Playing With Fire (Power of Four Book 2) (10 page)

He pushed away from her, making the chair skid back a little. He gestured to the Hunters to follow and strode forward, taking Ella’s hand and walking out of the room. Aaron was forced along with the crowd gathering in the narrow hallway around Skyler.

“What do we do now?” Bella asked, looking genuinely afraid. “It was bad enough when we thought she was Hadrian’s.” She glanced through the open door to the vampire before shaking her head. “If she’s really with Kyran, then–”

“Then we’ve got a more immediate fight on our hands,” Skyler cut across her. “But that’s not entirely a bad thing. If Kyran finds out she’s here, there’s a possibility he’ll come for her. We can use that to trap him. But first we need to get the Shattereds and the residents out of here. Scott can send back-up.” He met Bella’s eyes. “We have a chance to catch Kyran, Bella. We can get him. We just need to make sure we have everything in place first–” He stopped when a tinkering laugh sounded from the room.

Everyone turned to see Layla laughing. She flicked her long red hair behind her and fixed her eyes on Skyler.

“Oh, honey,” she cooed. “You don’t have time to lay traps.” Her eyes were a cold blue as a mocking smile lifted her lips. “He’s already here.”

8

Coming To The Rescue

No sooner were the words out of Layla’s mouth than the sound of complete pandemonium broke outside. People were screaming, footsteps pounded in a frantic hurry. They could hear dishes clattering to the ground, wood breaking, and several gunshots fired.

“There was no flash,” Bella said, horrified. “There...there was no flash. The Gate’s fallen!”

Skyler went from shocked to full-on leader mode in a heartbeat.

“Ray, Emma and Stefan – you three stay here and guard her.” He gestured to the smirking vampire in the next room. “Do
not
let her out of your sight!” He turned to Ella but she already had her pendant in hand, talking to Scott, asking for back-up. Skyler faced the rest of the Hunters. “Bella, go upstairs and empty the cabinet. Bring every weapon you can find.” Bella and another two Hunters ran up the stairs. Skyler looked at Aaron. “Stay with them,” he said, nodding at Sam and Rose, surprising Aaron. “It’s not entirely safe to stay here with
that
under the same roof.” Skyler nodded towards Layla. “If you can get out of here and into another cottage–”

“I can,” Aaron said quickly.

“Good,” Skyler said.

He looked behind Aaron to see Bella and the other Hunters hurrying downstairs with armfuls of guns, daggers and a sword.

“Scott’s sending back-up,” Ella said. “But it’s going to take time. The Gate’s fallen, and Scott can’t risk a portal on the Gateway, in case vamages use it to get to Salvador.

“Then until they come, we’ve got to be enough,” Skyler said resolutely.

The group distributed the stash of weapons between them while Skyler and Ella pulled out their own familiars. Aaron and the twins stood empty-handed amongst them.

“Alright.” Skyler cocked his gun. “Follow my lead and spread out,” he instructed the group.

“I would wish you luck,” Layla called from the room, “but all the luck in the world won’t help you now.”

Skyler didn’t say anything. He strode forward to the door. Ella hesitated before turning to face Aaron. She held out one of her guns. Her grey eyes darted once to Sam before meeting Aaron’s again. Aaron took the gun.

Skyler opened the door and the sight that greeted them would never leave Aaron again. What had minutes before been a quiet, peaceful scene was now a ravaged, devastated street. Many of the buildings were on fire – burning bright against the night. Splatters of blood stained the cobbled street, even marking the broken table and chairs. Chaos had befallen the people of Balt, and they ran every which way, trying to dodge the vicious attack of vamages. Cloaked by the night’s darkness, the vamages fired their guns, catching mages in the back, leaving them dead on the ground. Others used their powers, hitting mages with their jolts. The mages retaliated with their own jolts of power but the vamages shrugged them off. Being part-mage gave the vamages immunity so the mages couldn’t kill them. The mages could only hope to incapacitate the vamages long enough to get away.

Skyler flew into action, leaving the doorstep of the cottage in a fury, to appear in the middle of the battle in moments. The Hunters sprinted after him, firing shots at the vamages.

Aaron took off running. The cottage they had been staying in had caught on fire, but it didn’t matter to Aaron which cottage they took refuge in, as long as he got Sam and Rose into one. He ran up a pathway, ushering Sam and Rose ahead of him. They were almost at the door when something blazing flew overhead. Rose pulled back with a scream when the door was hit with a fireball. Flames spread across the cottage in seconds. Aaron and the twins ran to the next safe cottage.

