Page 26 of Revenant (Spirit Realm #2)
ELLIS
S omething about the whole fight seemed a little too orchestrated. I don’t doubt the challenge was real—they wanted to see us fight, maybe hoping we would slip up and reveal our abilities. And Hicks did so fucking spectacularly, but I can’t blame him.
He was doing fine until the bastard targeted Rue. I saw the instant a primal rage took over. His actions were so instinctual that he couldn’t have stopped himself even if he tried…which, I suspect, didn’t even cross his mind. I watched in shock as he was engulfed in flames…then walked through them like it was nothing.
He didn’t even flinch.
I wish I could say he knew the flames wouldn’t touch him, but I highly doubt it. His rage overtook his common sense, leaving behind only the need for vengeance. Everyone was so distracted by the scene unfolding that no one noticed until too late when that bitch snuck up behind Rue.
Gunner bellowed her name, but it was much too late. The blow that was meant to kill her cracked her on the side of the head instead. Even as blood gushed down her face, I was running, the pounding of feet telling me the others followed.
Gunner didn’t even see the guards, just swiping them aside with his massive arm, stomping over the few that were too slow to move. By the time we reached her, Gunner barely caught Rue in time before she collapsed.
Hicks and I stood back-to-back to guard them while they were vulnerable. Jaceson crouched next to Crystal’s still body, his mouth set in a grim line as he checked for a pulse. When a furrow appeared between his brows, I knew she must still be alive.
Jameson dropped down next to Rue and gently took her hand, his complexion deathly pale. He was quiet, his face blank of all emotions, triggered at the sight of her bleeding.
“Heal her,” Gunner implored him.
Jameson blinked, awareness flooding back into his eyes, and a grim determination took over his expression. He barely set his hand on her chest before a wave of guards descended on us.
We did our best to protect ourselves, but a dozen tasers ultimately took us down. Some of the guards appeared worried about Rue’s condition, but it likely had more to do with what punishment the doctor would issue than the farce they called a fight.
The fuckers.
I grit my teeth against the need to protest when they whisk Rue away from us for treatment. Bile rises in my throat at the amount of blood she’s lost. Jameson has a complete meltdown at seeing her carted away again, insisting that he can heal her.
As much as we try to calm him, he’s inconsolable.
A combination of fury and numbness settles over our group as the guards escort us back to Rue’s room, locking us inside the gods-be-damned space. Gunner pounds on the door for a good minute, the metal denting with each blow. When that doesn’t work, Hicks pushes him away, then he presses his own hands against the door. My eyebrows shoot up when the metal turns a brilliant, glowing red and orange before it starts to dribble down the surface.
He sinks his hand into the metal, his fingers curling around the lock before yanking his arm back…taking the whole mechanism with him. He flings his hand, shaking the molten metal from his skin.
His uninjured hand.
Liquid drops of metal hit the carpeting and sear right through it with a puff of smoke, a tiny flame flicking up before he stamps them out.
James is pacing the floor, tugging on his hair, muttering to himself. Seeing her being taken again and unable to stop it from happening pushed him too far. I’m not sure he’s even aware of his surroundings.
With the door open, he looks ready to claw his way through the molten metal to escape, and it’s only Gunner blocking his access that prevents it. “We need a plan first. We leave here without one, and they might just kill us if we prove to be too much trouble. What good will we do Rue if that happens?”
“We’re not going to lose her again,” James snarls and begins pacing the length of the room once more.
Jace is scowling at an empty corner, twirling the ring on his thumb almost obsessively. When he catches me looking, he grimaces. “When Rue hit Crystal, she flung the cunt’s spirit out of her body. Crystal followed us here and won’t stop yapping. She says if we fix her, she will lead us to Rue.”
My eyebrows climb up my forehead at his explanation. That’s the last thing I expected him to say. I glance at the corner, adjusting my glasses, but see nothing. I shudder, glad I didn’t receive that particular gift.
The rest of the guys pause at what should be an outrageous comment, but the unusual occurrences seem to be our new normal.
“Do we trust her?” James tilts his head this way and that, like a dog trying to hear a pitch that humans can’t. From the way he winces, he must be able to catch snatches of her voice. Then he shakes his head, as if to rid himself of it, and glances at the rest of us. “We don’t need her. We can find pookie on our own. Ellis can hack the computers or some shit, right?”
The guys glance at each other, then turn to stare at me, and I reluctantly admit the truth. “I’m only able to access electronics close to me. I need more time and practice.”
“Or you just need a computer,” James muses, insanity sparking in his eyes, and I bite back a groan. While he is as good as his word, any plan he concocts is usually pure chaos.
Jace huffs, rolling his eyes in annoyance. “The bitch says she knows the way to the server room.”
The server room is next to the labs where we first woke up, and we head in that direction. Much to my surprise, the guards are pretty lax in their duties. Whenever we come across one of them on their rounds, we slip away before we’re caught.
It only takes us ten minutes to reach our destination, and I scowl down at the electric lock. I tilt my head, studying the electrical waves that stream from the device, then touch a single finger to the keypad. Combinations flash in my mind too fast to consciously register, and it’s only seconds before the locks click open.
Hicks grabs the knob but glances at me before he opens the door. “Cameras?”
“I looped the footage,” I reassure him, ignoring the way a vise tightens around my head. Using my abilities is like exercising a muscle I never knew I had. Doing too much at a time is taxing and strains the muscle.
Hicks studies me with concern as he passes me, and I wave him off. As long as we get Rue back, I can deal with the pain. The twins enter next, then Gunner waves me forward, guarding our backs.
