Fractured Soul (35 page)

Pain burst in my head into a spectrum of colors, and a wave of nausea buckled my knees.
Four minutes and twenty-two seconds. I can endure this pain for that long
, I thought, trying to convince myself.

The small plane’s engine roared, a high-pitched sound different from the steady hum of the last twenty minutes. Everyone had boarded a while ago. It was a silent crowd, not one that liked to converse with each other.

I shifted my weight in the plane’s cramped closet. I could’ve come out since I’d just turned invisible, but I wanted to wait until the speed of the plane increased, covering any sounds the closet door might make when I opened it.

It was shortly after Cyrus kidnapped Sophie from Lucent Academy that I began to teach myself to turn invisible. I practiced every day, sometimes for hours, until I could do it without all the paralyzing weakness. And although the pain hadn’t gotten any better, I was able to increase the time I could maintain invisibility to several minutes. I’d accomplished all this in just the four short weeks since Christian’s death.

“You have four minutes,” Liam said through a microphone in my ear.

Just then the plane lurched forward, picking up speed on the runway. I opened the door and peered into the plane’s small kitchen. When I saw that it was empty, I quietly slipped out and closed the door behind me.

The front wheels of the plane were starting to bounce.

I looked in the cabin. As I suspected, it was full of Vykens sitting in their seats, their backs to me, as if they were regular passengers. Except for one. Jackson. He sat three rows up to the right of the center aisle.

Through the help of the Deific, Liam had finally received a tip on Jackson’s whereabouts. It was the closest we’d come to finding out where Cyrus was keeping Sophie. I glanced to my left, to the emergency exit. By the way the plane was vibrating, I knew it was close to taking off.

A Vyken stood up and came into the aisle. I pressed myself against a seat to keep him from bumping into me. I had yet to learn how to let matter pass through me. That may have been a trick only my mother knew how to do.

After the Vyken passed by, I went to Jackson. He was looking down at his hands, staring at bloodied knuckles. I wondered how that could’ve happened. Jackson used to be a Guardian. He, and a bunch of others who had followed him, had joined the Vykens against the Auras months ago. I’d been training harder than ever to stop them all and restore the Auras to their former strength. The strength only a few knew about.

I felt the plane lift. Still plenty of time to make my move.

I reached down, careful to avoid touching Jackson, and undid his seatbelt. He glanced down surprised. I smacked the back of his head hard. He turned around and stared at the Vyken behind him. “What’s your problem?” he said.

The Vyken ignored him.

Jackson stood and confronted the Vyken again. “I’m talking to you,” he said again.

The Vyken slowly looked up from the sports magazine in his hand. “I know Cyrus said we can’t kill you, but he didn’t say I couldn’t hurt you. Sit down, Guardian.”

Liam’s voice spoke again in my ear. “Hurry up.”

The sound of his voice this close to so many Vykens drew attention. Several of them looked around to see where it had come from.
Time to pay for your crimes, Jackson.
I drew my fist back and punched Jackson in the face. His hand came up to his nose. “What the . . . ?” he looked around.

Several Vykens stood up.

I punched him again. He stumbled back toward the exit, arms out stretched to steady himself. “What’s going on?” he yelled.

I kicked him in the chest. It took just a second for him to recover before he started blindly throwing punches. “Someone help me!” he said.

The Vykens looked around as if they didn’t know what to do.

I dodged Jackson’s fist and punched him again. He was in position. I took hold of the emergency latch and pulled it as hard as I could. The door flew open, sucking air from the cabin. Papers and all kinds of debris flew past me. Jackson moved backward, his eyes darting around as if searching for help, until he was pressed against the wall separating the kitchen from the cabin.

The other Vykens stood alert and ready to fight the unknown attacker.

Grabbing Jackson, I spun him around and faced him toward the open door, his clothes and hair whipped around violently. And he was stuttering.

I chuckled, glad he was afraid. I was about to reveal myself to him, so I could see the surprise in his eyes, but then I heard Liam’s voice in my ear, “Get out of there now!”

Jerking into action, I wrapped my arms around Jackson’s chest and jumped from the plane, spiraling into a black abyss.

About the Author

Rachel McClellan was born and raised in Idaho, a place secretly known for its supernatural creatures. When she’s not in her writing lair, she’s partying with her husband and four small children. Her love for storytelling began as a child, when the moon first possessed each night. For when the lights went out, her imagination painted a whole new world. And what a scary world it is . . . Currently she lives in Rhode Island, where the graveyards are as enchanting as the forests.