Chapter Ten
It's six p.m. when we head to Tenzin's home. Korra had wanted to wait until he was home from his shift at the organic food store that he owns. She didn't know how he'd react and didn't want to cause a scene. Korra had called ahead, but he didn't answer. She assumed he was just pissed at her for quitting.
All of us are piled in my black SUV with windows so dark that they're illegal or only reserved for government agents. I may not have the same sun sensitivity as my non-pureblood brethren, but I still don't like the sun beaming all on my skin, especially while I'm driving.
"Turn right up here and then you'll follow the road all the way to the 'no outlet' sign. His house is the only one for a quarter mile."
I comply with her orders and speed down the road. There're few things that I love more than pushing down on the gas and feeling the world zip by. Once we get about 500 feet from the large white house, Opal gasps.
Bolin asks her what wrong. Mako turns to her from the passenger seat and I catch her eye in the rearview. "There's a shitload of magic coming from that direction. Air magic."
I clutch the steering wheel tighter as I whip my car into the grass. Our bodies jerk and bump as the terrain changes suddenly. I start to give orders as we all hop out of the car, unbuckling in a hurry, but Korra is already taking off towards the house.
"Fuck! Mako, go after her. Bo, go around back. Opal, scout the area and then hide near the front until I call." We are all running and Opal uses a gust of wind to leap into the trees to get a better view. Bolin goes off to the right so I take the left. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a woman trying to sneak up on Mako and Korra. Opal sees her too and shoots a gust of wind at her. It hits her in the shoulder, causing her to spin. She keeps her balance, but the strike is enough for me to catch up to her with a leap.
I take her by surprise with a well placed blow to the back of her head. She's down and I keep moving. There's yelling coming from the house and as I hear crashing, I want to run and help, but I have to be smart about this. It won't do well for anyone to sneak up on us. I wanted to know what I was running into in the first place, but damn that Korra.
I can't really blame her though. That's her family in there.
There's a crash as a body flies through a window, shattering it as glass rains down. They groan, but stay down. I stop to listen as I get closer to the open window.
"Last chance, where is the avatar?"
"Tenzin!"
"Korra, get out of here!"
There's a scuffle and I hear a child's scream. His kids. That's it. I signal Opal. We have to get the kids out of there. I leap through the window as the smell of burnt flesh assaults my nose.
The man I'm assuming is Tenzin is sporting a bloody lip and a swollen eye. He's shaky on his feet, but he's in a stance, ready to ward off the next attack. Korra is next to him and Mako is hiding behind an upturned couch, between the enemies and Tenzin's wife and kids. They are ducked behind a large table that is laying on its side. The oldest child is watching intently, hands clenched, trying to block her family.
She's a brave one.
There are two people standing on the upper floor. A balcony overlooks the damaged living room. The smell of burnt flesh comes from the man lying near my feet. That makes three more people taking cover. I don't know what their skills are, but at least one has to be an airbender, hence the air magic-
"Stay away from my family," Tenzin roars, shooting a blast of air magic at a woman that ducked her head out.
"Oh, shit." Korra's mouth hangs open at the revelation. She came to tell him that she's the avatar, the most powerful elemental witch and he's a witch himself.
After that, the fight is really on. The oldest child leaps into the air with a gust of wind like a cyclone and shoots a well targeted attack at the two above us. Opal runs into the house as Korra yells, "Jinora!"
"Help her," I direct to Opal as I slide on the bamboo floor like I'm stealing a base and dive behind the couch next to Mako. Korra and Tenzin fight eerily in sync. He doesn't seem to be surprised that Korra's fighting with multiple elements. Their enemies shimmer in and out of existence before attacking with dark magic.
"Cover me. I'm going to get them out through the back. Bo and I will protect them until you take care of things here." I point to his family, noticing the way Tenzin's eyes keep darting to them. He can't let loose if they're in danger. I don't think that I can keep Jinora out of this, but her and Opal are holding their own, redirecting attacks with air and shooting them right back at their opponents.
"On my count," Mako tells me. He looks around and shoots two balls of flame at nothing in particular as a distraction before slipping back behind cover. "One… Two… Now!" Mako's eyes burn with power as his entire arms glow. A wave of heat and blue flames slam into all three opponents and I find my opening.
I waste no time flashing to their side. They all jump at my speed. I put the boy on my back and grab the baby from the woman before she can protest. I order her to pick up the girl and then we take off around the corner to the back of the house. I call for Bo so that he doesn't accidentally attack us. He steps out of his wide, low, horse stance as we appear.
