The Last Alignment: Cry of the Scorpions (23 page)

“
What is going on
with-”

“
Look at your
arm!”

“
What?” Awbrey looked down
and her sobs quieted while Hudson released her.
“…
Holy shit
,” she
said holding her hand up. Her burn was completely healed. It was no
longer swollen, throbbing, painful, and gross. Scars now encircled
her wrist and they looked like puffy, deep pink, entangled vines.
“Hudson,” she breathed, “how did you do that?”

“
I don’t know.”

Chapter
18

Hudson

He blinked furiously; what had just
happened?

“
Hudson, are you okay,”
asked Androse.

“
No,” he responded before
falling to his knees; he was going to be sick.

“
What’s wrong with you,”
asked Awbrey.

“
I don’t…I don’t know.” He
was now lying on the floor face down. Hudson’s head was spinning
and his vision was blurry. He felt weak.

“
Hudson,” he heard Awbrey
yell, but he couldn’t fight it. Hudson closed his eyes and drifted
off into darkness.

Chapter
19

Androse

The feeling was familiar. It was an
awareness of great loss but great gain that he couldn’t understand.
When had he felt this before?

“
Androse, h-help me,”
Awbrey demanded as she turned Hudson over onto his back, but he was
staring at Isabel who was now on her feet. She grabbed her eyeball
that was hanging out of its socket and pulled, separating it from
her and tossing it to the floor making Androse wince. What was
she?

“
Okay,” Isabel hissed.
“I’m done fucking around. AMANDA,” she bellowed. Her voice pulsated
throughout the very foundation of the school, and within seconds
Amanda appeared behind her automatically aiming her gun. “This ends
now.”

“
I could not have said it
better myself.”

That
voice
.

It was deep and strong, and Androse whipped
around to see Zander standing beside a tall man who was carrying
Natalye in his arms; she was unconscious. He had short raven hair,
pale blue eyes, and there was a power and sense of warning that
emanated from him that made it feel as though he could fly into a
rage at any second. Isabel laughed loudly and hardily, drawing
Androse’s attention back to her.

“
Well, well,
well
,” she said putting
a hand on her hip. “Long time, no see, Hektor. How’ve you been, ol’
chap?”
What
,
Androse thought staring. Hektor laid Natalye down next to Hudson
and then walked to stand in front of all of them. Though he was in
awe, Androse still noticed his feelings of complete and total
safety and so he backed away and knelt on the floor with Awbrey and
Zander over Natalye and Hudson.

“
You are truly revolting,”
Hektor said balling his fists.

“
That’s not news to me,
dear,” Isabel laughed. “But you know, teenagers are quite revolting
themselves. You should’ve seen the way that this girl was treated,”
she said motioning back to Amanda who was still poised to shoot.
“They were relentless and it’s not hard to understand why. Just
look at her.” Amanda wasn’t wearing her heels and she only had on
one earring. She had speckles of blood on her dress and face, and
through it all Androse still couldn’t think of anything but how
manly she looked and he felt guilty. “I watched these kids pick on
her for an entire week, and I became interested to say the least. I
started watching her, and that’s when I noticed the pictures that
she had hanging up in her locker of ‘Ginger Barbie and Ken,’” she
said nodding at Awbrey and Hudson. “
Best
friends
. Touching, right? Well, I took her
‘under my wing’ and I found out that she was highly upset because
her only friends hadn’t shown up and hadn’t said a word to her or
let her know where they were. She was afraid to contact them, and
so I made her. I intended to try and get them to tell her their
location, but I didn’t have to. They offered to come to
her.”

