Chapter 9: The Shed

Vance tugged at my head, dragging me along the icy grass.

My head throbbed in pain. As I fell onto my knees, they grazed against something sharp and cold. It might have been a rock, or maybe it could even be a tree root. Snow made its way past my jeans and tickled up my legs. I attempted to plant my feet on the ground, but all I got for my trouble was a stronger tug.

"Please," I panted, "stop, I'll walk."

Still, he didn't let go of my hair.

We went past the gym, the library, and finally the building where we used to study science before it got closed because of the lack of teachers. There were no people anywhere in sight. Well, there wouldn't be anyone else here since it was close to one in the morning and it was snowing. The snow was coming down faster.. it fell on my eyelashes melted into my eyes

“Where are you taking me to?” I asked

Vance turned to face me. There was no fear in his eyes. No panic. Just a sense of calm – too much so – that told me he knew where we were going. "A private place," he said. "Somewhere that nobody will disturb us, where nobody will hear you scream"

An icy chill ran through me and pooled in my stomach. But it wasn't fear that had silenced my voice; I refused to scream like he'd intended. Instead, I bit down on the inside of my cheek.

The maintenance shed was located behind the gym, concealed by an overgrown hedge of dead bushes.

Vance kicked open the shed door and shoved me inside, forcing me to land on my hands and knees. Beneath me, there was a cold, hard concrete floor strewn with sawdust and old motor oil. Above me, a heavy scent hung in the air: rust, gasoline, and a third scent I couldn't quite place. It smelled faintly metallic and sharp.

Vance grabbed an electrical cable off of a nearby shelf and knelt down behind me. I tried to move away, but he held my wrist and twisted it at my back

"Don't you dare," he said..

I didn't even move. Because I had no other choice my muscles trembled, and my thoughts were clouded.

First, he wrapped the wire around my wrists, so tight that the plastic started digging into my flesh. Yes, surprisingly enough, it stung. Then, he tied me up to the metal pipe that led up along the wall, and the chill that came from touching the pipe woke me up to the reality that I used to feel warm before. It felt like that kind of cold when you finally realize how foolish you've been.

"Comfortable?" He asked

I tried to pull the wire but it didn't even give. "Fuck you," I snarled through my teeth.

Vance laughed. "Sounds just like your mother. Same mouth."

The same tone… same attitude… the same stubbornness… It was painful to hear. "Stop talking about her."

"Why not? She was a part of this too." Vance stepped away and started pacing back and forth, leaving prints in the sawdust with his boots. "She was supposed to open the first portal with you guys. She agreed to do this; she was paid; she was protected by the demon council… But in the end, at the last second, she backed out."

The words made my chest hurt. Someone had grabbed me and started squeezing. I wanted to scream and throw up. "You lie!"

"Not really." Vance paused and bent down to look me straight in the eye. "Mom said this is wrong and refused to condemn thousands of people to death for saving her own coven. So, she left, and the vampires captured her and killed her, sparing us the effort."

My throat locked up – I felt tears burning at the corners of my eyes. This wasn't happening… it couldn't be! "No…"

"I'm sorry," Vance whispered. "And we still need to make things right." He started pacing again, then added. "The vampires worked for us… they just didn't know about it."

The door creaked open. Awful and long sound… like when a cat yawned…

I lifted my gaze to see Dorian in the doorway.

He had a hand placed on his chest, where Vance stabbed him earlier. Blood was flowing through his fingers… but it wasn't crimson blood – it was dark and thick and black. And when it fell onto the concrete, it hissed, like it was burning. I made some sound… I'm not sure if I gasped or sobbed.

"You should be dead by now," Vance said in irritation.

I had an inkling. He sounded far from frightened, which I took as a bad sign.

Dorian's jaw was clamped shut in an attempt to suppress his pain. "I have been dead for one hundred forty-seven years... you'll have to do better than that," he gritted between his teeth.

The silver dagger appeared in Vance's hand with an unpleasant glint. "Fair enough."

That thing was a horror itself. I didn't even want to think of it. I swallowed hard.

He attacked.

