My heart squeezed so viciously, I grasped my chest and wondered what a heart attack felt like. They’d be immune to the chemical now, leaving only students and professors suffering. My one way out was ruined, all because of fucking Seraphina!
I channeled my fury, knowing it was misplaced but also knowing I couldn’t spare the energy it would take to adequately hate the terrorists. They were too big, too unknown, but Seraphina… I could hate her to the end of time.
I embraced the rage, and the white stillness that filled my mind was soothing. Using it to push back the pain, I stood on the other side of the thick brush on the ankle I now presumed to be broken.
I tried to flex it and had to bite down on my lip to stop the whimper from escaping.
Shouts from the other side of the hedge alerted me to the fact that even more terrorists had shown up, all wearing masks. It was just a matter of minutes until one of the fallen guards caught their breath enough to warn them of the crazy girl that had run past them wearing a gas mask and waving a vial of stinky fish scent.
I watched in silence, not knowing where to go next and saw one of them, a woman, start up the stairs to the front door, which would, I realized a second later, give her a better vantage point on my hiding spot.
I stumbled back into the shadows cast by the tall building and jerked my head around looking for somewhere to hide. A gardener’s shed tucked against the building was the perfect spot so I hobbled there first and yanked on the handle.
It didn’t budge.
“No, no, no,” I whispered as I gasped shallow breaths that made my head swim.
The woman took the fourth step then the fifth. Soon, she’d be able to see me clearly.
I closed my eyes and let my head loll back. If this was it, I wanted to be taken with some kind of dignity. I’d fought my hardest to save Xavier. I could be proud of that. My parents could be proud of it, if they ever found out what I’d tried to do.
The woman took the final step and turned to face the path.
A hand wrapped around my mouth at the same instant I was jerked back against a hard body and pulled, kicking and screaming, into darkness.
Chapter 18
I fought back as hard as I could.
My arms were pinned to my sides so I swung my head back with as much momentum as I could. It connected with something flat and wide that grunted and cursed, then hissed, “Elena, stop. It’s me.”
I froze.
The arms held me for a moment longer, almost as if they didn’t trust my lack of action, and then I was free. I turned in the darkness and stilled.
“Bash?” I strained to see but it was too dark, so I lifted my hand slowly, to his chest, his shoulder, his face. “Bash!” I threw myself into his arms and bumped the gas mask painfully into him. “Ow.”
I ripped the mask over my head and took a cautious whiff of the air inside the shed. It smelled of ripe fertilizer, seeds, and metallic garden tools, but was free of the horrid scent of fish.
“You’re alright?” I asked, running my hand over his face again, searching for blood. “How are you here?”
“I was headed to the solarium to meet you when the attack happened.” His voice was gravelly and pitched low, barely above a whisper. “Old Ones, Elena, they’re just shooting people.” He blew out a breath and leaned forward until his forehead touched mine.
I knew we had bigger things to worry about, Xavier for one, but in this moment I could think of none of them. Bash was safe, we were together, and everything was alright.
“I was coming out of the Admin building when…” he paused and shook his head slowly, “when Stephanie was shot. I didn’t know what to do. Everyone was screaming and running. They just kept coming and shooting into the crowd, so we hid. We found this shed and locked it from the inside.”
I pulled back, still unable to see, and frowned. “We?” I asked, finally hearing the sound of quiet breaths behind Bash.
“Yeah, 007,” Daniella’s acrid tone made my spine stiffen. “As in my brother and me.” But the weakness in her voice made my brows furrow.
I pulled my cell, still useless I noticed, out of my pocket and turned on the torch feature. Daniella sat, scowling and pasty white, in the corner of the shed with a piece of fabric pressed to her shoulder. From the red stain on it, I realized she’d been shot.
Watching her, I pulled in a deep breath, tasting the air, and scented more than just blood. I glanced back at Bash and, with the illumination, finally saw the strain in his eyes. “How bad is it?” I asked him, then turned to look at my worst enemy, figuring she could use something or someone else to focus on at the moment.
“It’s nothing. It went right through,” she barked and color flooded her cheeks. Bash’s hand touched the length of my back gently. “Why do you care, anyway? Looking for another way to worm your way into my brother’s life?” Daniella broke off and pulled in a few shallow breaths that seemed to tire her out. I decided there wasn’t time for this and squatted down so we were at eye level.
“Alright,” I said quietly but with enough backbone in my tone that she stayed silent. “We don’t have time for this bullshit. Professor Xavier was shot in the side and the silver is going to kill him,” I arched an eyebrow and nodded towards her shoulder, “and, I suspect, you, if we don’t get the antidote from the nurse’s office and dose you both. I’m guessing there’s more than just the two of you needing it right now, too.”
Bash knelt beside me and reached for his sister’s hand. “Dani, you know she’s right. Whatever fucked up logic is keeping you from seeing that Elena’s the last person to worm her way in anywhere is just going to have to be put on hold until you’re not dying.” His breath was warm on my face and smelled of peppermint when he spoke. “I’m going with you.”
Daniella stared at me with narrowed eyes for a long moment, reluctance and fear for her own life warring on her perfect features, then she nodded once and set her jaw. “Let’s get going then. The antidote isn’t going to administer itself.”
I scoffed before I could stop myself and was rewarded with a seething glare. “You’re hurt. You need to stay here.” As I said the words, I remembered the state of my ankle and tested it out. My almost silent hiss of pain wasn’t silent enough.
“Pot. Kettle.” Daniella arched a haughty eyebrow my way followed by a weak smirk.
I stared at her and wondered, for an instant, if I could live with myself if I just left her behind and went on with my life. No, I immediately reconciled, I couldn’t let her die, even if she was a huge bitch. Besides, some part of me that I didn’t quite understand or even want to acknowledge yet cared more about Bash than I’d ever cared for anyone and he loved her. I guess I was stuck with her.
Just because I was stuck with her didn’t mean I was going to take her shit, though. Without saying a word, I turned off my phone light and shrugged out of the lab coat. I had a problem that would be solved with a simple shift. She, on the other hand, wouldn’t be able to shift until the silver was out of her system.
I rotated my stiff neck and called to my wolf. Evolution and magic flowed through me as my bones shifted and thick russet fur sprouted, covering me from head to toe. When my foot bones elongated, I bit back a howl of pain knowing all of our lives depended on it.
The darkness looked different with my wolf eyes. Even with the non-existent light, I could see the general shapes of things, of Bash and Daniella. I lifted my nose into the air and inhaled, getting a good whiff of fertilizer and silver first, then the rancid fish from my clothes and hair. I shook my entire body and wished desperately for a shower. Gingerly, I tested my ankle and found it already well on its way to being healed. Whatever magic allowed our bones to shift from one state into another, also allowed that process to heal most wounds.