Carson said, staring down at River and Dedrick. “Didn’t see that coming.”

Dylan could have stopped River with one word, but he didn’t. He watched River approach and attack, and he let it happen. Dedrick’s blood wouldn’t be on the hands of any of our kindrily.

In a way, it was a relief, but also very unsatisfying.

Maryah walked up on the other side of them. Our eyes met, and I could tell her adrenaline was still pumping, but relief had seeped in—relief that Dedrick was taking his last breaths and that we had truly defeated him.

River looked up at me. “Sorry to steal your thunder, guys, but I had to do the honors. He had to be killed by his own blood with a holy bone.”

“His own blood?” Maryah squinted, scanning River from head to toe.

“Apparently, he’s not my uncle. I’m the result of this bastard’s fastest sperm.”

I rubbed my hand over my mouth, shocked, but also sympathizing with the disgust River must have felt at learning he was the child of a monster.

Dedrick still quivered, staring at the sky with dilated pupils, trying to find air in his shredded lungs.

Carson leaned down and flicked the curved blade of bone in Dedrick’s chest. “How’d you know about the bone stipulation?”

“I cast the spell to protect him from aging or dying.” Evelyn’s voice was scratchy as she rubbed her sore, recently freed wrists. “So I knew its stipulations.”

She waved her hand in front of her eyes, erasing her gold slits. The same wise and compassionate soul I had known as Emily gazed down at Dedrick with sad hazel eyes. She knelt at his side.

“Emily?” He watched her as if he was staring at an angel. And in a way, he was. “This whole time it was you?”

She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket. It was neatly folded in a triangle. “I tried so hard, Dedrick.” She dabbed each corner of his mouth, wiping away the blood he was coughing up. Until the very last moment, I tried to talk you out of it.”

“We can be together again.” Dedrick reached for her, almost blindly as if he was losing his vision. He was clinging to the last frayed bits of his wretched existence. “I always knew we would be.”

Evelyn shook her head. “No, Dedrick. Where you’re going, no one can follow.”

The ground beneath us trembled. The center beam of pink light turned into black fog, spiraling so deep into the earth that we couldn’t see the bottom.

Dedr
ick still gasped and struggled, begging for another chance, demanding to be forgiven.

“Rot in hell, old man.”
River rolled his body toward the bottomless black hole and shoved him in. Dedrick’s tortured scream faded as he fell deeper into oblivion.

One tear ran down Emily’s burnt cheek. “Goodbye, Dedrick.”

The black hole closed in on itself, and the light returned to a calming pink.

River embraced Evelyn. I hadn’t seen the mother-son resemblance until that moment, but now it was inarguable. How could River have such an ancient-souled, powerful mother, yet have no ability of his own?

“I thought Dedrick was castrated,” Harmony said.

Evelyn nodded. “He was, but I knew someday I’d need our child to end this path of destruction, so I took the proper precautionary measures.” She stood back and held River’s face. “And I couldn’t be more proud.”

The burning in my lower back pulled me away from the moment of victory.

As my adrenaline rush subsided, an all familiar light-headed feeling took over. I rocked on my heels, swaying as my fingers searched my back, then I dropped to my knees. Maryah rushed to my side.

“Nathan?” She scanned me with panicked eyes. “What’s wrong?”

The world had gone fuzzy, and along with it so did my body and energy. I found my breath and spoke with tingling lips. “I believe I’ve been shot in the back.”

“No!” Maryah rushed behind me, lifting my bulletproof vest. Although I couldn’t see it, I could imagine the shock on her face at the sight of the wound. “Oh god, no. It hit you right beneath your vest.”

She screamed Krista’s name so loud the elemental walls around us shook.