Saturday morning Emma, Mark, and Jason sat around the small kitchen table at Jason’s house. They were telling her what they had discovered on their recon mission to the cabin the night before. She smiled to herself when she remembered their reactions to her appearance when she had walked in the door. They had both just stared at her for a minute before either of them could think of anything to say. Jason had rushed to offer her something to drink and had pulled out her chair. Mark just looked at her like he didn’t know who she was anymore. It took a few minutes and a lot of teasing on her part for them to relax around her again.
“Two guards by the door and one or two more inside.” Jason counted off, holding a glass of orange juice in his hand. “Those odds aren’t too bad. What do you think?”
Mark shook his head, frowning in concentration. “There’s something off about all of this, it seems too easy somehow.”
Emma leaned forward. “Four men of unknown abilities against the two of you seems too easy to you?” She asked in slight disbelief.
Jason spoke up. “No, he’s right. It doesn’t seem like there should be anything suspicious about this and yet there is.”
Mark grunted in agreement, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “It might be a setup, but who do they think would try to rescue Tyler? It was just Emma and me that night, for all they know Emma’s just a high school girl who can shield herself. They wouldn’t think she’s much of a threat.”
“Maybe they think The Blade found out he’s been captured and they’ll try to rescue him?” Jason said.
“If they were trying to stop a rescue attempt they would have more guards or move him to a better location. This feels like a trap to me. The question is a trap for who?” Mark said.
Jason hesitated. “You don’t think it would be a trap for Emma, do you?”
Mark and Jason both turned and stared at Emma, who slouched down in her seat. After a moment Mark shook his head.
“They don’t know anything about Emma except that she can shield and whatever Loraine told them, which wouldn’t be much. I don’t think they would expect her to go running to the rescue.”
Jason just shook his head and took a drink out of the orange juice in his hand. Emma cradled a cup of coffee in her hands as she glanced back and forth between the two boys.
“So…what’s the plan then?” Emma prompted.
“What do you mean?” Mark asked, staring at her in confusion.
“How are we going to rescue Tyler?” Emma persisted. “You have a plan, right?”
“Look, Emma,” Mark said. “It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what we’re up against. It would be stupid to go in there with no idea what to expect.”
“We can’t just leave him there!” Emma argued. “What happened to needing to get him away from Drake’s men so they don’t find the journal?”
“She’s right.” Jason said with a grimace. “We can’t let them get the journal. There’s too much at stake.”
Mark growled in frustration. “So then what do you suggest we do?” He snapped at Jason.
“Hey, don’t get mad at me.” Jason said. “I’m just agreeing with Emma.”
“If it is a trap then maybe they are trying to flush Emma out.” Mark said. “They might not be expecting the two of us to show up. We might have a chance to catch them by surprise.”
“I thought you said they wouldn’t be interested in me.” Emma reminded him.
“You, no. Your bracelet, that is a different matter.” Mark replied.
Emma sat up, her eyes alert. “So does that mean we’re going?”
Mark glared at her. “No.” He said. “That means Jason and I are going. You are staying here.”
“What? No!” Emma protested. “I’m not staying behind while you and Jason run off to be the heroes. I can help!”
“The only one you’ll help is Greco by distracting Jason and I. If you are there we will be too worried about taking care of you, we won’t be focusing on our mission.” Mark told her.
Emma turned to Jason for support. “Jason, please let me come!” Emma begged.
Jason shook his head, his face serious. “Mark is right.” He said. “You shouldn’t come.”
“But I can help!” Emma argued.
Mark stood up abruptly. “We said no, Emma. Now go home. Jason and I have a lot of plans to make before tonight.”
“Tonight?” Emma said in a shocked voice, slowly standing up. “You’re going tonight?”
“Yes.” Mark said brusquely. “Now you need to leave.”
“Let me go with you!” Emma exclaimed. “I could wait in the car.”
Mark shook his head. “We aren’t taking a car. We’re riding dirt bikes up to the cabin.”
