Chaos (Book 4) (The Omega Group) (18 page)

Using her sleeve, Gracey wiped the drool dribbling down her
chin. The sack full of herbs she’d hidden inside her mouth caused her saliva
glands to work overtime. If any of the witches gave her more than a passing
glance, they’d know immediately what she’d done and remove her only chance to
draw the power from the jars into her body.

Why couldn’t the spell have called for rosemary or thyme?
Why did it have to be foxglove?

At least with another herb she could have just held her
breath against the taste and swallowed the saliva filling her mouth. But, no.
That would have been too easy. She had to have one of the most poisonous herbs
around shoved in her mouth.

Awesome.

Nicole sauntered over, holding what she thought was Phoenix’s
totem in the air like some trophy. “You ready, big boy?” When she took in
Gracey’s appearance, her entire demeanor changed. She went from cocky to
disgusted, even taking a step back. “You look like you’re going to puke.”

Gracey felt the slight movement in her lap as Phoenix tried
to see what Nicole described. By the look in his eye, he’d succeeded.

“Stand up and walk with me,” Nicole commanded.

Though following her orders must have been difficult for him
after spending so many hours immobile, Phoenix reacted exactly as a man under a
witch’s control would. His facial expression remained blank, and he did as
instructed without hesitation. Gracey watched as he held open the door,
allowing Nicole to exit first, then gave her a quick nod of reassurance before
allowing the door to close behind him.

Gracey spat the contents of her mouth onto the bench,
spewing as much saliva out as she could. “Foxglove? Really?” she grumbled to no
one. After taking a deep breath to clear her mind, Gracey got to work on the
first problem at hand—her hands. She needed to untie them. Her fingers had been
unable to reach the knot, so she tried to contort her body in a way that would
allow her to use her teeth. No such luck. Even a yoga master wouldn’t have been
able to make that work.

Pushing herself up as much as she could, she yanked against
the ropes, hoping to somehow break the pipe. The very heavy metal pipe
currently bolted to the wall. It worked about as well as she’d expected.
Probably a good thing, though. Had she been successful, she would have landed
nose-first on the floor, most likely knocking herself out.

Yet again, I let everyone down.

Something fluttered in front of her eyes, causing her to
yelp. A bird landed directly on her lap. No, not just a bird. “Phoenix?”

The beak moved up and down before walking around her. The
next thing she felt was tiny little bird feet jumping on her hand, then little
tugging motions on her restraints.

“Thank you.”

The clock flashed 9:22.

********

“They’re in,” Greco announced while holding the phone to his
ear.

“Good. Have they found Gracey yet?” Orano kept his hands
shoved deep in his pockets. The energy tearing through his veins since she’d
disappeared threatened to explode out of him at any moment. Deep breathing
techniques wouldn’t hold it back for much longer.

“They just got through. Give them a minute.”

“She might not have a minute!” Orano roared. “Who knows what
they’re doing to her right now? She needs us. She needs me.” Without a thought,
Orano whipped out his hand and let loose an energy ball at the barrier. When
that one fizzled out on contact, he threw another, and another, and another.

“Calm down, Orano. If anyone sees that they’ll know where we
are. If they find those jars before you break them, it’s all over. We need to
stay hidden. That’s the whole point of us separating from the group, remember?”
Greco tried to reach out to him but apparently thought better of it.

Orano clenched his hands into fists before nodding his
understanding. He counted to five while inhaling, held it for another
five-count, and exhaled the same way. Each cleansing breath brought his rage
closer to a manageable level, although he knew he’d never hit that mark
entirely.

“And you brought her in anyway?” This time, Greco did the
yelling.

“What’s going on?” Orano had been so focused on controlling
his temper that he didn’t even realize Greco was still talking on the phone.
Now his adrenalin started pumping in preparation for whatever bad news had his
teammate so angry.

“She’s deaf, and—”

“Who’s deaf?” Orano interrupted, ready to kill whoever had
hurt Gracey.

“Mirissa. They blew her eardrums getting through the barrier.
Now she’s with the rest of the team on the inside. How can she protect herself
if she can’t even hear someone coming?” Greco paced back and forth behind the
utility shed.

“Thank the gods.” Orano closed his eyes and resumed his
breathing exercises.

“Are you kidding me? You’re ready to burn this whole place
to the ground, risking the future of the entire world in the process, on the
off chance that Gracey has a hangnail. But Mirissa—your teammate and my
girlfriend—is seriously hurt and in real danger, and you’re thankful? You are
such an ass.” Greco threw a punch that connected squarely with Orano’s jaw.