Awbrey let out fresh sobs
and Androse closed his eyes.
We are so
damn stupid
, he thought.
All of this could have been avoided if I
would
’
ve stood up
for myself and made us all stay put like I wanted to.
Then, Androse’s mind shot back to what his mother
said to him and Natalye the night before she left;
“
Listen to Sylvia and the others and do
exactly what they tell you to. Mordikin is ruthless and
he
’
ll try any and
everything to get to you.
”

“
When I learned that they
were coming here,” Isabel continued, “I thought long and hard about
what would be the best way to go about the situation. Like I said
before, Hektor. Teenagers are quite revolting themselves. They’re
mean, cruel, and even pitiless sometimes in the way that they treat
others. School shootings have become quite common now-a-days and I
highly doubted that anyone would’ve been surprised or had a hard
time believing that poor
little,
well,
big
Amanda
Lyerly had finally snapped after enduring years of teasing and
mockery. And it just so happened that her father is a military
retiree. A military retiree with
guns
in his house. I really couldn’t
have asked for a more perfect set up. I don’t even think that
Mordikin himself could have-”

“
You are done here,
Isabel,” Hektor cut across her.

“
Am I? This is even more
perfect because now, I can kill all six of you at once. Ogre, if
you please,” Isabel ordered. Amanda raised her gun and Androse
moved back a little, but a bizarre sound cut through his fear and
made him frown in astonishment. Hektor was laughing, and soon,
everyone was looking at him. Isabel seemed thrown off a bit, but
she grinned anyway. “I’m glad that you think that all of your
deaths are funny,” she said crossing her arms. “Die laughing. I’d
say that’s a good way to go.”

“
You are horribly
mistaken,” Hektor said stepping forward. “Judging by your hip, your
eye, and the fact that those behind me are all still alive and
relatively unharmed, I would say that these teenagers have bested
you all morning and they are not even Wielders yet. I know that it
has been a long time, Isabel, but surely you have not gone so
soft?” Isabel stood at her full height, clearly insulted. “You
always did like playing with your food before you ate it, and this
time, it has cost you what would have been a great victory. I
admire your spirit, though. I
am here, yet
you plainly still expect success.”

“
Amanda,” Isabel growled
maliciously, “come-”

“
STAY!”

Hektor had yelled making everyone jump, and
Amanda appeared to obey him causing Isabel to perplexedly look back
and forth between the two of them. Amanda then took her gun and
held it up under her chin seemingly not of her own will.

“
DON’T YOU DARE,” Isabel
shouted. She charged forward before Androse’s eyes even saw that
she moved, but Hektor caught her by the throat and lowered her to
her knees. Awbrey, looking at Amanda and realizing what was about
to happen, started crying louder.

“
Please d-don’t kill her,”
she pleaded. “Please! It’s not her f-fault! You know that!
She-”

“
There is no saving her,
Ms. Cates,” Hektor said unfeelingly. “She is an Agonimin. Death is
the only aid that we can afford her.”
Agonimin
, Androse thought. Hektor
looked down at Awbrey and instead of arguing, she lowered her head
to Hudson’s chest and rested it there as she bawled. “Amanda
Lyerly,” Hektor spoke as if he were chanting. “I know that you can
hear me. Give me any indication that you can to let me know that
you do.” Androse stared, and sure enough as if it were paining her,
Amanda raised her left hand slightly before it shuddered back down.
Androse didn’t understand. “I am deeply sorry for what must now
happen, but there is nothing that I can do for you,” Hektor
continued. “You have been forced to commit a terrible act, one that
even if I were able to heal you, your life would not be any better
than what you are feeling right now. Do you understand what I am
saying to you?” Amanda forcefully nodded, but then her head jerked
straight again.

“
What is wrong with her,”
asked Zander, but Hektor ignored him.

“
Now, I am-”

“
AWBREY
!!!”

It was high pitched and sharp. The yell had
frightened all but Hektor and Isabel, who was still on her knees
trying to break free of Hektor’s grip.

“
Awbrey, go forward,”
Hektor said looking back at her. “She wishes to speak to you.” The
sound of meat sizzling unexpectedly caught their attention, and
smoke was coming from the areas on Hektor’s forearm that Isabel had
a hold of. Hektor, however, was entirely unfazed.

“
W-what,” Awbrey
stammered. “I-”

“
Go.”

