The Sacrificial Love of an Immortal Page 9

  Her hand was tense on her gun, though she wasn’t aiming it at me…yet.

  “Did you hurt her?” she demanded.

  I wasn’t sure what the other agent had said into the microphone, but Carnegie looked shocked by her statement, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead as if he just realized that the Supreme Guardian’s shield might not be completely effective on me.

  I held my hands up automatically. “No, I swear,” I replied sincerely. Her eyes narrowed, prompting me to elaborate. “I mean, I did grab her, but that was only because it looked like she was going to pass out. Trust me, if I had harmed her in any way then there wouldn’t be a question about it. The fact that you’re asking should be evidence enough!”

  She kept up the glare, seeming to evaluate my words while Carnegie spoke up.

  “You can see her?” he asked in disbelief. “And you can use your power even in the other room without breaking anything between here and there?”

  I glanced at him, but kept my head angled up slightly towards the girl, who was only at a higher level because she was standing. “Well, yeah. I’m sure that woman can tell you all about it though.” I grimaced when I considered that she might truly know the full extent of my abilities now. I then shivered slightly. “I’ve never had someone look at me like that before.”

  He wiped his brow as he responded, beginning to collect all the photos and documents, except for the contract. “Very well. I’ll have you speak with Jamison, and then he will take you to where Ms. Dodson is waiting. Be sure to work out the details soon, because we never know when the next b–”

  “Shit!” the girl exclaimed, her brow furrowing.

  “What’s wrong?!” Carnegie asked in surprise.

  Her brow furrowed even more, like she was concentrating really hard. “Someone is attacking! They just took out two agents!”

  “How is that possible?!” Carnegie snapped, bolting out of his seat. I hadn’t realized he was so tall, but he towered over her by more than a foot – maybe a foot and a half. “You can stop bullets!”

  The girl finally glared up at him, causing him to look ashen as his dark skin paled. “A bulletproof vest will stop ammunition, but it won’t stop the punch of someone with super-strength! I’m trying to pull their strikes, but it’s not one-hundred percent at this distance!” She suddenly held up her gun then, her expression more determined. “Let’s go. I need to get closer.”

  Carnegie unholstered his gun too and held up his sleeve to speak into a mic as he followed her towards the door. It was surreal seeing him taking orders from her, even if I knew she was far older than both of us.

  Jamison had apparently been unaware of the attack, because he was just pulling out his gun as the sprite darted into the hallway, breaking out into a run.

  Despite the fact that no one had even so much as addressed me, I wasn’t about to sit still – certainly not when I still had no idea where Lily was.

  I jumped out of my chair to follow after them, shocked to see that the girl was so far down the hall already, the two guys barely keeping up with her, even despite her short legs. They turned a corner to the left, and I barely caught sight of them turning again to the right by the time I reached the first corner, still having difficulty seeing in my second-sight.

  By the time I made the last turn, I heard a gun fire, only for the girl to speak in a surprisingly authoritative tone. She had just entered through a doorway towards the front of the building, with the two men behind her in the hall, both with guns trained on the enemy.

  “Drop him! Or the next shot will be your head!” she cried out.

  I could just barely hear someone gurgling, as if a person was being choked to death.

  Unexpectedly, a familiar voice responded. “Hand over Lily, or else I’ll slaughter everyone here, starting with this man!” Then, as if to emphasize her point, the gurgling stopped completely.

  “Wait!” I yelled out, just now reaching the other two men, only to shove them out of the way so Freya could see me. The blonde sprite was so short that her standing in front did nothing to block my view.

  Freya was holding a man clear up in the air with one arm, her clawed fingers tight around his neck, the man’s eyes bulging out, his hand dropping from her wrist as his body went limp.

  Her eyes widened in shock, but she didn’t release her grip.

  “Lily’s safe!” I continued urgently. “It’s the S-FBI! They just wanted to talk to me!”

  Freya dropped the man and took a step back all at once in surprise, before her impulsive anger quickly returned, her gaze shifting to the girl who had shot her in the arm.

  “The S-FBI?!” she shrieked in outrage. “This little twit?! What in the hell do you think you’re doing kidnapping Lily?!”

  “Oh, trust me, I’m much older than you,” the girl snapped in a cold tone, confirming what I already knew for the first time. “And–”

  “Knight!” Carnegie unexpectedly cut her off in a loud voice, sounding like he was warning her not to share too much information. He quickly pushed past me and moved next to her, beginning to speak to the angry vampire. “Freya Rosetti, I suggest you calm down before we charge you with assaulting a government official. Lily Dodson is fine, and–”

  Freya cut him off, aggressively shaking a clawed finger at him as she practically screamed in anger. “HOW ABOUT YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, BEFORE I RIP OUT YOUR HEART! Kidnapping is kidnapping!” Her tone abruptly developed a haughty edge. “You think you’re sovereign, but your laws are all relative! I’ve seen your government do things in the past that are now considered illegal! And vice versa! But one thing you seem to have forgotten is that if I believe my friend’s life is in danger, then I legally have the right to defend her with lethal force! And as far as I’m concerned, the criminals being the government doesn’t make it okay!” She turned over her hand, palm upwards and fingers curled, as she thrust her elongating claws into the air, her hands growing larger and graying. “Now, I want to see Lily right this second, or else I’ll take the kid gloves off and really get serious! Charge me with assaulting a government official?” She laughed humorlessly. “You’re lucky I was more worried about getting to Lily than wasting time on killing those who got in my way!”