The server room is underwhelming. It’s basically a room with one small server bank that fits on a desk. I’m actually grateful, since my brain very much feels like mush. I’m not sure how much data I can review before my mind is overloaded.
Avoiding the others so they won’t notice that something is wrong, I focus on accessing the data. Rue needs us, and I refuse to let her down again. I take a seat at the desk, close my eyes, and allow the data to flow.
I don’t try to sort the information, instinctively following the data, concentrating on anything pertaining to Rue. After a minute, my head throbs, and a migraine blooms behind my eyes. Five minutes into the code, vertigo strikes, but I breathe through the disorientation. At the ten-minute mark, a trickle of blood drips down my nose, and I swipe away the annoyance.
I’m close.
I can’t give up now.
Just when it feels like my brain is about to have an aneurysm, I pull myself out of the server. I take a deep breath, then swivel my chair to face the others, doubting my legs will support my weight at this point, and swallow hard when bile threatens to rise. I clear my throat, careful not to move too fast and pass out.
“What did you find?” Hicks asks, handing me a wad of toilet paper. I didn’t even realize my nose had started bleeding again, and I accept it gratefully.
James places his hand on the back of my neck, his fingers so cold, I shiver. The stabbing pain ricocheting inside my skull eases, and I relax into my chair. “Thank you.”
James nods once, then waits impatiently for the information I attained. I grimace, my nausea churning again, only this time at what I discovered. “The doctor is a sociopath. To him, humans are just test subjects. He places no value on his patients other than what he can learn from them with his experiments. He has one goal in mind—to finish his father’s work on creating the perfect super soldiers.
“And he believes Rue is the key to his research. He won’t let her go without a fight.” I dab at my nose, pleased when the bleeding finally stops. Not wanting to leave a trace of our presence, I shove the wad into my pocket and stand.
“He can’t have her,” James snarls back, looking ready to burn the place down. I only worry that he might burn it down around us. He glares at each of us, as if daring us to argue. “Pookie is mine.”
When he sees us staring, he crosses his arms with a pout, then rolls his eyes and looks away. “Fine. Ours.”
“We don’t have much time,” I warn them, wishing I could block out the information I saw on the server. “The doctor picks favorites to bestow with extra benefits. He indulges them, allowing them to be in charge of the others. Anyone who isn’t his favorite is expendable.”
“You think he set up the fight to purposely injure her?” Hicks says, his unblinking yellow eyes trippy enough that I have a hard time maintaining eye contact.
“I think he would do whatever is necessary to get his hands on her,” I say, my tone grim. I refuse to tell the guys the full extent of the good doctor’s plans for Rue. They’re too horrible to speak out loud.
“Crystal insists that the duel was her idea.” Jace plays with his ring, his face a mask of annoyance, the poor bastard. Being stuck with her must be his worst nightmare—forced to speak with a girl and unable to escape. He rolls his eyes, hunching his shoulders as his scowl deepens. “She was falling out of favor and ruthless enough to kill anyone who thought to take her place.” A sly smirk curls his lips, his mood brightening. “She just didn’t expect to be handed her ass so thoroughly.”
He winces, and I suspect he’s receiving an earful from Crystal, but his smirk remains in place. “Keep your disgusting, disease infested hands off me.” His lips curl, and he does a full body shudder. “Your abilities didn’t work on me when you were alive, and they sure as fuck aren’t going to work now that you don’t have a body.”
He grabs his shirt, and I realize he is clutching the necklace underneath. The instant he touches it, his posture relaxes, and the harsh lines on his face smooth out. Though Jace might be socially withdrawn, it’s by design. He knows just what to say to piss off people in a way that they refuse to speak to him again. I always thought it was an amazing ability, but manners were ingrained in me at a young age and I’m unable to go against my programming yet.
“Where did they take Rue?” Gunner glances around the room, a scowl of annoyance darkening his expression when he can’t pin down Crystal and demand answers.
The muscles of his forearms pop out when he clenches his fists, his veins seeming to pulse as he struggles with his rage. I have my suspicions as to what his ancient DNA contains. If it didn’t sound so outlandish, I would swear he was a berserker.
Then again, Hicks has teeth and claws, James can heal, Jace can see ghosts, and I can talk to computers. Our world has been tipped on its end, but Rue makes the insanity seem normal. I can’t go back to the way we were living before she came into our lives. Our family is complete with her, and I refuse to let her go without a fight.
“I have a plan, but we need a few of the others to help with a distraction.” I use my abilities to check who the good doctor likes to use in his experiments, the ones who he tortures the most might be the ones most willing to help us. While I don’t trust any of them, Rue wouldn’t like it if we left them behind without trying to free them.
After reviewing a few files, what he has been doing to the patients, how few of them actually survive his tender care, I’m more determined than ever to do whatever it takes to bring Hershamn down for his crimes.
We’ve done the same thing on the outside many times, dismantling criminal organizations and taking over their power bases. While we don’t have a problem with some criminal activities, we have no time for drug rings or prostitution.
Doctor Hershamn is no different.
He exploits the weak and must be punished.
And, ironically enough, he gave us the abilities to take him down.
“You have a plan?” Hicks lifts a single brow, curiosity taking over his expression.
“We’re going to rescue our pookie and fuck shit up?” James tilts his head toward me, his serious expression almost more worrisome than his manic phases.
Normally, I would be concerned.
This time, I’m in complete agreement with him.
I grin back, my smile sinister as I rock back and forth on my feet, practically rubbing my hands together as the plan comes together in my head. “We’re going to rescue our princess and bring this place down while we do it.”
Their grins are slow to come and more than a little feral as we work out the details of our plan. By morning, Rue will be back in our arms, and the good doctor will finally get what he deserves.