Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) (25 page)

              My last conversation with Krystal comes to mind, and I realize she may be right. Maybe I
don’t
know what it really means to be a hero. I look back on the comic book heroines I worshipped in my childhood, and wonder if they would hesitate to make the right choice in my situation. I wonder if I should even follow their path, or walk down my own. After all, I’m the one wearing the mask. I can be whatever I need to be, guilt-free.

              I hear a loud
crash
down below, presumably from a car being flung in frustration, and remember that I’m running low on time. I lock eyes with the vampire woman, and ask myself:

When this is all over, will I be able to live with the choice I’m about to make?

28

             
I turn from the people cowering in the office, and draw out all the glass in my arms with a spell. I wince, but don’t complain. It’s better that I do it myself, rather than have the shards ripped out by another. I still have no idea how to do healing spells, though, so the most I can do with my wounds now is clear away the blood. When this is all over, I’ll make sure to learn how to mend myself and others.

I stand at the window, looking down at Times Square. The fight hasn’t gone on for very long, but the Square already looks like it’s been wrecked; totaled cars litter the streets and the pavement, a broken billboard lies on the ground, and shards of glass and metal threaten to stab through the soles of even the toughest shoes. In a weird way, it hurts to see my city in this condition, especially knowing that it’s partially my fault. For a moment, I wonder who’s going to clean all this up, and how. The next moment, I remember there are more important things to worry about.

              I spot Lily circling around the buildings, looking for the one that she threw me into. She’s flying low to the ground, and close enough to the buildings that I can use the environment to my advantage. I close my eyes and detach all the billboards from their frames, then give them enough of a push that they begin falling over. Lily yells in surprise, and banks out of the way before she gets crushed by the billboard for
Wicked
. She finally spots the broken window where I crashed into the office, and flies directly towards it, her eyes blazing with fury.

              I retreat from the window as far as I can, and drop down into a crouch. Part of me feels like I’m going to regret this, but for the most part, I just hope it has enough of an effect to be worth it. I sprint towards the window, and leap out just as Lily tries to fly through it. My shoulder connects with her stomach, and I wrap my arms around her middle as we hurtle to the ground below.

              Lily pounds her fists against my back until I’m forced to let go, and she glides to safety while I continue to freefall. I slow my descent, and land heavily on the hood of a Mustang before searching around for her. “I hope you realize you’re not gonna come out on top,” I shout up into the sky. “It takes more than just strength to win a fight.”

              “Good thing I’ve got more than strength going for me,” Lily shouts from some distance away. I look right above me just in case, and quickly dive out of the way of the bus that falls from the sky. It crushes the Mustang as if it were made of plastic, and I let out an unhappy sigh. I actually sort of liked that car.

              I stand, and brush myself off. Over the course of this fight, I’ve gotten filthy; aside from both dried and fresh blood, I’m also covered in dirt, dust, and debris of all kinds. At least my outfit is still holding strong. It seems like leather was a good material for the job. “Where are you?,” I wonder aloud.

              “Right here,” a voice whispers by my ear, and I duck reflexively in time to avoid getting sucker punched. I bump Lily aside with my hip, and raise a leg to kick her that she grabs mid-swing. She looks like she might bring her arm down on my leg to try and break it, so I blast her in the face with a harmless burst of light. She flinches, and lets go of me, so I back away before hitting her with a fireball spell.

              Lily shrieks as her clothes and hair ignite, and tries in vain to flatten out the fire with her bare hands. It occurs to me that she may never have been on the receiving end of one of these spells. “Here, let me help,” I say with a smile as the fire hydrants all around us burst. I pull the water towards us, and focus it all into one strong jet before maneuvering the powerful stream right into Lily’s chest. She goes flying back, and slams into the side of a truck, helpless against the near endless supply of water at my disposal.

              Lily flicks her wrist, and I sidestep the loose tire that comes flying at my head. My concentration slips just enough that she’s able to dart out from the torrent of water keeping her pinned, and charges at me, dripping wet and pissed. Either she’s getting sloppy, or the wet clothes are slowing her down, because I dodge each of her punches with ease, and kick her down to the ground when I decide she’s had enough. Lily snaps her fingers once, and her clothes dry instantly. “Something’s different about you,” she comments. “You seem stronger than before.”

