Crimson Dahlia (6 page)

Ramsey
entered the Great Hall to the cacophony of fifty Vyusher preparing for battle.
He quickly found the rest of his family and went to join them. Selene stepped
up onto the dais at the front, and the Hall fell silent.

“Every
man and woman here has volunteered,” she began. “I thank you for your noble
service. I know that Oren has gone over the plan with everyone. Once we are in
the complex, find and free any prisoners. If you can take any of Maddox’s
forces alive, do so, but not at the expense of any of our own people.
Understood?”

“Yes,
My Queen,” resounded through the Hall.

With
a nod, Selene turned to Charlotte. Ramsey clasped the hands of the people
nearest him, and with a single thought, they were all instantly standing in the
Sierra Mountains surrounded by the piney woods and slabs of granite rock.

“Darius?”
Selene called.

Ramsey
knew the guy. He’d watched him fight Marcus’s Louisiana clan before the truce last
year. Darius was a Vyusher with a very unique ability—he could move the ground.
He could rip great seams in it, move rocks, and create tunnels… basically
anything he wanted to do that concerned solid earth.

“Do
you sense anything?” Selene asked him.

Darius
concentrated for a moment. “I can feel that there are empty spaces underground.
Many of them. But beyond that I can’t sense much.”

“Why
do you look worried?” Ramsey asked.

Darius
gave him a thoughtful look. “There’s a blank space in what I can sense. It’s
like a barrier I can’t see through.”

Ramsey
and Selene glanced at each other. “The blocker?” Ramsey muttered.

Selene
nodded her agreement. “That’s where the prisoners will be.”

“We
need Charlotte to check where the tunnels are. But what if she teleports right
into the middle of the blocker’s reach?” Selene asked.

“I’ll
go.” Ellie stepped forward. “If I tap in to both Charlotte and Darius, I’ll be
able to see where I need to go. Remember that as long as I’m touching them, or anyone,
I can control their powers. That could help us. And with Griffin lying not far
from here, I can use his telepathy if I need to.”

Selene
nodded. “Do it.”

Ellie
stepped back and took Charlotte’s and Darius’s hands. The three of them
vanished into thin air and then reappeared a moment later.

The
light of excitement in Ellie’s eyes filled Selene with hope.

“There
are tunnels?” she asked.

“Yes.
A long tunnel carved into rocklike caves and many doors. I didn’t see anyone,
but obviously I didn’t stick around that long.”

Selene
nodded. “All right. Everyone get ready. You all know what to do once we’re down
there. Keep silent and secret for as long as you can. Free as many prisoners as
you can. Bring them to Charlotte or call for Ellie if you can’t find Charlotte.
But be careful. The blocker is active down there.” She turned to Ellie. “Can
you show us where you sense the blocker?”

Ellie
nodded.

They
all joined their hands again. Charlotte had them down inside the caves before
anyone could blink.

“Go,”
whispered Selene.

They
moved as silently as ghosts. 

Per
the plan they’d all discussed, Ellie stayed with the Vyusher. Selene followed
Ramsey as he walked them through the memory Griffin had pulled from Lila’s
mind. It helped that Lila had thought to count doors and turns. They found the
old elevator – still without encountering another soul - and rode up five levels.
They entered the sterile-looking hallway and followed the series of turns from
Lila’s head until they came to what they thought was the correct one.

Ramsey
reached for the knob, but the door was locked. He looked at Selene. “We need
Nate.” Nate was their superman with his colossal strength and speed.

“What
if it’s a trap?”

“I
know she’s in there. We’ve gotta risk it.”

“Okay.
I’ll call Ellie and have her send Nate up here.”

A
few moments later Charlotte and Nate popped into the hallway.

“Need
you to break a door, Nate,” Ramsey said.

Nate
gave a thumbs up. “You got it.”

“Careful,
in case it’s rigged,” Selene warned.

Nate
grinned and rubbed his hands together. “No worries, boss lady.”

