Several doorways later, we stopped at a room that turned my blood to ice. The room itself wasn't intimidating, it was the objects inside it. For appearance sake, it was the most elaborate master bedroom I had ever seen. The space was easily the size of the entire bottom level of my mom's house. A large king-sized bed made of rich maple wood sat on one side of the room across from a wall made up of nothing but flat-screen TV's. Each TV was turned on and I could see they were monitors for multiple areas around Victor's lair. I saw multiple Daemons roaming around on the majority of the screens, obviously standing guard in each section. Victor had been well prepared for our attack. Scanning each monitor carefully, I gasped when I finally saw John, Kieran, Kim and Jacob on one of the monitors. It looked like they were being held captive in a large laboratory. Kim and Kieran looked to be unconscious on lab tables much like I had occupied in Victor's other lab. Oddly, Paul and John sat idly by like they didn't have a care in the world.
"What's wrong with them?" I asked, shocked by their vacant expressions.
"My sister," Mark said bitterly. "I'm sure my father is using her to keep them docile. She’s quiet gifted at making you forget things that are important."
"So, I need to take her out," I muttered, studying the monitors intently one last time. I didn't know if I should be relieved or terrified that I didn't see Haniel or his group anywhere on the monitors.
"That’ll be the only chance we’ll have," Mark said as we exited the room.
"Do you know where the laboratory is?" I asked as we made our way down the hallway at a faster pace than before.
Mark shook his head. "No, I wasn’t given much freedom to move around."
"Well, this hallway has to lead somewhere," I said, increasing my speed. Seeing my friends in peril had spurred my new role as an Ascended into high gear and I once again took charge of the situation.
"I wonder why your father didn't bring us here when he abducted us last spring," I speculated as we veered off to the left to a different hallway.
"Because he wanted to be able to keep an eye on the other Guides and Protectors in our group. I think at the time, he truly thought he would successfully be able get at least half of us to Descend by destroying our relationships, especially after the progress he made with Harmony."
"How did he break the link between Harmony and Mason…" I started to ask when I felt the intensity of evil closing in on both sides of us. I stopped in mid-stride and pushed open the first door we came to. Mark followed my lead and did a quick survey of the room before gently pushing me in before him. The room was empty, but felt eerier than the hallway we had just exited. I shuddered from the waves of darkness that swirled around us in a thick fog.
"They're almost here," I told Mark as we faced the door.
He nodded his head grimly and leaned over to drop one of his makeshift clubs at his feet. I followed suit, knowing it would be less awkward for me to handle only one at a time.
"You have to slash the bigger Daemons across the throat to kill them," I said, raising the large butcher knife just as the door in front of us burst open.
Chapter 16
Three Daemons lurched at us through the doorway. I gulped back a scream as Mark pushed me behind him so he could face the Daemons alone. Using the wooden chair leg like a bat, he knocked one of the Daemons in the head, sending him to the ground with a resounding thud. Without pausing to think, I straddled the dazed Daemon, feeling the intense heat of its skin through my denim jeans. I sliced the blade of my knife across its neck, spilling its acid-like blood down its chest. I had to jump off as quickly as I had jumped on to avoid being burned. The Daemon had already started to burn from the inside out as I whirled around to assist Mark who was trying to hold off the remaining Daemons at once.
I noticed his movements were sluggish from lack of use over the last few months. I stuck the knife in my back pocket and grasped my club in both hands as firmly as I could. Both of them were so intent on finishing Mark, they didn't see me approaching from behind. I hit the closest one to me on the back of the head with as much force as I could muster. Momentarily stunned by the blow, it staggered on its feet, blindly swiping at me with its long claws. Dodging the claws, I swung the club again, this time smashing the Daemon across the face, spraying its disgusting green blood everywhere. He crashed to the floor at my feet and I couldn't help the triumphant smile that crossed my face as I watched Mark polish of the third Daemon.
I grabbed the knife from my pocket and turned to take care of the Daemon at my feet when white heat burned across the thigh of my right leg. Confused, I looked down and saw that the Daemon had regained consciousness and had used my cockiness against me, swiping at me with its razor-sharp claws.
Mark growled behind me as he spotted the free-flowing blood from the four slash marks that had left my jeans in a shredded mess. He leapt onto the Daemon, removing its head from its body in one swift move.
Breathing heavily, I stepped back from the two Daemons that were now smoldering at our feet.
"Holy frik, that stings," I muttered, sinking down on the ground so I could study my injury closer.
