As if on a macabre see-saw, they balanced their lives on
either end of the column as it tilted back and forth. Neither of them could
move for fear of toppling them both into the rocky water. They locked eyes,
fear filling Lucy, but not for herself.... She'd nearly lost Hunter too many
times already.
"Don't move," she said.
She had split-moment visions of their lives together in the
real world, where they didn't always stand at the edge of death: going to the
movies, or out to eat; walking hand in hand down the street as they browsed
shops.
His eyes reached across the distance and held her as if in
an embrace. "Lucy, you need to get off. Run and jump, fast!"
"No! You'll fall to your death."
His green cat-like eyes, and handsome face with its boyish
charm; the way that one shock of hair with the silver streak always fell out of
place and into his face; his long fingers and strong hands—she absorbed these
details, memorizing each bit of him, and then put him back together as the
whole man who stood before her. The man she loved and could not lose.
He grinned, but his eyes were sad. "I messed up with the
sphere, betraying you to steal it, but I'm not going to mess this up. I'm
sorry."
He ran away from Lucy, forcing the column to tilt down in
his direction, forcing Lucy to run toward the shore and jump, forcing her to
leave him to the fall alone.
She ran and jumped to the cliff's edge.
As Hunter fell, he called to her. "Catch!"
She turned and caught his sword, flying hilt-first toward
her, and without another thought—because she couldn't let her mind anywhere
near thoughts about Hunter and Luke—she lunged at Beleth with every ounce of
anger and rage and fear she could summon.
He parried and countered, but instead of blocking his
attack, she tilted her blade, allowing his to glance off. She pushed and
slashed, cutting his arm and his shoulder. He cried out in pain as black blood
dripped from him. She focused, narrowing in her senses, ignoring everything
else, and watched his every move as she counterattacked. Lucy looked for the
most minuscule tell, and danced with him like a shadow, always there but always
out of reach.
Still, Beleth didn't waver, didn't slow.
But she did. The adrenaline pounding through her body
wouldn't last forever. The reality of pain awaiting her on the other side of
this battle weighed in on her with each raised blade. He drove her back as her
muscles shook from fatigue.
Beleth pushed her closer to the waterfall, attacking, but
then his one tell appeared, his one opening—that moment as he pulled one blade
back before the other swung at her.
She slid past the attack, moved around him with lightning
speed, and shoved the sword in his back and yanked it free.
He groaned as spider legs erupted from his spine, grabbing
her, pulling her.
They both fell from the cliff and into the waterfall.
Water filled her mouth and she choked, trying to find her
way to the surface. Her lungs burned as she forced her body to swim out from
under the torrent of water slamming into her. She made it to the shore,
breathless and dripping, and pulled herself to land, still clutching Hunter's
sword. The sphere pulsed in her pocket, warming her, healing her. It had to be
what had kept her alive after the fall.
Mist surrounded her, and all stood quiet save the sound of
the waterfall pouring into itself. She moved forward, peering through the white
spray.
A figure approached.
She stood guard, pulse racing, wondering what new threat
she'd have to face, assuming Beleth too had survived the fall, when....
"Luke!" She ran to him.
His eyes opened into slits, blue peeking through as he
swayed on his feet. He didn't respond to her or look at her.
She reached for him, but something moved through the water,
toward him—just as in her dreams. Luke. Stalked. Attacked. Dead.
No!
Black oil surfaced, rushing along the split in the water,
and Beleth emerged covered in his tattoos, seeming to move with the mist.
"Luke, behind you!"
He blinked and turned slowly—too slowly—and his eyes
wandered.
Could he see her? Could Beleth? Or did the mist shroud her
in white?
Beleth gave no hint. He trudged through the water toward
Luke—quiet, like Death doing his silent work.
Lucy raised her sword, hoping to throw it, maybe hit Beleth
in the neck or chest, but she might hit Luke, and she'd lose her only weapon.
She mustn't be rash. She had to calm herself, still her
breathing, and think.
Beleth closed in on her twin, bladed hands raised and ready
to strike.
