Challenged by Darkness (An Urban Fantasy Novel) (Befallen Tides series Book 2) (11 page)

“We’re in the middle of nowhere!”

“We have to find something eventually.”

Another thought disturbed her. “Was this an accident?”

There was no doubt about it. Keaton shook his head, no. Winx shouted in aggravation.

Keaton urged her to her feet. “We don’t know how much time we have until the next strike.”

“Everything’s gone,” Winx repeated as she rose up from the ground.

She was shaking. Keaton, limping, managed to wrap an arm securely around her waist and to hustle her away from the wreckage. Even injured, his stride was a lot longer than hers, so she had to trot to keep up. Behind her, Winx could still feel the flames on her back, as if they were crawling across the field of grass to tease her. When she wiped a drop of sweat from her brow, she felt how grimy her palm was.

The terrain was uneven from overgrown plants and gopher holes, but the two of them stomped on.

“Hey,” Keaton said. “We can still get somewhere safe.”

“We’re totally exposed right now.”

Winx watched Keaton’s eyes scan around them, his nostrils flaring.

“Anything?” Winx asked.

“If someone’s out there, the explosion masked their scent.”  Keaton sagged a little.  “And I can’t see anyone.  Can you hear their thoughts?”

Winx shook her head. “Not if they’re a cryptid. I can only get a sense of their presence, or an idea of their emotions.”

“So… nothing?”

“Not right now. I think my nerves are too shot for that.”

“Gods, they’re probably watching us right now.” Keaton was still looking around every which way as they shuffled along, hurrying as best they could with their injuries. “But where? There’s no cover around here.”

That became even more obvious when they reached a long stretch of road. There were no cars nearby, and any hope of finding a hiding place was lost when no other ranch houses or rest stops came in view. The two of them climbed over the chicken-wire fence blocking them from the road anyway, jumping from field to paved street.

“We wait for a vehicle, and then you can glamor the driver, right? Piece of cake.” Keaton looked more upbeat despite his obvious discomfort.

Normally, Winx would give him a derisive look or rebuttal, but she was scared enough and wanted it to be easy enough that she couldn’t be bothered. Every time the fire glittered in her peripheral vision, she felt a renewed tremor take over her.

The first vehicle that came their way was a giant truck. Its engine roared in the distance long before it was visible. Both Winx and Keaton breathed a giant sigh of relief as it popped up over the horizon.

“You see? We’re out of here!” Keaton nudged her shoulder. “Do your thing.”

Winx couldn’t help a smile. Luck turning out to be on their side? Unexpected. She let Keaton hold her closer for a moment, and then she stepped away into the middle of the street and concentrated on the human coming their way.

Pull over, please.

The engine revved off in the distance. The echo of the truck speeding up was unmistakable.

Keaton was still grinning. “In a hurry to have him closer, aren’t you?”

“No.”

“What?”

“I didn’t do that.”

They both stopped walking.

“Try again!”  Keaton’s near shout disclosed the panic in them both.

Winx pressed a hand to her head and concentrated on the still-approaching transportation.
  Stop.

The engine revved again. The rotten odor of gasoline wafted at them.

Stop! Put your foot on the brake! STOP THE TRUCK.

“Winx!”

STOP!

“WINX!”

The truck barreled down at them, swerving to their side of the road determinedly. Winx still desperately used her compulsion, even though the truck was close enough that a hard brake wouldn’t stop Winx from being flattened by the tires.

Before that could happen, Keaton burst into speed and tackled Winx out of the way. The two rolled to the side of the road as the truck passed them by a hair’s width of space. Keaton’s already injured ankle made another disgusting sound.

They didn’t have time to rest.

A gunshot ripped through the air, and both of them jumped. They looked around warily, hoping that it was just the sounds of the unstable barn finally crashing to the ground in a pop. But when the second bullet whizzed too near, the two of them jumped to their feet and started to run.

Or rather, Winx tried to help Keaton run, both hunching down to make their targets smaller. He was putting more weight on his injured foot that was advisable, but what could they do? They were sitting ducks otherwise.

