Run To Earth (Power of Four) (50 page)

Rose shrugged. “What can I say? I like having you around.”

Kyran tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowed a little. “Why’s that exactly?”

Rose stilled as her heart skipped a beat. She shrugged again, trying to act nonchalant. “You’re teaching Aaron,” she said. “He needs his tutor.”

Kyran raised his eyebrows, surprised at her answer. “Really?” he asked. “Nothing else?”

Rose took a step closer. “Well, we are living in your house,” she said. “It’d be awful to be there but not have you around.”

Kyran smiled. “And?”

Rose stepped closer. “And watching you fight it out with Skyler is my only source of entertainment. I’d be so bored otherwise.”

Kyran chuckled. “And?” he asked.

Rose stepped forward, standing right next to his wheel. “And you get me chocolates when I need them.” She grinned as Kyran dropped his head, clearly fighting back a laugh. When he looked up at her, his eyes smouldered, making Rose’s breath catch in her chest.

“And?” His voice was deeper.

Rose took in a breath and moved closer still. “And the thought of not seeing you again...” She faltered. “It hurts in a way that I can’t explain.”

Kyran held her gaze, smiling in silent triumph, as if he’d finally got the answer he was waiting for. “You remember what you said?” Kyran asked. “About wanting to choose a simple romance?”

Rose nodded. “I do.”

Kyran straightened up. “Before you make that choice, keep in mind that, for some of us, simple romances aren’t possible.” He tu
gged up the sleeve of his coat and held out his right hand. “Epic love is the only kind we can offer.”

Rose stared at him, locked in his intense gaze. She took a last step, standing as close to him as she could. “Well,” she said quietly, wrapping the thread around his wrist, knotting it securely. “I guess I’ll just have to settle for epic then.” She smiled and leant closer, whispering, “’Cause you’re the one I choose, Kyran.” She closed the small gap between them just as Kyran tilted his head up so their lips met in a kiss.

Rose didn’t care about the crowd around her. Nor was she aware of the stares. All Rose could focus on at that precise moment was Kyran and Kyran alone. His lips on hers, one of his hands on the back of her neck, gently pulling her closer. The feeling of being so close to him held a comforting familiarity, as if she had always belonged in his arms, locked in his kiss.

A slow cheer was starting around her, but Rose was still blissfully unaware. It was only when a round of clapping started that Rose pulled away. The surrounding Hunters were whistling as they applauded, grinning at her and Kyran. Amongst them, staring at her with wide eyes, were Sam and Aaron. Rose bit her lip to stop herself from smiling and just shrugged at them.

“Finally!” Ella rolled her eyes. “I was beginning to get worried about you two.”

Rose laughed and looked back at Kyran who was grinning too, running a hand through his hair.

Standing amongst the crowd was a silent Drake. His gaze was on Kyran, watching as he pulled Rose close once more, this time to whisper something to her. Rose headed through the cheering crowd, making her way towards the Stove with her head lowered, but a beaming smile on her face.

“I know what you said,” Patrick said, appearing at Drake’s side. “But I still can’t believe it.”

Without looking over at him, Drake asked, “Would I have a reason to lie?”

“I’m not saying you’re lying,” Patrick said. “It’s just...he looks too much like Alex for it just to be a coincidence.”

Drake turned to face Patrick. “Some things are strange but that doesn’t mean they’re not true,” he said. He looked back over at Kyran, watching as the boy tried to ignore the teasing crowd. “Kyran may look like him, but he’s got nothing to do with Alex.”

Drake watched as Kyran swung a leg off the bike, sitting on it with both legs to one side, before beckoning Aaron to come closer. As soon as Aaron got near him, Kyran reached for the leather bands crossed at Aaron’s torso. He began adjusting them, all the while giving the younger boy his green-eyed glare.

Patrick smiled at the sight. “Seeing the two of them together like that, who do they remind you of?” he asked with a small chuckle. “It’s like having Chris and Alex back again, only this time, the roles are revers–”

“Don’t you have a zone to secure?” Drake snarled, turning to glare at him.

Patrick was momentarily thrown, before his eyes widened in realisation. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You were close with Chris and Alex, I–”

“You should go,” Drake dismissed with a glower.