Mist swirled around her, moving inside her. The sphere
pulsed stronger, calling out to her.
Beleth had moved away from the sphere, and yet had been
simultaneously drawn to it. He'd asked Luke to use the sphere on him back at
the facility. Beleth had been trying to fight Steele's control this whole time.
What if—
Lucy moved fast, tackling Beleth and pushing them into the
water. She grabbed onto him, sphere in hand, and pressed it against his arm.
They didn't stand a chance against this powered-up version
of Steele, who used the earth they stood on as a weapon against them. Rocks and
sharp obsidian attacked the small group, injuring many. Drake blocked Robyn and
tried to protect Sam, but nothing flew at her. Darren cried out in pain as the
rocks bit into his skin, and Gary tried to run to Greg, to protect him, but
Steele pushed at them with an invisible force that immobilized them. Stone rose
from the ground and encased their arms and legs, turning them into partial
statues.
Norm buzzed through the air, using his own body to block
rocks that flew at Robyn, blood staining through his shirt and dripping down
his arms as Robyn screamed at him to stop. Steele floated into the sky and
tackled him to the ground, then used the rock trick to tether him in place.
Mary and Greg had no chance, their para-powers of seduction and the ability to
manipulate electrical waves were not effective in hand-to-hand combat, and
their weapons did nothing to damage Steele.
With most of the team already shackled to the ground by rock
and stone, Steele turned, looking at something no one else could see, and
grabbed at the air, his hand clutching a now-visible throat. Toby materialized,
gagging, and dropped the syringe in his hand as Steele flung him to the ground
and imprisoned him with the others.
Drake stood with Sam and Robyn. The rest of their team had
failed. They'd all been fools to think they stood a chance against Steele.
Steele brushed a patch of dust off his shoulder, and stood
victorious on his smoldering volcano, his gloating smile enraging Drake. With a
flick of his wrist, Steele pulled the hovering camera closer to him, no doubt
to use this as an example to the rest of the world of what he could do. He had
created his very own, twisted reality television show, paying for his fifteen
minutes of fame with the blood of his victims. Phones and iPads and televisions
and computers all over the world would make him the most famous person on the
planet, and his destructive exploits would be forever immortalized in film.
His display of power, combined with his careless disregard
for humanity, would make him the ultimate villain and superpower.
Drake couldn't even imagine what more Steele would be able
to do, if he also got Ana's abilities.
Before Steele began speaking, a black shape fell from the
sky and landed in front of him, shaking the ground and causing Drake's friends
to whimper in pain.
Sam's gun still held steady on him, her eyes cold and empty.
If she hadn't been supercharged, he could have taken her, gun or not. But with
those extra powers, he wouldn't get close enough to touch her before she threw
him off the crater.
Drake recognized the man with the wings. He'd seen him once
before, when they escaped the compound.
The man pulled in his wings, revealing Simmons beside him,
clutching her bloody nose.
"I worried you had failed me," Steele said,
"but it seems I underestimated you, Beleth. Well done. Thank you for
bringing me my wife." He held his hand out to Simmons.
Drake was stunned.
My wife?
So Simmons was... she was
his mother.
How is that possible?
"Welcome, my dear. What happened to your nose?"
Before she could respond, he brushed the question aside with his hands.
"No matter. I have many great plans for you. Come." Steele gestured
grandly, like a politician showboating. "Let us implement the final stages
of my plan."
Simmons stepped closer to her husband.
Drake's heart beat double-time as adrenaline rushed through
him. He had to stop this, but how? He called out to Sam with his mind, begging
her to break this connection, to fight, but she stayed frozen and empty, gun
held tight.
As Simmons approached Steele, she slipped a needle out of
her sleeve and held it behind her.
Hope flared in Drake. Was this a set up? Could she take away
Steele's powers?
Unaware, Steele played his role. "Bill, please bring
out our honored guest for this auspicious event."
From a man-made cave that Steele must have erected, a man
emerged holding a baby carrier.
Ana.