Dorian dodged but too late. The blade nicked his arm and cut through his jacket. A Dark liquid splattered on the wall; the smell made me nauseous. The vampire swayed but did not fall. I wanted to shout encouragement to him, but could not force myself to break the silence. Grabbing the shovel propped next to us, he tried to hit Vance in the head.

The latter managed to avoid it. The shovel impacted the pipe above my head with the sound of a tolling bell, filling my head with the cacophony.

The same damn thing wasn't working. I wanted to strangle myself with frustration.

Closing my eyes, I resigned to the only way left.

I felt the searing heat as if being immersed in boiling water in the middle of winter. It rose from deep within my chest, burning everything around. My palms tingled, fingers twitched in anticipation... fear that I would be overwhelmed again filled my soul.

It happened every time I hadn't used magic for a while – once, I torched half a forest. Another time, I made a man's heart stop beating without laying a finger on him. It resulted in nightmares.

Mother advised caution whenever I tried using powers. She said that my abilities were a curse as well as a gift, and I needed to handle them wisely. It was easier said than done.

Opening my eyes, I felt warmth spreading in them, making them burn from the inside… The wire around my wrists was not burning; it was not snapping. It just disintegrated as if someone with an invisible pair of scissors had cut it into pieces. And then those pieces fell down to the ground with little puffs of smoke rising from them.

I picked up the nearest object I could find, which happened to be a rusty iron pipe about two feet long. As heavy as a damn brick in my hands.

My hands were shaking from the adrenaline and I almost let it slip.

I got up. Legs shaking, yes, but still dragging myself on all fours.

Dorian and Vance were beating the crap out of each other, Dorian was definitely getting the worst of it since he got stabbed and now had only one arm to fight with. That bastard was still smiling. I despised that smile.

I swung the pipe into Vance's head.

He dodged it in the nick of time, but it grazed his shoulder instead of his head. He gave an indignant growl.

"Bitch," he muttered.

And then I gave it a second time. This time he grabbed the pipe with his bare hands.

Then there was a blinding light from the flashlight.

"Everybody stop."

The voice sounded very familiar. I turned around.

RA Jenna stood in the doorway, looking deadly. And her eyes… They didn't look brown anymore. Instead, they shone silver, like mercury in a glass ball.

Vance released the pipe and froze. So did Dorian. I brought my hands down.

Jenna entered wearing the same old jeans and hoodie as always, and something was different about her posture. Straighter. Hungrier.

"Watched all of you for weeks now," she announced slowly. And her voice sounded…deeper somehow. "The demon, the vampire, the nephilim traitor, and the witch."

I froze, a sharp stab of shock piercing my heart. "You knew?"

Jenna inclined her head to one side, looking at me. "Know many things, Arya. For example, that you've been sleepless for four days. That your magic is seeping out of you from fright. That there's only one person in this room who has never killed anyone."

Vance laughed again. "So, a hunter or maybe a werewolf, then?"

Jenna smiled a cruel smile. Her eyes glinted silver; her teeth seemed unnaturally white and straight. "Something older."

Then she approached us, passing Vance completely unobserved. Dorian was the only one to notice Jenna. He stared at her with wide-eyed shock and then at me as well. Jenna stopped just before me and suddenly the room reeked of coconut shampoo I knew so well.

"None of you needs to get hurt tonight," she whispered. "But we need to talk."

I looked at Dorian, whose blood had already stained the floor, and at Vance, whose hand still held the blade. My hands started to tremble, but I didn't really care at that moment.

"Why should I trust you?" I asked.

Jenna's eyes glittered as she answered. "Because, my dear, you're the only person in this room who doesn't lie to me anymore."

Which was not true – but it was not my energy level tonight, either. "Fine," I sighed. "Talk."

Jenna nodded and turned to Vance. "But first…"

Then her hand found Vance's throat. Before he could even react, she pulled him towards herself and made his eyes bulge with horror. "You will tell us everything," Jenna hissed through her clenched teeth. "All about the demon council. All about the portal. About Mira."

Vance's face went pale under his dark skin. "And what then?"

Jenna pressed harder. "And if you try to hide anything from me? If you try to trick me? Then you'll witness what happens if a creature older than your god gets angry."

Vance gulped loudly.

And for once in that evening, he finally looked scared.