Final Truth

Chapter 61: I Always Win

Adam's point of view:

With the guards all rendered blind by Jacqueline and Cassia and Susan having made it past the commotion, I let loose a breath that's been trying to escape ever since we arrived.

"Good, keep them there," I tell Jacqueline, referencing the guards. "Now we just need to get past Henley..." I trail off, turning toward the door of the lab.

But the door opens as soon as I'm facing it, and out comes the wretched woman herself, the picture of abject fear more so now than ever before: the skin on the left side of her face is pink and stretched too tightly, suggesting a severe burn that hasn't healed quite properly, and her golden eyes radiate a wild kind of all-consuming rage.

"I'm going to enjoy this," she mutters darkly, reaching a skeletal  hand out in the direction of myself and my friends.

Instantly, all four of our bodies are thrown against the wall so forcefully that it actually crumbles in some places, and the action causes my vision to momentarily dance with stars.

Genevieve is the first to bounce back, scrambling to her feet before launching herself at Henley, transforming herself into something that I can only describe as a beast with long claws and teeth through my blurry vision.

She lands one good scratch on Henley's arm before she's knocked back again into the wall, so brutal this time that it forces her back to her normal form as she lies utterly still on the floor now.

"Filthy mutt, you deserve worse than that," Henley spits, turning her attention to Jacqueline.

Before I can even blink, she's got her hovering off the ground in a chokehold so tight that Jacqueline's eyes look like they could burst from her skull.

"Release my guards," Henley commands her, but as my vision starts to gain clarity again, I can see the resolute hatred emanating from Jacqueline.

She wasn't kidding when she said she had been practicing with her power; even on the crux of asphyxiation, the guards are still blind and helpless to everything happening.

"I know you, foolish child. Your whole family, in fact. Disgusting people who betrayed my brother; you're all mutineers. You should've all died a long time ago," Henley seethes, increasing her suffocation with the power of control, and Jacqueline's head starts to loll from the lack of oxygen.

Henley's going to kill her, that much is certain. She means nothing to her.

Cade and I react simultaneously; he rushes in front of Jacqueline, effectively shielding her body from Henley's power and knowingly taking on the torture in her place. I rush for Henley myself as she turns her rage on Cade now, intending to crush his windpipe, and I seize her by the shoulders and tackle her to the floor.

Jacqueline collapses to the ground and gasps for air while Cade staggers to lean against the wall, both of them breathing heavily as they try to regain proper function of their lungs.

Henley is lying face down against the tile, writhing and pushing against me furiously as I try my hardest to keep her down by the shoulders, but soon her hand is reaching behind her back in my direction and I feel my organs constrict with her attempt to use her power again.

"Cade, I need those handcuffs!" I shout in fear, knowing that if we may not get another chance to subdue her.

Thankfully, he seems to have regained himself enough to frantically reach into his pockets and rush over with the power-proof handcuffs, sliding them over her wrists and locking them in place with such speed that I'm surprised for a brief moment.