Shielded
Chapter 24 - Sacrifices

From Max’s phone call and the text messages that were coming my way, I could only assume that they were going after Ransom without backup. Not that I didn’t trust the boys, but the twins would act rashly because they were emotionally invested and they had a female with them. If anything happened to Ray, we would all face the gallows. I needed to get out of this useless meeting and get to them before they did something we couldn’t fix.

“Elijah,” Tobias called out and I cursed myself for forgetting there was another telepath in the room. “What is going on? Why are you so worried about your clan and Delia?”

Shit - now half of the Valkyries in the Bay area were going to intervene.

--Elijah

The guys decided that waiting was too risky. The plan was to go and see what condition the missing Valkyries were in and then reevaluate what to do. The only other time I had actively triggered my Tracking Gift had been when I found Max at the school library, so it took a little trial and error to get right. We had all ran back to the Walmart parking lot with the cars and I was sitting in the front of Blake’s huge black truck giving directions the best I could. The tricky part was when my intuition was telling me to go in a direction that the roads didn’t go. Ransom was generally to the southeast of us, but I couldn’t tell how far in that direction he was.

Forty minutes of tense driving later we pulled up to an old factory in Castro Valley. As soon as I told Blake to park the car all three of the guys jumped out of the car and I could tell that they wanted to charge in without thinking things all the way through. Men. I pushed all four of us into the void and sealed us in. This way the guys could do as much exploring as they wanted without tipping off anyone to our location. As a plus, whatever was able to take out three highly trained and Gifted Hunters wouldn’t be able to hurt any of us. We were completely untouchable in the void.

I called my katana and walked around the truck to where the rest of the guys were standing and looking at the factory. None of them realized we were in the void until Connor tried to lean back against the truck and ended up falling through the truck and onto his ass. Both Blake and Max just stood there and stared at him so long, that it was me that reached out to help Connor to his feet.

“It’s safer this way,” I explained and they all seemed to shake off their shock. Connor called a broad sword that I would have trouble swinging and Blake materialized two matching daggers with deadly-looking curved edges. If I really thought about it, it might be premature to have weapons out, but that factory was pretty ominous looking and I felt safer with a blade in my hand. When I noticed that Max didn’t have a blade, I remembered that he didn’t have Weapons. I called a short sword in my free hand and handed it to him. Max hesitated to take it but once it was in his hand I could tell from his grip that he had at least a little training with wielding a bladed weapon.

Both Blake and Connor were staring at the short sword in Max’s hand and I guessed that I had done something else that I wasn’t supposed to be able to. But now was not the time to get into my power level. I started walking towards the scary factory and the guys were quick to follow me. The front door was chained shut, but my Tracking Gift was still pushing me to go inside so I just stepped through the door. The guys hesitated to follow me, but soon enough they got the hang of walking within the void - just walk through anything in your path.

Inside the factory we didn’t have the moon or any street lights, making it completely dark. Each of the guys reached into their pockets and pulled out sleek smartphones and turned on the flashlight app. I did have my phone, but it didn’t have a flash camera, so I was pretty sure it wasn’t going to be much help in this situation. Connor took the lead with me relaying directions based on where my Tracking was telling me their father was.

The factory was huge, and without my Gift it would have taken us all night to search it. Fortunately for Ransom, I was a Tracker and it only took us five minutes to find the entrance to the lower floor where he was being kept. The underground level was filled with huge bulky machines that towered up several levels up into the factory. At the base of these monstrous iron machines was what looked like a fairly sophisticated chemistry lab. This space was lit with portable lights on eight-foot poles and I could clearly see a manufacturing line that started with raw materials on one end and resulted in a fully processed powder on the other. The powder was a deep red and I was pretty sure I had seen it before. When I saw a pile of dime bags with the outside stamped with an icon of a wolf silhouetted by the full moon I knew that we had just walked into the moondust cook lab.