Patrick closed his mouth, giving Drake a look filled with sympathy before leaving. Drake watched him go with angry eyes before his gaze settled back on Kyran and Aaron. He watched them for another minute before turning and walking away, with curled fists and a clenched jaw.

31

Self-Righteous Suicide

The blinding brightness only lasted for a few seconds before Aaron walked out of the portal and straight onto a dusty, dry road. The heat was the first thing he registered, and it sweltered down on him. The hot breeze choked him, with speckles of dirt stinging his eyes. Aaron rubbed at them, blinking and squinting against the glare of the sun.

“
Aaron? You there
?”

He reached up to hold the circle pendant Scott had given him. “Yeah, Scott. I’m here,” he replied.

It had taken two hours for the Hunters to corner and lure the Lycans into the designated area where the Q-Zone was set up. Dark clouds had gathered in Salvador’s skies, with thunder clapping ominously overhead the moment the Q-Zone opened. Scott had given Aaron the go ahead, and Aaron left immediately to use the portal set up in the forest outside Salvador’s Gate.

Aaron spotted Skyler and Ella at the top of the hill. Both were squatting, studying something on the ground. Aaron quickly began climbing his way up.

“Ah, Adams,” Skyler drawled, throwing him a sideways glance when he reached the top. “About time.”

There was a rip in one of the sleeves of Skyler’s coat, the ivory material stained crimson from a bleeding cut. Ella looked physically unhurt, but Aaron could see her exhaustion. Aaron stepped closer to where both were crouched. All he found was a long, rectangular stump protruding from the ground. Moving closer, Aaron spotted a small cloth bag resting next to it. Ella was taking out thin glass vials from it and setting them on the ground.

“Come on,” Ella said, getting to her feet. “The sooner we have the Gate set up, the sooner we can get back to hunting.”

Standing at the top of the hill, Aaron could clearly see the square bubble of the Q-Zone in the valley below. Its transparent walls showed the Hunters inside, engrossed in a fierce battle. That meant the Q-Zone was still open, it hadn’t been locked yet.

Aaron could see the silver flashes of blades as they glinted in the sunlight. He couldn’t hear the shots, as the Q-Zone muted all sound, but he could see the guns in many Hunters’ hands.

The sight of the Lycans, however, momentarily wiped everything else from Aaron’s mind. When he’d first heard about Lycans, he had imagined wolf-type creatures, maybe a little bigger than the average wolf. Seeing them now, Aaron realised how badly he had underestimated them. They were big, fearsome beasts, the dark fur on their back so thick it sat like a coat. The Lycans weren’t on all fours like Aaron had imagined, but standing on two legs, towering a good eight foot high
at least. Even from a distance, Aaron could see the sinewy muscles of their legs and arms tensing as they leapt at the Hunters with their fangs bared and claws ready.

“Sometime today, Adams,” Skyler called from behind.

Aaron came to stand between Ella and Skyler. Ella held out her hands over the top of the jagged rock stump. Skyler did the same. Following their example, Aaron held out his hands too, palms facing down. Not a single world was spoken. Skyler and Ella closed their eyes. Half a minute ticked by and nothing happened. Then, a gradual tingle started in Aaron’s fingers, the sensation running from the tips all the way up to his hand and wrist.

There was a moment of complete silence before a tremendous outburst of power erupted from the stump: a gush of brilliant white fluid rose up, shaking the ground as it came from deep within the earth’s core. Aaron lost his footing and fell, but still watched the liquid wall as it continued to rise upwards, aiming to touch the sky. Ella bent low and picked up half a dozen vials; Skyler picked up the rest. Methodically, they uncapped each small glass bottle and spilt the crimson contents onto the wall. The red droplets spotted against the white canvas for no more than ten seconds before disappearing. The wall continued to swallow every vial Ella and Skyler poured onto it. After the last one, Skyler and Ella pushed up their sleeves and held out both hands. That’s when they noticed Aaron wasn’t standing next to them. Ella looked around before spotting Aaron sitting on the ground, gaping at them.

“What are you doing?” she snapped.

“No time to sit around, Adams,” Skyler said dryly.