Jason stood up too, but he made no move to help Emma as Mark herded her out the door.
“Mark, please let me stay.” Emma pleaded as Mark opened the front door and walked her outside.
“I’m just trying to keep you safe.” Mark said softly. “Everything will be okay. I’ll let you know as soon as we get back tonight.”
Before Emma could say anything Mark walked back inside and shut the door behind him.
The moon was high in the sky as Emma hiked through the forests of the Rattlesnake Mountains. Before Mark had kicked her out that morning Emma had seen where he had marked the location of the cabin on a map in the living room. As soon as she got home she had looked up the location and marked it on a map of her own so she could follow them without being caught. There was no way she was going to let Mark and Jason risk their lives while she sat at home and did nothing. After an hour and a half of hiking Emma was grateful for all the morning runs she went on, there was no way she would have been able to hike this a few months ago. Now she knew why Mark and Jason had decided to take dirt bikes.
Emma paused to take a drink of water and check her location. According to her map she was almost there. Emma put the water and map away in the small hiking backpack she had brought and began creeping forward, her eyes and ears open for anyone that might find her. If Mark found her stumbling around in the dark he would send her home immediately and Emma wasn’t about to let that happen.
Continuing to creep forward, Emma finally reached the edge of the clearing where the cabin was. From her vantage point off to the left of the front of the cabin she could see the two guards by the door. Emma swallowed nervously. Mark had made it seem like it would be no big deal to get past them but now that Emma saw the guards for herself she wondered if maybe he had been trying not to scare her. The guards were absolute giants, even bigger than Mark. Emma would never try to take on one of them in a million years, much less two.
Just then Emma heard a thunk and the first guard crumpled to the ground. Before the second guard could even realize what had happened there was a second thunk and he fell to the ground as well. Emma held her breath as two shadows detached themselves from the forest and silently ran across the clearing towards the cabin. Mark and Jason were making their move. Reaching the cabin they burst through the front door. Emma could see them fighting two more guards through the windows of the cabin. She was so engrossed with what was happening in the cabin she didn’t hear the sound of a branch snapping behind her. Emma’s muscles tensed to run into the cabin to help Mark and Jason when everything went dark.
Mark dropped the body of the guard he had been fighting to the ground. Now that he and Jason were inside the cabin he could see the stairway that led to the basement. With a beautiful right hook Jason knocked the guy he was fighting out, dropping him to the floor as well. Mark caught Jason’s eye and nodded to the staircase, motioning that he would go first. Jason nodded and the two of them crept down the staircase together.
The basement was just one big room with a cement floor and walls. No guards were in the basement, just Tyler. He was handcuffed to a chair in the middle of the room. His head was dropped forward on his bare chest and his hair was drenched in sweat. Mark didn’t know what they had been doing
to him but Tyler looked like he was more dead than alive. Running over to him, Jason worked on reviving Tyler while Mark set about breaking the handcuffs that were chaining him to the chair.
“Tyler. Tyler you need to wake up.” Jason said quietly, shaking Tyler’s shoulders.
Tyler slowly lifted his head. “Who are you?” He asked, his voice hoarse and scratchy. “What are you doing here?”
“We came to get you out of here.” Mark said, coming around the chair to face Tyler.
Tyler’s eyes brightened in awareness. “I remember you!” He exclaimed. “You were there the night she tried to rescue me.”
“Yes, that was me.” Mark said patiently. “Now can you stand up? We need to leave.”
Tyler’s face turned to panic. “Birds! Birds in a cage about to be clipped!” His eyes cleared for a moment and he grabbed Mark’s arm. “You have to leave! She must be protected!”
“Who must be protected? Emma?” Mark questioned him.
“She is a Forgeron. She holds the key.” Tyler whispered urgently.
Mark and Jason exchanged a startled glance.
Tyler grabbed the front of Mark’s shirt. “Give this to her, when she is ready.” He murmured, shoving a glowing gold orb into Mark’s hand.
