Indestructible (Indestructible Trilogy Book 1) (20 page)

“Uncle Jared…”

I freeze. My heart sinks in my chest.

Her uncle? Murray’s brother?

“Quiet,” he says, again. “You two—” he turns to face Cas—“Are coming with me. In fact, I’ll bring little Elle, too. That ought to give Murray an incentive.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Elle screams, thrashing around. Maybe she thinks her uncle won’t hurt her. But I can’t be sure of that. Suddenly things make a lot more sense. Murray’s own brother betrayed him. That’s why everyone avoided the subject. That’s why Murray is so overprotective of Elle.

But what really happened two years ago?

“You don’t own me,” Cas says, quietly.

“I had more than a fair share in your creation. Doesn’t that make me your master?”

Cas’s words come out from between clenched teeth. “I’d be careful what you say.”

“Such a
waste
of potential. You could really have been something great. Shame you were too weak to—”

Jared’s voice cuts off in a gurgle as Cas slides his knife around the still-struggling Elle to point it at his neck. I can’t breathe. One wrong movement from any of us and Elle could be impaled.

“Watch it,” Cas breathes. “You created me to be a weapon superior to any other Pyros, including you.”

“And you’d kill this girl to get to me?”

He throws Elle forwards, right into the path of the knife. My breath catches, but Cas’s already pulled the weapon back, faster than I can blink. Elle lets out a squeak as she begins to fall, but Jared grabs her again.

Cas stands back, breathing heavily.

“Put the knife away,” says Jared. “The same goes for you, girl. I need you to come with me. I need the Transcendent.”

“What do you need me for?” I’m playing for time, trying to figure out how to get him to let Elle go.

“You’re on the wrong side, girl. Both of you are. You have no idea what you could be. Murray’s been feeding you lies. What’s he told you, that you can defend humanity? The fiends are superior to the Pyros in every way. You can’t win this fight with Murray and his pathetic hangers-on.”

“Oh, really?” says Cas, one eyebrow raised. “And you think you can offer us a better deal?”

“You fail to see the bigger picture. But I suppose we did
make
you.” He moves forward, Elle still dangling from his grip, and Cas’s forced to pull his knife back.

“You were born to die, and you know it. How does that make you feel? Do you like being around these noisy, helpless humans?”

“What I think is none of your business. You’re not welcome here.”

“No,” says another voice, “You aren’t.”

Murray stands in the doorway, wielding twin swords, the side of his head covered in dried blood. “Let go of my daughter, Jared.”

“Or what? I hear you’ve grown soft. You wouldn’t kill me, Murray.”

“I wish you had died that day.” Murray’s tone is flat, but he can’t keep a twitch of emotion out of his expression.

“Apparently one of our experiments worked.” Jared laughs humourlessly. “Too bad just being indestructible isn’t enough—as this one knows already.” He gestures at Cas. “What’s the good of not being able to die if you can’t get what you want?”

“You fail to understand, as usual, brother,” says Murray. “Turning yourself and others into monsters won’t win you this war.”

“And you think the Transcendent can?” There’s a manic gleam in his eyes. “You might have abandoned experiments after our little
accident
, but I won’t let things get out of hand. Let me take your Transcendent. And this one, too. Otherwise the girl dies.”

“Jared,” says Murray, starting to look nervous. “You don’t want to do this.”

Jared laughs. “You think I’m just going to walk out? I could destroy your people, but I’ve spared you. Maybe I won’t be so generous next time. You’re only safe because the fiends don’t think you’re worth destroying. Why should they sacrifice themselves when you’re powerless to stop them from destroying humans anyway? How many lives have you even saved?”

“Stop.” Murray’s hands shake; sweat glistens on his forehead.

“Wake up, brother,” Jared says, softly.

Elle chokes as Jared’s grip moves to her throat.

Murray’s eyes flicker from Jared to Elle. I feel so powerless, and a quick glance at Cas tells me he feels the same. If only there was something we could do to intervene without him hurting Elle.