Aaron snapped out of his shock and quickly got to his feet, hurrying forward.

“Just hold your hands against the Gate,” Ella instructed.

Aaron did as she asked, so all three of them were standing with their hands up, palms almost touching the wall.

“On the count of three,” Ella said, “push your hands onto the Gate.”

At Ella’s countdown, Aaron prepared himself. He had no idea what was going to happen when he touched the Gate and the uncertainty was making his heart hammer at his insides. A trickle of sweat ran from his temple down the side of his face. At Ella’s prompt, he took in a breath and pushed both hands onto the white wall.

Aaron was expecting the Gate to feel somewhat solid, as it was standing free, but his fingers met a cold pool of water instead. Six sets of ripples spread across the surface as the three Elementals touched the Gate at the same time. Aaron felt his fingers tingle again. Deep in his belly, he felt a strange pulling sensation. His heart began beating even faster. His hands felt cold but the rest of his body started to heat up, until it was uncomfortably hot. Sweat trickled from his brow into his eyes but Aaron blinked it away. He glanced to either side to see the perspiration on Skyler and Ella as well.

Aaron looked to his hands in time to see thin white lines appear under the skin of his exposed arms. Frozen in shock, Aaron watched as the white lines ran down both his arms, branching off into multiple little lines, like pale nerves. They ran to his wrists and across his hands, reaching all the way up to his nails. Ten glowing white lines snaked out and onto the surface of the Gate. The same was happening to Skyler and Ella. The Gate shimmered as the thirty lines swam all the way up the length of the wall. A moment later, the entire Gate lit up, its glow so bright that Aaron had to squeeze his eyes shut and turn his head away. The glow faded, and the surface under Aaron’s hands solidified.

Opening his eyes, Aaron saw the Gate, just as tall and magnificent as the one guarding the entrance to Salvador. Aaron didn’t pull his hands away, not until Ella and Skyler dropped theirs first. Aaron felt a little nauseous; his stomach quivered and his hands wouldn’t stop shaking. He could see Skyler and Ella were the same. They looked paler, their hands trembling as they reached for their guns and swords, pulling them out. Ella’s sharp grey eyes met Aaron’s and she smiled tightly at him.

“Stay here,” she instructed, before reaching up to her pendant. “It’s done; the Gate’s up.” She turned to look at the Q-Zone. “Drop the veil.”

Before Aaron’s eyes, the transparent walls of the Q-Zone clouded, until nothing was visible inside. The Q-Zone was now locked.

Aaron had to watch from the top of the hill as Skyler and Ella raced back to the Q-Zone and leapt inside using the one and only open wall. It was increasingly unnerving to sit by himself, watching the clouded bubble, unable to see what was going in inside. The only source of knowledge he had was Scott’s voice, giving out instructions to the Hunters. When it came to Scott’s explicit commands for him, though, Aaron disregarded him.

“
Aaron, get back to the portal.
”

“I told you, Scott, no,” Aaron replied tiredly. “Not until the hunt’s over.”

“
Just stay next to the portal, then,
” Scott’s voice pounded inside Aaron’s head. “
Out of the way. I don’t want you anywhere near the Q-Zone. You understand
?”

“Yeah,” Aaron replied. “Don’t worry. I’ve seen the Lycans. I don’t wanna be anywhere near them.”

Aaron kept a note of the time, of how much longer the Hunters had in the Q-Zone before it collapsed. When they only had ten minutes left, unlike with the previous Q-Zones, Scott didn’t tell any of the Hunters to move out. Instead, they guarded the one and only unlocked wall, preventing the Lycans from escaping.

“
Seven minutes to go!
” Scott informed them. “
Start inching towards the exit. Keep it tight, keep the Lycans back. Step out when I give the command.
”

Aaron paced on shaky legs, unable to sit still. His gaze was locked on the Q-Zone bubble, waiting impatiently for the Hunters to step out. The very idea of all of the Hunters being inside the Q-Zone when it came so close to collapsing was panicking him. He told himself things had been worse. He himself had been inside the Q-Zone when there were only ninety seconds left. Compared to that, the Hunters had plenty of time to get out.

“
Five minutes!
” Scott called.