“A Memorex?” Mark studied the golden orb sitting in the palm of his hand.
A whisper of noise floated down the stairway. Mark and Jason tensed, listening intently for any other sounds that someone was there but all they heard was Tyler mumbling about birds and cages. After a moment Jason looked at Tyler’s vacant expression then back at Mark.
“We don’t have time for this.” Jason growled impatiently. “Let’s just grab him and get out of here.”
Ducking under Tyler’s arms, they half carried and half dragged him out of the room and up the stairs. Tyler kept babbling about a bird in a cage, his feet scrabbling uselessly against the ground. As the three of them stumbled into the main room the sound of a slow clap reverberated from the walls, freezing the blood in Mark’s veins.
“Congratulations gentlemen.” A cultured voice said. “You managed to free Tyler. Almost.”
Mark slowly looked up. Greco stood in front of them, seven of his best fighters in a semi-circle behind him. Jason and Mark lowered Tyler to the ground, slowly sinking into fighting stances. Fire engulfed Jason’s hands and Mark focused on the men nearest to him for his attack.
“I wouldn’t try to fight if I were you.” Greco warned, taking a step to the side. Mark hissed in frustration when he saw who was behind him. Ethan held Emma trapped in front of him, a gag in her mouth to keep her silent. His large hand was wrapped around her neck, sharp claws digging into her skin just above her jugular vein. “I would hate to see such a pretty girl get hurt in our fight.” Greco said in a mocking voice.
Tears pricked Emma’s eyes as she watched Mark and Jason slowly stand up, their faces void of expression. Despair spiraled through her at the thought that they were about to be captured because of her. In a desperate movement Emma jerked in Ethan’s hold, trying to fight free. Ethan didn’t even budge from her flailing. He tightened his grip on her neck, cutting off Emma’s supply of air until she was gasping for breath. On her neck his nails felt like shards of glass digging into her skin. Suffocation made her hyper aware of the painful sensation, every single pinpoint of pain was magnified in her mind. If Emma had had any air in her body she would have whimpered. Emma felt something trickle down her neck and for a moment she thought it was a tear but with a sickening jolt she realized that it was blood she was feeling. One of Ethan’s nails had pierced her skin.
“She’s a feisty little one.” Greco said, his expression amused. “Normally I would have fun breaking that wild spirit of hers but Drake wants her brought to him in one piece.”
“Tell him to stop! She’s suffocating!” Mark yelled. His expression was thunderous and Emma could see his hands shaking where they were clenched into fists by his side.
Greco glanced over his shoulder with a bored expression. “Ethan, we can’t kill her yet. You know what our orders are.”
Ethan kept his grip on Emma’s neck for another moment. Emma thought she was going to pass out. Her head felt like it was going to explode and every cell of her body screamed for oxygen. Then his grip loosened and air seeped into her lungs. Emma gasped for breath, almost choking on the gag in her mouth. Emma continued dragging air into her body, feeling a deep sense of relief that she could breathe again.
“What do you want, Greco?” Mark growled.
Emma tried to catch Mark’s eye so he could see how sorry she was but his gaze never wavered from Greco. His lips pulled back from his teeth in a silent snarl. The only thing keeping him from attacking was Emma.
Greco laughed. “I already have what I want.” He told Mark. “This whole set up was just so I could get my hands on her. When the two of you first arrived I was a little worried she wasn’t going to make it because she wasn’t with you. But then she came sneaking up all on her own.”
“Why do you want her?” Jason demanded.
“That’s between Drake and the girl.” Greco replied disinterestedly. “You were right to keep her hidden. As soon as Drake heard about her he wanted to see her for himself.”
“We will do a better job at keeping her hidden next time.” Mark growled.
