The Healer: First Touch (33 page)

"I want to negotiate with you," I boldly said, raising my chin higher. Even though my voice remained calm, my feelings were anything but calm. On the contrary, my whole body was wired with fear, anxiety and panic. I waited for the Fury's response.

"Negotiate? What possibly could you have to negotiate with?" The Fury chuckled menacingly.

"Myself. I will surrender myself and my powers for the lives of my loved ones, a promise that my grandmother and my Protector can live without me." I bit my lip, waiting for the Fury's response again.
Would it take the deal?

"What are you doing, Jacey?" Oma hissed in my ear. "You will do no such thing."

I held my hand up to silence her, all my attention still on the Fury. I thought I had given the Fury an offer too good to refuse. But as the Fury's mouth curled into a cruel grin, the first pangs of doubt struck me.

"You foolish girl," the Fury snarled, eyes glowing feverishly. "Your powers and your life will be mine whether or not you surrender."

"What?"

"I will not honor your requests. I will have your power and you and your Protector will die." The Fury chuckled darkly.

Panic overcame my false bravery and my stomach churned with fear. I hadn't expected this. I fought to swallow back down the bile rising in my throat. If I was going to save Oma, I needed to act. Turning, I pushed her toward the door. "Go! Run! Now!"

She stumbled to the door, reacting from the shove I gave her. "No," she yelled back, trying to maintain her balance.

"Go, Oma! Now!" I screamed as loud as I could. The panic of saving her consumed me. I yelled again. My hands balling up into fists at my sides.

I could hear the Fury's maniacal laughter, escalating into deafening shrieking.

"Go, Oma!" I screamed one last time, covering my ears with my hands to block out the Fury's terrifying shrieks.

Oma tried to scramble over the metal cabinet blocking the doorway leading out of the large room we were trapped in. I watched in helpless horror as Oma's body was lifted easily up into the air by an unseen force and tossed to the side. She landed hard on the cement floor, her frail body bouncing before sliding to a stop a few steps from me.

"Oma!" I tried to run to her, but I was suddenly frozen to the ground. Pain shot up my legs as I tried to move them. I shrieked with terror and pain as I stood, stilled by the Fury's invisible force.

I turned, not of my own volition, to face the Fury. Oma moaned on the ground where she lay obviously injured from her fall. Tears streamed down my face as I tried to plea with the Fury holding me captive.

"Please don't hurt her. Please just let her go. You can have me. Just don't hurt her anymore."

The Fury's bony white hand was stretched out toward me; its fingers spread wide holding me frozen in place. My legs felt as though they were in a tight vise and the more the Fury shook its hand, the harder the vise squeezed, causing sharp, stabbing pains to travel up my legs. I tried to breathe through the pain, tried to remain calm. I bit my lip hard to prevent crying out again as the Fury's grip tightened.

I was suddenly dropped, my legs crumpling beneath me as the Fury's hold on me released. The Fury howled ferociously and I looked up to see Oma's small fists pummeling the Fury's chest as she stood against it. The Fury turned on her and pushed Oma backward with a force so powerful that it shook the entire warehouse. Oma's body flew until the cement wall on the far side of the warehouse stopped her with a sickening thud. I watched Oma's head and torso smack the cement wall, the sound echoing through the open room off the other walls and cement floor.

"Oma!" I screamed in horror as my grandmother lay motionless on the floor of the warehouse.

I stood up slowly, turning to face my tormentor. "You have me," I sobbed, tears dampening my cheeks as they fell. "There is no Protector here. You can have me. Just leave her alone." My chest heaved up and down with my hysterical sobs.

The Fury laughed, evil glaring eyes staring at me. "But we are having such fun, young Healer. Did you really think you and your frail caretaker could stop me from getting what I desire?" The Fury snarled through each word.

"No," I said quietly, still crying. "I just wanted my grandmother and my Protector unharmed." I wiped at my tears escaping down my cheeks. But more replaced the ones wiped away.

"Very well, Healer," the Fury snarled, their lips curling exposing the yellowed teeth again. "I'll take your healing powers and your life now." It spoke as if it were doing me a favor.

The Fury lifted a white hand, palm side up toward me. Then the creature turned its hand over and started to shake. The Fury shrieked loudly, so loudly it hurt my ears.

