House of Leights (Secret Keepers, #3)(44)
He opened his mouth but paused before he said anything. I waited a moment, thinking he might have forgotten what he was about to say, before realizing he was focused behind me. Spinning around, I saw that the huge main gate was opening. We all stared as it swung wide, and on the other side were two familiar figures. Chase and Daniel.
Without a word spoken, Callie and I both took off. My brain was too fuzzy for logical thought. I just knew that I had to see Chase. My sanity depended on it.
13
I thought I heard Lexen shout something after us, but we were too far away at that point to hear him clearly. Probably he was annoyed that we hadn’t waited for him, but it was Chase and Daniel. There was nothing to worry about.
The pair had stopped just inside the gate, waiting for us. The fact that I was running to him should have embarrassed me, but it didn’t. Something had snapped inside of me when we left Chase behind. Whatever fear I had been harboring about fate arranging these connections between the secret keepers and overlords had dissipated with the thought that I might never see Chase again. It was a primal urge I had now, to explore this bond between us.
It was weird. I could admit that, but honestly, after everything that had happened over the last few days, weird was all starting to feel like a new normal.
“They look fine, right?” Callie’s long legs were eating up the distance, and she didn’t sound at all winded.
Meanwhile, I was dying trying to keep up with her. It was basically a sprint pace I had to set. “I - I think so,” I spluttered out. “Why aren’t they moving though?”
I wasn’t sure at what point I realized that this wasn’t going to be the happy ending I envisioned. But I definitely knew it when I ran into Chase’s arms. There was no stomach flip, no clenching of my chest and fizzing of energy in my blood.
Not Chase.
I shouted and started to struggle, but the fake Chase already had his arms wrapped around me. There was a burning pain across my biceps, but I didn’t let that stop me. Callie let out a muffled scream next to me, then she started throwing punches, kicking out with long straight strikes.
The guy holding me cursed, distracting me from the awesome that was Callie. “Stop moving, you stupid grubber bitch.”
Yeah, okay, whatever you say. I struggled harder, trying to recall what we’d learned in self-defense classes last year at school. With a larger attacker … stomp foot, knee groin, palm up into throat or nose.
All of these needed to happen pretty much in the same instant, and that’s exactly what I did. The crunch of his nose was satisfying, even though it kind of hurt my heart to see Chase’s face bleeding and broken like that. He let out a roar and shoved me away, sending me flying back.
Gravel bit into my palms, and in that same moment heat burst from Callie – past her worry about killing assholes by the look of it. The guy who’d grabbed me took off, but Callie had her hands on the other one. Her hands were the only part of her body not on fire, but judging by his screams, they were still hot enough to burn into his skin as she held him. “Where are Daniel and Chase? What did you do with them?” she shouted into his face, shaking him despite his size.
I jumped to my feet, wincing at the new pains ricocheting across my body. I had no idea what to do. Getting closer to Callie seemed like a very bad idea. Her flames were flaring in an unstable pattern.
Luckily Lexen was here now.
“Callie!” That word was a bite of command. “You have to let him go. We can’t find out what he knows if he’s dead.”
Emma was at my side then, running a hand across the grazes that decorated my skin. “Are you okay?” she asked, but I didn’t answer, too busy trying to see what was about to happen.
Fireball Callie turned to Lexen, and it was the most insane thing I had ever seen. Her eyes were swirling red, like lava. “This is how they tricked me last time,” she said, her voice shaking with rage. “The one impersonating my mom told me that they could grow skin from a single cell. Does it mean they have Daniel and Chase?”
Lexen took a step closer and Emma’s hold on my arm tightened. She didn’t like him getting that close. “No, it takes at least a week to grow a skin. Laous must have taken cells from all of us at one point or another.” He paused. “Actually, we all had to go for a healer scan when the overlord minors were first sent to Astoria. The process was overseen by Laous.” His lips pressed together. “No doubt another part of the reason he got us all sent here.”
Callie must have almost burnt the guy’s wrists to the bones at this point; he was just whimpering now, no longer fighting her. With a huge burst of exhaled air, her flames disappeared as she let him fall away. Lexen stepped forward, reaching down to feel for a pulse. “He’s alive,” he said as he turned to us. “Once we get him back to House of Darken, the healers can fix him up so that we can question him.”
I still didn’t want to leave, but I wouldn’t fight Lexen again – no one could say that I didn’t learn from my mistakes. I’d just have to hope and pray that Chase was not far behind us.
Lexen hauled the guy up off the ground and then turned around. “I’m going to have to check the guardhouse,” he said, face grim. “There should have been security out here by now.” His eyes met Emma’s.
“Ace?” she said, sounding like she was going to cry.