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“IntoTheFire”—AskingAlexandria
“Nooooo!” The shout of denial burst from me, and I fell to my knees next to Phoenix’s crumpled form. When I looked into his vacant eyes, my fingers sought to find that reassuring thump of his blood pumping through his body. Finding nothing, I surged to my feet.
Rage drove me, and I lashed out at Belinda. At first she laughed, but when I knocked her back with my first punch, shock replaced her humor. Before she could recover, I hit her again. She stumbled, and I snatched her by her head to slam her face into the hard ground.
“Niara!” I called out as I railed on Belinda, not letting up. She got in one good swing, and I’d likely have a black eye from it. Blood ran from the corner of her mouth as she tried to use her magic on me again, but I squeezed my hand in a tight fist, and she froze as if she’d been bound. Grabbing her by the hair again, I jerked her head back. When she shrieked in a fury, I blindly grabbed the jar that Niara held out to me and poured it into Belinda’s mouth.
Though she spit most of it out, I only needed to get about a teaspoon in her. As I spoke the incantation I’d found in the scrolls, I poured the rest of it on her. It stunk to high heaven.
“What the fuck?” she yelled as she tried to wipe it from her eyes and get the awful-smelling concoction from her skin. Except, no matter how hard she tried to get it off, it stuck to her like tar. Her struggle caused her to lose her balance, and she stumbled to her knees.
“Uncover him,” I demanded of Stone.
“As you wish,” he said as he stared at me with undisguised shock.
This time I was ready. The second the dirt parted from Neville’s face, and he gasped for air, I poured the second jar in his mouth. I repeated the incantation I’d used on his sister. As the remainder of the dirt was pulled away, I dumped the disgusting sludge on him.
Like his sister, he snarled and cursed as he tried to get it off.
Suddenly exhausted and feeling drained, I searched for Phoenix’s body. He was gone. Panic bubbled up my throat. Niara and my mother swooped in and ducked under an arm each to hold me up.
“They took him inside,” Raptor told me as he gently laid a hand on my shoulder. “I have to admit, I didn’t think that would work.”
A tremor shook me as my heart fought to beat through the devastation squeezing the life out of it. My lungs seized and the ragged breath I took barely gave me enough oxygen to stay conscious. As I unsuccessfully tried to hold myself together, tears ran freely over my cheeks.
“Take me to him,” I begged my human crutches as I fought off the agony ripping through my insides. Thinking he was dead before had crushed me. Seeing his lifeless form at my feet was crippling. A sob escaped and I was a blubbering mess. “He sacrificed himself to save me, but I wish he would’ve let me handle it.”
“I don’t know if you could’ve blocked the force that she lashed out with,” my mother tried to rationalize, but I didn’t want to hear it. My head shook in denial as I cried uncontrollably.
The second we stepped into the main area of the building, I saw the man I’d been told was Raptor’s father. He was on his knees next to Phoenix while Evan and one of the others were performing CPR. Raptor’s father had drawn something up in a syringe that he injected into one of the veins I’d previously admired on Phoenix’s arm.
Though all my body wanted to do was sleep, I needed to be close to him. I craved his nearness on a cellular level. Inside, I screamed at my body to move faster.
Tears tracked down my cheeks as I settled next to him on the hard floor. Trying to stay out of their way, I sought out his limp hand and twined my fingers with his.
“Phoenix,” I said on a soft sob. My heart stuttered and broke. “Why did you do that?”
“I have a pulse,” Raptor’s dad called out. Startled, my attention jumped to him, then fell to Phoenix’s hand as it twitched and then gently gripped mine.
A relieved cry came from me but was mirrored by my mom and Niara.
“Son, you gave us a scare,” the older man said as he checked Phoenix over. During his assessment, he listened with his stethoscope, shone a light in his eyes, tapped on a few places on his face, and checked his pulse in several areas. Once he deemed Phoenix okay, they helped him to a chair, carefully observing him.
“I don’t even remember what happened really,” he croaked. His confused gaze sought mine.
“Your girl is a badass. That’s what happened,” Jigsaw told him.
“Is everyone okay?” Phoenix seemed to search the room to ensure everyone was accounted for.
“Well, everyone except those two hags outside,” Stone offered with a slight smirk.
“I’m assuming I can go take care of them now?” Jigsaw asked. My brows dropped, and I glanced from him to Voodoo and Raptor, then the others.
“Unless you want to do it?” Voodoo asked me with a cocked brow.
“What are you talking about?” I questioned, my gaze darting from one to the other, seeking clarification.
“The spell you used. It stole their powers, correct?” Voodoo waited for my reply.
