The Reckoning (32 page)

It fell apart.

The contents of the box came tumbling out, but she had no idea what it meant. She exulted in it. Her greedy hands wrapped around my greatest fear and it slid through her fingers like gold in a treasure box.
It’s all mine now, whatever it is. Whatever you were hiding in there. Be a graceful loser, Erin
. With another laugh, she sealed the crack I’d made in her shield.

Time for the next step in my plan. Still channeling Cort, I let myself slip back into Delia’s body and looked at the plutonium cask through her eyes, but the atoms told me Cort had been right. Messing with that was far too dangerous. But there was a natural gas line I might be able to use instead.

Reaching for Keene, I shoved up against his shield. It was tighter than ever, and I didn’t know if I could break through another shield. I’d have to ask him verbally. I’d have to use Delia’s mouth. I pulled in all my strength, concentrating it in one place, forcing her mouth open.

“Keene,” I said in a voice I didn’t recognize as either Delia’s or mine, “I need your help.”

He looked at me as if I’d lost my mind.

Jeane broke away from Lew, and this time she carried a sword. “I hate you,” she screamed. “You killed him. You locked me up. Burn in hell, witch!”

The sword was coming at my throat. Too fast for me to defend myself.

Then Ritter was there blocking the sword with a chair he held in his left hand. “Stop!” he roared. “It’s not Delia.”

Everyone froze.

“Help her, Keene,” Ritter ordered.

“No!” protested Delia from my body. “It’s a trap. Let’s get out of here.”

Ritter grabbed my hand—my old lady hand. “This is Erin.” He turned to glare at Delia in my body. “What have you done?”

She grabbed a gun from one of her stunned soldiers, turning it in Ritter’s direction, but Ritter was ready for her. He pushed her back hard. Even one-handed, I knew he could beat her—but only until she got through his shield. Then she would control him.

Edgel and the other Emporium guards stood uncertainly, hands on their weapons, not knowing who to attack. They’d figure it out before too long. I had to work fast.

Keene dropped his shield.
Do this,
I pushed into his mind, guiding him to the gas line, showing him what to do. What atoms to accelerate and which to combine.
Upward and out, exactly like this. No variation. And give me more strength, like you did in Venezuela. Hurry!

“Hit the floor!” I screamed.

I sent the thought to Mari as well, finding her in the stairwell. I saw in her unblocked mind that she’d shifted to Basilio’s when Shadrach arrived, to alert Stella and check on Jace—who apparently was okay after being drugged by Shadrach—but she was back, wondering if she should try to help us now or wait for them.

I thrust out a mental shield around my friends, leaving only a slice of window that Keene could work through. My heart—no, Delia’s heart—pounded furiously.

A tremendous explosion ripped through the penthouse. Metal screeched and debris went flying. A few Emporium soldiers who hadn’t obeyed my command went flying too.

All at once the room was bared to the open sky.

Delia began screaming.

ALONG WITH THE SHIELD I’D
thrown around my friends, I’d protected the plutonium cask as well, but I really had no way of knowing if it would be enough until the roof and most of the outer penthouse walls had disappeared in the explosion. For a moment, during the blast itself, it was all I could do to keep my mind linked with Keene’s and Cort’s.

It was over. The natural gas line was ruptured, but the plutonium was untouched, the floor intact, and the city below us safe.

Thanks,
I said, dropping contact with the brothers. And dropping my shields. I’d need all my strength for the next battle.

Ritter was already in motion. He heaved one guard off the building and dived for another. I noticed he was using his wounded arm again, so he must have partially healed and was pushing past the pain. Mari had appeared and was battling another man by the door. She flashed around him appearing and disappearing.

I sought out Jeane, who lay near me, sprawled over Delia’s assistant. “Do your job!” I yelled at her.

She hesitated only a second before staring at Mari’s opponent, who abruptly crumpled under the knife Mari slipped between his ribs. Ritter punched his opponent unconscious as Keene and Cort joined the fray.

