Haven: Revenge of the Viper (14 page)

Sarah stopped running mid-stride. “Travis!” she yelled.

Sam saw his opportunity and took it. He ran shoulder first into the Viper. It was like hitting the side of a house. The collision pushed the Viper’s arm into Sam’s left side, causing the sheath to fall from its hand. Sam felt an agonizing pain streak across his shoulders and down his back. Losing all forward momentum, he staggered back, dumfounded, and almost lost his balance. Sam tried to reach down to help Travis, who lay sprawled out on the floor, but it was too late. The Viper had regained its footing, spun around, and grabbed Sam by the neck.

“SAM!” Sarah screamed.

The Viper held Sam over its head. Gasping, Sam instinctively grabbed the Viper’s wrist and began to jerk and twist, trying desperately to wrench himself free. But it was no use; the creature’s grip was like a vice, choking the life out of him.

Travis winced and rolled onto his side, clutching his back. Sarah moved closer but Travis held up a hand.

“Sarah, stay back!”

He got to his knees and stood, bracing himself against the wall. But just as he turned, the Viper backhanded him with the pommel of its sword. Travis flew back against the wall again and slid onto the floor. He clutched his throbbing nose, which was bleeding now. Sarah ran to his side and together they turned to Sam.

Sam gasped for air as his feet dangled helplessly above the ground. His face was red and his lips were blue. He could feel the Viper’s grip gradually tightening, constricting the blood flow to his brain. His vision blurred and his eyes bulged like they might burst from their sockets. The Viper snarled like a savage beast, its wicked red eyes wild with hatred. Sam heard Sarah’s terrified scream as the Viper moved the tip of its blade to the front of his chest.

Chapter 12

A
lisa lay as still as possible, taking slow, controlled breaths to calm her heart rate. She stared wide-eyed up at the scorched ceiling, praying that no one would find her. She could still hear the footsteps as they approached, each step bringing the intruders closer and closer. Alisa tightened her grip around Nara as she held her against her chest. Looking around, she noticed a change in the room. The moonlight that had streamed through the window a moment before had vanished and was replaced by a tall, dark, foreboding shadow. Alisa’s breath caught in her throat and her body stiffened.

“Where are they?” a voice whispered. It sounded female but Alisa could not tell for sure.

The intruders were moving just beyond the pile of debris in front of her. Her body was barely visible from where the strangers stood but her legs were still buried beneath the shattered staircase, making it impossible for her to move. Her head was the only thing not covered by some sort of wreckage, but it was still hidden in the shadows of the room.

“I don’t know. But it doesn’t look good,” the man said. He was whispering too but that didn’t hide his thick Irish accent.

That voice,
Alisa thought,
that accent.
Her heart quickened.
Was it, could it be, Xavier? Did he break the Binding spell?

“The staircase is completely destroyed. We’ll need to search upstairs for survivors,” he said.

Alisa could feel the butterflies in her stomach. It was Xavier! She was sure of it now.

She lifted her head to get a better look when Xavier quickly raised Ian and a bright emerald light burst from the darkness.

“Who’s there?” he called out.

Alisa held up her hand to shield her eyes.

For a moment no one spoke. The only sound was that of the gushing water spilling from the broken pipes in the kitchen. Finally the woman asked, “Lees, is that you?”

Her voice was soft; she had an accent but it was hard for Alisa to tell if it was familiar or not through her whisper.

Alisa nodded eagerly. “Yes,” she gasped. “Yes, it’s me!”

“Ian, be silent,” Xavier said, and the bright light went out.

“Nara,” Alisa said, and a soft luminous glow radiated from her staff, revealing two familiar faces. For the first time in thirteen years Alisa stared back into the eyes of friends, people from her home world.

“Alisa!” the girl cried, her voice full of anticipation.

“Holly? Holly Quinn?” Alisa was brimming with excitement. But she didn’t have to ask; she would always recognize those almond-shaped eyes staring back at her. A warm feeling radiated through her body and she could no longer contain her grin.

