92
AS HE RAN WITH HOPE DOWN THE STAIRS, Nick considered the grim irony. Nephilim were real, after all. But they seemed disorganized and easy to confuse. Must be all that raging blood-lust that blinded them to Lena’s commands.
“I can’t believe that retina scan worked,” Hope said.
“There’s one more, which can only be disarmed by Serena.”
“Is her being a wolf some kind of construct?”
“I can’t really tell. She’s a Nephilim. They’re all Nephilim.”
“I thought you said—”
“I was wrong.”
They reached the bottom of the steps and pushed open the door, expecting the worst. But the entire hallway was pitch black.
Another wave of pain and vertigo struck Nick.
“It’s happening—too fast.” He faltered and would have lost his balance had Hope not steadied him.
“What’s happening?”
“Becoming human. The pain will pass, but every time it happens I lose more of my powers.” He took in a sharp breath. “Take my hand.” Sliding on the cool concrete wall, his other hand found a door, slightly ajar. Just enough light came through to illuminate its placard: LOCKER ROOM B.
But he could barely stand, even though that last wave had ebbed and some of his strength pulsated.
“Hope, please. They almost killed you. Stay out here and wait.”
“Try and stop me.”
He looked at her in wonder. “You’re nearly as stubborn as me.” He put his arm around her, cloaked her with him under an invisibility construct, and prepared for the struggle of passing through the door. To his surprise, they slipped through easily. If his powers were going to leave him, they were going to drive him batty doing it so inconsistently. Though he was grateful now to be inconsistently re-blessed with the ability to teleport, and pass through solid matter—with a hitchhiker, no less.
The sudden change of darkness to bright fluorescent lights stung his eyes.
Hope gasped.
Nick quickly covered her mouth.
Then he looked up and saw it.
The corpse of a man hung from the locker room’s ceiling pipes, eyes bulging, blue tongue sticking out. Thank God it wasn’t Lito!
In the mirror, however, Nick caught his and Hope’s reflection.
Not invisible.
Blasted, unreliable powers!
From behind a row of gunmetal lockers, Lena emerged. Then Serena, back in her human form, and finally, Gunther.
Each of them with a hostage’s neck in a chokehold.
“Running out…of time!” Lito grunted, looking to the timer on a suitcase in Lena’s other hand. In the crook of Gunther’s elbow, his neck looked ready to snap like a dry twig. Maria struggled in vain to free herself from Serena’s grip.
“Aren’t you the brave fool?” Lena said to Nick. “Should have joined me while the offer was still open.”
“You’re about to kill thousands of people, for what?”
“I have someone important to impress,” she said. “In fact…let’s do this out in the open. High visibility and all—it’ll only take a few minutes.” She glanced down at the timer. “Four, to be exact.”
In an instant, they were all standing on the artificial turf in the field. Most people had fled and were crowding into stands, while others shouted and otherwise contributed to the commotion. Occasional gunshots, whether warning or fatal, rang out.
Suddenly, spotlights came on illuminating Nick, Lena, the Nephilim holding Lito and Maria just a few feet from them, and Hope, who looked more dazed than frightened.
“Four minutes and fifteen seconds,” Lena said with a glance down at the digital clock. Of course she’d wait until the moment before the nuke detonated, then teleport away leaving the blast to complete her dirty work.
Nick had to grab that suitcase.
If ever he needed to draw upon every bit of supernatural power within him, it was now. He swung a fist straight into her face.
Lena blocked the blow with her left arm. Judging by the surprise on her face, she hadn’t expected him to react so violently.
Nick threw another punch, this time at her midsection.
She caught him by the forearm and twisted.
Searing pain.
Jaw clenched, Nick ignored it. With his free hand he grabbed Lena’s hand—the one grasping the suitcase—and twisted it with all his might. The crimson glow of destructive energy enveloped them, pulsing like a star about to supernova.
The suitcase fell to the ground between them.
He was drawing from her power and feeding it back upon itself, like opposing magnetic charges forced into a confined space. Lena was becoming as immobilized as Nick.
“You’re staying right here with the rest of us!” he said.
For the first time since he’d met her, Lena’s eyes exhibited fear.
“Serena!” she called out.
For a moment, Serena didn’t respond. She and Gunther were staring at what appeared to be the eye of a cyclone, standing vertical some ten yards away. Tendrils of lightning flashed out from its center. Nick didn’t have time to wonder what it was.
When Lena called out again, Serena released Maria, who fell to the ground.
From over Lena’s shoulder, Nick saw Serena transform into a huge wolf again and charge at them. With his strength draining at an alarming rate there was no way he could keep his hold on Lena and withstand the creature’s attack.
There was only one thing he could do, and he wasn’t at all sure it would work.
93
JUST BEFORE THE WOLF POUNCED, Nick grabbed Lena by the shoulders, threw her to the ground, then grappled and tumbled around with her.
But he’d cast a construct taking on her exact likeness, and apparently it had worked. When the wolf landed on them it seemed confused, the growl rumbling in her throat barely audible. Nick held still.
Hope watched in terror, her eyes moving from the struggle in front of her to the swirling vortex. Lightning crackled around its opening, sending a jolt through the stadium.
The wolf turned to look at it, then back to the two Lenas. With a hideous snarl, it lunged and clamped its jaws around the real Lena.
“Wrong one!” she cried out.
The wolf either didn’t believe her or didn’t care. It picked her up like a rag doll and shook her from side to side.
Nick rolled out of the way and opened the suitcase. Not realizing that his construct had disengaged and he no longer looked like Lena, he fumbled with the controls, trying to get to the retina scan module.
Gunther threw Lito down and rushed over to leap at the wolf, who released Lena and raised its head. It caught Gunther in its jaws, hurled him toward the vortex, then ran from it as fast as it could. What happened next took only a second or two, but the sight of it was horrific. The outline of Gunther’s physical form remained intact while his spirit essence was ripped out of his body and pulled into the vortex, leaving a shriveled mass that fell to the ground like mummified remains.
Nick found the retina scanner.
The timer on the briefcase read: 3:00…2:59…
He got up, but a heavy blow to the head knocked him off his feet.
The scanner fell out of his hand.
Lena stood over him, breathing heavily. Bloody gashes scored her clothes and skin. She kicked the suitcase aside and jabbed Nick’s chest with her sharp heel. She glanced over to the vortex, which howled like the frigid winds of Siberia. “I don’t believe this,” she muttered.
Another power-draining pulse hit Nick. It would result in a short surge of supernatural abilities, followed by more of its loss. But it began with overwhelming pain and nausea. He was too weak at the moment to move under Lena’s foot.
A large hunting knife appeared in her hand.
She glanced around, then back at Nick as she prepared to plunge the blade down.