"Simmons, I have something for you, that which you have
always wanted. Your son and my daughter have created the perfect child, and Sam
has the ability to transfer power to you—to us—from Ana. When this is complete,
you and I will be the most powerful paranormals to ever live. We will rule the
world, and none will stop us."
Simmons's hand clenched and she hesitated.
Uh-oh.
Beleth looked from Simmons to Steele, as if he wanted to say
something but couldn't.
"Will you, my dear, stand by my side, and let us forget
the past and move on to the future?" Again, he held his hand out.
She paused and looked around, then slipped the needle into
her pocket, smiled, and accepted his hand.
Drake dashed forward. "No! You have to fight him. I am
your son, the boy you gave up to save. Would you now allow him to kill my
daughter, your granddaughter, so that you can have power?"
Surely now that she knew, she wouldn't choose Steele. Who
could make that kind of choice?
Beleth looked up, eyes wide, and moved closer to Drake.
Simmons shrugged. "I'm sorry, but I gave you up a long
time ago."
She didn't look sorry. She looked cold and calculating, but
not empty like Sam. No, she knew exactly what she was doing, and chose it
anyway.
Beleth growled at Simmons and moved to reach the baby.
"How could you?" Drake squeezed his fist. For the
first time in his life, he was glad he'd never known his mother.
Steele held out his hand. "Sam, come to your child. It
is time."
She walked away, taking her eyes off of Drake, and walked
near the cliff and to Ana. When she looked at their daughter, a single tear
fell down her cheek. Her face softened for just a moment, and her voice crashed
into his mind—desperate, pleading. "
Drake, please, you need to stop me.
I don't care about myself. We need to stop Steele."
What was she asking?
'No. I can't hurt you.'
"You must. I'm sorry, but for our friends, for our
baby, you must. Please!"
She slipped away, back under Steele's control.
Drake rushed forward and tackled her, throwing them both off
the cliff. They fell toward a ledge, and Drake knew they wouldn't survive the
fall. His heart pounded, but in the last few seconds of life, he had to tell
her one last thing.
He held her tight and kissed her forehead. "I'll love
you forever."
He braced for death as they neared the ground, and....
They started to slow down—slower and slower.
He cried out. "No!"
Lucy gasped as Sam and Drake fell over the cliff.
Luke ran past her, holding his arms out, and used his power
to slow them down. Lucy followed, dashing out from behind a large pile of
rocks, and watched as they landed safely on the ledge. Well, maybe not so safe.
Sam's mind was still under Steele's control, so Drake wasn't safe yet. None of
them were.
Lucy ran forward, the heat of the magma pulsing under her
feet, nearly melting her sneakers.
She called out to Luke and Hunter. "I have to get the
sphere to Sam."
They followed her.
Lucy kept an eye on Steele, but he didn't notice them. He
levitated toward the cliff.
Beleth lunged at him, catching him by the shoulders and
throwing him in the other direction. "I wish you'd burned in the
fire."
Steele frowned in puzzlement, then smiled. "You saved
me from that warehouse. You must have hated it. But, I see you've found a way
to break my powers. Impressive, though it did take you years."
"It was worth it." Beleth advanced on Steele. His
eyes glowed in rage, but also in triumph.
Steele flexed. "I'm the stronger one now."
"We'll see." Beleth's wings flapped and he rose
into the sky, followed by Steele.
Lucy couldn't pull her eyes from the fight, even as she
tried to find a way down to Drake and Sam. They fought in the air, twisting and
turning as they clashed. Steele punched Beleth in the chest, and the tattooed
man shot through a cloud, his black wings crumpling as he fell. Before he
crashed into the ground, they popped open like a parachute, and Beleth dashed
forward, his hands melting into blades. He collided with Steele and they
exploded upwards, tiny specks beside the sun.
The sphere had worked. As Lucy had hoped, it broke Steele's
hold on Beleth.
***
The sphere burned under Lucy's hand as she pushed it into
Beleth's arm. Pressure built, like a tidal wave growing bigger and bigger,
until it breaks and drowns everything in its path. Lucy felt the moment the
sphere broke through the hold on Beleth.