 “Can’t you use your speed?” Winx shouted at him when he almost tripped to the ground, snarling in pain.

“No!” he yelled back. “Besides, I’m not leaving you!”

“If it means life or death, you should try!” The bullets were starting to disturb the earth too near their feet. She was out of breath, sprinting as well as keeping Keaton upright.

“Keaton, just go! I know you can do it!” Winx urged him, huffing heavily.

“No!”

“We’ll both die if you don’t fucking run!”

“You want me to leave you behind? What’s wrong with you?”

“If it means one of us gets to live—”

“Forget it, Winx!  I—”

The assailant was catching up to them. Everything was louder. Winx looked over at Keaton with one last look of urgency. His stubborn features gave her the same answer. The two of them were of the same mind.

They were toast.

“Winx, leave me. You go.”

“I can’t do that.”

“They aren’t trying to kill us. They’re trying to
stop
us!”

“How can you say that? They’re shooting as us!”

“Poorly! They could have gotten a head shot in by now, don’t you think?”

Winx continued to try to tug him along, but Keaton pushed her hard away from him.  “Go! 
Now!
”

Winx stared with alarmed eyes. But once both of them stopped running, the gunshots ceased. It seemed that Keaton was correct.

“Winx, get out of here!” Keaton waved his arms into the air. “They can take me! Not you, you’re too important!”

She wouldn’t move. And when wing beats sounded in the dead highway, it was too late. Five men landed on all sides of them, guns raised. When instructed to, both Winx and Keaton raised their hands into the air.

Winx and Keaton glared evilly when they recognized Archibald Tipping walk over to face them.

“My friends. You’ve reached the end of the road.”

CHAPTER 11

All Genevieve knew in her palace was discouragement. She had spent all of the previous afternoon and evening trying to convince the Goddess Edina that things outside weren’t as properly handled as she believed. She told her mother about Keaton’s pack, and how the masses were being affected by the  savages’ increases in numbers. She even told her about Winx and how she was almost killed by Esteban Chavez.

Edina listened to none of it. She batted away the concerns with little more than a wave of her hand and refused to give her honest opinion on any of it. And eventually, she became upset when Genevieve insisted on continuing.

“Please, darling, relax! Your uncle is High Chancellor for a reason. I would trust no one else with this undertaking!”

“War shouldn’t be taken so lightly!” Genevieve couldn’t sit still as attendants tried to massage her feet and hands. They kept trying to soothe her, but she was far too worked up to be pampered.

“I know that you’ve seen a lot, Evy, but I cannot be expected to take the reins on this.”

“Why not?”

“As a queen? I would lose all respect. And I would steal the authority from those who I’ve appointed to deal with the onslaught.” She pointed at her daughter. “The same will be expected of you someday. You have to learn to trust your advisers and let them do their jobs.”

“Mother. One of your advisers is out there murdering the public, another drugged me to bring me here, and the last one doesn’t want you to know how badly these battles are affecting the lives of humans and cryptids alike! We’ve already lost our homeland. What more needs to happen in order for you to stand up and take charge?”

Edina never answered, and Genevieve could fight with her no longer. Edina did not want to hear what else would go wrong. She wanted someone else to do her work for her. That was not the Queendom Genevieve had expected to inherent, and it was not the Queendom she would run.

This was the first time that Genevieve had wandered around the palace. She’d been wandering around the gardens before the unnatural heat had driven her inside. Nobody was following her for once, and she had no idea where her mother or uncle were, so she took the much-needed respite from them without guilt.

She found herself worrying about Winx and Keaton. Were they okay, as London insisted they must be? Or had something terrible happened to them along the way? What if they were attacked? Winx had already been so battered; could she handle another fight?

To think, she had led them both to trust her. Now they must think her a turncoat. It wasn’t like lixyns were popular right now. How could she get word to them? It seemed impossible. If she ever got back to them, they would have to coordinate cell phones.