Awbrey wiped her face, gently rested
Hudson’s head on the floor, and then stood up. She walked forward
but then stopped once she was beside Hektor, not wishing to go any
closer. “I’m…I’m here, Amanda,” she said shaking.

“
Aw
…
b
-
brey
…
so
…
rry
…
Hud
…
Huds
-
son
…..”

“
Amanda, we forgive you,”
Awbrey quickly shouted. “We know this isn’t your fault! We know
that you would never do anything to hurt anybody!”

“
I
……
k
-
kill
…
ed
……….”

“
It
wasn
’
t
you,” Awbrey said taking a step
forward with renewed sobs. They waited, and after a few moments
there was no response.

“
She wanted to speak to
you a final time,” Hektor said motioning for Awbrey to move back.
Amanda then coughed violently and her head rocked back and
forth.

“
She’s fighting,” Androse
said narrowing his eyes, “but what is she fighting? Hektor, what is
an Agonimin?”

“
Amanda currently has two
souls inhabiting her body. Her own, and then a demonic one. When
someone is turned into an Agonimin, the demonic soul will always
overpower that of its host and its Raiser is its master. The
Agonimin then has to do whatever it is told and the host soul can
do nothing to stop it. They see everything and they feel
everything, but they themselves are powerless. And on top of that,
it is excruciatingly painful for the host. Turning someone into an
Agonimin is one of a couple of forms of possession, but it is
easily the most barbarous. Right now, I am connecting with Amanda
and helping her to fight. When you all become Wielders and learn
how to Sense, you will then be open to learning how to do
this.”

Amanda screamed, scaring Androse and her
mouth opened and closed repeatedly. He couldn’t imagine what it was
like having another soul occupy his own body and how it must feel,
and he hurt for Amanda even more. “Isn’t there anything that you
can do for her,” he asked.

“
No. As I said, death is
the only help that we can afford her,” Hektor replied. “Given her
present state, it would be a welcomed relief.”

Amanda let out another
ear-piercing scream, but then it stopped abruptly.
“
Is
…
Isa
…
Isab
……”

That was all that she could get out.

“
I understand.” Hektor
stood Isabel up and then coldly tossed her down the hall toward
Amanda. Her head had hit the floor with a horrendous thump and if
Androse heard what he thought he did, it sounded as if her skull
had cracked. Isabel sat up with blood now trickling from her
unharmed eye and she laughed, unknowing that Amanda was slowly
pointing her gun at the back of her head. Androse looked at
Hektor’s arm and before he could be thoroughly disgusted by the
sight of it, he noticed that the skin that had been burnt off was
already growing back.

“
You have no idea what
you’re in for,” Isabel snarled as she rested on all fours. “This
won’t be like any other time before. Mordikin is stronger than ever
and so are the others.”
The
others
, Androse thought. “I’ll be back,
Hektor. You know that I will, and when I do I am going
to-”

A shot rang out and Isabel
collapsed to the floor, blood pouring from the back of her head and
forming a pool. She twitched a little and then there was no
movement. She was dead. Amanda screamed again. Hektor held out his
hand not only quieting her, but guiding her gun back underneath her
chin. Amanda was then lowered down to her knees and Awbrey looked
away, crying even louder.
He
’
s making
it look like suicide
, Androse thought, and
he turned his head away as well.

~*~*~

They walked briskly. Hudson and Natalye had
come around and were up and moving, but they both seemed as if they
would have liked to have remained unconscious and Androse shared
the same sentiment. He too wanted it to be a hellish dream, but it
wasn’t. There was no refuting what had happened, and yet he
couldn’t even begin to digest any of it. It all ended just as
quickly as it began, but forever was in between those two spots of
time. And on top of it all, the man that they had been waiting on
for almost three weeks was now leading them back to Hudson’s house
and it was surreal. Hektor hadn’t said much to any of them since
they left the school and Androse knew that he was silent because he
was angry with them. They all knew it, and because they were
intimidated and didn’t know him, they all kept quiet and stifled
their burning questions.