Mark sat down next to me. He studied the injury for a moment and cursed under his breath when he saw how deep the claws had dug into my leg. He ripped off his pullover sweater and jerked off his white undershirt revealing lean hardness that even in my pain-induced state had me catching my breath for a whole new reason. I watched as he methodically tore the white shirt into usable strips. His taut stomach muscles tightened as he tore though the cloth making it hard for me to tear my eyes away.
"Don't worry, I'm going to stop the blood from flowing," he said, misunderstanding why I looked dazed.
"Okay," I said, grateful for the first time that he could not read my thoughts anymore. I'm sure gawking at the lean muscles of a guy was some kind of faux pas in a situation like this.
Mark used the holes in my jeans to his advantage, ripping the bottom half of my jeans completely off of my injured leg. He made quick work, wrapping the pieces from his shirt around the oozing mess my leg had become. Once the injury was completely covered, he pulled the bottom half of my jeans back onto my leg. I admired his handiwork and resourcefulness. I was grateful that I had worn my favorite boot cut jeans since there was no way my skinny jeans would slide up over my injury without cutting off the circulation.
"Nice job," I said, struggling to stand up.
Mark reached down and hauled me to my feet effortlessly. "Can you put weight on the leg?" He asked, supporting all my weight.
"I think so," I said, balancing on one leg as I slowly eased weight on my injured leg. The sudden pressure made my injury burn, but I knew I could power through it.
Mark held me by the elbow as I adjusted my weight so that my good leg would take the brunt of the work.
"It stings, but nothing I can't handle. We should move on," I said, limping toward the door.
Mark kept a hand on my elbow as we continued our journey down the hallway. I could tell we were close to our destination by the swirl of evil that enveloped us the further we progressed into the heart of the mountain. I had to work to keep my composure from the bombardment of dark emotions emanating around.
"How did your dad get the money for all this?" I asked, trying to distract myself from the source that was making me sick. "I know he was involved in shady dealings, but this goes beyond that," I added.
"I'm not sure, but I guess when your buddy, buddy with The Dark One, money isn't an issue."
"We're almost there. I can feel a large group of Daemons up ahead of us." I finally said, trying to fill him in on what we would be facing. "Your sister and Victor are waiting for us also."
"So, you're trying to tell me we're walking into an ambush," he said with a small smile, obviously trying to lighten the mood.
"Exactly," I said, lacing my fingers through his as we approached the double-wide doors. I fought the temptation to flee with him in the opposite direction. The thought was irrational. I knew that if we left our friends behind, we would never forgive ourselves.
Mark placed his hands on the door handle and pulled the large door toward us. The essence of evil in the space beyond us was staggering, causing me to take a wobbly step backwards, trying to adjust to it. I fought with my own emotions, pushing it back to protect Mark and me as we entered the oversized lab space.
"Sheesh, what's with your dad and his mad fascination with labs?" I gripped sarcastically to Mark.
"I'm pretty sure it has something to do with his God complex," Mark piped in as we studied the obscure scene in front of us.
Kim and Kieran were still unconscious on the lab tables, just as we had seen on the monitors earlier. John and Jacob must have become a little harder to handle since they both were tied against two of the pillars that ran from the floor to the ceiling in the center of the room.
I fought the urge to run to my friends, fearing that they suffered similar injuries as Sam from Harmony's brain manipulation. Anger built up in me as I eyed their prone bodies and the dazed look of their Protectors. Without turning to face Harmony, I gathered my emotions together, feeling them grow stronger than ever before. I pushed them out away from me, blanketing John and Jacob before moving on to Kieran and Kim. I cringed, feeling the evil that Harmony was subjecting them to. Their every emotion was nothing but grief, despair, and hopelessness. I focused my concentration, taking in every negative emotion and replacing them with my own positive energy.
Turning from my friends that were now safely tucked under my emotional protective cloak, I turned to face Harmony.
"I see you made it back," she said snidely.
"And I see you're still daddy's little toy," I answered, sweeping my eyes around the room to gauge where the biggest threat was. I observed most of the Daemons hanging back on the far wall, surprised they had yet to try to apprehend Mark and me. Confused, I moved my eyes beyond them before finally resting them on Victor, who was eyeing me appraisingly. Using my gifts, I delved into his mind without any effort and pulled the thoughts from his head. I could see that he had been waiting months for the moment that Harmony and I would face off with our gifts.