              I think back on the incident in the office, where I chose to turn away from the temptation of the vampire venom. “I’m not any stronger than before,” I tell her. “I just realized that even without wings, or your demonic training, I still have what it takes to beat you.”

              “We’ll see about that.” Lily tries to hit me with a fireball of her own, and I dive out of harm’s way before I can suffer the same fate she did. I spring back onto my feet as quickly as I can, only to find that she’s disappeared. I close my eyes and feel around for Lily’s energy to figure out where she went, and I’m confused to find that she’s gone underground. I can’t for the life of me figure out why she would want to move the fight down there; it’ll restrict her movement, and render her wings useless. Whatever she’s planning, I’ve got no choice but to head down to meet her.

              I open my eyes after teleporting to her location, and for a moment, it feels like I’m blind. My eyes adjust quickly to the dimness, though, and it becomes apparent that I’m standing on train tracks. The only lights in the tunnel are spread much further apart than it seems from the inside of a moving train, and in the distance I can see the platform where people are
meant
to be. I walk in the direction of the light, and get dragged back by a powerful spell. I spin, and use the pull to my advantage, barreling into Lily with much more force than I could have achieved on my own.

              Part of me almost wishes I
had
let the vampire bite me. The night vision would have been a welcome advantage; I can hardly see Lily’s attacks quickly enough to avoid them. I press her up against a support beam, and knock her head against it before I’m thrown to the other side of the tunnel. Lily and I watch each other carefully, each trying to figure out the other’s next move. I can feel a slight rumbling along the tracks, and hear the hum of an electric current running along the third rail. It means a train is coming toward us.

I use that to my advantage; I siphon the electricity from the rail as it flows, and divert it into a supercharged stream of electricity that I hurl in Lily’s direction. She puts a shield around herself, but it’s clear that she’s not very adept at defending herself. Like me, she’s more offense oriented. But unlike me, the shield spells weren’t the first things drilled into her brain. Yet another reason to thank Krystal for all she’s done. I apply a little more force, and her shield breaks, the electricity surging through her body sending her jerking to the ground. I release my spell before it kills her, and pull her up by her shirt only to punch her back down onto the ground. When I go to repeat the process, a blinding light fills my vision, and realize that I hadn’t siphoned enough energy to stop the train.

Lily comes to this conclusion as well, and when she teleports onto the train itself, she accidentally drags me along. The passengers gasp at our sudden appearance, and I shrink against the subway door as Lily pushes herself back onto her feet. She won’t show any restraint, even now that we have an audience. She aims a punch at my head, which I duck under before spinning around and pinning her against the door. I get in a couple of kidney punches, and pull back to strike her face, but Lily steps forward and blasts me backward with a spell before I can do so. I grab onto the pole behind me, and pull in my legs so I don’t hit anyone as I spin around to kick Lily against the door. The metal buckles slightly, and a wide crack spreads along the glass window, causing a howling wind to rip through the train car.

Lily growls, and rubs her chest where she was hit most recently. In the time it takes for me to spin to a complete stop and release the metal pole, Lily runs over to the front of the car and pries open the driver’s door. The operator gets tossed out of the little control room at the very head of the train, and immediately after, I can feel us picking up speed at an alarming rate. Then there’s the sound of metal being smashed in, and I feel Lily’s presence leave the train car entirely.

The people around me shriek as they realize we’re moving much faster than normal, and a few of them are glaring at me is if it’s my fault. I sprint to the front of the car, and find the train operator staring hopelessly at the destroyed control panel. He grabs a two-way radio hanging along the wall, and recites, “Attention passengers, due to technical difficulties we are unable to stop this train-“

“Like hell we aren’t,” I mutter as I take the two-way out of the operator’s hand. “Attention again, passengers. This is your savior speaking, and I suggest you hold onto something if you’re not already. This train will not be stopping smoothly.”

I hand the operator back his radio, and close the door behind me as I rack my brain for ways to slow us down safely. Drawing out the energy from the third rail might work, but then I’d have nowhere to put it. I instead focus my energy on pushing
against
the train’s forward motion. A powerful jerk rocks the car, and I nearly lose my balance, but I can feel us gradually slowing to a stop. A bead of sweat rolls down my face just as the train ceases its forward motion, and I feel it’s safe to release the spell.