“That was a mistake, boy.” Orano’s tenuous grip on his
temper snapped and rage took hold, driving him to heights of anger he hadn’t
experienced in over a decade. He zoned in on Greco, registering every twitch,
every movement, every micro expression. His brain screamed at him to disengage,
but he’d moved far beyond the stage where that would work. He might regret it
later, but he would hurt the kid now.

Both palms held swirling orange balls of energy. He flung
the first at Greco’s chest, knocking him back and slamming him to the ground.
Orano stepped forward to fire the next, but stopped. Something had just
happened, but his mind barely even caught it. Nothing more than a fleeting
thought, but it was important enough to cut through his haze of fury.

Greco leapt off the ground and drove his shoulder into Orano’s
chest. “Get down!” he screamed.

As the tackle brought him down, he saw it. A silver and blue
dart embedded in the thick bark of an oak tree.

Hell of a time for a family reunion.

The clock flashed 5:03.

Gracey felt the rope around her wrists loosen and fall away.
“Thanks, Phoenix,” she said to the bird currently hosting the man’s
consciousness. It’d taken more time than she would have liked, but that tiny
beak succeeded in freeing her. She bent over and undid the binds around her
ankles and jumped to her feet.

Dizziness overwhelmed her, and she had to prop herself
against the wall to keep from keeling over. She took a few deep breaths,
waiting for it to pass. When it did, Gracey moved to the window and peered out.
The coven had already begun their channeling ceremony.

Gracey glanced at the clock, then got to work. She opened
the sack she’d hidden in her mouth earlier and added the contents of the small
jar. The items were already soaked in her saliva, so she didn’t need to add her
blood or hair to the mix in order to signify who would be collecting the power
from the jars.

Once the mixture was complete, she scooped it up and rubbed
it on her chest. Gracey waited for the clock to count down to the predetermined
time of three minutes, then began.

“Releasing all of the powers bound, their rightful homes
will soon be found. Allow them time to dwell in me, for purposes true. So mote
it be.”

She braced herself for the incoming torrent of powers. When
hers were returned, she’d passed out for hours from the shock. Although she
trusted the concoction on her chest to prevent that this time, she couldn’t
help the fear she felt.

A moment passed, and then another. Seconds ticked off the
clock as a bead of sweat trickled down Gracey’s temple.

Something had gone horribly wrong.

********

Orano leaned against the back of the shed with Greco at his
side. The
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brotherhood had them pinned down. Unlike a standard attack, they weren’t
raining bullets down on them. Instead, they remained eerily silent. Had he not
caught glimpses of the men in the tree line while making his dash to cover,
he’d have questioned whether they were under attack at all.

“I saw three of them. Eleven, twelve, and two o’clock,”
Orano whispered.

“Two more between nine and ten,” Greco answered. “With a
back-up line about fifteen yards behind.”

Crap. They’d be coming around the sides at any minute.

“I take it this is your family,” Greco said.

“Yeah.”

“Any reason they aren’t just mowing us down? The walls of
this shed couldn’t stop a BB shot from a child’s toy.”

“Two,” Orano began. “First, they don’t want to hurt you. They
don’t do collateral damage. Second, they believe if they kill me before
performing their sacred ceremony, the evil inside me will be released and
infect innocent people.”

“So, they’re epic nut jobs, then. Got it.” Greco peeked his
head around the far corner. “I’ve got creepers.  A few more yards and they’ll
be parallel.”

“Same on this side.” Orano rubbed his palms together. “We
need to make a move. Gracey’s running out of time.” He formed an energy ball in
each hand. “Ready?”

Greco pulled his FN five-seven pistol from the holster at
the small of his back and chambered a round. “Ready.”

Orano turned the corner, taking out the first of two
attackers before his foot hit the ground. The second ducked behind a tree, but
not before an energy ball hit him squarely between his shoulder blades. Judging
by the sharp cracks coming from his left, Greco had taken out a few targets of
his own.

As he rounded the front, a barrage of firepower tore through
the pile of jars. The magic kept them from breaking, but not from scattering.
Orano jumped back and fired energy in every direction, hoping to get a lucky
hit or two. When he turned the corner to the relative safety of the rear of the
shed, he found Greco waiting for him.

“Those were bullets they were firing,” the kid said. “My
ring’s the only reason I don’t have any holes in me right now.” The snake from
his Amazon ring had apparently wrapped itself around his arm during the
shootout and shielded him from harm. A handy piece of jewelry to have.

“I guess they don’t consider you an innocent bystander after
all.” Orano glanced at his watch. “We’ve got maybe two minutes before those
witches finish what they started. I’m going out there to break those jars.”

