Into the Aether_Part One(21)

“Are you hurt?” she asked.

“No.” He tried to keep his voice level. “August, what’s going on here?” He looked her up and down, trying to assess whether she was a threat.

“I have no intention of harming you, Aaron. I do need you to come with me,” she stated, gesturing toward the door.

“What are you?” he asked.

An awkward silence fell between them before she said simply, “A friend.”

“Yeah? This one was friendly too!” he said, pointing to Emily on the floor. “Are you one of those things? A Legion?”

August’s expression was stony. You’ve got a hell of a poker face, he thought.

“That,” she said pointing to Emily, “was a Jotunn, of the Legion sect. They are a radical and dangerous group.”

“Yes, I’ve gotten that. A yo-tun?”

“Yes, and I am not one of them.”

Absently rubbing the back of his head, he asked, “Are you an Incubus?” The corners of her mouth curled upward. “Did I say something funny?”

“No. I am a Succubus. An Incubus is male. We are the Cubi.”

“Oh, yes the cue-bye,” he replied, wondering if he was going insane.

“Aaron, we really must be going.”

“Where and why?”

“Somewhere safe.” Her head shot to the left. August could hear the hurried whispers of the occupant across the hallway. She was on the telephone with the police, describing the carnage she witnessed through the peephole. “The authorities are alerted,” August stated.

Aaron stared at her. Like with Emily, he felt an oddness from August, but it was somehow different. Something told him he could trust this woman, although why he did not know. She lifted her hand toward him, palm up.

“Why do I feel as though I can trust you?” he asked.

“Because you can. Come with me, I have a car waiting.”

Aaron reached out and took her hand. She gave him that half smile that was becoming familiar when a red light flashed from behind August. She collapsed to the floor. In the doorway stood a broad, brutish figure. His hand was outstretched; heat shimmers flowed as he lowered it. Hello, Will, thought Aaron, remembering the second figure from the alley.

“Dirty Succubus,” Will said in a low, grizzly tone. His dark green face was a mask of disgust; his glaring red eyes stayed fixed on August. Aaron went to her, crouching. He placed his trembling hands on her neck, feeling for a pulse.

A siren could be heard in the distance, growing louder.

“Time to go,” said the Jotunn. He bent downward, past August’s still body, and grabbed Aaron by his collar to pull him up.

“No,” said a weak voice. August’s hand shot up, covering the Jotunn’s face, and out of it shot a burst of blue light. The man was hurled backward and landed on his back. Aaron glanced at his unmoving body, not daring to take in what remained of his face. August twisted herself onto her front and tried to push herself up, but she let out a pained cry and collapsed. She was breathing quickly, and the sheer size of the mutilated burn mark on her back made Aaron go nauseous again.

Telepathically, Phillip called out, “Matriarch, the police are in the lobby. What do you want me to do? Do you want me to come up?”

“I will... resolve this...myself,” she managed. “Police,” she said out loud to Aaron.

He heard a door squeak open and the sound of running footsteps in the hallway.

“What do I do?” he asked frantically.

Two police officers appeared at the doorway, pulling out their guns and training them on Aaron. On instinct, he raised his hands in surrender. The officers surveyed the scene: One woman was on the other side of the room on the floor, another had with a large burn on her back, a man was lying on the floor with no apparent face, and then there was Aaron. A feeling of dread sunk into the pit of his stomach. Oh, no. Horror, fear, and rage filled the faces of the officers simultaneously. Both came toward Aaron, one officer throwing him against a wall and seamlessly putting him into handcuffs while the other tended to August.

“Dispatch,” said the officer into the microphone strapped to his shoulder.

“Go ahead,” replied a woman’s voice.

“We have a 10-33, we need an ambulance now!”

“10-4.”

“Ma’am? Can you hear me? Ma’am?” asked the officer. Aaron watched the scene out of the corner of his eye. The officer took August’s hand into his own. “I’m Officer McCullough. Can you hear me?”

“Officer…” she whispered.

The other officer dug his shoulder hard into the middle of Aaron’s back. He was pinned against the wall for the second time this evening.

“You’re going away forever,” the second officer spat between obscenities. “They might even bring back the death penalty just for you.”

“Ma’am, it’s going to be fine. Stay awake… Stay with me,” Officer McCullough said, gripping August’s hand. Then he reached out to Emily, placing his hand on her neck. Hazy bands of blue light started to flow from him. McCullough quickly looked back at August, an alarmed expression on his face. His look faded as his body started to slump, and he was still trying to tug his hand away as he collapsed.

The second officer, still pressing Aaron into the wall, looked back at his partner. August rose to her full height. She extended her hand toward the cop and hazy bands of blue light flowed from him into her. As she grabbed him by the wrist, the blue bands grew stronger and more vibrant. The officer looked at her with a mixed expression. “Why? We are trying to...” He dropped down to his knees, tried to reach for his gun, and then fell forward.