“How did you know?” he asks, defeat seeping into his expression.

“About the Transcendent? My spies trailed the team who investigated the old lab. Killing one of my fiends confirmed her power. This girl is Transcendent: make no mistake.”

“And what do you want with her?” For the first time, Murray looks at me.

Do something!
But he’s helpless as the rest of us, unless he’s just stalling for time.

Jared opens his mouth to answer, and Elle elbows him in the face.

Somehow she’s managed to move into an attacking position, and the blow knocks him back long enough for her to wriggle free. She runs to her father, as Cas steps in and presses his knife to Jared’s throat.

“Enough,” he says, other hand grabbing Jared’s flailing wrist and squeezing, hard. “Enough, or I’ll break every bone in your body.”

“You think you can kill me? I created you.”

“And I’ll end you.”

A trickle of blood runs from the edge of the blade. It’s starting to smoke. Jared lets out a choked sound as the burning blade presses against his skin.

“Leave, Jared,” says Murray, suddenly sounding incredibly tired. “Leave, and I’ll spare your life. It would be easier if I killed you, but I don’t want your blood on my hands.”

“How pathetic,” Jared spits. “For someone who claims to lead an army, you do an admirable job of staying in denial. We all have blood on our hands.” He hisses with pain as Cas’s blade burns his skin.

“Get out,” says Murray, lowering his two swords. “Now.”

Cas obliges, using the blade’s position on Jared’s neck to steer him towards the door. Jared’s eyes blaze with hatred, but he has no choice but to move. Elle watches him with frightened eyes. I hold my own blade out, just in case, but he makes no sudden moves to attack.

A sound outside. Did someone hear what was going on?

Jared pauses, a flicker of a smile on his face. “Did you think I came alone?”

A moment’s pause, everything frozen in the fragment of a second.

Then a roar shatters the silence. In a blur, Jared moves, ducking Cas’s blade, and runs from the room. Swearing, Cas takes off after him. I run, my hand tingling on the hilt of my knife as it welds itself to me. Flames flicker along the blade.

I run out of the room to find Cas standing on the edge of the railing, swinging his knife at the attackers. Three winged fiends circle the corridor, too high to reach. My heart jumps to my mouth as Cas’s feet wobble, dangerously close to toppling over the railing.

One of the fiends sees me and dives. I raise the blade, scoring a line across its leg, but its weight drives me back into the rock wall. The fiend staggers, dripping blood, its muscled form hunched on the edge of the platform. Hissing, it swipes with a claw, but I’m ready. I push its claw easily away with the side of my blade and quickly slash at its vulnerable face. Bright-red blood spurts from the cut. My skin tingles all over. I’m not even hurt this time. Not now that I’m Transcendent. Indestructible.

I concentrate on the power, the bond between me and the weapon in my hand. Fire flares up, red flames dancing along the blade, and the smell of burning fills the air. The smell of being alive.

The weapon blurs in my hands. I’m fast enough to block the fiend’s attack the instant it moves to strike. I knock the fiend’s claws aside, but another pair of claws just miss my face. A second fiend hovers above the first, bat-like wings blocking the light. How many are there? For a second, the thrill of battle leaves me. I can’t let the fiends hurt anyone. I can’t let anyone die again.

The air lights up. Everything glows the fierce colour of sunset. The fiend screeches, tiny eyes screwed up as though it can’t stand the brightness—but I can’t risk my powers causing any damage in here. I falter, hand trembling on the weapon’s hilt, and the second fiend dives without warning. I barely manage to lift the blade to meet its outstretched claws. Although the dagger doesn’t break, I’m sent hurtling back under the fiend’s impact. If not for the strange connection fusing my hand to the blade, I would have dropped it.