"What's going on?" he asks, taking in the family. Their clothes are disheveled and their plaster in their hair, but they're in one piece and that's all that matters.
"They were attacked. We need to get them out of the way. You and I can protect them." I give the baby back to the woman and both children run between me, at the front, and Bolin, in the rear. I trake them back to the car and push them inside. Bo and I stand guard. He erects a barrier all around the vehicle and we wait, on guard, scanning for threats.
Five more minutes pass and I have to keep calm as Bolin's nervous energy washes over me. His heartbeat is rapid and he stinks of worry. Inside the car, the baby is crying and the boy keeps asking his mom what's going on. She tries to calm them when the girl admits that she's scared. After two calming breaths, the bloodlust disappears. Every day as a vampire can be a test.
There's movement in the trees and a second later, Jinora drops ten feet in front of us. She holds up both of her hands, one high, one low, spins, and redirects the three rocks flying at her in quick succession. None of them hit her, but a nearby tree isn't so lucky.
"Oops," Bolin shrugs sheepishly. I roll my eyes. "I'm sorry. I got too excited. All this fighting and running isn't good for my nerves." He drops the rock wall covering the car. When they see Jinora, they all pile out of the car, nearly tripping over themselves to hug their sister.
"Jinora, you know daddy said stay out of that. I bet he's so mad at you," the little girl says.
"You stole my moment of glory. I was supposed to save the day. Then, the pretty lady put me on her back. She smells nice." The boy turns and smiles. I smile back. Little flirt.
"A vampire protecting the witches. I never thought I'd see the day," the woman says as she adjusts the crying baby on her hip. "My name is Pema. This young man with the tremendous lungs is Rohan. Those monsters are Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. Thank you for helping us. You don't even know us."
"I know Korra and she said you're family. That's all I need to know."
"Dad is waiting for us so we can figure out what's going on. They're tying up the survivors right now."
We head back to the house. The first thing I do is assess the damage to both the property and my allies. The inside of the home is destroyed. There is no piece of furniture that isn't broken and littering the floor. There are large holes in the ceiling and wall and scorch marks on the floor. Everyone's a little worse for wear too. Korra has a knot on her forehead and her arm's bleeding. Mako isn't putting any weight on his left foot and I can tell from here that it's very swollen. Tenzin's injuries are the worst, having fended off almost all of them on his own. He's definitely a force. He has cuts all over his body, is keeping his arm close to his chest, his eye is completely shut now, and he's being held up by Korra. Even Opal has a nasty cut on her neck.
I step up and do my part, biting my wrist open and offering my blood to Tenzin first. He looks at me wide-eyed at first (with his good eye at least), but I keep insisting, nearly shoving my wrist into his mouth.
"Thank you," he finally says as my blood lessens some of his pain. "You got my family away from the fight."
"You're welcome. I'm Asami. That's Bolin over there, and I know you've met Opal and Mako."
"Yes, we're now familiar."
"It doesn't look like these guys will be any help. They were possessed. All of them are human," Mako tells me after I give him my blood.
"I'll have to heal and glamour them then," I sigh.
"Maybe one of them can tell you where they were before they were possessed," jinora suggests.
"That's a good idea." I smile at her. Her eyes light up.
I shake the first one I see, waking him up. Before he can react, he falls under my thrall. "What is the last thing you remember doing?"
His response is mechanical. "I was at a bar and someone bumped into me, spilling my beer. I pushed him when he didn't apologize. Someone broke it up after I threatened to kill him. I was so angry and I don't know why."
I shake another one and ask the same question. They too were at a bar. "What was the name of the bar?"
"I don't remember."
I ask another.
"I don't remember."
Damn. We need to find this bar.
"They were all vulnerable with violent thoughts making them easy to possess. The demons are targeting humans to get to Korra. They'll be weaker, but harder to sense. The demons can leave on host body and jump into another and keep coming if they aren't banished," Tenzin explains. He's standing up straighter.
"The gate must be near that bar. It makes it easier for demons to travel between worlds. A bar is perfect because people's minds are already weaker because of the alcohol," Mako says.
"Well, since we're sharing, surprise, I'm the avatar. I'm supposed to master all four elements and save the world. There are people that want to sacrifice me and bring hell on earth."
Tenzin chuckles. "I know."
"What do you mean, you know?"
"Let's find some seats in this… mess." He frowns as he really gets a good look at his home. He'd better have good insurance. "We have much to discuss."