I lean against the door to the control room and wipe off my brow, and am very confused to hear the sound of applause. A split second later, I realize they’re clapping for
me
. I suppress a grin, and wave a gloved hand at the people thanking me. But I can’t stand here all day for the applause; Lily is still out there, and I have to finish this. I seek her out with my second sight, and immediately latch onto the brilliant aura that seems like it’s directly above us. I ball up my fists, and mentally prepare myself for the next round before teleporting to the surface.

I look around frantically for Lily when I reappear on the street in front of Olive Garden. She’s nowhere to be found, surprisingly; did I get the location wrong? I peer into the restaurant, then out onto the street, and barely have enough time to register the car hurtling towards me. I can’t react quickly enough; the vehicle slams into my chest, and crushes me against the window for a split second before it shatters, and I crash to the ground. The car then sails over me, and flattens the front desk, miraculously missing any of the people hiding in the dimly lit restaurant.

For a few long seconds, I decide it would be wisest not to move. Everything hurts, and the new cuts on my arms are bleeding profusely. It’s all I can do to turn my head, and look at the silver Honda that hit me. Eventually, I roll over, and use a nearby column to pull myself upright. Something feels off; I’m not just in pain, I feel hollow for some reason. I didn’t hit my head very hard, so I’m probably not concussed. It’s a little hard to breathe, but my chest feels mostly alright, and my stomach…

Oh no. No, no, no, fuck. The baby. This can’t be happening. I place a protective hand over my belly, but it’s too late. I gasp in pain, and nearly double over with grief as I feel the first trickle of blood flowing down my thigh.

29

              I stumble a little as I step over the broken glass on my way out of the restaurant. Every movement feels sluggish, and takes much more effort than it should. My hand still covers my stomach, though I can’t quite fathom why. There’s no point to keeping it covered anymore. It’s over. It’s all over.

              I don’t even flinch when I hear the beating wings overhead, or try to maneuver out of the way of Lily’s attack. A powerful kick sends me sprawling sideways, where I remain on the ground, contemplating the cloudless night above me. Is this how I’m going to die? Bleeding profusely, childless, and alone? At that precise moment, an intense pain erupts between my shoulder blades, but I don’t have it in me to cry out or writhe in agony. I wonder briefly if the pain might be my wings trying to come out. But the problem is, I don’t care whether they do or not. I simply don’t care.

              An invisible force lifts me from the ground, and I watch as Lily walks over to me, her wings folding behind her back as she approaches. Her hand wraps around my neck, and I do nothing to stop her from choking me. For the first time in a long time, I don’t have any fight left in me. I don’t feel like I have anything left to fight
for
.

              Lily looks me up and down, still holding me a few inches above the ground. “I threw a
car
at you,” she mutters, mostly to herself. “How are you still conscious?”

              I would shrug if I could, but I can hardly bring myself to do that. It takes all my effort just to breathe at the moment. I lean my head back to see if that will help, and my hood falls off, allowing my bushel of curls to bounce free. Lily makes a startled noise, and pulls my head back to an upright position to get a better look at me. She peels off the mask, and recognition flickers across her face for a split second, only to be replaced by horror.

“Surprise,” I gurgle between labored breaths.

              Lily drops me to the ground, and covers her mouth with a bloody hand. “Heather… holy shit, I had no idea…”

              “What, like you would have gone easy on me if you’d known?”

              “I’m sorry… are you okay?”

              “You broke a few ribs, and possibly my nose, no big deal.”

              Lily rakes her fingers through her hair, and kneels next to me. “What about…”

              I go to put my hands over my ears, and mutter, “Don’t…”

              “Aren’t you pregnant?”

              Hearing the words makes it even harder to distance myself from the pain. I turn my head away from Lily, and answer, “I was.”

              “I’m so sorry…”

              “Look, if you’re gonna kill me, hurry up. You’re just making things worse.”

              Lily bites her lower lip, and looks around at the damage we caused. “No… I’m not going to kill you. I have to make this right.” When she returns her gaze to me, it’s full of pity. It’s the kind of look that makes me want to stab someone. I don’t like people feeling sorry for me. “I was only sent here to grab Michael’s attention… running into you wasn’t part of the plan.”