“Unfortunately for you there won’t be a next time.” Greco drawled. “I’m tired of your boy guardian act. Now that I have Tyler and the girl I have no need for either of you.” Greco motioned to two of his fighters. Fear burst through Emma as the two men leapt towards Mark and Jason. She screamed against the gag in her mouth, every ounce of fear she was feeling pouring out in her voice. When he heard her scream flames burst out all along Jason’s arms, brighter than Emma had ever seen them. She felt the wave of heat hit her face and her skin tighten as the moisture was drawn out of it. All around them Greco’s men stumbled back, blinking from the unexpected heat and light.
“Emma! Shield!” Jason yelled before releasing a streaming inferno directly at her. Emma quickly channeled her fear through the bracelet, praying that it would work. Greco dove out of the way as the flames engulfed Emma, sliding around her and torching Ethan instead. With a curse Ethan dove out of the way, beating himself to put out the flames that had caught on his clothes. Behind Emma the glass window shattered from the heat and the wooden frame around the window caught fire. Mark didn’t wait for the flames to stop, he sprinted forward, feeling the flames sear his back for just a moment before he grabbed Emma and dove out the empty hole where the window had been.
Jason pulled Tyler up from the floor, still shooting flames at whoever tried to stand up as he and Tyler stumbled across the room towards the window. Within seconds the sparse amount of furniture was up in flames and smoke filled the air, making it impossible to breathe or see. The shadowy figures of Greco’s men surrounded them in the smoke, just as blinded as Jason and Tyler were. Tyler stumbled and fell to the floor, gasping for air and too weak to move.
“Tyler!” Jason shouted over the roar of the flames. He tugged at Tyler’s arm. “We have to go now! Get up!”
Tyler shook his head weakly. “No, no, no!” He yelled back weakly, coughing from the effort. “Hot, it’s so hot. Can’t breathe! Go, you go!”
Jason shook his head stubbornly. “I’m getting you out of here!” He yelled.
Jason reached down and grabbed Tyler, throwing him across his shoulders in a fireman carry. The fire had reached the ceiling and above them the roof beams groaned from the stress of the heat. The cabin wasn’t going to last much longer. Jason stumbled over bodies of Greco’s men who were passed out on the floor as he stumbled towards the window. He could see it just ahead of him, a small hole in a wall of flames. The flames around the window roared and expanded as the night breeze rushed in and fanned them to greater heights.
Through the thick smoke an arm swung through the air, hitting Jason in the chest with the force of a battering ram. Jason wa
s knocked off his feet and he slammed onto his back on the floor. Tyler fell a few feet away from him and when Jason glanced over he didn’t see Tyler moving. Jason tried to crawl over to him but Ethan jumped out of the smoke and grabbed him by the ankle. With a grunt Ethan dragged Jason towards him as Jason tried to scramble away.
“No, you don’t.” Ethan growled. Picking Jason up by the back of his clothes Ethan lifted Jason high into the air and slammed him down on the small table in the room. The table shattered beneath Jason, sparks flying into the air and flames whooshed out from underneath the tabletop.
Jason lay there gasping as pain filled every cell in his body. He could feel the anger growing inside of him, taking him over. He tried to fight it, tried to resist the darkness within him. The flames surrounding him roared at his pain, fueling the heat of his anger. Ethan appeared over him, canine’s elongated and his appearance animalistic. With a large clawed hand Ethan reached down towards Jason.
“Don’t touch me. You don’t know what will happen.” Jason warned him. Jason’s voice was warped like the flames that were devouring the cabin. He was about to lose himself to the flames entirely and when that happened…
“You don’t scare me weakling.” Ethan snarled, grasping the front of Jason’s coat and lifting Jason high into the air. With a roar Ethan slammed Jason into the cement floor. Jason’s head cracked against the cement and pain burst through him again. In a daze he watched as Ethan straightened above him, lifting one booted foot to slam down on Jason’s chest. Flames filled the edges of Jason’s vision so all he could see was the look of gloating triumph on Ethan’s face. Vaguely he heard Greco yell, “Ethan! Don’t!” But then the flames took over.