True Fate (40 page)

Chapter 22

Hours
passed with nothing out of the ordinary happening and Nia was ecstatic for it.
For a little while there was conversation and laughing like they were just a bunch
of friends on a road trip.

Everyone seemed to
settle into their own hushed conversations after the last stop for food. They
hadn’t seen a gas station for a while and they had no other choice even though
the atmosphere was unsettling. Nia tried to brush it off as small town
mentality and they were newcomers passing through.

 
Savannah and Darragh were talking to Aaron
while Avery and Eric and Nia Rhea and Adam were sitting in the suburban still.
Thinking she may not get the chance for a bit Nia decided to go to the
restroom.

Nia and Rhea went
and Isabel followed. They went into the tiny two stall restroom and an old lady
was there washing her hands. Unless Nia was seeing things the elderly womans
sniffed the air then grinned broader displaying her yellowing teeth. The girls
used the restroom and when Nia came back out the lady was still there looking
at her.

 
Isabel moved in front of the woman. “Do you
have a problem with my friend lady?” she asked. “Oh. Heavens no dear.” she said
sweetly then shocked them all by adding.

“But I do with you
guardian!” she shouted shoving Isabel against the bathroom door pushing her up
it cutting off her breath.

Isabel gasped and
her feet dangled as Rhea screamed and Nia silenced herself trying hard to get
centered. Water shot out of the toilet violently in the open stall and pummeled
the old woman’s face. She hissed and dropped Isabel who quickly recovered.

The old lady
charged Isabel and they tumbled into the handicapped stall leaving the door
clear. Rhea bolted through it dragging Nia along.

One look at the
girls and Savannah rushed to the bathroom where a loud wail then screeching got
everyone’s attention. A man stepped from behind the counter and another came
out from the back rolling his neck. Nia froze as things blurred around her,
Rhea was tugging her towards the exit as Eric and Avery came rushing in with
weapons drawn they got the girls and backed them out the door. Darragh was in
with Savannah and Nia could see them sizing up the men as they sped away. Minus
two, she was shocked when Isabel moaned from the backseat. Avery was there with
her as Eric and Aaron got them as far away from that place as possible.

“Are we just going
to leave them?” Nia asked blinking away tears that were silently cascading down
her face.

Adam was holding
Rhea tightly and Aaron moved to the seat in front of Nia and grabbed her hand.
“Are you okay?” he asked sending her as much comfort and calm as he could
spare.

“I guess.” He
looked behind her then.

“How is she?” he
asked Avery. “She will be okay but she’s healing slowly. I think the blade was
poisoned.” Avery said with an even tone.

She hovered her
hands over Isabel’s bloody shoulder. “I’m freaking fine, that stupid old crone
was nasty.” Isabel said through clenched teeth.

“I’ve really done
all I can do for now. Nia could do some more and get you functioning. Savannah
did teach her a little.” Avery said yawning.

She scooted away
from Isabel and moved her from laying to sitting. Nia turned in her seat and
busied herself with doing as much healing as she knew how.

She reached out to
Savannah’s mind, “Are you guys okay?” she asked.

“Yes.” The
response was immediate and she had never been so happy to hear Savannah’s voice
in her mind.

“We are going to
track a hunter that got away. We will meet up with y’all later. Don’t worry
Nia. This is what we are trained for and you are surrounded by the best.”
Savannah assured Nia as much as she could. Satisfied with the response her
tension eased and she focused on Isabel until she was too sleepy and drained to
continue.

Eric insisted on
driving from here on out, only switching off with Avery. He said he needed Nia
in the center of the vehicle for the rest of the trip.

About a mile back
almost everyone had drifted off to sleep. When Nia checked her GPS she was
surprised to see they would only need to drive for a little bit tomorrow before
they reached their destination. When it began to get dark she put her head up
against the window and stared up at the stars.

By the time she
saw the dust flying in front of the suburban they were a good ways onto a dirt
road. Eric noticed the curiosity in her eyes.

“That ranch is close
by, not too far, another safe place for us to stay for the night. The others
will join us here too.” He informed her.

She squeezed
Aaron’s hand that she’d been holding and he stirred, rubbing his eyes and
looking around he stretched and asked Nia, “Where are we?” she smiled and told
him where they were headed.

 
They were talking about her Aunt Amarie when
the brakes screeched and dust and dirt flew up high making their visibility
zero.

“What’s going on?”
Nia asked at the same time Rhea did.

Aaron clenched his
jaw he felt every hair stand on end. He had never felt this before but he knew
immediately it meant danger. The dust settled slowly as a group of hunters
stood menacingly in the center of the road. Eric was silent and pale and Avery
cursed.

Nia felt faint and
her head began to throb. “Block your mind Nia, NOW!” Eric practically screamed
as Rhea gasped and Adam grabbed Rhea’s hand. Nia focused as much as she could
pushing away the throbbing invasion she felt in her brain.

She focused and
imagined her mind had a thick vault door and as soon as she clicked the lock
the pressure dissipated. “Aaron I need you to get up here and drive he said
moving to Avery’s seat awkwardly. Aaron unfastened his seatbelt and moved to
the driver’s seat without question. He was in full guardian mode now.

“Rhea, Adam get in
the seat with Nia, quickly and you need to put your seat belts on.” Isabel
ordered.