They reached it, but couldn’t open the door. It was bolted shut. Aaron pounded his fists against the wood, screaming over the noise of the battle. Whoever had locked the door wasn’t opening it. Aaron slammed himself into the door but it was no use.

“Aaron!” Rose called. “Look!”

Following her trembling finger, Aaron found his uncle Mike next to the ruined table, fighting back a group of vamages. Aaron’s gun was aimed but he didn’t pull the trigger. He found he didn’t need to. Michael fought effortlessly, knocking back vamages with shots from his own gun in one hand and fireballs from his other, all the while dodging the retaliating attack. The grace and elegance of his movements reminded Aaron strongly of Skyler. They both fought with confidence and apparent ease; even if it was just on the surface and panic was overwhelming them inside, they never let it show.

Of course, there was one other person who fought with just as much confidence and grace, and right now he was the only one Aaron found himself searching the wreckage of the street for. But Kyran was nowhere in sight.
Maybe she was lying,
Aaron thought to himself. After all, how could Layla know for sure if Kyran had come?

Just as the thought settled, Aaron heard the familiar roar of Kyran’s bike. Aaron turned, his heart hammering at his insides and goosebumps erupting over his flesh. Through the thick, billowing smoke of the fire that was ripping through the city came Lexi – Kyran’s red and black bike. It cut through the air, arching over the heads of the battling mages. Sitting on top of the bike, the ends of his red coat flapping behind him like scarlet wings, was Kyran. His arms were extended on either side, no longer controlling Lexi. With twin pistols clutched in both hands, he fired at the crowd of Hunters, forcing them back from the vamages.

Aaron didn’t understand it. He knew which side Kyran belonged to now – he saw him firing at the mages instead of the half-demonic hybrid vamages, but still, seeing Kyran suddenly appear in the midst of the battle filled Aaron with nothing but
relief
. It was a force of habit, an instinctual reaction. For the last four months, every time he’d faced danger he’d known he’d be alright because Kyran was there.

Lexi hit the ground and Kyran swerved to face the Hunters with both guns raised and aimed. The battle between this small group of Hunters and vamages came to a standstill, with every eye on Kyran. The vamages dropped back, wearing looks of triumph as their gaze darted from the Hunters to the Scorcher.

All around them, the fight raged on, with the rest of the Hunters and residents of Balt doing their best to fend off the vamages’ attack. These Hunters, however, remained still, staring at Kyran. But Kyran wasn’t looking at them. His green gaze was locked with only one Hunter – Skyler.

Kyran lifted himself off his bike, guns still in hands, his aim never faltering as he slowly approached the crowd. Skyler stepped forward with his twin guns aimed right back at Kyran. Skyler’s ivory coat mirrored Kyran’s long red one, both had their elemental marks studded in silver at the back – a spiral for Skyler and an inverted V for Kyran.

“And here I thought I wouldn’t get a proper welcome,” Kyran said. His sweeping glance caught sight of Ella, her gun raised and locked on him too. Kyran grinned. “Hey, Ella,” he called. “How’s the neck?”

“Great,” Ella replied. “Why don’t you come closer so I can reciprocate?”

Kyran chuckled. “No hard feelings. It was never about you.”

“No, it was all about my one and only family member,” Ella spat. “Isn’t that why you stalked around in Salvador? So you could get to Neriah and steal his key?”

“Steal?” Kyran shook his head. “I didn’t steal anything. I only recovered what was taken from my family.”

“Taken for good reason,” Skyler said, fury leaking from his words.

Kyran smirked and came to a standstill. “And what reason was that?” he asked, in a tone that suggested he knew all too well. “Because my father had enough of James Avira’s tyranny? Or because my father decided to do what everyone else
wanted
but couldn’t muster up the courage to do themselves?”

The guns in Skyler’s hands were shaking. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I know more than you can possibly imagine,” Kyran replied. “I’ve lived with the truth, not Neriah’s lies.”

His last words sent an uproar through the Hunters. The few mages who weren’t already aiming at Kyran turned their guns on him. The vamages reacted at once, lunging forward, but a single command from Kyran kept them back. Kyran stepped closer, apparently not fazed by being the target of so many. His eyes were still on Skyler.

“You know, spending a year of my life with you, I learnt you’re a lot of things, Skyler,” Kyran said. “Big-headed, talentless, a waste of potential.” He smirked. “But you’re not stupid.” He glanced at the vamages, standing awaiting his orders. “You know you can’t win this one.”

