The cool evening breeze hit the girls' faces in a refreshing reprieve from the humid night air. The two girls, both dressed in black from head to toe, stood outside the pale blue house. Once the last of the lights went out, they would make their move.
Evie studied the girl standing beside her. She was tall and slim. Her dark eyes were intense as she surveyed the house before them. To say she was intimidating would have been an understatment.
"Quit staring." The girl hissed.
Evie quickly turned away but not before catching a glimpse of the scar when the girl turned to glare at her. Running from the corner of her mouth up to her right eye, it made the girl appear even more intimidating. Evie had asked many times where it had come from but the girl had always refused to answer.
The older girl was quiet and kept to herself. She didn't have any friends back at the base. No one ever spoke to her unless necessary. She had a name but Evie didn't know what it was.
"Here we go." The girl checked the knife strapped to her waist.
Evie noticed the lights had gone off in the house and nodded. "Let's get this over with. I'm hungry."
The girl chuckled. "Couldn't have said it better myself."
The two moved through the shadows in perfect unison. Their mission? Eliminate Iris' number one threat. August.
Getting into the house was easy enough. The building was old and the locks were basically falling off the door. The girl stood behind Evie, impatiently tapping her foot. Evie did her best to ignore her as she worked on the lock. Once the door was opened, the girl pushed past Evie and strode inside.
Evie sighed and followed her. That was one thing about her partner. She was nothing if not efficient. Once she was given an order, she got it done without another thought for anything else.
If Iris was right, August's roommates wouldn't be home tonight which made their job a lot easier. August's room was at the back of the house. Together, Evie and the girl moved through the shadows cast by the moon. The girl moved with a certain grace and her feet were sure. Evie envied her for that. It was like the girl was floating.
The girl's fist came up to halt Evie when she heard someone moving around inside the room.
"We should wait until he's asleep." Evie whispered.
The girl shook her head. "We outnumber him. Besides, you've taken out bigger goons than him. Let's just take him now."
Evie's heart pounded in her chest. Iris' words echoed through her mind. "Under no circumstances are you allowed to let him see her." Evie had questioned her as to why but Iris had refused to answer.
"No," Evie took hold of the girl's wrist to stop her, "we wait."
The girl glared down at her wrist and then back up at Evie. "The others could be back by then. We move now." One swift movement and she'd shaken Evie's hand off.
Evie desperately reached for her again, but it was took late. The girl silently opened the door and slipped inside. Evie had no choice but to follow.
August didn't notice them at first. HIs back was turned to the door and he seemed fixated on something in his hand.
The sound of scraping metal as the girl unscathed her knife caught his attention. His eyes glistened with tears when he turned. HIs hands trembled as they clutched onto a small polaroid picture. Evie had to do a double take, but the girl in the photo look scarily like her partner. Minus the scar.
At first, his eyes widened in shock to find two strange girls in his room. It was the reaction Evie had been expecting. This he looked over at Evie's partner, which brought on a reaction she wasn't expecting. His eyes filled with tears and his lips twitched in a sort of half smile. Evie couldn't decide if he was thrilled or disappointed to see the girl. Either way, it was obvious he knew her.
"Taryn," he breathed, "what have they done to you?" His eyes trailed over the scar on the girl's face.
The girl stood still as a statue. Something in his voice had triggered her. What had August called her? Taryn? Her fists clenched at her sides. She kept staring at August with an expression Evie couldn't read.
"Should I know you?" Taryn asked softly.
August didn't look surprised that Taryn didn't seem to know him. Instead of answer her question, he motioned to her scar. "What happened? Who did that to you? If it was Colton, I swear I'll kill him."
Taryn seemed to be in some sort of daze as she reached up and gingerly rested her fingers on the scar.
Evie decided it was time to go. She had a feeling if they stuck around any longer, things were going to get out of hand. Taryn no longer looked like she as going to be any help. It was a good thing they had a back up plan.
Evie grabbed onto Taryn's wrist and pulled her back. Doing so broke the connection the two had formed. August suddenly became panicked. He only barely dodged the knife Evie threw at him. Taryn looked like the life had been sucked from her. Iris had been right. Evie never should have let August and Taryn see each other.
