He went limp, still pinned to the wall, and the light around him dimmed. “HENRY!”
The scream that tore from my throat reverberated inside the narrow space as if amplified by a thousand speakers. Papers swirled, a window broke, and the thing’s head snapped back.
Once the sound ended, all the creature’s eyes focused on me. Henry had said I was its target, and now I had to face it alone. I didn’t care. All I saw was Henry’s body crushed against the wall. He was probably dead, and it was my fault. He told me to run, but I’d been too stubborn and stupid to listen.
Something inside me snapped. A wave of rage crashed through me. This thing murdered the man I loved. It stole all the years we were supposed to have together. My hatred scrubbed away all rational thoughts. I didn’t care what it was or why it wanted me. It could squash me like a bug, but I wasn’t running away.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" I screamed, my voice breaking. The words ricocheted around the creature, and another windowbroke. My hands clenched into fists so tight my nails cut into my palms. I didn't feel the pain. “You fucking monster!”
Heat exploded through me, like I'd been dropped into a furnace. My skin buzzed, then burned. Blue-white sparks erupted between my fingers and my hands glowed, pulsing with energy I couldn't understand.
The clicking sound quickened, and a high-pitched whine filled my ears. The air around me crackled as power surged into me from everywhere. It was unstoppable and overwhelming, like a circuit overloading.
I couldn't breathe. My body shook violently as too much energy poured into me. Way too much.
Brilliant white light erupted from my skin. The D'val shrieked and staggered back, as if the light had burned through its armor.
The pressure built inside me, unbearable, and then it happened. Energy exploded from my hands in a blast of pure white light, striking the D'val squarely in the chest. The creature's screech pierced the air as it stumbled backward.
When the energy left me, so did my strength. My knees buckled, and the world tilted sideways as I collapsed to the ground.
The burning inside me faded to a dull throb, then to numbness. Darkness crept in from the edges of my vision. I tried to stay awake, but it was like fighting to hold back a tidal wave with just your hands.
Through the encroaching blackness, I thought I saw Henry impossibly push the dumpster away. His glow reappeared as he staggered to his feet. Relief washed through me as darkness closed in. The last thing I saw was Henry limping toward me, his face twisted with worry. Then the darkness closed in, and I let it take me.
Henry
Istumbled toward Nick, my body screaming in protest with every step from what I assumed was a cracked rib or two. Sparing a glance at the D’val, it was dazed but not dead. I used its condition to check on Nick.
He lay motionless on the dirty alley floor, an ethereal blue-white glow pulsing beneath his skin. His fingers twitched sporadically, and tiny arcs of electricity danced across his body. He was still drawing power from the electrical system, and if he didn’t stop, it would overload him.
“Nick, can you hear me?” I knelt beside him, ignoring the stab of pain in my side. His eyelids fluttered, but he didn't respond.
The surrounding glow intensified as I examined him. Shit. This was bad. I couldn’t tell him how to stop it if he wasn’t conscious.
Behind me, the D'val groaned. The damn thing had recovered already. Nick's blast had been unfocused, leaving it wounded but not dead. Now that the creature had fixed on Nick, it’ll keep going until the mission was complete.
This was one assignment it wouldn’t finish.
Instinctively I reached for a metal bar, but stopped when another spark jumped between Nick’s fingers. Gently, I placed my hands on his. The contact sent a shock through my system, like grabbing a live wire. There was so much energy coursing through his body that I didn’t need to be cautious. I siphoned off as much excess power as I could, hoping it would break his connection.
My body shook as it filled with the raw, untamed energy. The flood of power healed my protesting injuries as Nick’s glow transferred to me. I was holding more energy than I’d ever held, but I absorbed more to drain Nick as much as possible.
The D'val regained its footing, and fixed its angry gaze on us—on Nick. I took my hands from Nick as the creature took a step toward us.
“Not today,” I muttered.
The deluge of energy I’d ingested left me shaking. It needed an outlet, and the D'val needed to be taken down. Perfect match.
I extended my hands, focusing the torrent of power into a concentrated beam of white-hot light. The energy surge made my previous attacks look like firecrackers. My blast hit the D'val squarely in its wounded chest, punching through its already damaged exoskeleton. The creature's hideous screech was cut short as the beam expanded inside its body, superheating it from within.
For a split second, the D'val incredibly stayed on its feet. Its eyes, however lost their focus and it swayed forward. Its descent felt like a slow motion fall, until it gained speed and face-planted the asphalt.
I fell back, exhausted from channeling so much power. The excess energy had left my system as suddenly as it had entered, leaving me drained but functioning. My accelerated healing had mended the worst of my injuries, though I'd be feeling this for at least a day.
Turning my attention back to Nick, he was still unconscious. Siphoning off the energy had relieved the worst of his condition. He’d stopped drawing power, but his body showed signs of extreme stress. His nose was bleeding, the skin around his eyes had darkened, and his breathing came in short, irregular gasps.
“Nick,” I whispered, cradling his face in my hands. “I'm here.”
