Ch. 130: You're With Me

CHAPTER 130:
Rachel~
I glanced over to where Jake was standing with Evan’s dad right as he glanced at me. His eyes narrowed and I gestured to Ally trying to silently tell him something was up over here. He seemed to get the hint.
“What is it?” Jake asked Ally as he walked back towards us.
“Are we going in?” Ally asked back, one hand gripping tightly to the railing of a fence next to her.
Jake waited a beat before he said. “Yeah. Plan is to create a distraction out that way,” he gestured to the street along the side of the building. “Then send in two teams through the back and front entrance. With two extra guards along the perimeter in case someone gets by. My guys estimate at least three vampires and if their guests are still here,” he looked at me as I had explained earlier how Nick saw both Callum and Maxine, “then two to four witches or warlocks. We have another two cars full of warriors on their way from the packhouse but I don’t want to wait until they get here… I assume you’re going to demand to go in?”
“That’s not even a question,” Ally said, pushing her way to the crowd of wolves.
Jake stood there with his arms crossed. “And you two?”
“Oh I’m in,” Kyle said, examining his nails.
“And no way are you getting rid of me,” I replied.
Jake took my hand and led me into the crowd.
“Okay, team Alpha with me through the front, team Beta through the back. Ryan, Andrew and Pat - out front for a distraction. We’re looking to kill. No prisoners. Eric and Lauren way outfield to catch stragglers. Pat I want you in the outfield once Ryan and Andrew have it. Our Witchling and Fae will go in with Beta,” he turned to me, “And you’re with me.”
Jake takes my hand and I follow him closely as we move. The teams split up and we get into our position before the distraction takes place.
“Dude!” Ryan and Andrew scream. “Get back here!”
“I won’t do it! I won’t go back!” Pat calls back while running to the front door of the abandoned church.
He starts ripping on the boards that cover the windows.
“By order of the Alpha! Stop!” Ryan or Andrew yells again.
Pat keeps going.
The three of them make a ridiculous amount of noise for this quiet town, this empty block. But nothing happens. Not until a fire breaks out.
I look over at Jake with my eyebrow raised, he just shrugs. He sent a large flame to the lot across the street. It doesn’t take long for it to grow with how dry the grass is.
“Fire!” Pat screams, getting Ryan and Andrew’s attention.
The three of them bang on the church a bit longer before running over to the fire.
That’s when I see it. A shadow coming out the side of the church. No. Not a shadow. A person moving with such stealth I can hardly believe they're alive. Well - I guess they’re not really alive, are they?
The vampire tries to creep up on the loud wolves but before he realizes it they corner him. Then another is coming out to help his buddy.
My body moves forward on an impulse but Jake holds me back.
“Not yet,” he whispers.
But I have another urge going through me, to move. So I tug on my arm and glare at Jake. He lets go, examining my face.
We move forward as a group and make our way around the side of the fenceline, trying to keep the fence between us and anyone watching from inside the building. We creep further and Jake holds a hand up to stop us.
An electrical line falls down. Right where we were. The dozen werewolves standing with us looked at me like I had done that. But there’s no time to explain. Jake pulls me forward around the fence, and we charge into the front door with Jake completely on fire.
The flames cut through the boarded door like butter. Jake’s flames wrap gently around my arms holding me at a close pace.
And then everything is loud. There’s smashing and growling. Tears of flesh and bone. Blood permeates the air. There are more vampires in here than they had thought. Jake stays in a humanoid form but is encased by flames. So I walk next to hellfire as it leads me through the building. I see a door and have the urge to go to it, so I squeeze Jake’s hand and tug him toward the door.
A vampire bursts into fire in front of me, not a foot from my face. I hadn’t even seen him move to where he was, but Jake’s flames already attacked. His scream startled my ear and I involuntarily jumped back at the sudden intrusion. Jake pulled me closer into him and a moment later I was in the fire too. It encased the both of us. And as loud as the place was just a second before, it was now eerily quiet. Like I was in a vacuum. With the faint sound of a crackling fire.
“I wasn’t sure I could do that,” Jake says above me as we walk forward.
His voice rumbles through my whole body, and everything - every synapse in my brain, every inch of my skin feels euphoric.
We head to the door and I reach for it out of instinct, but he lowers my hand and we just burn right through to the other side. Stairs. Stairs that lead down. We seemingly float down the stairs and I hear Jake growl. Two more vampires appear at my side but are already half burnt. They open their mouths to scream, but it sounds so muffled from inside the fire, like they’re yelling underwater.
“Does it always feel like this?” I wonder aloud.
“Yes,” he says simply, but I can hear the smile in his response.
At last we turn a corner and see him, Nick. Ally is here, zapping a vampire with lightning while sweat runs down her face. I notice two other bodies on the floor nearby. She must have broken apart from the others and come straight here.
Nick is screaming something I can’t make out as we approach the bars. Jake tries to walk right through them, to melt them like he’s melted everything else, but these bars resist. We move again and this time I send Jake magic I’ve collected. The fire burns bright purple and after a few seconds, the bars start to dissipate. Ally holds onto Nick’s hand from the other side and throws up a shield to protect him from the heat.
And then we’re through. A Jake-sized hole has been made.
The flames lower down as I see Ally rush into the cell to grab Nick. She checks his face and they kiss. I turn my head to give them their privacy. The fire lowers again and I’m out of the bubble. Sound rushes back to me.
“How could you do that? Do you know what you put me through?” Ally asks Nick through her tears. “What if I had lost you?”
Nick just holds onto her and whispers in her ear. He brushes his hand over her hair and holds her close. I can’t make out anything else but “I’m sorry,” which he says on repeat.
Jake walks over to them and helps Nick stand up.
“We need to go. No telling when Callum and his crew could come back,” he says passively.
Nick nods and leans on Ally as she leads him up the stairs. He’s been weakened from his time in the cells.
The cell.
I look back at it as Jake tries to lead me away.
“Wait,” I say and rush back.
I brush my hand over the bars and close my eyes trying to feel something. Anything. I feel Jake shifting his weight between his feet. I acknowledge that and let it float away. I acknowledge the space around me, thoughts that come to me. I let them all float away. And then there it is. A thread of power, of magic. I pull on it and it doesn’t give. It’s on something tacky - something sticky. I pull harder, move my fingers along it. It’s in a knot. I feel along the grooves and start to undo the knot. I’m vaguely aware of Jake saying something to me, but I can’t listen, I am so close. And then it comes loose. I pull it in and hold onto it.
“One second,” I say and quickly move up the stairs.
I rush over the mess of smashed furniture and blood, and I walk outside to find Nick. He’s sitting on the sidewalk, no longer able to hold himself up. So I ran over to him and bent down. I give him the thread. Well, I return his thread.
Nick gasps. “What the hll was that?!” He shoots straight up panting heavily.
Ally examines him for a second before I can say, “It’s you. It’s yours I mean. The cell was taking it away from you.”
Jake is next to me then and he tugs on my hand, leading us away, back towards our gathering place from earlier.
“What is she?” I hear someone whisper from off.
“That’s not normal,” someone else says.
I don’t know what I am.