With
a kick that seemed to be barely a tap, the door slammed inward, the top half
snapping off the hinges to lean at a funky angle. There, in the middle of the
room, strapped to a stainless steel table, was Lila. Out cold. Nate stepped
over the door, which stood askew, and rushed to her side. He snapped Lila’s
restraints with a flick of his fingers.

Charlotte
popped her head in. “I’m going to go help the others. Call Ellie if you need
me.”

“Nate,
go with Charlotte. Ellie says they need you down there to break some chains,”
Selene said.

“Got
it, boss.” And the two disappeared.

Ramsey
looked at Selene. “No alarms raised yet. It’ll be easier to get her out of here
if she’s not dead weight.  Can you wake her up?”

Selene
gave him a worried look. “I can try. But if it doesn’t happen in a few minutes,
we get her out of here and try to wake her later. Okay?”

Ramsey
nodded. “I know you can do this.”

*****

“Lila,
can you let me in?” Selene’s voice echoed through the trees.

Lila
glanced at Griffin, who was sitting close by. She closed her eyes and relaxed as
she had the first time.

“Good
girl,” Selene’s voice sounded from right beside her.

“Griffin’s
been keeping me informed,” Lila said. “You’re going to try to wake me up now?”

Selene
nodded.

“Okay.”
Lila looked slightly skeptical. “How does this work, exactly?”

Selene
grimaced. “I’m not entirely sure. I wasn’t able to do anything with Talia. But
I wasn’t able to get into her head like this either.”

“Maybe
we need Ellie,” Griffin said.

Selene
shook her head. “She and Charlotte are busy getting everyone out. We’re on our
own for now.”

She
closed her eyes to concentrate. Using her power to access dreams, Selene
explored the boundaries of the space that Lila seemed to be trapped in. The grey
fog that she’d been surrounded by earlier was pushing in on her, trying to take
her back under. Selene took it as a good sign that they’d been able to pull
Lila out of that at all.

She
pushed against the fog hovering at the edges, but with no effect. She opened
her eyes. “The mist is the key. I think. You know how it feels when you wake up
from a dream? It feels like your brain is clearing fog out?”

“Yeah.
I hate that feeling,” Lila grumbled.

“Well,
we either need to make it go away or pull you through it to wake up. But if you
get stuck in it again, then I’m guessing we’ll have to wait for you to wake up
on your own like Talia did.”

Lila
gulped. She didn’t want to lose a whole year or longer of her life.

“It’s
up to you,” Selene said. “We try now and risk it, or we wait for
reinforcements. But even then, I can’t guarantee anything. And we’re running
out of time.”

Lila
took a deep breath. “Let’s risk it.”

“Okay.”
Selene glanced at Griffin. “It would probably be better if you left now. I
wouldn’t want you to get trapped in here when I pull Lila out.”

Griffin
walked over and gave Selene a quick, hard kiss. He glanced at Lila. “See you in
a bit.”

“I
hope so.”

With
that Griffin pulled himself from the dream.

Selene
took Lila by the hand. “Let’s go. And whatever you do, don’t let go of me.”

Together
they entered the fog at the edges of the dream. They started pushing their way
through the grey mist. Lila could feel Selene holding it back by sheer force of
will.

“It
seems endless,” Lila said. The mist started closing in on them. “Selene?” She
felt her friend’s hand tremble. “Selene? What’s happening?”

“I
can’t hold it back,” Selene gritted through her teeth. “Move faster.”

The
two girls started running. As the fog got nearer, Lila and Selene ran together
as closely as they could without tripping over each other.

“We’re
not going to make it!” Selene yelled.

Lila
thought about how close they were, about her family, about lying in a coma for
a year of her life, about a pair of serious green eyes.

Oh,
hell no
…

She
felt a power gathering inside her. She took every ounce of the iron will that
she possessed and pushed with all her might against the approaching tendrils of
grey curling around their bodies.

 “The
mist seems to be thinning,” Selene cried.

“Can’t
talk, or I’ll lose it,” Lila answered, her jaw clenched with the effort.

“Almost
there, keep it up,” Selene urged.

And
then Lila gasped and opened her eyes as the sharp wail of sirens pierced the
air.

