Shattered (14 page)

“Okay,” I muttered. With a stilted breath, I grabbed a hold of the shard with one hand while the other hovered over the wound, ready to slap down the moment it was clear. “Ready?”

He didn’t even bother looking away, but rather gazed at the wound with cool interest. “Go ahead.” I pul ed up, but the piece didn’t slide out of his flesh as easily as I’d expected.

Torrid winced only slightly at my failed attempt then grinned. “Try again. Maybe you’l have to use both hands.”

With another deep breath to clear my head, I put both hands on the glass, shifted my weight to have better leverage and tugged at the piece with al my strength. An ugly and nauseating sucking sound accompanied the release of the piece of glass and I almost fel back, but quickly regained by balance and put my hand over the exposed and gushing wound.

Blood squirted through my fingers and for a moment, it was impossible to concentrate.

“Quick, Kama.”

I closed my eyes and envisioned Torrid’s smooth skin, healthy and strong. My hand remained on the wound as I fel into a semi trance, my inner eye focused on the skin mending, and the bleeding stopped.

“I think it’s okay now, Kama.”

Torrid’s voice reached through the trance and brought me back to the moment.

“You did a great job.” He put a warm and congratulatory hand over mine.

Opening my eyes, I pul ed my hand away from the wound, fearful of what I’d see. “I did, didnn>

“I had no doubt you could do it, Kama. You have it in you… so many possibilities.” I gazed at him, his eyes fil ed with so much pride, so much confidence in the woman that I was. I immediately felt a great sense of accomplishment and realized, with such profound conviction, al I was truly capable of.

With a wil of its own, my body leaned toward him, seeking his warmth. Though I no longer felt I needed his reassurance, I stil felt the pul of wanting to be close.

Just as my lips prepared to brush over his, Liam’s footsteps approached.

I hurriedly pul ed the shreds of Torrid’s shirt back over the mended wound and stood.

“I couldn’t find anything suitable,” Liam said.

“But I did find something I think you’l be interested in.”

Torrid stood and faced Liam expectantly.

“Fol ow me.”

We stayed close behind him as he led us up a narrow stairwel . The lights were out but an eerie red glow streamed through the long narrow windows.

“I know you’l probably want to find Matthew and Jocelyn,” Liam said as he turned up onto another landing.

I smiled, pleased to see how he knew me so wel . They’d been at the forefront of my thoughts since seeing Sarah and Melanie, but I’d almost forgotten about them with the storm of fal ing glass.

“Are they being kept up here?” The notion seemed preposterous. Every indication I’d gotten pointed to the Coliseum, not the business district.

“No, but I’l show you where they are.” After seven flights of exhausting steps I asked, “How much higher are you taking us?”

“Just another four stories.”

My breathing was increasingly labored, but knowing that each step brought me closer to Matthew and Jocelyn pressed me to continue.

“Here we are,” Liam said. He pushed open a door and guided the way down a dimly lit corridor.

At the end of the hal , a tal window gave us a At the end of the hal , a tal window gave us a striking bird’s eye view of Arcadia. The destruction and devastation was even more evident from this vantage point, ="ju>

“The fal ing glass seems endless. I would have thought the entire Force Field had fal en by now. When wil it end?” I muttered.

“I think the Force Field may have been in layers,” Torrid said, “each one crumbling down after the other. How many layers there actual y are is anyone’s guess. It could go on raining like this for days, maybe even weeks.”

Once again I was struck by the chasm that separated the life I’d once known and the reality that sat at my feet. The day and the night; the light and the dark; the perfection and devastation.

Absentmindedly, my hands reached out to the hands of the two guys at my side, knowing how heartbroken they also were by this war.

“Liam,” I said after a long moment of reverence. “Why did you bring us up here?” He squeezed my fingers. “For one, I wanted you to see what’s real y happening al over Arcadia.” He glanced over me at Torrid. “You saw what those fal ing fragments can do. Even a smal piece can have devastating effects. I just don’t want you to underestimate the danger out there.”

I tightened my hold of him, touched by his ongoing concern for me. Despite everything, I knew he was stil on my side and I treasured that.

“Matthew and Jocelyn are over there.” He pointed over the neighboring building to the distant right. “In the Coliseum.”

My eyes widened as I saw for the first time the notorious Coliseum I’d heard so much about lately. “So that’s the Coliseum,” I mumbled. “It’s such an unattractive structure.”

“It certainly matches what goes on inside.” Liam grimaced. “I wonder if the architect knew what purpose it would eventual y serve.”

I knew how hard this was for him. That Coliseum had been built by his father, or at least with his father’s knowledge and blessing.

“My heart wants to beg you not to even try and get there. One of the heaviest and most dangerous battle zones is right there. I think some Arcadian citizens may have learned of the existence of the Coliseum, and of its purpose, and they’re causing quite an uproar. Getting there is going to be risky…

treacherous. ”

I gazed up at him and pressed my lips into a determined line.

“Yes,” he said knowingly. “I know you're going to go and try to save Matthew and Jocelyn no matter what’s happening out there; no matter what I say.

That’s why I wanted to at least do what I can, and that is to warn you of what you’re about to face. It may take a to h="48" ali bit longer, but it’l be safer if you go out that way.” He pointed to the far left. “You can go through the Onyx District and try to go around and arrive at the Coliseum from the other side. The added time it’l take you to get there wil be compensated by the time you’l save by not having to battle your way through this dense war zone.”

“Makes sense,” Torrid said with a nod of approval.

I heard his thoughts. His initial plan had been to fly straight across, but the intensity of fal ing glass made it too dangerous to seriously consider.

Without even realizing it, Liam had just given Torrid the solution he’d been seeking.