 
They undid their seatbelt and hurried over the
seat to get strapped in. Nia grasped Rhea’s hand scared speechless. The men
outside were talking to each other and looking in the vehicle but they weren’t
close enough to see their faces but Nia was glad for it.

“I’m getting out
and you will take off like last time okay.” Eric said speaking only to Aaron,
who nodded gripping the steering wheel.

“Isabel stay with
them and do whatever you have to do but keep her safe.” He said looking at Nia
who was overwhelmed with a sense of fear for their entire group.

There had to be at
least ten men and that’s just the ones they could see. Ten or more against two?

Eric and Avery got
off the vehicle quicker than Nia’s eyes could follow.

Aaron jolted to
car to the left and sped away she supposed under Eric’s direction.

She held tight to
her bond with Eric needing to make sure he was okay. They saw a headlight
behind them and Nia began to get truly frightened. Rhea was whispering prayers
under her breath and Aaron was focused on, no doubt the instructive driving
directions he was receiving from Eric.

She looked back
and saw only darkness then the lone headlight came at them from the side.

“Nia, listen to
me. If anything happens you remember you have untapped powers. If this comes
down to you protecting yourself everything is a weapon for you. Understand?”
Isabel said readying for an impact.

“Aaron you are
going to have to slow for me to jump. I need to take care of the guy on the
motorcycle.” Aaron slowed his speed and looked at Isabel in the rearview and
nodded. She leapt from the back door and it slammed shut behind her as Nia
watched her roll and crouch readying for a fight with both swords drawn.

Aaron picked up
the pace and weaved through fields until they stopped violently getting stuck
in mud. Aaron slammed a hand on the steering wheel.

“Dammit!” he
looked at his passengers and looked around frantically, he had three people to
protect and very little in the way of skills. He had been taking lessons in his
naps on the trip from Darragh while Savannah drove but this wasn’t a dreamscape
and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for this. He could see exceptionally well in
the dark and he saw a large pond with an overhanging embankment. He decided that
would be a better hiding place than the vehicle. Here they’d be sitting ducks.

“We are going to
run when I say, okay.” He said motioning to the pond. Nia took a deep breath
and squeezed Rhea’s hand they were both shaking and Adam was too.

“Okay let’s do
this.” Adam said trying to work up his own courage.

The four of them
bolted from the vehicle Aaron grabbing Nia’s hand and shoving Adam and Rhea to
run ahead of them, leaving the doors wide open they headed for the pond,
tucking themselves under the embankment.

Nia pressed out a
bubble hoping it would help in some way. She knew it would keep them hidden but
obviously these weren’t normal people hunting them. They had gotten into her
head through the glamoured vehicle.

At least twenty
minutes passed as Nia’s anxiety shot through the roof. A twig snapped and they
all flinched. Aaron held a finger up to his mouth and they heard a menacing
laugh and Isabel grunting as swords clanged in the dark.

“A little help
here.” She managed to mutter and Aaron looked at Nia and she shook her head
rapidly begging him to stay put. One loud grunt from Isabel followed by a
sizzle and Nia knew she had dispatched the hunter. She sighed in relief that
was short lived. “Seriously, my foot is caught.” They heard Isabel say in a
loud whisper.

Aaron moved to
help but he was stopped by a strong grip on his forearm. “No, stay with the
girls, I’ll go.” Adam said surprising everyone.

He squeezed Rhea’s
hand and unsheathed the dagger Darragh had given him and gripped it tightly.
“Be careful.” Aaron said grabbing Adam’s shoulder.

“Please.” Nia
added feeling faint as a whimper escaped from Rhea’s lips.

Adam kissed Rhea’s
forehead lightly. “It will be okay, you’ll see.” He tried to assure her.

“Umm? Hello?”
Isabel hissed, clearly irritated.

Adam took a deep
breath and stepped out of the bubble as Rhea stuffed a hand to her mouth to
stifle a sob. Nia grabbed her and held her to her side.

Adam crept slowly
crouching low to the ground like Darragh had showed him.

“Isabel.” He
hissed into the darkness.

“This way.” she
whispered waving her now lightly glowing sword, “Quickly they are getting
closer.”

He ran still in a
crouch and knelt beside her where her foot was wedged in between the large
roots of a huge tree. She instructed him as to what she needed and as soon as
her foot was free. She clapped a hand over his mouth and pulled him to the
ground.

He heard the
footsteps and chills erupted all over his body making his pulse speed.

Aaron was getting
nervous as Nia tried to keep Rhea calm, it was obvious now that she had
feelings for Adam. “I need to go check on them Nia. What if they got into
trouble? I need to at least check.” He pleaded.

She looked deep
into his eyes he was definitely a guardian and she knew he would not be away
from her side for long. She bit her tongue and nodded stopping herself from
being selfish and begging him not to go.

“Keep the bubble
up and tight. You hear me? And try to get in touch with Eric.” He said.

“I’ll be right
back.” He told her kissing her gently and taking off into the night.

The girls stayed
as still as they possibly could as Nia tried and tried with no success to
breach any of their group’s minds. She supposed it may have something to do
with the vault thing but she couldn’t chance letting it down.
 
So she just concentrated on her breathing and
Rhea followed her lead. Rhea was still whispering hushed prayers as Nia prayed
the prayers were heard. Too much time was going by causing Nia’s heart to pound
until it was the only thing she could hear.