“Time
to go!” Ramsey yelled over the blaring sound.

He
scooped Lila up off the table and turned to leave. They ran out into the
hallway and headed for the elevator. Selene frantically pushed the button to
call for the car, but the light didn’t come on.

“
They must’ve
shut them down when the alarms went off!” she said.

“Stairs?”
Ramsey motioned.

They
tried several doors close by. No luck.

Selene
sucked in her breath.

Lila
could see her friend’s anxiety ratchet up a notch. “What?”

“Griffin’s
talking to me,” Selene told her. “He’s made it down there and is trying to
help. They’re all fighting wolves. Charlotte can’t get everyone out all at
once. She’s pulling them out as she can get to them.”

“Someone’s
coming!” Lila gasped.

Without
hesitating the three of them opened the closest door and jammed inside.

“Can
you turn off the wolves they’re fighting down there?” Ramsey asked Selene in a
low voice.

Selene
nodded and began to concentrate. After a moment she blinked several times. “I
got everyone I could feel. There may be some behind the blocker that are invisible
to me.” Her shoulders relaxed a little. “Griffin says that worked. Charlotte’s
getting them out of there. But she says more are coming.”

 “Then
let’s give them something else to concentrate on,” Lila said.

“That’s
my girl,” Ramsey murmured.

Lila
frowned at him, but he merely shrugged. “I knew you were going to say that.”

She
rolled her eyes. “You can put me down now. I’m pretty sure I can walk on my
own.”

“Ready?”
Selene asked from the doorway.

They
opened the door, but just as they stepped out, four wolves appeared at the end
of the hall. Hackles raised and teeth bared and growling, the beasts slowly
approached. Selene flipped the switch on their powers, and, suddenly, four men
stood before them with bewildered expressions on their faces.

Before
they could make their next move, Charlotte appeared. They took her hand and
were instantly above ground and in the woods.

“I
can’t take the time to get you to the castle yet,” Charlotte said. “I’m still
getting people out. Everyone is here somewhere… try to find them while I’m
getting the rest.”

And
she was gone.

“Griffin’s
calling me. They’re over here.” Selene took off at a run.

Lila
hobbled along slowly. Selene looked over her shoulder, but Ramsey waved her on.
“You go and help the others. We’ll be right behind you.”

Without
another word he turned back to Lila and scooped her up in his arms again.

“I
told you I can walk,” she said, struggling to get out of his hold.

“We
keep going at your pace and we’ll get there around Christmas,” he said, and
tightened his grip.

“I—”

Lila
didn’t get to finish her thought. Ramsey jerked to a halt and then suddenly set
her back down on her feet.

She
looked at his quizzically. “What?”

“Griffin
says a mass of wolves is closing in on them, but Selene has already gone back
to the castle. She’s not there to turn them off. And Charlotte is busy.”

“What
do we do?”

Ramsey
glanced down. “I have an idea, but you’re really going to have to trust me.”

Lila
didn’t hesitate. “You do what you have to do.”

Ramsey
gave her an oddly intense look and then shook his head. “Based on what
Griffin’s showing me, we’re between the line of wolves and our people.”

“Okay…and…?”

“And
I’m going to blaze a fire between us and them. Create a wall of flame those
wolves will never get through. But in order to control it, I need to be right
in the middle of it. And I can’t protect you from the fire unless you’re right
here with me. You’re too slow to make it to Griffin and the others on your own.
You’d die trying.”

Lila’s
eyes widened, but she stiffened her spine. “Can you control it?”

“With
you here, I can.”

 “From
the fog into the fire.” She faked a brazen grin. “Guess it’s my night for the
elements.”

“Good
girl,” he said.

Ramsey
pulled her tight into his chest and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her
head. “I let Griffin know the plan. They’ll get everyone out. We’ll get in
touch with them tomorrow after we get clear of this and they’ll come get us
then.”

“All
right.”

He
turned and then pulled her arms tight around his waist, her body flush against
his. “Don’t let go of me,” he warned. “I’ll keep the fire and smoke away from
you.”

Lila
buried her head in his back.

“Here
we go.”