"No!" August pleaded. "You can't go! Please, don't leave me again."
Taryn hesitated but Evie pulled her along. They had to get out of the house. With her free hand, Evie pulled the detonator out of her pocket. Iris' order replayed over and over in her mind. "If things go south, we have precautionary measures set in place. Simply press the remote once both of you are out of the house. The rest will be taken care of."
August raced after them, shouting frantically.
Evie pulled Taryn through eh house and out the front door. Her magic locked all the exits, trapping August inside.
Taryn frowned when Evie brought out the detonator. "Wait. What are you doing?"
"I'm following orders." She nodded toward the house. "Say goodbye." She pressed the button.
Taryn's eyes grew wide with recognition. "No." She whispered and turned back to the house. "No!" Her scream peirced through the night.
Before Evie could stop her, Taryn ran back toward the house. Taryn's magic must have been a lot stronger than hers because she entered without any resistance. Evie had already started the timer for the explosion. There was no taking it back now. She held her breath, waiting for Taryn to reemerge. She never did.
The explosion shook the earth as the angry red flames lit up the night. Iris was not going to be happy about this.
Every door, window or any form of exit out of the house was held fast by magic. Anger mixed with the overwhelming fear as August fought to break free. He need to get to Taryn. To save her and protect her. Iris, Colton, Isis; they were all going to pay for what they'd done.
The scar on her face had healed, but August could tell it had been inflicted fairly recently. His worst fears had been confirmed. She'd been tortured for who knows how long and August hadn't been there to protect her. He hated himself for that.
He froze when he heard the click. It wasn't possible. Was it? When had they rigged his house? A moment of relief washed over him when he remembered the other two, Dixie and Chord weren't home. They at least were safe.
The front door burst open then, causing August to nearly jump out of his skin. To his surprise, Taryn tackled him. They crashed to the ground in front of the sofa. Taryn leapt to her feet and tipped the sofa over to cover August's body before he had a chance to react. Seconds later, the explosion came.
The sofa saved his life. It burned and broke away in the heat, but it was just enough protection to keep him alive. He was surprised no debris had gotten to him. He'd been expecting to at least be all cut up but there wasn't a scratch on him.
That's when he noticed the blue aura shimmering around him. Taryn. She'd protected him.
A lump caught in his throat. Taryn. Where was she? Had she gotten out? Shielded herself?
He scrambled out from under the pile of rubble that used to be the furniture. The house was getting ready to collapse. Flames and smoke filled the room.
August searched what was left of the house until he was forced to retreat outside before he died of smoke inhalation. There was no sign of Taryn anywhere.
"Please be alive." August whispered his plea as the firemen arrived on the scene.
She was alive, August knew it. He was going to find her no matter what it took.
Isis carefully stepped through the debris that used to be August's house. If Evie was right and Taryn hadn't come out before the explosion, she would have been blown to so many pieces, they'd never find her.
Fortunately, Isis had tried to kill Taryn enough times to know she just wasn't that easy to dispose of. Especially now that her magic had developed. She'd be impossible to kill now.
Of course, Iris had been furious when she'd heard. Evie had been stripped of her magic and thrown into a cell. Now that Taryn was seemingly out of the picture, things weren't going to go exactly as planned.
A faint blue aura caught Isis' attention. She knelt down beside what used to be the sofa. It was magic. Taryn had protected someone. Whether it was the boy or herself, Isis didn't know. Knowing Taryn though, it was the boy she'd saved.
Another flicker caught her attention. On the other side of the room. It was much duller than the first, but was there. Taryn didn't walk out unscathed, but she was alive. Of that Isis was certain.
A smile tugged at the corner of the witch's lips. Leave it to Taryn to defy all the odds. Isis would always admire her for that. Hopefully, Taryn would remember what Isis had told her. They needed each other. This was bigger than both of them.
Isis stood and left the house. She would report back to Iris, but she'd let Taryn's secret remain just that. A secret. Taryn would live to see another day.
Guess who's back! haha! That's right! Finally back with the final installment to Taryn's story! I'm so excited :D