Ella’s recovery after Kyran’s attack proved Kyran was in fact a mage, and the only way a mage could kill another mage was with a personalised bullet. So Kyran’s bullets wouldn’t kill any Hunters, and neither would theirs fatally wound him, but Aaron figured being shot – especially at close range – would still be enough to temporarily incapacitate them. Kyran’s very obvious glance to the vamages was clear to read; Kyran couldn’t kill the mages, but the vamages could.

“Make it easier for yourself, as well as for them,” Kyran said, tilting his head to the side to gesture to the rest of the Hunters and mages of Balt, still battling the other vamages. He stepped closer, all amusement gone from him when he asked, “Where is she?”

Skyler smirked. “Missing your girlfriend already?” he asked. “You’re too late. I’ve already driven a stake through her black heart.”

Kyran didn’t move, but the air around him sizzled, small sparks flew out to singe the ground at his feet. “I sincerely hope, for your sake, that you’re lying,” Kyran warned.

Skyler bared his teeth. “What are you waiting for, Scorcher?” he asked. He beckoned Kyran with his guns. “Come on!”

Kyran paused, his gaze flickered through the crowd of Hunters. He looked almost regretful before he fired, and the battle that had been paused started up again. The vamages leapt at the Hunters, but most of the mages were aiming at Kyran and Kyran alone. There was no way Kyran could avoid every bullet and as the thought penetrated Aaron’s mind, he felt his grip tighten around his own gun. He lifted it but his aim wasn’t on Kyran. Despite everything, Aaron couldn’t watch the Hunters bury every bullet they had into Kyran.

But it seemed Kyran had no intention of becoming a human sieve. The minute he fired his first bullet and became the target of the Hunters, he dropped one gun and threw up his hand. The ground split. A huge slab of concrete broke from the road and stood up tall, which Kyran used as shelter from the onslaught of bullets.

Aaron gaped at the sight. He was sure he had never seen Kyran demonstrate this particular trick during their training.

Skyler threw out a hand and air swirled before him, taking the shape of a small tornado that ripped across the street, blasting Kyran’s shelter to rubble. Kyran leapt out of the way just in time.

Aaron was quickly brought out of his shock when a stray bullet almost caught him, piercing the door behind him instead. Aaron ducked, as did Sam and Rose. Aaron glanced around him, at the line of cottages that were either on fire or had their doors sealed shut. He couldn’t take the chance of checking every one. They had to get out of the line of fire, quite literally. Aaron was terrified a stray bullet or jolt would catch Sam or Rose. They were human; they wouldn’t survive either type of attack. But the entire city was under assault, and Aaron didn’t know where to go to keep them safe. Then an idea came to him. He pulled Sam’s arm to get his attention, which was currently fixed on Ella battling the vamages.

“Come on!” Aaron shouted, over the gunshots.

They got up and bolted down the street. Aaron led them, his gun clutched in hand, but he didn’t need it. The vamages didn’t notice him or the twins, not yet. They were too busy battling the Hunters. Aaron kept close to Sam and Rose, guiding them past the burning buildings.

“This way,” he said, heading towards the gaping rectangular hole that once held the Gate. “We need to get out of the city.”

“And go where?” Rose asked.

“Nowhere,” Aaron replied. “We’ll have to hide once we get onto the Gateway.”

“Aaron!” Rose tugged on his arm, halting him. “There’s nothing out there.”

“We’ll find something,” Aaron said, grabbing her hand. “It’s better than staying here.” He turned, resuming the race to get to the fallen Gate.

The sun had set hours ago. The night’s darkness was only partially punctured by the few lanterns floating overhead that hadn’t been engulfed by the thick smoke of the blaze spreading through the city. Not being able to see too far ahead of him was panicking Aaron. He couldn’t protect or defend himself and his friends if he couldn’t see what was coming at them. A hand grabbed his shoulder and Aaron’s heart almost kicked its way into his mouth. He turned, knocking back the hand, his gun raised and ready. He was met by a livid-looking Michael.

“What are you doing?” Michael cried, seemingly oblivious to the gun pointed at his chest.

Aaron couldn’t find his words fast enough.

“Get back inside!” Michael raged.

“Can’t,” Aaron finally managed. “The cottages are either locked or on fire.”

Michael turned suddenly, drawing back his hands to block the fireballs that came at them, pelting them back at the vamages. Michael gripped Aaron’s arm, the heat from his palms seeped into Aaron’s skin.