Across from the lab set up, three men were strung up from ropes hanging from the massive machines and one preternaturally large wolf was thrashing around in a cage. The wolf was so agitated because two men dressed in slacks and wife beaters were using hunting knives to cut into their Valkyrie prisoners. I recognized the man in the middle as a bloody Ransom Berg. The man to his left looked to be significantly shorter than ransom and from somewhere in South or Central America. The man to the right of Ransom had bleach blond hair and a freaking eight pack. I could count how many abs he had because the bad guys had stripped him of his shirt and was currently cutting into his perfectly honed abdomen.

The first thing both twins did when they saw their father was run to his side and try to take down the men hurting the blonde Valkyrie. But of course, Ransom couldn’t see them and their strikes did nothing but ghost through the bad guys.

“Ray, get us the fuck out of the void so that we can help,” Connor growled but I didn’t want to be rash about this. We needed to spend a little more time scoping out the place and see if there were any more bad guys.

“Connor, something about this doesn’t add up,” Max whispered as if he was afraid of being overheard. “How could two humans take down three Valkyrie, not to mention keep a shifter in his wolf form.” Ah, so the wolf must be Logan. That is why the Valkyrie were here. They Tracked Logan to this factory but something had gone wrong and they ended up being strung up.

“Why aren’t they shielding or calling a weapon to get out of their ropes?” I asked. It may be a dumb question, but I needed to know.

“No idea, something must be stopping them from using their Gifts,” Max whispered. I walked closer to the tied-up men and saw that each was wearing a necklace with a black crystal hanging from its chain. I reached under my shirt and pulled out the red crystal that Chastity had given me for self-protection and compared the two. They were different colors but did have similarities.

“So you are thinking something in those charms is keeping the Vals from accessing their Gifts?” Max asked like I somehow knew what I was doing.

“I have no idea,” I told him honestly. “But if your theory is correct, then how did they get the necklaces on the hunters?” However, my question faded to the background when bad guy number 1 reached up and sliced slowly into the blonde Valkyrie’s arm, causing the man to let out a heart-piercing scream. The cut didn’t garner that level of a response and I had a suspicion that there was something about the blade that made the torture even more painful.

I couldn’t just stand around and watch any more than the guys could. We needed a distraction to buy more time. I called a throwing star and uncloaked my arm enough to bring it and the weapon into the physical realm. Then I threw the star and three more like it towards the far end of the factory that looked empty. The metal of my throwing stars clanged loudly against the looming machines and both the bad guys and the captured Valkyries turned to look in that direction.

“Phil is that you?” Bad Guy Number Two called out and a disembodied voice from behind us called out.

“Nope, I’m still over here weighing out a product like you told me to,” someone said in a disgruntled tone. I looked over to where I heard the voice and saw a boy that couldn’t have been too much older than we were. He was mid-height, maybe five-eight, skinny, and his face was covered with unfortunate acne scars.

“Well then, who is making all of that racket at the other end of the room?” Bad Guy Number Two asked the kid.

“I don’t know. Maybe an animal. The witching line will knock out anyone who tries to cross it. You saw it work with these three. Stop being so jumpy,” the kid said in a typical teenage sullen do I really need to explain everything to my parents kind of voice. I had no idea what a witching line was but clearly, it didn’t work into the void. And from the sound of it, these were the only three people that we needed to worry about in the factory.

“Okay,” I said, forming a plan in my head because no one else seemed to be volunteering ideas of what to do next. “Get into position to knock out the three bad guys the second I push us from the void. They won’t see it coming and we will have the element of surprise. Then we can tie them up, free the hunters, and let them decide how to move forward with the whole we just walked into a drug den thing. Sound good?”

I got three head nods then Connor and Blake positioned themselves directly behind Bad Guy Number One and Two. I walked over next to the kid who was carefully using a funnel to pour the deep red powder into small dime bags at a card table behind the laboratory setup. Max stayed by the twins and I knew that he was itching to heal the hurt Valkyries. “On my count,” I called out. “One, two, three, NOW!”

I pushed us all free of the void and I used the hilt of my katana to forcefully hit the side of the kid's head, right at his temple. He never saw the hit coming and slid off his chair landing in a heap on the floor. I formed a Shield over his unconscious body, just in case he was just dazed and looked over to see how the boys were doing. Both Bad Guys were also knocked out and Connor was taking a cheap shot at the guy who had been so eager with the knife.

