Page 51 of In the Dark

Thorvald drew himself up until he stood straight and tall, his vitality restored with the use of his gift. An almost joyful tint took over his face as he threw wave after wave at the strangers. “Get your sister out of here and find Aisanna. Fix this! You’re the only one who can. It’s always been you, Astix.”

Sparks and shots rang out throughout the corridors and Astix found herself yelling again. “Why does everyone keep saying that to me?”

A tornado-like gust of wind pelted Thorvald with the remnants of his own crystals. He fell back as they whipped at his exposed skin, scratching lines in his face.

“Go,” he demanded, blood dripping to the floor. “Now! I shouldn’t have to tell you again.”

Astix turned the stairs into a landslide of debris when one of the men ventured to climb. He dropped to the floor with a howl, his ankle fractured.

She couldn’t argue even if she wanted to. The weight of Thorvald’s order pushed her forward against her will. Physically moved her away from the scuffle.

One of the men reached out when she bolted past. He gripped a handful of the dark hair hanging to her shoulders and pulled her back with a yank. Astix screeched, landing on the floor between them and clawing at his hand to get free.

The man’s grip tightened while she beat at him, slapped in panic. Her scream petered out into a gurgle when his free hand circled her throat. Squeezed to silence her.

“You bitch,” he murmured amidst the free-for-all. “You’ll pay for what you’ve done. What you are. You’re a disgrace to our society.”

Astix fought to draw in air. She scrambled, the tips of her feet grazing the floor as the man proved stronger than she. Dimly she heard her father yelling and begging her to fight back.

She had to get free. To free herself and get the others out of the house.

A wave of marble and diamond assaulted the man and knocked him off balance. His grip loosened. With a sudden inhalation, she fell to the floor. Pain radiated out from every portion of her body.

The man slammed backward into a cabinet, and wood crunched and pristine white-pillared candles cracked under his weight.

“Astix, move your ass!” Thorvald commanded a final time.

While the powerhouses battled it out, and determined to ignore her own throbbing neck, Astix cocooned herself in a protective shell of energy and ran back to the den for the others. She ducked when part of the ceiling collapsed behind her, cutting the hallway off.

Drawing her body agilely forward, Astix maneuvered through the debris field and leaped up in time to avoid the gaping maw of the cracked floor, shards of material fissuring out like so many broken teeth. She burst through the door and shook plaster from her body.

“What happened to you?” Morgan was on his feet in an instant. “We heard noises but couldn’t get through the door. It wouldn’t budge.”

Another one of her father’s tricks, Astix thought to herself. “Out the back,” she told them. The sounds of a scuffle echoed behind her. In a distant part of her mind, she was dimly aware of the weeping, the choking sobs clawing their way from her bruised throat. “We have to leave.”

Morgan glanced at the door and hunched in on himself. The walls shook. “Shouldn’t we help?”

“It would only make him madder.” Astix considered her father’s wishes and girded herself against the protestations.

“Why would I run away from a fight?” Karsia asked with a laugh. “This is exactly what I wanted. They came to me!” She waved a hand and they heard a body slam against the wall, glass cracking. “You see? I can kill from wherever I am. I don’t even need to be in the same room.”

Astix and Morgan shared a look. “Out. Now.”

“You can’t stop me.”

“I don’t know how long I can knock her out this time,” Morgan admitted to Astix. He noted the marks on her skin, deep, blossoming out from the distinctive shape of fingers.

“Long enough to get her out of here?” Astix hiccupped and winced in pain.

“Maybe. Less if she fights me.”

“It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”

Karsia jumped to press herself against the farthest wall, staring at them both through impossibly wide eyes. “You’re not touching me.”

Morgan didn’t need to touch her. Not with his fingers. The shadow of wings stretched across the room and tapped the base of Karsia’s neck. She crumpled to the floor.

“Impressive skill. One day you’ll have to show me how to do that.” Astix spared a glance over her shoulder as the fight in the other room escalated.

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