Page 57 of Rising

“And?” I asked once more.

“And it only made things worse.”

Reina nodded in agreement and as I took a seat next to her, “So It’s just a waiting game then?” I concluded.

“Just a waiting game then,” Amaia concluded, coming around to sit next to us both.

* * *

Reinaand I spent the next few days keeping each other in her idea of uplifted spirits, staying occupied in either her study or mine. Distracting our minds by thumbing through the accounts of the survivors, running analysis on the biopsy she’d done on Michael, and going down a list of possibilities, cross-analyzing with the archives and historical records the other historical Scholars and I kept in the Public Library.

By the time we’d come across a conclusion and were ready to present to other Scholars, three things had become definitive; of all attacks in the last six months, every single soldier that’d been bitten on duty or in the field, had been healed within minutes of their bite thanks to Amaia’s careful resourcing in each company. Of the bites prior to six months ago, 98 percent of them had been healed within minutes. 2 percent within a few hours of being bitten, and the last 1 percent had been two people who ended up separated from their group and had trekked their own way back to The Compound for aid. We brought them into the Elemental Room for testing to confirm, but as we suspected, no new magic had manifested in their veins, nor in their DNA when Reina cross-checked.

We knew that Michael had been found and returned to The Compound within three days of being bit, but infection had settled. This had led to Reina’s hypothesis that infection was key to Michael’s unique situation and was turned into a hardened theory once Seth confirmed with Amaia that Logan too, had developed an infection before displaying a new power.

And by the time Seth, Alexiares, Logan, and the others returned five days after their initial distress call, the third thing had become crystal clear. We were in for some shit.

I waited outside South Gate, Amaia, Reina and Riley at my sides, Suckerpunch and Harley at Amaia’s feet, guards at our backs. Seth had paged Amaia that they were fifteen minutes away and coming in hot, Pansies fresh on their trail. It’d taken us half that to get there from The Kitchens. We’d stopped only for Reina and Riley to pick up their weapons and Amaia to add on to the ones she usually sported with every outfit.

It wasn’t long before the ground shook with the sound of the galloping horses. Amaia’s face hardened. Flames burned bright in the palms of her hands, an artillery lined every inch of her body, from the thigh holsters containing her guns of choice and extra magazines, to the multiple knives tucked into the holster outlining the shape of her chest. Her eyes were fierce, determined and focused on the six horses now speeding our way, dust kicking up on the trees lining the border of The Compound. At least ten Pansies flanked at their sides, two bodies flopping on the backs of their respective horses uncontrolled.Unconscious,I realized, praying Seth wasn’t one of them. Suckerpunch and Harley rose to their feet, heads low and gums snarling.

Riley tossed the wooden handle of his ax back and forth between his hands, his long legs itching, pacing in place, ready for a fight. The sharp metal pierced through the air as he swung it with deadly precision, loosening up his shoulders.

Reina raised her bow and arrow, the string taut between her slender fingers. Her eyes fixated on whichever target she’d decided on first, her breathing slowing down to make pace with the calmness of her heart. She leaned into the correct posture, aiming and awaiting Amaia’s command to fire.

I unsheathed Wrath from my back and gripped her tightly, angling my feet and rooting them in place, ready to guard my home with my life. There were only ten. Seth had warned Amaia who promptly decided, albeit with a little urging from me, to handle this ourselves, not wanting to further raise the alarms and disturb the perceived peace inside the walls.

Reina hadn’t protested, and I could feel the emotions leaking from her as she focused on harnessing them back in. She craved violence as much as Amaia and I did at the moment. Needed to feel this fight. Wanted to be the one defending her brother.

I prayed for the person who’d underestimate my sister. Underneath the makeup, and the wildly inappropriate lace-based apocalypse-chic outfits, she was tough as nails. I’d never known her to shy away from a chance to get her hands dirty.

Riley was a given. Where Amaia went, he followed. If it came down to it, without a doubt, he’d lay down his life for her as well.

We were a force to be reckoned with, united in our mission to protect Seth, to protect The Compound and everyone inside that we had learned to love. As the horses neared, Amaia let out a war cry, and we sprang into action. Her flames blazed flying into the air. Riley sprinted forward, meeting a Pansie head on, cutting it off in its path towards Amaia, distracted from the horses now sprinting past. His ax swung and Reina’s arrow flew as The Pansies descended. The guards opened the gates for Seth and his men to flee to safety, keeping the area secure and clear of any innocent bystanders.

I dodged the lumbering attack of the sack of rotten meat in front of me. Wrath struck my target decisively, splitting its head in two as its eyes focused in on me, meeting my gaze. My vision went blurry and time slowed as I felt my eyesight starting to fade.

Determined to stay focused, I screamed at myself out loud, demanding my mind stay in the present and continuing on in the fight, noticing two more coming from behind the trees. Clicking noises came from their throats as they fixated on the dense landscape. Arrows flew past me from a high angle, the watchtower. I threw a few fingers in the air behind me, thanking them for having my back.

As I charged towards the tree line, I took in the scene around me quickly. For only a handful of people, we’d ensured a lot of ground was covered. Each fulfilling our roles, moving as a unit. It was enough to encourage me to branch off and secure another piece of our land. I stumbled, vision going blurry again, and I found my mind distracted.

Where was Seth?I turned my back, noting the distance between me and the nearest Pansies. There was time, they were nearly two hundred yards away.There he was, fighting next to his sister atop his horse. The rest of the men must have entered the gate already.Good, I’ll just wrap this up.

I was met face to face with snapping jaws, too close for me to use Wrath. In the moment I was faced with death, my mind drifted to the visions I’d channeled over the last two weeks. The Pansies were getting faster, and I would die without knowing why or how. A sharp, crunching noise filled the air, and it went stiff, hitting the ground with a wet thud.

Alexiares stood over me, a savage grin taking up his face. The blood’s dark coloring was nearly black, covering the tattoos on his forearms and smearing on the corners of his mouth as he wiped his face, offering me a blood covered hand. I took in the large knife that populated the hand near his face, Amaia hadn’t been exaggerating. There was a level of insanity that had to exist in a person for them to choose what would be most people’s ‘last-ditch weapon’ as their main way to fight.

I hadn’t seen him near me when I’d stopped to scan the scene.Quick and insane, I think I’d quite like having him around. Harley and Suckerpunch tore into the second Pansie a few feet away. Suckerpunch glancing up at his owner for approval, letting out a satisfactory howl.

Before I was fully back on my feet, three more Pansies came from the woods and the dogs turned on guard.

“Shit,” Alexiares mumbled, moving to position us side to side, dogs in tow.

“You go right, I go left?”

“I’m left-handed.”

“Fine, have it your way,” I teased, and we dove back into action.

---