“Connor? Blake?” Ransom asked into the cavernous room. “What in the world are you boys doing here? And why in the world would you bring a female into this kind of situation?” Oh, goodie. I am so relieved that he is okay enough to be disappointed in his sons some more. I walked closer to the setup they had for hanging people up on the massive machines and found a length of spare rope. I was going to stay out of the family drama best I could.

“We were worried about you Dad,” Blake called as he and Connor used rope that Max threw at them to tie up their bad guys. Then Max started releasing the blonde Valkyrie from his binds. I quickly secured the kid’s hands behind his back and included one of his feet to be positive that he wasn’t going anywhere. Then I walked over and knelt by the cage holding the very agitated wolf. Everyone else was focused on the Valkyrie, so I figured it would be my job to free Logan.

The wolf snarled and snapped at me when I reached for the cage and my fear response kicked into gear. Maybe kneeling in front of a two hundred pound enraged wolf wasn’t the best idea. “Hey Logan,” I called out in a soothing voice. “My name is Ray and I know your brother Kace. He is really worried about you. If you calm down a little, I will get you out of the cage and back to your pack. But I am going to need you not to bite my face off okay? I am thinking that me and you are going to be friends, and friends don’t eat each other. What do you say?”

Thankfully my ridiculous words were only heard by the wolf who had perked his ear forward at the mention of Kace because the guys were loudly arguing with the hunters over protocol. Slowly, Logan decided that I was worth taking a chance on and he stopped growling and cocked his head at me as if to say okay, what are you waiting for. Get me the hell out of here. I reached out to unclasp the cage door but as soon as my skin made contact with the metal it sent a zing of pain up my arm. I jerked my hand back and Logan gave a small woof.

Okay, so the cage was also somehow spelled. I was becoming more and more sure that we were dealing with a coven of powerful witches. I sat back on my heels and considered the problem of getting Logan out of a spelled cage for a moment before forming a small Shield around Logan inside of the cage and expanding it outward. The Shield did exactly what I had wanted and the cage burst open at the seams, but I probably should have warned Logan about using it first. He spooked and the next thing I knew I had a massive jaw with lips pulled back displaying scary-looking teeth inches from my face.

I flinched away and fell back on my butt. Logan surged forward and before I could Shield myself, I felt his wet nose right under my ear. He had a perfect opportunity to bite into my vulnerable neck but instead, he just sniffed. Slowly I pulled my face away from his and craned my neck so that I could see his eyes. Logan’s wolf eyes were filled with intelligence and they were free of the agitation and panic from before. I think I was safe from being attacked by my new friend.

Then, all of a sudden the air was filled with the cracking sound of gunfire and for the second time that week I threw up a Shield to protect myself from getting shot. I included Logan in my Shield and he lurched forward until his front paws were on one side of my sprawled-out legs and his back ones on the other. The wolf was now standing over me in a protective stance, but we were both covered by my Shield so I was confident we would be okay.

I looked up to try to see what was happening and saw the blonde Valkyrie rear back and throw something like a baseball pitcher would. Out of his hand came a tight ball of blue light and crackled with white streaks of electricity. The ball of Energy flew through the air and made contact with a middle-aged woman with long glossy black hair who was holding a semi-automatic machine gun in her hands. The woman fell back when the ball hit her and the sound of gunshots stopped.

Everyone remained still for a split second and then Blake yelled out Connor’s name and I looked over in time to see Connor fall to his knees with a bloom of red staining his grey shirt. Everyone else in the factory had shielded themselves when the gunfire had started, but Connor didn’t have that Gift. I had completely forgotten and left him unprotected. And now he had been shot in the chest.

Blake dropped his Shield and helped his brother lay back onto the dusty ground while yelling for Max. Max rushed over and I pushed at Logan to let me up. The giant wolf didn’t want to move and actually pushed a paw against my chest to keep me on the ground under the bulk of his weight. While I was touched that he wanted to protect me, getting to Connor was more important. I slipped into the void instead of fighting the large animal and ran unobstructed to Connor’s side. I uncloaked myself and grabbed Connor’s hand while Max pushed both of his hands against Connor’s bleeding chest wound.