Momentarily stunned, I lift my head to see Cas in the act of jumping off the railing, kicking into the air. He rises two metres, maybe more—far higher than a normal human can jump—and even the other fiends pause to watch as his blade meets its target. He slashes the second fiend’s wing, then starts to fall.

The breath catches in my chest. But he drops as fast as he jumps, and his feet hit the other side of the chasm. Safe. I breathe out.

Idiot. Get them while they’re distracted.

The first fiend’s still injured, leaving a trail of blood along the edge of the platform. It swings around as I attack it, so the blow glances harmlessly off its side. My second strike catches it in the face, but it only shakes its head like I stunned it.
How do I kill one of these?
Short of using my Transcendent power—and risking destroying my home—I don’t know. This one’s different.
Engineered,
I think.

“Come on, Transcendent!” a voice shouts. Jared.

He stands in the entryway, something tucked under his arm. And someone else is moving towards him, carrying two swords. Murray. Did he leave Elle behind?

I can’t let him distract me. My blade scores another line across the fiend’s bulging arm. Bat-like wings beating, it pulls back. But the second fiend’s moved above me, and dives. Its fist catches me before I can dodge aside, and though I raise my knife, I’m sent head over heels into the dust. The impact shudders through my body and I gasp, the wind knocked out of me. As the two fiends soar at me, I roll over, kicking up at the nearest.

My feet connect and the kick sends it flying.
Holy crap.
I can do as much damage with my body as with my blade.
Of course I can.
Within seconds, the pain of hitting the ground fades and I’m on my feet again.

As if in response to my thoughts, fire flickers along my skin. The fiend expects me to slash with my knife, but instead I punch it in the side with my free hand. With a screech, the fiend beats its bat-like wings and retreats, letting its partner take its place.

They never used to work together. But they never used to have wings, either. These fiends are different, stronger. But I can take them down just as well as the others. I won’t be beaten again.

I circle the other fiend as best I can on the platform. I get a couple of jabs in, which the fiend is too slow to block. Their advantage is brute strength, but it’s nothing to a Pyro.

And even less to a Transcendent.

Another hit, this one to its face, creating a burn-mark on its stone-like skin. The fiend bares its teeth, a snarl building in its throat. I strike it again and again, leaving welts in place of bruises. Surely it can’t last much longer…

That new, strange power’s still there, beneath the surface. But I resist the desire to let the uncontrollable energy flood me in case I can’t stop it.

The fiend falls to the ground in a heap of blood-red rock. I breathe in and out, swinging around to intercept the second one—but it’s gone.

In fact, there’s no sign of Jared, either. Or Cas. Did he get away, or did he make for other Pyros, who must be in their rooms, with no clue what’s going on out here? I turn back to the fiend. Smoke rises from its skin. It’s breaking apart, like the one I used the energy blast on.

I can’t help watching in fascination. Its skin peels away, body crumbling to rock, to smaller rocks, to ash.

Find Jared.

I turn my back on the fiend and jump to my feet. Cas was fighting at the edge of the chasm, but there’s no one there now. I run around the edge, but he’s not below, either.

Where did they go?

I duck into the tunnel. The sounds of battle rise in my ears, and I quicken my pace. I run out onto the narrow path and nearly collide with Cas.

“Stay back,” he hisses.

Yeah, I’ve heard that before. “Not happening,” I say, peering round him, at the sheer drop into the valley. The sky is the colour of blood.

And Murray’s further down, twin swords in hand, blocking Jared’s path. No sign of the fiends.

“It’s his fight,” says Cas, seeing that I’ve moved.

The two brothers stand face to face. I can’t see their expressions from here, but I wonder if Jared would stoop to killing his own brother. I know Murray wouldn’t. Or do I? I didn’t even know he
had
a brother.

“What did he take?”

“I don’t know.” Cas still has his knife out, in case he needs to step in. He could reach them in one jump; I know, having watched him take down that fiend in mid-air. Could I do the same?

“Don’t,” he says. “He’s called the fiends off.”