Chapter 117

Nothing could be done to prevent the projectile leaving Holland’s hand from hitting its mark. As fast as Aaron was, Holland had some sort of homing device inside of her magic that found him, across the room, while he was moving so quickly, Jo could hardly see him when she turned her head in that direction.
It found him anyway and brought that movement to a screeching halt. Instead of moving of his own accord, fighting the Vampires and Assassin Hunters that were doing their damndest to protect their queen from the LIGHTS team members infiltrating their lair, he was now flying backward into the cave wall.
Jo’s reaction time seemed to slow down tremendously, as if she was watching an action movie and the scene was playing out in slow motion. She didn’t even recognize her own voice when she screamed, “Dad!”
For some reason, he didn’t look too terribly surprised, which shocked the hell out of Jo. He wasn’t looking at Holland, though. He was looking at her. His blue eyes, the same shade as her own, were wide as he collided with the wall, and then, he slid down to the floor, and Jo knew.
She knew at that moment that there wasn’t anyone close enough to save him.
She knew he wasn’t wearing Emma’s scandium protective clothing.
She knew that Holland’s projectile was exactly that--scandium.
She knew that he was going to die. That her dad was going to pass from this earth in a matter of seconds, while she was across the room taking care of the bitch that killed him, and there was nothing anyone in the world could do about it.
And it made her angry.
Not just the slow burning rage that had always been present in her gut her entire life, particularly since her mom had disappeared, but a boiling volcanic eruption of lava kind of rage that refused to be restrained any longer.
Time quickly caught up to her, movements becoming just as quick and furious as they had been before, possibly even faster, and Cassidy made herself known about the same time that Jo turned around to find her knife.
The Vampire Queen laughed a witch’s cackle. Whether it was at what she’d just accomplished after all of these years of attempting to kill the Guardian Leader or the fact that she thought that Cassidy wasn’t strong enough to take her on, as she hadn’t been the last time they’d met, Jo didn’t know. But the second that Cassidy saw Aaron on the ground, something switched inside of her, too.
“You fucking bitch!” Cassidy shrieked, the same rage that Jo felt coursing through her own veins present in her aunt. An intense blast of blue light filled the room, as if every element of magic the Hybrid had within her was unleashed all at the same time. Jo heard it sizzle past her as it sent its blinding light out across the room, knocking all of the Vampires and Assassins between Cassidy and Holland aside and sending the Vampire Queen into the wall behind her with a sharp, thwack.
She wasn’t laughing now.
Jo had no idea how she’d managed to stay on her feet, unless her aunt’s blast was intelligent enough to know the difference between friend and foe. She didn’t care. Cassidy had Holland pinned to the wall, at least for now, and Jo had some revenge to collect.
As she approached the vibrating Vampire, who was struggling to get her hands up enough to push Cassidy back, Jo began to fire her titanium bullets into the bitch’s body. She knew that Holland was so powerful, the bullets wouldn’t do much on their own, but it sure the hell was fun to shoot her.
With every bullet that hit her body, Holland jerked around like a rag doll. Jo kept shooting until she’d emptied the entire clip into her body. By then, she’d reached her destination.
Grabbing a hold of the front of Holland’s dress, she picked her up and slammed her onto the ground, fully aware that it was Cassidy’s power that was allowing her to be able to do this. If her aunt wasn’t keeping Holland’s magic at bay, she’d probably be dead by now. She also had to wonder if Heather wasn’t somehow helping even from a distance, though a glance at Jo’s IAC told her the other Hybrid was almost there.
If Holland wasn’t dead by the time Heather got there, she would be a few seconds after that.
“All right, you fucking bitch,” Jo said, kneeling on top of the Vampire and leaning over so that her knife was right above the hollow cavity where her heart should be. “Tell me where the hell my mom is right now, or I’m going to send you straight back to hell!”
Holland had the nerve to smile at her. “Fuck off, Little Jo. I don’t know where your bitch mom is, and even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you.” Her voice vibrated with the pulsing energy that was still racking her body.
Jo slammed her silver knife straight down into Holland’s chest, creating a huge hole that began to leak ash and smoke, much like the rest of the holes Jo had shot in her were doing. Holland’s face wrinkled in pain. She tried again to lift her hand, but Jo noticed the blue light around Holland intensified and now had a slight purple glow.
Heather was there.
Jo ripped her knife out and asked again, “Where is she? I already know about your stupid fucking tunnel within a tunnel in the Blood Moon Portal. You did that, right? And why would you do that for any other reason except for to hide something, something or someone that you never wanted to see again?”
“I told you--if I had your mom, I would’ve killed her!”
Jo slammed her knife down again and began to slash. “Why kill her when you could torture her for years? You knew she’d be trapped away from her children! Away from her husband! Away from her friends! If she was dead, she wouldn’t suffer, right?”
Holland’s expression changed. Her eyes narrowed. “That bitch deserved every single second of the hell she’s been experiencing for the past ten years, and you will never find her!”
Jo realized then that everything she’d just said was completely accurate. Holland had taken her mom. Holland had hidden her, and Holland knew where she was.
But she wasn’t going to tell Jo no matter what she did.
And it didn’t matter anyway--because Jo could find her without Holland’s help.
That’s when the wrath she’d been keeping inside of herself for all of those years spilled out like a river breaking through a dam
Jo picked up her knife again and slammed it down. She pulled it out and stabbed Holland again. As fast and as furiously as she could, she stabbed and sliced and jabbed, like a serial killer in one of the horror movies she used to love to watch as a kid.
“Jo, I thought you weren’t supposed to kill her!”
Zane’s voice, the voice of reason. Only, it was in her head and not right beside her where he could stop her.
“I don’t give a fuck!” Jo shouted back, or maybe she said it out loud.
She stabbed and cut and gouged and sliced until with a scream so high pitched and loud, the entire cave vibrated, Holland exploded into a cloud of ash so black and thick, Jo had to close her eyes for a moment.
With her eyes closed, her concentration was no longer split between the chaos going on around her and the IAC, and she could see what was happening elsewhere.
The closest Healer to them was Scott; but he wasn’t moving. He was helping a wounded Hunter--his mom. He wasn’t coming.
Her dad was still alive, but not by much. His thoughts were starting to jumble together…. She gave him ten, fifteen seconds at best.
Cadon was just entering the hallway that led to the cave they were in. Her brother might not make it in time.
Elliott had just walked in the door. He saw what was happening and lost his shit.
Jamie was too far away--he’d never get there in time to save Aaron or even say goodbye.
Jo stood, walking between the few remaining Vampires and Assassins as her aunt and Heather mowed them down with their powers, and made her way to her dad, who was lying in a sea of red on the floor, his best friend at his side.
She may have gotten Holland, but she had failed with a capital F.