“Yes! It’s me, it’s me!” Holly said as she dug through the debris to get to Alisa. Xavier joined in lifting the large support beam she was stuck under, and rolled it to one side.

Alisa finally stood and Holly flung her arms around her so fast that the two of them almost fell over again. They both giggled and laughed like school girls. Alisa had forgotten about her wounded side until Holly mentioned it.

“Oh, Lees, you’re bleeding!” she said.

Alisa looked at her abdomen. The blood had soaked the right side of her uniform but it looked worse than it felt now that Holly was there. She smiled back at Holly. “I’m fine. I’m better than fine now.”

Xavier stood idly by, watching as the two childhood friends reconnected. It had been so long since they had seen one another, and for thirteen years they had both lived with the knowledge that they had lost each other forever.

Alisa was wild-eyed and glowing; she had not felt this happy in years. Holly, who was fighting back tears, hugged Alisa again, squeezing her tightly. Alisa winced, but she held on tightly.

“Oh, I missed you, Lees!”

Holly stepped back and Alisa stared at her dear friend, drinking in every feature. Holly looked exactly the same as she had thirteen years ago. Her eyes were still majestic, glimmering blue, purple, and pink against her flawless porcelain skin. Her pronounced cupid bow lips were spread wide in a giddy grin. Thin wavy strands of coal black hair dangled beneath her hood down the sides of her high cheek bones, like they had when she was younger. Alisa sighed heavily, placed a hand to Holly’s soft cheek, and smiled. She fought back the twinge of sadness that surfaced within her. They had missed out on so much, she thought. Their lives had turned out to be nothing like they’d planned.

It wasn’t until Xavier cleared his throat that the two women finally stopped gushing over one another.

Alisa turned, still smiling, to see the gruff old Keeper frowning like he always had. Xavier had changed over the years; he had been a strong, brawny man the last time she had seen him, but now he looked thin and a little worse for wear. His rugged, vibrant features were gone, replaced by deep-set eyes and frown lines that made him look twice his age. Short white whiskers covered his broad jaw line now, but his gray ill-kempt hair was as unruly as ever. Some things never changed.

“Xavier,” Alisa exclaimed. Her gaze had turned serious as she stared into his hazel eyes. “I knew you were out there. I knew you wouldn’t give up.”

A roguish grin etched its way across Xavier’s rough exterior and the center of his hollow cheeks turned pink. Holly snorted, “My my, Mr. Ward, either your lip has gotten caught on your teeth or that’s a smile I see.”

Xavier’s eyes cut to Holly and his grin faded into a thin line.

“What?” Holly asked. She smiled, shrugging her shoulders.

Xavier turned his attention back to Alisa. “And just how did you know it was me, dearie?”

Still smiling, Alisa said, “Why, the chocolate wrappers of course.”

“You see?” Holly interjected. “I told you, you have a serious sweet tooth. It’s a problem, Xavier; you should see someone about that.”

Xavier rolled his eyes. “There is no problem. We don’t even know if they were mine or not,” he said, looking back at Holly.

“Okay, okay, there’s no problem. They are clearly not yours,” she conceded, shaking her head.

Satisfied, Xavier turned his attention back to Alisa.

“And how did you find my—” his eyes cut to Holly, “—the wrappers, might I ask?”

“I didn’t, Sam did …” Suddenly the reality of everything that had happened came rushing back to Alisa and the color drained from her face.

“The children!” she gasped. She turned to Holly, panic stricken. “Sam, Sarah, Travis—have you seem them?”

Holly shook her head just as a distant scream rang out over the gushing water.

“SAM!”

They all turned to look upstairs.

“Sarah,” Alisa gasped. Sarah was calling Sam’s name and she sounded terrified.

Nara immediately began to glow, followed by the two other staffs. But it wasn’t because of the danger upstairs—it was because of the danger behind them.

