07-02-2020, 11:26 PM
Natalie accepted his attentions with some small amusement flared deep into her deadpan expression, though his last swipe at the dust caught an unfortunate angle. She winced, jaw gritting hard to bite back the slip. The pain blanched, though she said nothing. Instead she only turned her head to cast a glance over the darkened view of the landscape below. The pool glowed softly, and for the first time she considered its remote beauty. Though it was easier to see it now they were so far removed from the hot press of the jungle.
The house was dark, which might have been normal for a household in the small hours before dawn, but not one fled into hiding following the spectacle of the facility. Where was the security? Natalie paused when bid, following the lead Jay gave, though discomfort was prickling in her stomach and flooding quickly outward. She had no reassurance to offer the question of his look, but precious little surprise either. Her own warnings rang in her ears, creeping up her heartbeat, though she tried to breathe calm. Forced it with an iron will.
This wasn’t right.
She could feel the tension in Jay too, but they had no recourse now they were here; the only option left to press forward. The power coiled beneath her skin like warm light, its enhancements a boon and curse both for the over-sensitive way it made her own pulse thrum in her ears yet at least made her feel prepared. When summoned she peered out the window, catching the back of Scion’s head; enough for recognition and a nod. Inwardly she considered the hour. Considered why Scion would be at the gate house of a property not his own. But while she desperately fumbled at the facts there was precious little time to align the pieces. Her lips parted to voice a suspicion when the light flicked on, and Jay snapped to a defence.
The woman gave no sign of surprise at their presence, and ice slithered across Natalie’s skin while they bandied words. By her nonchalance alone they were clearly expected, and she wasn’t sure why Jay wasted the time on the distraction. Her pale eyes scanned the shadows, her fingers about to press a soft warning into his side when he suddenly pressed her down under a spray of gunfire.
The bullets ricocheted off nothing, exploding deafening. Her chest heaved, fear contained behind fortress walls and trust in a power she could not see. Jay unfurled to terrifying control; fire swirling, light sparking, men flung like toys and cut down before he launched himself on. Heart slamming behind her ribs, Natalie waded past the strewn bodies to follow his path into the room beyond.
And caught herself in the doorway when she perceived what was within.
Her heart sank with a suspicion she had not let herself actualise for its horror; the shuffling figures swatted through on the security footage, identities hidden. The bars slammed down on her expression; everything inside flattening hard on the rear of sickened emotion, and fighting to assert control in its place. Yet it all unravelled so quickly. Jay stumbled before she could react, blood gushing from his side like his insides ripped free. The scream yanked a tether on her soul that pulled her through the threshold, only to flinch at the shot. Disbelief was a glaze on her eyes as Jay’s father crumpled, the brutality striking her motionless.
In some state of detached shock, she realised then that Amengual paid her no attention, and she knew from his wife's flippant comment that she was not expected here. Nor did he know what she was. The dispassionate tones of the story he had told during their phone conversation haunted, a reminder that he might not discount her as negligible for long. It wasn’t like she’d denied the attachment. It wasn’t like he was wrong.
She forced herself to stay rooted. Forced her eyes away from Jay. The power flared hot in her, incandescent. Gunmen still surrounded; she wasn’t unseen. But Amengual still hadn’t looked at her, the sneer of his focus on Jay. She could end this. Only then he summoned someone else, and her attention sharpened instead on the name that followed. It seared her memory from the moment Jay had spoken it back at the motel room.
Remaining control fled under the volatile spike of emotion pulled from somewhere primal. Jay’s mother was keening as Placaso yanked her back, yet Jay crumbled as badly as he had on the floor after the diner, slick with his own blood. The power contorted to the shape of old memory, burning her stomach with nausea as the violent threads rushed out. Placaso’s arm yanked back, and Jay’s mother’s knees buckled. She sank, sobbing, crawling to her son. Blood flashed a wide arc behind her. Bones snapped.
Then Amengual’s foot connected a sickening crunch to Jay’s face, and the weave gutted loose. For a moment the power slipped entirely as recklessness closed the rest of the distance, skidding to her knees where he was still fighting to push to his feet, his eyes wild. She felt the heat of the blood seeping into her jeans. Her hands pressed over his against the gaping wound, and her eyes widened to a realisation she could not allow herself to think to conclusion. The power grasped and slipped until it finally bloomed. Her world shrank to the feel of his pulse under her hands, gushing out. It constricted her chest how little she could help. Yet neither of them were going to survive while Amengual lived, and their protection rested on her shoulders. Her gaze rose, the power burning under her nebulous control, and her teeth grit at the sense of her own panic.