Leaving them to take care of the others, I focused on Delia, who was still whimpering, clutching her hands over her head. “It’s so big,” she moaned. “The sky. It’s falling. Crushing. Ohhh!” She wasn’t laughing at what I had hidden in that box now.

I didn’t bother standing but pushed my thoughts outward. Her shield was completely gone, and I slipped inside easily. The second I was there, Delia’s fear—no, my fear—attacked with full vengeance, but I shoved it back with the determination I’d learned from my long practices on so many rooftops and faced the cowering woman—or the mental rendering of her in my mind.

At once, the image of my machete was in my hand.
My machete,
I thought.
That’s what I forgot earlier.
I went after her, flashing light.

Lew!
Delia cried out, desperately reaching for her assistant. I knew that I might not be strong enough against the two of them, but I was going to try.

Lew didn’t answer Delia’s call. I swung again. The impact sent a wave of light pulsing along every nerve.

Delia screamed once more, but this time it was only in my mind. I was back in charge of my physical body. I pushed harder, shoving her into the glistening black snake that latched onto her like a giant, groping child. Bringing my hands together, I formed a similar thread—black with a shiny, silver interior, throwing everything I had into it. My construct burst into life, swelling as large as Delia’s creation. It plowed into her—biting, twisting, devouring. Delia and her snake cringed.

She tried to run, to leave my head, but I blocked her.
No escape,
I said.
This is your final battle.
Swinging the machete, I cut into her consciousness, sinking the blade deep. She threw something at me, a small thought that latched on like a leech, reminding me of the snake she’d first put in my head. I pulled it from me and threw it back at her. I slashed again. Harder. Light filled my mind.

Her dying scream shook to the depths of my core.

She was gone. Even now her construct faded away and vanished completely. Nothing remained. I was alone in my own body.

I lifted my head, jumped up in time to see Ritter take out the last guard. The view out over the city was astounding, and I expected a wave of nausea, but it didn’t come. I wasn’t driven to my knees or biting my lip to keep from crying out. I was just there. No fear. No snake. No boxes.

I laughed. It was glorious up here. Though I’d forced myself to many rooftops over the past months since my Change, I’d never been able to see the beauty of the view. I wanted to step closer to the edge and hold out my arms to embrace it all. I bit my lip, but this time it was only to keep back tears of elation.

Ritter caught me to him.
Yes, it’s me,
I told him. But he already knew.

A sound made us turn. Behind us we saw Jeane. She had a sword again in her hand, and this time no one stopped her as she sliced through Delia’s neck and torso, severing all three focus points.

I believed Delia’s mind was already gone—and permanently so—but killing her body would give us all peace of mind in the months to come.

Jeane turned to Lew, Delia’s assistant, and hugged him. Their lips met in a torrid display.

Ritter mumbled a curse under his breath. I knew exactly what he felt. Yes, there was definitely history behind that kiss.

Cort pushed up from where he’d been kneeling next to the body of a fallen guard. Shaking plaster from his hair, he picked his way toward us through the pieces of concrete from the demolished walls. “Stella just got through to me. She and Jace are downstairs with a vehicle. Stella says to get down fast while everyone’s still in a panic. They’re evacuating the hotel. She’s spread a rumor over the Internet about a gas leak, but bloggers are claiming an airplane hit the building and it’s about to collapse.”

“Let’s go,” Ritter said, his hand wrapping around mine.

“What about Shadrach?” I asked. But the closet area where he’d been lying was completely gone, shattered into a million pieces.

A police chopper chose that moment to zoom by, directing us to evacuate if we could. Asking if there were wounded. A stupid question when there were at least eight prone guards lying among the rubble as well as Delia’s mutilated corpse.

A news crew was close on the police chopper’s tail, and I was stunned to see Walker Anderson peering down at me from a window. He was grinning. We averted our faces as the police returned and ordered the news chopper away.