I felt like I was choking, and I coughed uncontrollably. The Fury shrieked louder and the choking sensation worsened. Something was closing around my throat and squeezing.

I coughed more, my face reddening with my effort. In a pointless attempt to breathe, I pulled at my own throat, desperately trying to free whatever was binding my neck. But there was nothing there to grab. The Fury was using its power to choke me without even touching me. I was suffocating just like in my dreams so many nights before, but this time it was real.

I tried to breathe, but found little air as the Fury tightened the force gripping my throat. I vaguely heard the dark laughter of the Fury. "This is too easy. Your healing powers are almost mine."

Gasping and gagging, I continued grasping at my neck. I started becoming dizzy, my vision darkening around my peripherals. My eyes rolled back and I felt myself falling as my legs buckled beneath me. All I could hear was the Fury's shrieking, loud and hideous in my ears.

As my world darkened around me, I pictured the faces of my loved ones. Oma, Jamie, Emma. Last, I pictured Varick. I tried to say Varick's name out loud, but had no breath.
Why did I think I could do this alone?
I needed Varick and wished I would have asked his help to save Oma. I realized in the end, I wouldn't be saving anyone. Not me. Not Oma. Not Varick. We were all going to die.

I snapped back to the present when the choking sensation lessened. My lungs burned again, but this time it was in response to the flow of oxygen through them. Gagging and coughing, I doubled over into a ball on the floor. I heard the Fury howling and shrieking. I expected the choking sensation to return, but it didn't. I could breathe.

I looked up to see a pair of denim-covered legs standing in front of me. Black unlaced boots connected to the legs. My mind still felt fuzzy from oxygen deprivation at the hands of the Fury, but I heard the Fury shriek, "No!"

I tried to stand up, but was shoved back to the floor. "Stay down," a familiar voice commanded. But the harshness of the command couldn't mask the smooth richness I knew belonged to Varick.

I closed my eyes and covered my head as I listened to the furious howling of the Fury. "No! She's mine! I had her!" The entire building shook with the Fury's wrath.

"Sotowt miae bidowy bidtop kitout," Varick said firmly to the Fury. Whatever he said infuriated the Fury and they screamed louder. "No, she is mine," Varick said softly.

The Fury snarled and paced angrily in front of us.

"You got that fire started?" Varick yelled out.
Who is he yelling to?
My hands still covered my head.

"Yeah, all set," came the answer. My head snapped up and I searched for Jamie. Are
Jamie and Varick working together?

"I've got Jacey. You get Oma," Varick ordered. Varick's attention was still on the Fury. His tattooed arm was held straight in front of him his palm facing the Fury. It was as if that hand created a shield around us. Varick's other arm was almost touching me as he held his palm out toward me. I looked up at the Fury. It had morphed into a shrouded, faceless creature. It was obviously furious, planning its attack as it floated just on the other side of Varick's protective shield.

"I can do this all night," Varick goaded the creature. His statement was met with another deafening roar of protest. I flinched at the painful and frightening sound.

I searched for Jamie and saw that he was knelt next to Oma, assisting her.

"Oma," I whimpered. She wasn't moving, and I saw Jamie gently picking her up to carry her. Tears stung my eyes as I started crying again. "Oma."

Varick was still holding off the Fury, his body rigid. I glanced at his face. He stared intently at the Fury. Only the muscles of his jaw moved as he flexed them in concentration. The Fury was enraged. I could see the sinister creature trying to penetrate Varick's shield with its powers. But the shield held and I remained protected within it.

Jamie ran closer to us with Oma in his arms, and I could see that Oma was holding onto Jamie's shirt, her head resting against his chest. At least she was alive. A wave of relief washed over me at the sight of Oma holding onto Jamie.

"How's that fire going?" Varick said to Jamie. His voice was urgent.

"It's going," Jamie yelled back. "I can see the flames now."

I looked at the door leading to the hallway and out of this prison. Orange flames licked at the door jam and black smoke floated around the door and over the metal cabinet into the room we were in. The pungent odor of burning leaves, debris, and gasoline hit my nose.

"Get Oma out of here."

"What about Jacey?" Jamie yelled above the Fury's screams of protest.

"You go with Oma. We'll be right behind you."

"And you're sure the fire will stop the Fury?"

