Chapter Twenty-Two:
...BLUE...
...BLUE...
...BLUE...
The color continued to flash before Jay Malloy's eyes as he shoved through the woods. Each step made the pounding in his head worse. The ghostly blue light he hated so much became brighter as he approached an open field.
Was it really all coming from those assassins... or was some of that light coming from Charlie as well?
Jay stumbled over stray branches and the wet underbrush as he moved. He used his hands to guide him through the trees. It was not long before he could smell the grass burning. He quickened his pace, making his way toward the field. He could hear rumbling voices shouting to each other.
...BLUE...BLUE...BLUE...BLUE...BLUE...
The sense of hate washed over him again. Wrath... violence... rage. It was all he could feel. It was maddening, to the point that he just wanted to cry out for someone to stop it, someone to close his eyes, the light was unbearable, and he just wanted someone to make the light stop...
Jay burst out from the woods and fell heavily to the ground. He gasped, trying to catch his breath. The world was strangely dark, yet he still saw blue.
A thick plume of smoke interrupted his view of the clear sky. It took Jay another moment to realize he was lying on his back, staring upward. His inner eye had been slammed closed and he was looking at the real world again.
As he sat up, the screech of metal echoed over the field. Jay turned toward the noise, his eyes widening when he spotted the battle for the first time. There were four men still standing, and two fallen forms lying at their feet. The smaller figure must have been Charlie. The assassins' attention was diverted from their prize as one of the electrical towers began to crumble.
Jay watched in horror as live cables tore away from the upper tiers. The wires fell to the ground, dangerously close to the combatants. He saw the four men scramble, grabbing those on the ground and dragging them away.
From Jay's position, he could see that the dark haired assassin was the one hauling Charlie away from the live electrical lines. He began barking orders to the others as a second tower began to fall. Each metallic structure was literally being eaten alive by the inferno.
"Get back!" Logan screamed to the others as the lines began to fall, "Get your asses out of there! I've got the girl! Head back to the cars before the police get here..."
Logan roared as his arms began to burn. He released Charlie's limp body and then dropped to the ground himself, snuffing the fire before it had done much damage. He didn't understand it. That anesthetic should have knocked her out cold. Yet, the area around them continued to be destroyed. How was she still doing this under such a heavy sedative?
The falling cables had cut him off from the rest of his team. Logan reached for Charlie again and pulled her toward the trees. Her head lolled forward and her eyes were closed. Her breathing was quick, pulse racing in her chest. When new flames burst from Charlie's body, Logan was forced to drop her for a second time.
"Son of a bitch!" he growled. There was no way he would be able to drag her through the woods while she was so hot. The underbrush would be engulfed before they reached the cars.
It would only be a matter of minutes before local authorities arrived on the scene. His team needed to clear out quick. But how was he going to get the target back to Stryker in this state? The grass around Charlie's unconscious form was already turning to ash...
Under normal circumstances, Logan would have known of Jay Malloy's presence the moment he stepped onto the field. Fortunately for the training Watcher, the smoke was inhibiting the assassin's supernatural senses.
Jay moved low behind the trees, approaching Charlie and her kidnapper. He watched as Logan made several failing attempts to move the Firestarter. Jay could not help but grin gleefully at the assassin's frustration.
Unfortunately, Jay also shared the other man's dilemma. How would he get Charlie out of here without being barbequed? He thought back on his studies. Many demons had a close relationship with fire, and Watchers were trained in a few basic protection spells just in case they were unlucky enough to meet one. Jay wondered if that sort of thing would work for Charlie, without subsequently killing her.
But, first, Jay needed to get her away from the lead assassin. He glanced to his left and spotted a fairly hefty branch just within the edge of the woods. He moved quickly, grabbed the makeshift weapon and continued to move closer...
Logan ground his teeth with frustration as a second metal tower collapsed. A mass of fallen electrical lines hissed nearby. Each time they touched the ground, the wires would spark and snake into the air.
Each moment of inaction made escape less possible. Logan glanced down at his arms. The long sleeves of his jacket and shirt beneath were almost entirely gone. He continued to heal, the sensation of pins and needles running down his skin as it changed from red to pink and then to something more like his true skin tone.
He wondered how much damage his body could take and still completely heal.
Logan reached for Charlie one last time and hauled her into his arms. The heat was immediate. Logan turned toward the patch of woods and began to run.
Her pyrokinesis came along for the ride. The bare skin of his arms rippled in pain as Charlie's body continued to burn. The Firestarter remained immune to the element, an eerie orange light pulsing around her.