“Uh, we have a problem.” Keene pointed at Lew and Jeane, both of whom had picked up assault rifles and were pointing them at us.

Ritter rolled his eyes, but Jeane’s next words stopped him. “I’m nulling all your abilities.” Even as she spoke, my senses went dark. Behind me, Mari gasped as she apparently tried to shift and failed.

“Lew can get inside your minds now,” Jeane continued. “Your shields won’t be strong enough to keep him out. If you try to fight back, you’ll be in more pain than you can imagine. Even if some of you manage to escape, you won’t all get away. And we’ll make sure to kill any wounded you leave behind. Permanently.”

“You can’t be serious,” Cort said.

Heat flushed Ritter’s face. “You
want
to stay with the Emporium?”

Jeane rolled her neck and gave a little laugh. “Of course. It was only Delia I wanted to get rid of.”

“We can’t let you stay with them.” Ritter’s grim expression was frightening. “You’d use your ability against us.”

“Well, I don’t see that you have a choice.” Jeaned looked at her companion. “Right, Lew?”

I met Lew’s eyes with a sneer. “You’re just changing one master for another, aren’t you?” He didn’t reply.

“Shut up,” Jeane said.

I really should have killed her.

Jeane gave me her stupid movie-star grin. “Better give up now, Erin, or you’ll have more than your grandmother to mourn. I promise, I’ll see that the Emporium treats you as well as you treated me.”

Her comment about my grandmother hit me like a sword to the stomach, twisting in deep. No way was it going to end like this. We’d all rather die than end up as Emporium prisoners, even without Delia ruling the Triad. Reaching deep, I held out my arms toward the floor, absorbing nutrients as fast as possible. Jeane’s ability was just like any other, and now, without Delia draining me, I might be able to block her.
I am strong enough.
I had to be. I waited, gathering everything I could absorb. I might not have more than one chance.

“Let’s go,” Jeane said, motioning in the direction of the hallway with her rifle.

Concentrating on Jeane’s deadening influence, I brought up my arms, using the physical gesture to focus my thoughts. And shoved back. Hard.

Abruptly, my senses jumped into life again. I extended my shield around Ritter and the others. I couldn’t break through Lew’s impressive mind shield, but I could stop him from hurting my friend’s minds and maybe deflect a few bullets. My shield might even eliminate Jeane’s effect on them. Maybe.

I grinned at Jeane. “I don’t think so.” To Ritter, I added under my breath. “Get him.” Even with Jeane blocking Ritter’s ability, I’d bet on him any day against that scrawny pinhead.

Ritter didn’t hesitate. He launched himself at Lew even as I went for Jeane. They fired, but we’d taken them completely by surprise, and the bullets went astray. Or maybe they were just inept, having depended all their very long lives on others to protect them.

I landed on Jeane and knocked her to the ground. Ripping the gun from her, I tossed it aside. She was kicking and punching and yelling obscenities. “Nighty night,” I said. I put my hand on her throat in exactly the right spot, just as Ritter had taught me.

“What do you know?” I said, as her body went limp a few minutes later, “it really works.” I glanced around and saw that Ritter had also made short work of Lew, who lay unconscious on the ground.

Rising, I started to pick Jeane up, to carry her out and down to our waiting car.

The next second, the
rat-a-tat-tat
of machine gun fire made me duck. Ritter came toward me at full speed, grabbing me with his good arm and hurrying me out of the way as bullets sprayed into the rubble-strewn carpet behind us. From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of yet another chopper, this time stamped with what looked like Morocco’s royal seal. Either Jeane hadn’t been lying about her connection with the ruling family or the Emporium did have some very high connections here.

We caught up with Keene and Cort in the gaping doorway. As the chopper angled for a better position, we helped the brothers get the plutonium past the rubble in the penthouse to the outer hallway, which still had its ceiling. I was relieved to be hidden from the royal chopper, until more bullets sprayed above us, some ripping through the roof.