When walking was not helping her cope, she headed back toward her room. Nothing would settle her at these troubling times except for getting something done. Here that was not an option. After all that she had done! All of her progress, ruined.

Finding the winding path back to the grand staircase proved to be troubling. Genevieve was completely turned around, and every pillar,  every hall, and every door looked exactly the same. She saw no one around who could help her, not even the usual setup of patrolling guards. Genevieve quickened her pace, looking down each corridor with the hopes of finding something that looked familiar.  When she heard the dull echo of voices, she did her best to follow them.

It went without saying that Orion wouldn’t be pleased about Genevieve wandering the palace without supervision. Everything had been so strict since her coming here, and the arrival of her mother made routine a necessity. But what could they possibly do to her that they had not already done?  And even with the tall windows stretched across every wall, even with the priceless décor, the place was still suffocating her.  A prison with pillows was still a prison.

Just as she found the opening that led to the dining quarters, the distant intoning clarified until Genevieve recognized the sounds of an argument.  She hesitated.  If she followed, she would abandon the opportunity to escape back to her room.  But now that she was looking closely, the voices were coming from a stairway tucked away from the light that appeared to lead down into the pit of the palace.  It had to be an extra wing that she wouldn’t have discovered if she hadn’t been so lost.

Genevieve started down the stairs without really evaluating what she was doing. The voices grew clearer as she descended.

“I am absolutely forbidding Genevieve to leave the palace. Do you hear me, Iragall? She doesn’t belong out on the battlefield.”

“Chancellor, please. I’ve had many reservations with bringing her here. She was doing so well with enlisting able recruits. She’s helped me realize that volunteer fighters are much more efficient than prisoners.”

“I will hear no more of it.”

“Hasn’t it occurred to you that she’s not meant for the slow lane? The princess isn’t like—”

“Isn’t like what, Iragall? Choose your words carefully, friend.”

The cold tone of “friend” echoed for a moment in the chamber.

“You know as well as I do the danger out there.” London changed his tone, but not his urging. “And to have efficient support like Genevieve at our disposal and not utilize it makes absolutely no sense, Orion.”

“My means are not for you to make sense out of, Iragall. Genevieve will stay here under my protection, far away from cannibals and murderers. Now. On to other matters.”

The subject on the other wall changed from Genevieve to more dreary militia tactics. But from the sounds of it, Chavez was currently nowhere to be found. After his attack at Denver, he went underground. Genevieve wondered how long that would last. Quiet was usually more pronounced before a very real threat resurfaced.

“We are standing by until further notice. Our reinforcements are tackling the savage epidemic in their designated regions. All we have to do now is wait.”

“If we were to find Chavez, we could end this war sooner.”

“London, some of your troops recently had an encounter with the Chancellor. Tell me. How did it end?”

He stammered. “Well… Winx and Keaton faced him and his operatives without backup. They could hardly be expected to bring him into custody.”

“If you lack faith in your troop’s abilities, perhaps it’s not without reason.”

“They’re new recruits. Winx only had basic training over a year ago, and Keaton—”

“Your excuses fall short of my point. I, and I alone, will decide when it is best to act on taking the Chancellor out of the picture.”

“In the meantime, the savage numbers grow and people die.”

“I am well aware of the situation.”

Thudding footfalls started to echo around the antechamber. Genevieve’s heart hammered wildly when she realized that someone was heading directly to the door she was leaning against to eavesdrop. In a frenzy, she scuttled away from it and to the underside of the darkened staircase, tucking herself and the trail of her dress away just as the heavy door swung open.

Orion was adjusting the cuffs of his shirt when he walked through the entrance and up the stairway. Iragall had seen him out and closed the door behind him with a soft click.  Genevieve listened to the double doors through the hallway open and close again, but she stayed where she was until the voices of London and Roy started to emit from the room once more.  The conversation was too soft to hear from her hiding place, so she crawled from it to listen at the door again.

“What do you mean they’ve still had no contact with them?”

“There have been no reports of new arrivals in Washington. I just got off of the phone with Reginald. He says all is the same.”