              “Your point?”

              “I’m giving you a warning. Get out of the boroughs. You’ve got five minutes.”

              “Until what?”

              Lily doesn’t respond. She closes her eyes, and a black aura radiates visibly from the surface of her skin. The ground under me trembles, and I wonder if her plan was to cause a minor earthquake. Then the sidewalk around us begins to splinter, and wide cracks spread outward from where I lie. An ominous red glow emanates from within each of the cracks, and the identical ones that appear further away as the earth itself begins to splinter. Whatever she’s doing, it’s going to cause a lot of damage; I can feel the immense energy from her spell pouring into the ground, and spreading throughout the city. What happens in five minutes, when the spell is in full effect… I don’t know. But I don’t want to stick around to find out.

              Lily’s attention shifts to something on her left, and I turn to see what’s going on. Whereas Times Square had once been nearly deserted, a small cluster of spellcasters now inhabits the triangular space between Seventh and Broadway. Krystal, of all people, stands at the head of the crowd, with Alyssa by her side. Alyssa looks from Lily to me, and asks, “What’s going on?”

              “Nothing much,” Lily says. “Heather’s got a mean swing, but I managed to kick her ass. And like I just told her, you might wanna clear out of the city as soon as possible.”

              Krystal’s the first to step forward. She’s well aware of what Lily’s capable of, scared of her even, but there isn’t a single hint of fear or hesitation about her in this moment. She’s either putting on a brave face for the others, or has become the determined, ruthless version of herself that only emerges in the heat of battle. She strides toward Lily, and tells her, “We’re not going anywhere until we take you down.”

              Lily turns her attention back to me, and says, “You might want to get out of here.”

              “But-“

              “No buts. Get moving!” Lily deflects the first spell thrown at her, and when she realizes I’m not stirring, she teleports me to a location across town. I guess there’s nothing for it. I can’t take this lying down, I have to do
something
. But what?

              People walking the streets watch me warily as I prop myself against a building, and shove my mask into my back pocket. I can barely stand, so I’m in no condition to fight. But I can find the people I love most, and get them to safety. I can still manage that much. I decide to go for the furthest of them first. I find it’s hard to focus, so I shut my eyes in concentration, and envision Jenna’s living room. I can feel the change in climate when I’ve arrived, and spot Jenna’s parents on the couch, reading.

              Jenna’s father looks up from
Paradise Lost
, more annoyed than confused by the bleeding teenager on his carpet. “Can we help you?,” he asks.

              “Yeah…” I clutch my side, and take a painful breath. Now that I’m forcing myself to actively participate in my own survival, I’m becoming more acutely aware of my injuries. “Jenna… I need all three of you down here.”

              “Who needs me for what?” Jenna bounds down the stairs at the sound of her name, with Emma following closely behind. She takes one look at me, and asks, “Heather, what the
hell
did you do to the hoodie I gave you?”

              I fight not to roll my eyes. Is
anyone
in this family worried about how badly I’ve been hurt? Or is having an inappropriate reaction to things hereditary?

              “Forget the hoodie,” I groan. “Lily’s the other Nephilim, and I think she’s gonna try and destroy the city.”

              “What? Heather, what are you-“

              “No time! Just join hands, all of you.”

              Jenna and her family exchange worried looks, but they all put their hands together obediently. After a moment’s hesitation, Emma grabs onto Jenna’s forearm. I place a hand on Jenna’s shoulder, and conjure up the mental image of a pier across the Hudson River. The four of them disappear, and hopefully they wind up where I intended to send them. I’ve never used the banishing spell on more than one target at once, so I’m not sure how well it’ll turn out.

              Next, I set my sights on the Bronx. I teleport to Rachel’s apartment, and slump against the wall a little upon arrival. Rachel looks up at me from her seat on the couch, and utters, “Holy shit, are you okay?”

              “’Tis but a scratch,” I reply. “Where is everyone?”

              “Mom and Dad are out on a date, and Claire’s at the movies. Why?”

              “Shit… Do you know exactly where they all are?”

              “No…?”