And realised the sense of the room had shifted. Her expression stilled as the search of her gaze found a familiar face. Someone else hovered shrouded behind his shoulder, but it was the severe features of Scion Marveet her pale eyes latched on to.
The house was dark, which might have been normal for a household in the small hours before dawn, but not one fled into hiding following the spectacle of the facility. Where was the security? Natalie paused when bid, following the lead Jay gave, though discomfort was prickling in her stomach and flooding quickly outward. She had no reassurance to offer the question of his look, but precious little surprise either. Her own warnings rang in her ears, creeping up her heartbeat, though she tried to breathe calm. Forced it with an iron will.
This wasn’t right.
She could feel the tension in Jay too, but they had no recourse now they were here; the only option left to press forward. The power coiled beneath her skin like warm light, its enhancements a boon and curse both for the over-sensitive way it made her own pulse thrum in her ears yet at least made her feel prepared. When summoned she peered out the window, catching the back of Scion’s head; enough for recognition and a nod. Inwardly she considered the hour. Considered why Scion would be at the gate house of a property not his own. But while she desperately fumbled at the facts there was precious little time to align the pieces. Her lips parted to voice a suspicion when the light flicked on, and Jay snapped to a defence.
The woman gave no sign of surprise at their presence, and ice slithered across Natalie’s skin while they bandied words. By her nonchalance alone they were clearly expected, and she wasn’t sure why Jay wasted the time on the distraction. Her pale eyes scanned the shadows, her fingers about to press a soft warning into his side when he suddenly pressed her down under a spray of gunfire.
The bullets ricocheted off nothing, exploding deafening. Her chest heaved, fear contained behind fortress walls and trust in a power she could not see. Jay unfurled to terrifying control; fire swirling, light sparking, men flung like toys and cut down before he launched himself on. Heart slamming behind her ribs, Natalie waded past the strewn bodies to follow his path into the room beyond.
And caught herself in the doorway when she perceived what was within.
Her heart sank with a suspicion she had not let herself actualise for its horror; the shuffling figures swatted through on the security footage, identities hidden. The bars slammed down on her expression; everything inside flattening hard on the rear of sickened emotion, and fighting to assert control in its place. Yet it all unravelled so quickly. Jay stumbled before she could react, blood gushing from his side like his insides ripped free. The scream yanked a tether on her soul that pulled her through the threshold, only to flinch at the shot. Disbelief was a glaze on her eyes as Jay’s father crumpled, the brutality striking her motionless.
In some state of detached shock, she realised then that Amengual paid her no attention, and she knew from his wife's flippant comment that she was not expected here. Nor did he know what she was. The dispassionate tones of the story he had told during their phone conversation haunted, a reminder that he might not discount her as negligible for long. It wasn’t like she’d denied the attachment. It wasn’t like he was wrong.
She forced herself to stay rooted. Forced her eyes away from Jay. The power flared hot in her, incandescent. Gunmen still surrounded; she wasn’t unseen. But Amengual still hadn’t looked at her, the sneer of his focus on Jay. She could end this. Only then he summoned someone else, and her attention sharpened instead on the name that followed. It seared her memory from the moment Jay had spoken it back at the motel room.
Remaining control fled under the volatile spike of emotion pulled from somewhere primal. Jay’s mother was keening as Placaso yanked her back, yet Jay crumbled as badly as he had on the floor after the diner, slick with his own blood. The power contorted to the shape of old memory, burning her stomach with nausea as the violent threads rushed out. Placaso’s arm yanked back, and Jay’s mother’s knees buckled. She sank, sobbing, crawling to her son. Blood flashed a wide arc behind her. Bones snapped.
Then Amengual’s foot connected a sickening crunch to Jay’s face, and the weave gutted loose. For a moment the power slipped entirely as recklessness closed the rest of the distance, skidding to her knees where he was still fighting to push to his feet, his eyes wild. She felt the heat of the blood seeping into her jeans. Her hands pressed over his against the gaping wound, and her eyes widened to a realisation she could not allow herself to think to conclusion. The power grasped and slipped until it finally bloomed. Her world shrank to the feel of his pulse under her hands, gushing out. It constricted her chest how little she could help. Yet neither of them were going to survive while Amengual lived, and their protection rested on her shoulders. Her gaze rose, the power burning under her nebulous control, and her teeth grit at the sense of her own panic.
And realised the sense of the room had shifted. Her expression stilled as the search of her gaze found a familiar face. Someone else hovered shrouded behind his shoulder, but it was the severe features of Scion Marveet her pale eyes latched on to.