“There’s something else you should be aware of,” Liam added. “Dr. Sanz seems to want to protect the Coliseum at al costs. It’s heavily guarded and getting in unnoticed is going to be difficult. Don’t be in too much of a rush to get in. Take your time.”

“That goes without saying,” Torrid said.

Liam gazed at his watch. “It’s late in the day and many of the guards wil be tired. The past nights have been sleepless for many of them and that’l surely put gaps in the Coliseum’s heavy armor. I think your best bet wil be at gate three through seven, gate five being the slackest of them al . These gates are al on the back side and see less action than the main gates out front. Weariness and lack of action can literal y put the guards to sleep. Chances are some of the guards won’t be at their station at al .”

“I’l take al your suggestions very seriously, Liam,” Torrid said. “I’m sure your advice wil help us immensely.”

A tremendous thud startled us al and we instinctively reached out to put our hands to the wal just as the floor under our feet began to shake.

“The huge shard,” Liam said when the shaking final y stopped. “It final y came down. We shaking final y stopped. “It final y came down. We should get out before the building becomes too unstable.”

We hurried down the stairs only to find the main entrance blocked by the huge piece that had final y succumbed to the forces of gravity.

“The back entrance is probably our safest way out anyway.” Liam didn’t miss a beat, but quickly turned on his heel and led us to the back.

Pushing the door open, Liam pointed to the left. “Don’t forget, go out and around to the back of the Coliseum.”

Though his directives were aimed at Torrid, Liam gazed at me one last time. “Hopeful y we’l get a chance to see each other again when this is al over.”

A huge bal of pain took hold on>

“I’m going to try to find the best way of dealing with my father. If what Torrid says is true, about him erasing everyone’s memory and rebuilding Arcadia as it once was, I won’t let it happen.” Torrid reached out to grab Liam’s shoulder.

“You have a huge task ahead of you. Fighting one’s own father isn’t easy, no matter the circumstance. I wish you success.”

Liam nodded and turned his gaze to the ground.

We sneaked through the maze of tal buildings, avoiding the larger pieces of fal ing glass as best as we could and sidestepping the more intense battles, but our progress was slow and laborious. It seemed for every step we took forward we had to take a few to the side, around, back, and forward again.

“We’l never make it to the Coliseum tonight,” I grumbled with increased frustration. Though I ful y understood Liam’s concern and the need for us to take the long way to Matthew and Jocelyn, my impatience grew at an infuriating pace.

“There’s no need to rush, Kama. If anything the increased darkness wil afford us a greater chance of entering unhindered.”

“Yeah, but in the meantime we don’t know what they’re doing to Matthew and Jocelyn. What torture are they putting them through? I can’t bear to think about the pain they might be causing both of them.”

“Just concentrate on getting through al this safely. You won’t be of much help if you get caught.

We’l deal with whatever we find when we come to it.”

Liam’s advice proved even more valuable than we’d initial y thought. The war that raged just beyond the tal buildings was fierce and bloody.

Every other second was fil ed with the piercing screams of pain and terror.

As we rounded the last of the tal er buildings, we prepared to rush out to cross the street.

“Here,” Torrid ordered as he grabbed my arm and pul ed me back into the shadows.

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Roman">Careful y, we poked our heads around the corner to take a look.

Up ahead, under the pale light of a stylish street lamp, a gathering of Magical Ones huddled together, their eyes wicked and their grins macabre.

“We’l have to go around the other way,” Torrid said.

“They al look so evil. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“The war and crumbling Force Field has brought out the worst in everyone. It’s also al owed the lowest of the lows to creep out from under their rock and cause even more havoc than necessary.

Those guys aren’t out here to fool around. They mean business and when they get their hands on the enemy, they’re merciless.”

“It’s almost frightening to hear someone like you speak of them in such a way.”

He looked at me and cocked a brow.

“You’re one of the fiercest warriors of the Nethers. You said so yourself, you’ve trained al your life.”

He chuckled softly and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. “Were I out here by my lonesome I’d deal with them sure enough, but you change the equation quite a bit. Their sheer numbers pretty much guarantees one of them wil get a hold of you while I’m dealing with a handful of their mates. If that happens, we’re in for a whole different batch of problems. I’d like to avoid that if we can.”

“You underestimate me. Remember, you trained me yourself.”

“I don’t underestimate you, Kama, but I don’t underestimate them either. It’s simply not a risk worth taking. We’l do as Liam suggested and take the slower but surer route. After al , the goal of this exercise is not to fight evil Magical Ones, but to find your friends, right?”

I couldn’t argue with his logic. Nodding, I conceded him the winning point and we turned around to circle the building. Emerging on the other side, we stayed wel within the shadows, hugging the wal s as we inched our way to the Onyx District.

Just when I thought we’d be able to breathe more freely, a gang of marauders marched the streets, blocking our path.

“I’m afraid here we have no choice but to plow on through.” Torrid turned to me while his hand tightened fearful y around my fingers. “Are you truly ready to battle? This could get ugly.”

“I’m ready, Torrid.” Though a twinge of fear rose to my throat, my wil ingness to fight quickly overrode it. I was more than ready.

“Stay how h

My heart pounded in my ears as I watched him, so sure and steady with every step. But as my pride and confidence in his abilities soared, I pride and confidence in his abilities soared, I suddenly wondered; what was the signal? How would I know when to intervene?

The answer came quickly enough.

The moment the gang turned and saw Torrid heading their way, they disbanded and scattered out in every direction. With a wink, Torrid turned to me and waved me out.

“That wasn’t too complicated,” I remarked.

“They were just a band of inexperienced youths looking for a way to play tough,” Torrid said.

“If only every battle were so easy.”