              “Ugh.” I’d been hoping to save the whole family, but there doesn’t seem to be a way to track them all down in time. I still have other people on my list that need to be saved. I mutter, “I’m sorry,” as I grip Rachel’s shoulder and send her to the same place I sent Jenna’s family. I can only hope that one day, she’ll forgive me.

              My next stop is my own apartment, which looks empty at first glance. Most of the lights are on, but my mom is nowhere to be found. I hear the TV on in her room, and peek in to see her watching a rerun of
General Hospital
. She spots me in the doorway, and gasps when she sees the condition I’m in. “Heather… what happened?”

              “No time to explain, Mom.” I walk into the room, feeling much steadier than I did a minute ago. “Where’s Nick?”

              “He said he was heading home. Why are you bleeding?”

              “Like I said, no time.” I grab hold of my mom’s hand, and use the banishing spell yet again so that she can join the others across the Hudson. I take a few seconds to look around the apartment one last time, just in case I never get to see it again, then move on to my final stop.

              Normally, I would never teleport to a public place without knowing I wouldn’t be seen, but the wards Krystal put up around the condo prevent me from going directly there. Instead, I have to appear in front of the building, pass through the lobby while ignoring the stares, enter the open elevator, and take it up to one of the top floors. Thankfully, Landon answers the door quickly when I knock, and lets me in without question. “Glad you’re here,” I tell him. “Is Nick in his room?”

              “No…?”

              “You’ve got to be kidding me… Do you have any idea where I can find him?”

              “He texted me asking if I wanted anything from the supermarket on Madison, that’s probably a safe bet.” Landon gives me a worried look, and asks, “What’s going on? And why are you dressed like you’re in a Marvel-themed Judas Priest cover band?”

              “It’s a long story.” I place a hand on Landon’s arm, and then destroy the floor-to-ceiling window in the living room with a spell. Without question, he runs alongside me, and we leap out until we’re out of the reach of Krystal’s wards, and teleport straight to the supermarket where Nick should be.

              Upon arrival, I notice that everything within the supermarket and out on the street has devolved into absolute chaos. People are looting the store shelves, taking pictures of the glowing fissures appearing in the pavement, breaking car windows… and this used to be one of the nice neighborhoods. I watch as someone across the street kicks through a display window, grabs as many gold watches as they can, and sprints off, shouting about anarchy and the end of the world. I just shake my head. There’s no way I’m going to find Nick in all this bedlam.

I close my eyes, and shut out the noise around me, hoping beyond hope that I’ll be able to find him with my second sight. Thankfully, I’ve been around him enough that his aura’s unique wavelength has left an imprint on me. I can single him out from the other people around me, and find that he’s walking along 89
th
street, having just rounded the corner from where I am. He’s close enough that I can reach him in just under half a minute on foot. I don’t stop to think, I just send Landon to wait with the others, then let my legs carry me, all my pain forgotten in my urgency to get to Nick as quickly as I can.

I have no qualms about shoving people out of my way as I make a beeline for the exit, and run full tilt once I’m outdoors. I carefully maneuver around a massive split in the pavement as I run, shouting Nick’s name over and over. Several people turn at the sound, but not a single one of them is the person I’m looking for. Finally, I spot the back of his head, and yell, “Nick! Get over here!”

Nick turns, surprised to hear my voice, but he smiles when he spots me. He must not have noticed the blood. He jogs towards where I am, but as he passes over the crack in the ground, it begins to widen considerably, enough that people are starting to fall into the chasm. Nick slips in his haste to escape the same fate as the other people around him, and I watch in horror as he drops his grocery bags, and catches onto the edge of the street at the last second.

I run over to Nick, lifting him with a spell as I move. I carry him over to safety, but a black hand emerges from within the crack, and wraps itself around Nick’s waist. He yells, and the hand drags him down hard enough that my spell has no effect on his downward momentum. Without thinking, I dive right into the glowing chasm, my hand outstretched to try and grab for Nick and pull him back. Of all the people I need to save, I need him to make it the most. Nothing else matters. I reach as far as I can during the fall, and he reaches back, the tips of our fingers nearly touching.

But an incredibly warm hand wraps around my forearm, and pulls hard enough to slow my fall.

Nick shouts my name at the same time I shout his, but it’s too late. He disappears into the void, and I close my eyes, unable to watch as the only man I’ve ever loved is dragged to his death.