The fog clouding the walls of the Q-Zone suddenly lifted, halting Aaron in his steps. He stared at the transparent bubble with wide eyes. He could see the line of Hunters against one wall, with the wounded, bloodstained Lycans before them. The criss-crossing bars that usually locked the three walls of the Q-Zone were slowly receding upwards.

Aaron grabbed his pendant. “What are you
doing,
Scott?” he cried.

“
I’m not doing anything!
” Scott’s panicked voice returned. “
What’s–? How is this–? I don’t understand!
”

Aaron watched as the bars almost reached the top, before suddenly stopping. They slammed down again, locking the three walls of the Q-Zone.

“Oh thank God,” Aaron breathed.

The grey bars were back but the veil that usually covered the Q-Zone was still missing, allowing Aaron to see everything that was happening. The Lycans were ferociously trying to attack the Hunters, who were guarding the one and only exit.

Skyler was pushing the Lycans back, using his power to throw the beasts against the walls and hold them there. But somehow the Lycans were fighting back, managing to claw, rip and tear their way closer to the line of Hunters. Bullets, blades, powers – everything was being thrown at the Lycans but they were still getting closer to the exit by the second.

Two Lycans, their fur stained with blood and daggers still embedded in their legs, managed to get past the rain of bullets and jolts of power. They went straight for Ryan and Sarah, sinking their fangs into both Hunters. In a heartbeat, Aaron was racing down the hill towards the Q-Zone. He was almost there when the two Lycans leapt past the wall, successfully escaping the Q-Zone and leaving Ryan and Sarah’s convulsing bodies behind them.

Aaron came to a stop, wide eyes fixed on the pair of bloodstained beasts as they licked their jowls and stared at him with slitted yellow eyes. Snarling at him, they went down on all fours, tensing their muscles and getting ready to pounce. Aaron gathered up as much of his concentration as he could, fighting back the crippling fear that was trying to overwhelm him. He cupped both hands and held them ready. The Lycans let out twin growls and came at him, fangs and claws bared. Aaron threw out his hands and the ground under him shook before cracking. Two simultaneous ripples tore across the ground and caught the Lycans, hitting them with enough force to throw them back into the Q-Zone. Through the clear wall, Aaron saw Skyler and Julian empty their guns into the beasts before they could get up. Skyler looked around at Aaron with just a hint of a smile crossing his lips. He nodded at Aaron in silent praise and turned, focusing on the rest of the Lycans.

Without hesitation, Aaron ran into the Q-Zone, coming to Ryan and Sarah’s side as they lay bleeding, writhing on the ground. The Lycans closed in, dodging the bullets and blades. Aaron stood up and threw out his hands again – but this time the ripple didn’t work. The ground shook, small cracks formed, but no mighty jolt of power threw back the crowd of beasts. He saw Ella and Skyler sending their own powers at the Lycans but they didn’t amount to much either.

Aaron didn’t have the time to wonder what was happening, why their powers were failing. All he could focus on were the snarling beasts, trying to get near enough to rip them apart. Seeing the Lycans this close made Aaron’s knees weak with fear. Their hideous faces were distinctly dog-like. They had overbearing foreheads, and yellow eyes with slitted black pupils. They had snouts and their wide lips pulled back to show sharp fangs.

Before Aaron could take out his guns, Kyran and Zhi-Jiya reached him. Kyran pushed Aaron back, towards the exit.

“Out, Ace!” he instructed before leaning down and picking Sarah up in his arms.

Despite Kyran’s command, Aaron hurried forward to help Zhi-Jiya pull Ryan to his feet.

“
I’ve lost control of the zone!
” Scott’s voice, twisted by panic, was barely recognisable as it echoed in Aaron’s head. “
I can’t get the locks to stay in place!
” There was a moment’s pause before he cried, “
Get out. Everyone get out! Abort the hunt!
”

“No!” Ella yelled. “Not when we’re
this
close!”

She aimed her hands at the walls. A thick block of ice, almost as tall as the walls themselves, encased the three walls. There was no way anyone was getting through that. But as soon as she lowered her hands, the ice melted and disappeared.

“What?” Ella gasped. “
What’s
going on?” she shrieked.