I could feel the power pulsating out of Max and sent up a prayer that it would be enough. I remembered that Valkyries with a Healing Gift could only heal things that would eventually heal on their own unless they were incredibly powerful. Ransom dropped to his knees beside me and gently swiped Connor’s hair away from his eyes. I looked at his face to see that he was pale and obviously worried. Maybe Ransom did really care about his sons.

Connor gurgled and a bubble of blood spilled from the side of his mouth. That wasn’t good. I looked over to see that Max was starting to sweat with effort, but the wound in Connor’s chest continued to bleed. “That’s enough boy,” the blonde Valkyrie said in a stern voice. “It’s too serious of a wound for you to heal and you need to save your strength for those of us that you can actually help.” Was this guy fucking serious? He just wanted Max to give up before Connor was gone.

Max didn’t react to the older man’s directive and sent another wave of power into Connor causing him to grunt out in pain. But I could feel that this attempt was weaker than the last and Max was not going to be strong enough to heal Connor. My mind raced, thinking of each of my Gifts and how I might be able to use them to help Connor. Because he couldn’t die. He just couldn’t. I was just getting to know him. I hadn’t had enough time with him yet.

I was considering my shield when the answer came to me. “Max put up a Shield over the both of you,” I demanded and pulled my hand away from Connors. “Blake back off.”

“Not now, Ray. I am trying to save him!” Max snapped back at me. He had to listen to me. The only way this was going to work was if he listened to me and put up a Shield.

I grabbed Max’s chin and forced him to look into my eye so that he could see how serious I was before slowly saying, “Max Nilsen, you put up your Shield this instant!”

Max blinked at me and then a Shield popped into existence around him and Connor pushed away my hand with a zap from the contact. Instinctually I pulled my hand away at first, but then I forced it back to the impenetrable surface of Max’s Shield. The moment my skin touched his Shield I felt the agonizing sting of my power being drained into Max through his Shield but I forced myself to maintain contact. Max didn’t have enough power to save Connor by himself, so I was going to give him some of mine.

Max’s eyes widened and when he fully realized what I was doing he redoubled his efforts to heal Connor. Both Connor and I let out pained sounds as Max pulled from me and gave everything to Connor. Then all of sudden the pain stopped and strong arms were wrapped around me from behind pulling me away from Max’s Shield. Without the contact, Max’s power waned and Connor went limp under his hands. I looked over my shoulder to see the blonde Valkyrie physically pulling me away from my friends that needed my help.

“Are you fucking insane!” the Valkyrie yelled at me. “Touching another’s Shield directly drains your life force. The male isn’t worthy of that kind of sacrifice. Not from you. You are too important to do such a thing.”

Well, fuck that. It was my life force and I could give it to whoever I wanted. Some stranger wasn’t going to control what I did or didn’t do.

Logan was going crazy, snarling and snapping at the blonde Valkyrie, clearly unhappy that he was manhandling me in such a way. Not that I really needed the distraction, but when the blonde Valkyrie tried to bat away the wolf with one of his hands, I broke his hold on me and ran towards Max and Connor. While I was running I pushed the guys, Logan, and myself into the void and sealed us in. Now, none of the Valkyries could stop me.

I slid the last couple of feet on my knees and brought both of my hands up to make contact with Max’s Shield. The pain was excruciating, but Connor’s grunt of pain gave me hope that the healing was working. If Max was too weak to speed Connor’s healing along, then it wouldn’t hurt. The longer that I pressed my palms against the Shield the more my insides felt like something was tearing them apart from the inside out. It was like someone was very deliberately pushing barbed wire through my nervous system. I tried to remain quiet but soon the pain became too much and a strangled scream was ripped from my throat.

My entire world narrowed down to pain and my dedication not to let go of the Shield. Connor was depending on me to not let go. Blake was depending on me, they all were. I would not let them down. I would do this and Connor would be okay. I kept repeating that sentiment over and over again until eventually my vision tunneled and everything went black.

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