Logan's movements were strangely fast, with a kind of animal instinct. He stumbled once, growling through his teeth. Approaching sirens could be heard in the distance.
Logan struggled against the inhuman amounts of pain rolling through his body. The last of his jacket and shirt had been burned away. All of the exposed skin was blistering as it was raked with fire. His pace was becoming uneven, slowing, but he maintained his hold on the target. He was not going to let her get away.
When a tree branch was suddenly smashed in his face, Logan's weakened body was thrown back and he hit the ground. Charlie tumbled from his arms and landed beside him. Fire continued to pulse from her body and the underbrush began to burn.
Jay's hands were shaking as he lowered the branch cautiously and moved toward the fallen pair. The heat was too intense for him to get close. Jay felt nauseous as he stared down at the lead assassin. The man's skin was charred, almost peeling from his body. The young Watcher could not imagine how anyone could be trained to withstand such injury.
Logan was still breathing and stared up at Jay with clear, bitter eyes. Most of his hair had been singed away and his mouth was too parched to speak, but the fury on his face was unmistakable.
"Hey, buddy," Jay said anxiously, "No offense but... you're fucking crazy. Just thought you should know..."
There was obviously nothing wrong with Logan's hearing as he glared at Jay and, amazingly, struggled to sit up.
"Don't move..." Jay said, crouching as close to Logan and Charlie as possible, "I'm gonna try something. It's gonna sound fucking weird... but it should stop the fire. At least... if it doesn't kill us..."
Logan's eyes were glassy as he listened to the younger man speak. He had no idea what the boy was talking about and he did not care. Instead, he focused on his own body, detaching from the pain and waiting... apprehensively... to see if he would indeed be able to heal from the severe burns. He could taste blood in his mouth from the boy's ignoble sneak attack. If he ever got to his feet, he planned to pay the boy back.
Jay took a long breath and held one hand toward Charlie. She was still beautiful amidst the destruction, even under the layer of soot and the large bruise covering her eye. He prayed to God or the Powers that Be or whoever was listening that the protection spell would not have any negative affects on her.
The spell was brief but intense. The magik words felt heavy and unnatural in Jay's mouth. There was a small flash of light, which expanded over them like a bubble. He frowned in concentration and, with a few more choice incantations, the sphere of light floated toward Charlie and surrounded her.
The affect of the spell was immediate and Jay sighed in weary relief. The temperature of the air around them dropped dramatically as the source of heat was isolated. Logan managed to turn his head slightly and watched the spell take hold with honest surprise.
"...in...uts...go..." he mumbled through his burned mouth.
Jay frowned and took a step toward the assassin. The man was horribly injured. It would take years for him to recover, under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, Logan was not normal and his condition caused Jay to make one classic mistake. He approached the seemingly defeated enemy.
"What?" Jay asked as he crouched in between Logan and Charlie, "Probably shouldn't try to talk, man. I'll call in and make sure the police get an ambulance down here. I'd hate for them to miss you in all the..."
"Min...uts...go..." Logan tried again and for some odd reason began to chuckle. Unbeknownst to Jay, the assassin began to feel those welcome pins and needles running over his skin. He was healing, though very slowly.
Jay ignored Logan for a moment and reached out a hand toward Charlie. The protective shell was confining the heat and Jay could actually touch the young woman's skin without pain. He let out another sigh of relief and heard the assassin try to talk again.
"...Could'a... minutes... ago..." Logan muttered.
Jay glanced back at him with a frown.
"Could'a...used..." Logan tried to articulate, "Could'a...used...that...a few... minutes... ago..."
The assassin let out another pained laugh as Jay finally got the joke. Yeah, this guy must have been fucking crazy.
"Yeah, right," Jay replied and then stood up. He picked up Charlie's slight form, as Logan had earlier, but the fire did not get beyond the protection spell.
Jay began to walk away and then cried out when a strong hand clamped around his ankle. He stumbled but stayed on his feet. He glanced down and met Logan's furious gaze.
"Find...you..." Logan growled as the skin around his mouth began to heal, "I'll find you. Got your scent at the station, bub. Find you... kill you..."
Jay kicked at Logan's injured arm and wrenched his leg free. He took a few steps backward in fright. The bristling hair on Logan's head was regrowing, the blistered and blackened areas of his skin visibly changing.
"Holy shit..." Jay muttered. He turned away from the assassin and ran.
Logan leaned back again and laughed. The sound was not pleasant. The sirens were closer now, but there would be no need to call an ambulance. Logan did not plan to be here when the authorities arrived. It would only take a few more minutes until he could get to his feet.
