Master of the Storm

Chapter Thirty One: The Four Left Standing

I kneeled in front of them, wanting to look away from the horrific sight, but unable to. My friends, my first friends after Alyssa and Cashlin, who'd been with me through thick and thin.

Pluto, who'd always been there with a cup of tea and a few unnecessary jokes, but unwavering support nonetheless. Olivia, who'd stayed loyal to me even after being kidnapped and tortured for it. Who'd been willing to die for me.

Then, I heard a strangled gasp, and she was moving her head up to look at me. "Damira," she whispered, choking on blood. "I'm scared," she said. I couldn't barely understand her, but I could guess what she was saying, I could read her lips.

"It's okay," I lied. "Don't be scared. You're okay."

"I don't wanna die..."

And she slumped to the ground, going still once more. "Liv?" I whispered, reaching forward to touch her shoulder. "Livvy? Can you hear me?"

She stayed quiet, just laying there and looking so small. "Liv!" I cried, shaking her. "Wake up, please wake up! Wake up!"

"She's not gonna wake up," Alexis said, coming towards me. There was blood on her cheek, and she seemed to be limping. "I'm sorry, kid. But we gotta go."

"What's happening?" I whispered. "Where are the others."

"I've been looking everywhere for Valerie," she said, helping me up. "Marcus is with Thomas. Hayley is dead."

"Hayley's dead too?! What the hell happened?"

"She snuck up behind Marcus and did something to his eyes, with her powers. I think she blinded him. He burned her pretty badly, as he was thrashing around and trying to see. Not just her, he burned a few of his own guys. I don't know if they're dead, but they're badly wounded. We need to find Valerie, and leave before any more people die."

"I'm not going without Beatrix," I said firmly. "And have you seen Evianna?"

"No, she disappeared in all the chaos. But isn't she on their side?"

"She's playing both," I said. "For now."

"Okay," Alexis said. "But it can't just be us against all of them! You can only do so much, and I left my bulletproof vest at home. We need backup."

"And backup you will get." I recognized the smooth, calm voice, and turned to see Dove approaching, with nearly a dozen people behind her. They stepped out from behind her, forming a line of sorts.

"Who are these people?" Alexis asked me, like I was supposed to know everything.

"Apparently more people with powers," I replied. "You can ask Beatrix later."

She almost looked uncomfortable, and seemed to be unable to look at Dove or the others, as she spoke. "Go find the people you need to find. We'll take care of the opposing side."

With no time to thank her, we hurried off. "Okay, that's great," I said. "But who do we look for first? Who's our priority?"

I wanted to say Beatrix, but it didn't seem fair to Valerie to go looking for someone who'd just murdered eight people in front of us, even though she'd done it for us. And it certainly wasn't fair to Beatrix to go looking for Evianna before her, when she'd done so much to help us.

"First Valerie, then Beatrix, then Evianna," I said.

"Sounds good," Alexis said. "So... where are we looking?"

"I guess we have to go underground," I said regretfully.

"Underground?"

"It's the place we broke Olivia out of," I said, leading her to it. "And the place they brought me and Beatrix to. And the place where Cashlin died. It's this huge lab/prison/office with lots of long hallways and empty rooms."