  The moment she stopped yelling, for a brief second it was completely silent.

  Because her rage was sincerely intimidating – not her words, but her murderous expression. I could see it in her eyes. Her bloodlust. I could see the craving to bury her claws into someone’s chest and rip them apart. And not a single person could stop her, beyond myself and maybe this sprite standing between us.

  And I wasn’t even certain that her reasoning made sense, but it didn’t really matter in that moment.

  Certainly, Carnegie could try to throw his weight around and threaten prison, but if provoking her might mean his immediate death, then it would be a risky decision to aggravate her further. Better to diffuse the situation entirely, rather than threaten her with what would happen if the irrational rage-filled monster crossed that line.

  Which was exactly what the Supreme Guardian calmly did without hesitation.

  Unexpectedly, the girl dropped her gun and thrust her thumb towards Carnegie. “Well, if you’re going to kill someone, take out this bastard.”

  That drew Freya up short.

  We all abruptly gawked down at her in shock, with Carnegie looking especially horrified.

  The girl continued before anyone could respond. “As far as Ms. Dodson goes, she’s in another room further down the hall. We were finished speaking with Mr. Archer anyway, so the two of them were just about to leave.”

  Freya dropped her claws, the bloodlust having disappeared from her eyes. “I was following Lily’s scent,” she stated matter-of-factly, as if that was what caused her to end up in this room.

  The girl looked up at Carnegie with an expectant expression, as if to verify Lily’s location.

  He was definitely sweating bullets now. “Umm, we brought her this way at o
ne point in time, but now she’s waiting down the hall, just like Knight said.”

  Freya’s eyes narrowed, before she gestured towards all of us. “Then please lead the way.”

  He turned around hesitantly with stiff legs, glancing nervously at the blonde sprite who had offered his head on a platter, before heading back out the door past me. Jamison backed up while I followed without waiting, knowing Freya would be at my side any second. I knew she was pissed, and I knew that some of her anger might rightfully even be directed at me since I hadn’t warned her, so I wasn’t going to engage with her right now.

  Because when she was pissed, I had long since learned to give her space – not because I couldn’t handle it, but just because it was what she needed to cool down.

  I also wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to publicly show any kind of comfort or reassurance towards her in front of the S-FBI, given that they knew I was engaged to Lily. Granted, I was engaged to Freya now too, but I wasn’t sure if they were aware of that, based on what they said earlier about being uncertain if she had someone in her life they could use as leverage.

  Or maybe they did know about the people she loved, but they were uncertain about her personality. For instance, it was possible that there were events from her past that caused them doubt. I knew she had accidentally killed at least one person she became fixated on. Although, as far as I knew, she had never been found out.

  Either way, I decided the best approach for now was to just treat her like a friend while in front of them.

  Thus, I was a little surprised when Freya was suddenly slipping her hand in mine.

  I glanced at her to see that her expression was reserved, with her crimson eyes trained on the back of Carnegie’s head. Her long black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, the midnight color a sharp contrast to her smooth pale skin. The gesture of holding my hand gave me the impression that she was silently telling me her anger wasn’t directed towards me after all, though it was clear she was still pissed.

  Taking a moment to examine her expression also made me realize something else.

  Why in the hell was she here right now? How did she know to come?

  I didn’t get long to consider reasons though, since Carnegie was already opening another door in the hallway.

  I barely heard Freya suck in a small breath through her nose, before she let go of my hand and rushed in ahead of me. By the time I got to the door, she was already hugging a very confused Lily, appearing totally shocked that Freya was there. She didn’t say anything though as she returned the hug loosely, rubbing her hand over her back reassuringly.

  Again, not wanting to give the S-FBI any more information than they already had, I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around both of them, knowing that Freya wouldn’t be letting go anytime soon.

  Instead, I turned to face Carnegie. “Well, if we are done here, then I think we will be on our way.”

  He seemed to collect himself a little as he responded. “Actually, since we have Ms. Rosetti here too, we’d like to talk to her, or at least set up a future appoint–”

  “Absolutely not!” Freya snapped, causing Lily to flinch. “I cut ties with you people over three-hundred years ago! My position hasn’t changed,” she added in a harsh tone.

  His eyes hardened. “This would be a discussion on behalf of the Central Department of Superheroes, not the S-FBI,” Carnegie replied hastily.

  Freya glared at him with that murderous expression again, remaining completely silent.

  The tension was palpable.

  This was all news to me – I had no idea Freya had ever been involved with the S-FBI at all. Definitely something I needed to ask her about later, once everything had calmed down. I knew she had her secrets, but now I was just beginning to grasp the potential depth of her mysterious past.

  Unexpectedly, the blonde girl, whom he had referred to as Knight earlier, spoke up again, sounding bored out of her mind now. “Well, I’m done here,” she announced, glancing at Carnegie. “We’re leaving.”