The room ignited in a fiery green blaze as three balls of fire sped toward Xavier, Holly, and Alisa. The first two exploded into the wreckage next to them, sending shards of debris in every direction. The remaining fireball headed straight for Alisa. Acting on impulse, Xavier shoved Alisa aside as the fireball exploded in a blinding emerald blaze.

Alisa and Xavier fell on top of the debris as Holly turned to shield them with her staff. A continuing barrage of fire soared across the room, exploding against Holly’s violet translucent shield. Between the bright flashes of light and the thrashing impact of the fireballs against her shield, Holly searched the room for the Viper. But it was too dark; there was no sign of the creature and the fireballs seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

Alisa rolled to one side behind a large section of the staircase. “Quickly, Xavier, over here!” she yelled.

She watched as Holly braced herself against the onslaught of explosions, her shield slowly disintegrating in front of her. Alisa looked back over the rubble to Xavier, but he had not moved. He was lying face down in the debris.

A fireball exploded to the left of Alisa and she ducked as wood and sheetrock rained down on her. “Xavier!” she called out again, huddling against the staircase for protection. “Quickly!” But there was still no response. Holly’s shield was close to failing now; only a glowing sliver of light remained, and then suddenly everything went dark.

The sound of rushing water and heavy breathing were the only noises in the room. Holly quickly moved back, taking shelter behind a large piece of flooring that was perched on a small pile of wreckage.

Crouched down with her back against the pile, she took in a deep breath. “Noah, be silent,” she whispered, and the violet light when out.

Alisa could feel the back of her neck tingle as she poked her head above the rubble and scanned the room for the Viper. It was dark again, except for a thin ray of moonlight that shimmered off the water-drenched floor. There was no sign of the Viper. It seemed to have vanished.

Slowly, Alisa began climbing over the debris, inching her way closer to Xavier.

“Xavier,” she called out. Her voice was filled with a mixture of fear and dread, but there was no answer.

Alisa moved to Xavier’s side, placed two hands on his shoulder, and gently turned him over. Xavier’s limp body fell across her lap and her eyes met his empty gaze.

“No,” she gasped. “No …”

Quickly, she began looking for Xavier’s staff.
I need to find Ian,
she thought.
Ian will save him.
Her eyes searched the debris around them but she didn’t see the staff. She began to panic and moved Nara closer to the wreckage.

“Nara, light!” she commanded.

Nara’s soft glow grew brighter and that’s when she saw it. Just a foot away from Xavier’s outstretched hand, Ian, like his master, lay dark and unresponsive.

A lump formed in Alisa’s throat. She shook her head in disbelief, running a shaking hand down the side of Xavier’s cheek. His skin was already cool to the touch and his complexion was rapidly fading to a waxy gray. She promptly began to look for a wound. Maybe it wasn’t as bad as she thought, she told herself. Maybe he was just unconscious and Ian could heal him.

But Alisa stopped, frozen by the sight of a large burnt gash that had been carved out of Xavier’s midsection. Her eyes filled with tears and her lip began to quiver. She had seen this type of injury several times before in the Great War. The wound had been cauterized by the blast, so there was no blood—just a glittering green residue around its outer edges. The residue was venom from the Viper’s fire ball. Each blast was a deadly mixture of fire and venom. Alisa could tell by the color of Xavier’s skin that the venom had moved into his heart and was now spreading into the outer regions of his body.

This cannot be happening. This isn’t real,
she told herself.
This is Xavier Ward.

Alisa looked over at Holly, who had tears streaming down her face.

“Is he …?” Holly choked.

The despair in Alisa’s face answered her question, but she nodded anyway, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Yes.”

Holly’s eyes went dull as she lowered her head.

Another scream rang out from above them and they both jumped, startled by the noise.

Alisa looked up to the second level.

“My children!”

She turned back to Holly, who was staring at her now. “Go, I’ve got it down here,” Holly said.

Alisa nodded, got to her feet, and, with Nara blazing in one hand, she evaporated from the room.