"If it's hot enough, it will."

I watched in astonishment as Varick moved the heavy cabinet with some invisible force of his hand with his other hand still extended toward the Fury.

Jamie and Oma disappeared through the cleared doorway.

"Time to go," Varick said. He concentrated on the Fury while reaching down and giving me the same hand he had used to move the cabinet. I stared at it in wonder.

"Jacey! Now!"

I blinked as Varick yelled at me. Then I grabbed his hand and he pulled me to my feet. He pushed me toward the open doorway and the hot flames, away from the Fury.

As we neared the doorway, the Fury's howls intensified and the walls of the warehouse shook again. I stopped just before the doorway. The smoke was much thicker now. I coughed violently as the black cloud suffocated me. I could feel the scorching heat through the doorway; it burned at my face even though I could not see the flames. "Varick," I whimpered, trying to shield my face. His arm circled around my waist as he stood behind me, his tattooed arm still holding off the Fury.

"I'm right here. I've got you." With his arm around me and his body shielding me from the Fury, he pushed us through the black smoke and through the scorching flames.

I closed my eyes and held my breath, relying totally on Varick as we struggled through the fire. Once on the other side, Varick yelled. "Run! Now!"

I opened my eyes. We were in the hallway I had walked through when I first entered the warehouse. But, it didn't look like the same hallway. The fire that Jamie had started burned all around me. The rooms jutting off the hallway were engulfed in flames. Sparks and burning embers fell from the ceiling. It was a fiery hell.

I ran, jumping over flames in my path. I felt the fire around me, scorching my skin and burning my lungs. The black smoke encircled us burning my eyes and nose. Although Varick was no longer touching me, I knew he was behind me, running after me. I heard a crash as part of the warehouse caved in behind us. I screamed and covered my ears as I ran.

Then I saw Jamie, his face dirty with soot at the end of the hall, holding the heavy steel door open for us. "Come on!" he yelled, using his free hand to wave us toward him.

I heard more shrieking from behind us as we neared the door leading to our escape. But I couldn't tell whether the shrieks were from the Fury or the building crashing down. I ran faster.

I ran through the open door and jumped off the cement landing onto the gravel. I heard Varick land next to me. He placed his hand under my arms and lifted me to a standing position. "Are you alright? Are you injured?" His voice was urgent again. So were his eyes, made even bluer by the black soot smudged on his face.

I shook my head, breathing heavily as I struggled for air. "I'm okay," I gasped. I covered my mouth coughing violently. Sirens screamed in the distance and I saw the glimmer of red lights flashing in the trees lining the road to the warehouse. Varick let go of my arms, and we stepped away from the warehouse as it was engulfed in flames. Suddenly, I turned to Varick. "Oma. Where's Oma?"

"She's right here, Jace," Jamie called out. He was kneeling next to her as she lay on the grass some distance from the warehouse. "She's not doing so good."

I sat on my knees next to her. Her skin looked pale where it wasn't black from smoke. Her breathing was shallow. Her eyes closed.

"Oma?" I grabbed her hand and held it between mine. It was icy cold. "Oma?"

Her eyes fluttered open. It seemed to take her a moment to see me through the cloudiness of her eyes. "Jacey?" she said with frightening weakness.

"I'm here, Oma, I'm here," I was only vaguely aware that I was crying again. I rubbed her hand, trying to warm it. "Tell me where it hurts so I can heal you." I looked at her wrist, cringing when I saw the sores her bindings had caused. "I'm so sorry. So, so, sorry," I sobbed.

"Hush child," Oma said, struggling to breathe. But speaking was too labored for her. Her eyes closed. "So tired...so cold," she whispered.

I looked at Jamie kneeling across from me. His face was grim, his eyes sad as he shook his head somberly.

Shaking my head, I murmured, "No...No..." and turned my attention back to Oma. "Oma, tell me where to heal you. Please." I looked up at Varick. He glanced down at me and Oma before he turned back to the burning warehouse probably searching for any sign of the Fury. "Varick," I sobbed. "What do I do?"

Varick turned back to us and kneeled next to me. He placed his hand over Oma's chest close to her heart. He closed his eyes and tilted his head as if he were listening for something. All I could hear was the wailing of sirens as emergency vehicles approached.