  “But–” he began.

  “We’re leaving,” she repeated firmly.

  Carnegie looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek before giving a sharp nod.

  7: Frightful Discoveries

  Freya Rosetti

  January 15, 2735 – 30 Minutes Ago – Early Evening

  Freya sighed heavily as she listened to Rose and Heidi playing ‘house’ in the living room. Her thoughts were heavy now that she had finally disclosed the secret of her age to Heidi, as well as hinting that Sam was older than he looked too. She was a little surprised Heidi had so quickly jumped to that conclusion, even despite seeing the memory of Rose’s comment, but Freya didn’t want to lie about it either – not when the young woman might find out the truth eventually.

  After all, Freya had claimed to be offering Heidi some trust, so that she might understand the reason why Freya wanted what she wanted.

  Of course, it was doubtful that offer of trust would be received well if she lied to her in the same breath.

  But would it really make a difference? Would Heidi change her mind?

  She wasn’t sure.

  And she knew that Heidi was probably going to be in her life for a long time at this point, so she didn’t want to resort to her old tactics of just taking what she wanted. Which meant she needed Heidi to change her mind of her own accord.

  If only knowing Heidi’s thoughts would give her insight into how she might affect her decisions, yet Freya was just as at a loss as if Heidi’s thoughts had been spoken out loud – she had no idea how to change her mind – at least, not in a manner that Freya would find acceptable too.

  Sighing again, she pulled out her phone to check to make sure Lily made it to Sam’s work okay, or at least to find out where they were going for their date. However, her brow furrowed instead when she saw that Lily’s GPS signal was clear on the other side of the city. Sam’s signal was close to Lily’s, but Freya didn’t know of any restaurants in that area and the map wasn’t showing anything either.

  Feeling a little paranoid, even though they were both within a few hundred feet of each other, she silently dashed up the stairs, her steps only audible to her daughter’s ears.

  Rose spoke up from the living room as she reached the top step. “Mommy?” she asked simply.

  “I’m fine,” Freya replied. “I just need to check something.”

  She then continued on into the master bedroom, digging for one of her jackets where she had a hidden pocket stashing a secret she had kept from everyone, including Sam and Lily.

  Two small phones, both of which were connected to portable batteries capable of keeping them powered for over a month so long as they weren’t used very frequently. The screens were so small that they would hardly function for everyday use. Instead, their purpose was something much more…unethical.

  And totally illegal – at least, usually.

  The phone microchips were clones, receiving the exact same calls and messages as Sam and Lily’s cellphones. If Freya wanted to, she could easily intercept a phone call meant for either of them, though she had no need to do something like that. Instead, she scanned Lily’s recent messages, looking for some indication for why they were practically in the middle of nowhere.

  She then checked Sam’s most recent messages, only for her heart to freeze in her chest.

  ‘We have Lily. Tell no one. Come alone.’

  Instantly, her heart restarted at full throttle, as panic rapidly shifted to rage. Suddenly she was seeing red as she spun around on her heels and flew down the stairs in a blur. She knew Rose could smell her hostility, because she bolted up straight the moment Freya reached the bottom.

  “Rose, Code Dragon,” she said through her teeth, before flying towards the door, and exiting the house without another word.

  She knew her daughter would understand, having had a lengthy conversation about it for the sake of quick communication. Not to mention, Rose had been the one to come up with the
actual code words.

  A wolf was a minor threat that might need to be wounded to resolve.

  A tiger was a medium threat that might need to be killed to resolve.

  A dragon was the highest possible threat.

  When a dragon attacks, those in the castle go on high alert and bunker down, while the knights go out to fight and eliminate the threat. And that was exactly what she had just told Rose with just a short couple of words.

  There is danger. I’m leaving to kill the dragon and save the princess.

  It would be cute if the danger weren’t so real – if the potential consequences weren’t so real.

  But it was all way too real.

  Freya was already a mile away barely a full minute after she had spoken those simple two words to Rose.

  She had really only tested the limits of her convertible one other time, when she had been chasing Blaze down.

  Yet here she was again, testing both her car, and personal driving skills since she didn’t have a direct route to where she needed to go.

  If only she could fly.

  ❖ ❖ ❖

  Sam Archer

  January 15, 2735 – Current Day – Evening

  As the three of us walked outside the old post office, it took me a moment to adjust to the fact it was already dark out, with only two light-poles illuminating the area despite the size of the parking lot. Certainly, I hadn’t spoken to Carnegie for that long, but being in the middle of winter, the sun was setting before it was even 6 PM.

  I wrapped my arm around Lily’s shoulders now that we were out of the building, pulling her in close for a hug. She had reassured us both that she was fine, but now I really believed her – because her body temperature didn’t lie. The warmth I felt seeping through her latex jacket was about that of a normal person.

  That, and her vibrant orange irises were the calmest I’d ever seen – like, the colors weren’t shifting at all. I’d seen the colors halt before, but only on a few rare occasions. It made me wonder if they had given her a drug or something to prevent her from bursting into flames. She seemed completely anxiety-free right now.