My protection began to clear John's and Jacob's heads and I could hear them off to the side as the realized their Guides were somehow in harm's way.
I wanted to help them, but we were in a standoff, with each side waiting to see who would flinch first. I knew that a step in their direction would be the the catalyst Victor was waiting for. So, I ignored their pained voices as they worked to loosen the knots around their wrists. Their pain was mine as they anxiously tried to rouse their Guides on the table. Harmony shot me a sinister grin as she read my inner turmoil.
"You see why being an Ascended is subpar? You'll always have others pulling at you, wanting, needing. Always taking your gifts for themselves," she mocked, pushing back on my protective blanket, making me work harder to keep it in place.
"That's where you're wrong Harmony. That's the very best thing about being an Ascended. There's no other feeling in the world better than knowing your gifts have helped someone. You're wasting your time. I'm not letting you mess with them anymore," I said, indicating my friends.
"I'm bored with that game anyway. I'd much rather show my father that you're not half as talented as he thinks you are," she said, pulling back from my friends abruptly.
Her attack came at me in an instant. Blackness encircled me and everything went dark as she thrust her evil energy straight for my soul. The force of it knocked me flat on my back before I had the chance to protect myself. My mind struggled to sift through the darkness that tried to burrow through it. Images of mass destruction flooded my thoughts making it hard to breath. I could feel it channeling into my brain much like I had seen once in an alien movie. Its tentacles worked to tangle into my every thought, taking over. I began to succumb to the images, forgetting everything that was important or that I cared about.
My perspective changed and I could feel myself being pulled to Victor. Suddenly, I could no longer remember why I had fought so hard to reject him. He was right all along, I knew that now. I could feel him urging me to my feet, to accept my rightful place.
My feet began to move on their own as I slowly limped away from the person that was trying to anchor me to him. I could hear him pleading with me, but his words no longer made sense. I jerked my hand from his, turning back toward the voice that beaconed me forward.
I paused when another presence finally weeded its way through the darkness, stopping me in my tracks. The presence was everything the dark wasn't and I could see its bright light as it slowly began to unravel the tentacles that clung to my mind. I pulled away from the dark, swiftly resenting the intrusion and embraced the light. As I pushed the darkness the rest of the way from my mind, I was finally able to see the light clearly and the person it belonged to.
Mark had Ascended.
Chapter 17
I could faintly hear Harmony's snarl of displeasure as she reached the same conclusion as me. Tuning her out, I turned to Mark who was smiling broadly at me.
"You did that?" I asked in awe.
He nodded.
I limped back to his side, grasping his hand. I could feel his newfound power flowing through him and the joy he felt from it. I allowed myself a moment to glimpse into his soul and had to control my gasp at the purity of it. With the exception Haniel, I had never seen a soul as crisp and clean.
"See, for once I get to be the one coming to the rescue," Mark silently teased, finally able to read my thoughts once again.
I turned and smiled at him in surprise, overjoyed to have him in my head again.
"Father he's an Ascended," Harmony shrieked, stating the obvious.
"I'm well aware of that my dear. It would seem once again that you've failed me."
"It's not my fault, I couldn't manipulate everyone's minds at once," she said, defending herself.
"You are correct dear, it would be wrong of me to hold you responsible for your faults," Victor said condescendingly.
His mocking tone struck Harmony like a slap and I watched in morbid fascination as her eyes darkened and the anger inside her built to a boiling point. She lashed out, directing all her misguided anger at Mark and me, driving us to our knees in agony. Her anger was worse than the darkness that had previously tried to take over my mind. It stung every nerve ending in my body, making it impossible to know how to fight back. I had glimpsed into people's souls many times over the last few months and none held an ounce of the anger Harmony had flowing throughout her entire body. I tried to process through and filter it like I had been trained, but it was never-ending, leaving me lost where I should start. The pain from her anger strike made my bones weak like I would melt into nothingness. Through the pain I felt, I began to see the pictures in Harmony's soul that had turned her into the monster she was. I saw her crying for her mother as a little boy tried to comfort her. I felt her pain as the little boy was forcefully snatched from her. I could see her agony and loneliness as she grieved for a father who had caused her so much suffering. The pictures of her life moved in rapid sequence as I saw her pain change over time until she began to believe the lies she had been fed. My heart wept as the sweet little girl that had been so filled with sunshine changed into the monster she now was. With a wrench of pain, I felt the pictures being jerked away from my grasp. Harmony's anger intensified as she realized I had gotten a glimpse at something she had long ago buried.