“I have an idea,” Greco said with a smile. “And you’re not
going to like it.”

********

Gracey paced the floor waiting for the influx of power from
the jars, but none came. She didn’t know why Orano hadn’t broken them or, more
precisely, what stopped him, but she couldn’t let herself think about that. She
had a job to do, and she planned to do it, even if it meant resorting to plan
B.

Except she didn’t have a plan B.

Gracey grabbed the door handle, said a quick prayer, and
stepped outside. All eyes turned to her as she approached the large group of
coven members holding hands and chanting in a circle. She raised her hands
above her head when the gunman she’d been following earlier pointed his rifle
at her.

“Keith? Do I have your name right?” she asked in a calm
voice. “I don’t have a weapon. I’m not here to hurt anyone. I just need to talk
to them.”

The man kept his weapon trained on her but didn’t appear
ready to pull the trigger. From what she’d heard earlier, Tori’s brother was a
good old Southern boy. If his friends were, too, she couldn’t imagine them
being comfortable shooting an unarmed woman. She really needed to be right
about that.

“Ladies, Tori has been lying to you. This is not the
prophecy foretold by our founder, my ancestor, Grace Sherwood. Tori isn’t
helping to save the world today, she’s the one causing the catastrophe. The blackout
in California, the one in Rome, do you really think it a coincidence that they
happened right after one of these channeling ceremonies?”

Gracey paused to judge the reaction of her audience.
Although they were giving each other sideways glances, none of them showed any
sign of changing their allegiance. Across the circle, a woman stepped back,
pulling the hands of the women on either side of her together before letting go
herself, ensuring the circle stay unbroken.

Francine, one of the inner circle wannabees, strode toward
her. “Don’t listen to her, ladies. She’s bitter and angry and jealous of Tori.
You’ve all seen her attack us for no reason.”

“No,” Gracey retorted. “I’ve seen the journal. Tori has
twisted the prophecy—”

“Prove it. I assume you can do that, right?” Francine
taunted.

Gracey deflated. She had no proof, and they knew it. She
looked from one woman to the next, desperate to see some inkling of doubt in
their eyes, but found none.

“That’s what I thought.” Francine turned her back on Gracey
and rejoined the circle.

Gracey had failed.

********

Orano stumbled forward, clenching his jaw painfully. Greco
walked behind him with the blade from his Amazon ring held under Orano’s chin.

“I’ll kill this demon right here and now,” Greco yelled to
the brotherhood. “I’ll spill his tainted blood all over this place and let his
evil infect each and every one of you.”

A deep voice answered from the shelter of the woods. “Don’t
do that. We have no quarrel with you. Just give us the abomination, and we’ll
leave.”

“Here’s how this is going to work,” Greco countered. “You’ll
stand down and walk away. Otherwise—”

“I’ll give myself up without a fight,” Orano interrupted. “Just
like my father did all those years ago. All I ask is that you let me help an
innocent woman save a lot of other innocent people first.”

“What the hell are you doing?” Greco said through gritted
teeth.

“What I have to,” Orano said before calling out to the
brotherhood. “Do we have a deal?”

A moment of silence that seemed to drag on for a lifetime
followed. “We do.”

“Greco, help me gather the jars.”

When every last jar sat in a tight pile, Orano formed an
energy ball in each hand, then joined them together to create a super-sized
sphere. He continued to feed the sphere energy until it grew large enough to
encompass the entire pile.

“Stand back and cover your eyes.” Greco stepped around the
corner of the shed with Orano directly in front of him. The thin metal walls
would hopefully offer some protection. Once both men were ready, Orano threw
the sphere.

Glass and wax exploded into the air when the energy ball
hit. A concussive blast crumpled the front wall of the shed and blew both men
back until they bounced off of the invisible barrier protecting the camp.

As they pushed themselves up to their feet, Greco pulled out
his phone and pressed a couple of buttons. “Play the sound curve, Julian. Now!”

A moment later, Greco drove his shoulder into Orano for the
second time that afternoon, pushing them through where the barrier used to be.
Greco hit another button on his phone before standing. He offered his hand to
Orano, who swatted it away.

“Why’d you do that?” Orano asked.

“I’m not going to let you turn yourself in to those freaks.
You’re an ass, but you’re also a teammate and a friend.”

Orano stared at the kid who, moments ago, had been on the
receiving end of one of his energy balls for no reason other than being in
close proximity to his uncontrolled temper. Orano put his hand out in front of
him and waited for Greco to shake it. Although he knew his freedom would be
short-lived—he’d honor the deal he made—Orano respected the hell out of the kid
for trying.