AN: A preview of the summary of Heroes and Legacies Book 5: Under the Influence is now up on my bio.

12. Payback

I was so ready to wake up from this crappy dream that I was being forced to share with my archenemy. I'd had vivid dreams before—most heroes did. This dream was different, though, because I wasn't simply an observer; I was interacting with my surroundings, and I had company. There was more to this dream than it simply being a vision or warning.

This dream must've been arranged by the voodoo priestess. It must've been part of the ritual to transfer the curse. Proof of that theory: Ruby appeared, walking down the shore of the River Styx toward Barka and me.

"Dis pace is ugly," she said while looking around. She fanned her hand near her crinkled nose and made a disgusted face. "An it stinks, too."

"Ruby, why are we having this dream?" Barka asked her.

"Dis is wur da gree gree com frum," she said, pointing at the river. "An ta take it frum da boa, ya gotta urn it. Ya gotta go in."

His eyebrows shot up. "You want me to take a dip in the river to earn the curse?" he gaped. "The water's acid! It'll kill me!" If only I were that lucky.

She put her hands on her hips at his complaints. "I tode ya dis weren't gonna be easy. Ya said ya cood hanle it."

Barka was pacing in frustration. He'd already had a little taste of the River Styx, and I could tell he didn't want to experience that again. "You said it would be a challenge," he grumbled. "You didn't say anything about taking a bath in acid."

She shrugged her bony shoulders. "Welp, ya ain't gotta do it, bud if ya wont da cus, dis is how ya get it. Uddawise, da boa keeps it."

Did she just say I'd keep the curse of Achilles if Barka didn't go into the water? "You mean I still have the curse?" I asked Ruby.

She waggled her hand in a so-so gesture. "Kina. It in limbo, bud anless Barka takes it, it still be yours."

So, to keep the curse, I couldn't let Barka go into the water. I'd have to stop him.

Ruby looked over her shoulder like she heard something, then urgently turned back to Barka. "If ya gonna do dis, ya betta hurry. Dey comin' for da boa."

Someone was coming for me? Ha! My friends must've been mounting a rescue operation.

"Who's coming for him?" Barka asked with alarm.

"Dunno, bud dey gots da wurhouse s'rounded. Dey be bustin' in shotly. Ya gotta do dis bafore dey inarupt or it be ova."

Barka turned to the river and took a hesitant step toward the water, at which point I tackled him to the ground. If he wanted to take my curse for himself, he'd have to fight me for it. It was part of me, and I wasn't going to let it go without a fight. I think that's why I was here. Ruby was giving me a fighting chance to keep what was rightfully mine.

Barka and I hit the black gravel and rolled. I could feel the glass-like stone tearing into my skin, and it hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain I'd been through earlier when Barka had used the voodoo doll. This was just little stings, and I was able to ignore it…mostly.

We struggled with one another, kicking and rolling and throwing punches. My body went from barely complaining about the pain to screaming about it as we fought. It was distracting, and that distraction allowed Barka to beat on me pretty good. But as long he was fighting me, he wasn't able to take the curse away, so I held onto him and took a beating to keep him out of the river.

"Shit! Dey here!" Ruby shouted, then I woke up to the sound of shattering glass.

I was groggy and tired and still hog-tied to that damn cot, but my body didn't hurt or ache anymore. The curse of Achilles was back—thank the gods.

When blinked my eyes and my vision cleared, I saw what had happened and what was happening. The blacked-out picture window in the wall by the door had been shattered, and I watched a girl jump through the opening. She landed on her feet, set herself in a fighting stance, and raised her weapon as she examined her surroundings.

It was Lexie. And she had a gun. I was used to seeing her with her bow drawn, but her bow was in hairpin-form holding up her brown and blond locks in a messy bun. Seeing her with a handgun was definitely a surprise. She held the pistol steadily in a two-handed combat grip that displayed the poise and confidence she always had in battle, and it made her look like a certified badass. Oh, and it was really hot.

"CJ!" she called to me. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just a little tied up at the moment," I replied.

Ruby backed up to the far wall in the office, and Barka leaped off his cot and went for his holstered pistol.

"Don't move!" Lexie ordered him while aiming her pistol at him.

He never paused. He drew his gun, but before he could raise it, Lexie shot him. The blast was unbelievably loud, and Barka hit the floor hard, his gun flying out of his hand and skidding across the floor to rest under the cot I was laying on.

It all happened so fast, but in that instant, I knew a transition was in the making. To stand any chance against the Rebellion, we'd have to ditch our antiquated weaponry and get with the times. Lexie had just done that and was successful.

Barka was hit in the left shoulder, and blood was soaking through his shirt. He grumbled and cussed at Lexie as he scooted himself across the concrete floor, coming to rest against a wall of the office. Lexie had her gun trained on him and was keeping an eye on Ruby, too.

Ruby. Maybe she could untie me. "Hey, Ruby," I called to the priestess. "A little help over here, please?"

She hesitated, but she walked toward me, staying well away from Lexie and her gun.

"CJ, can she be trusted?" Lexie asked as Ruby made her way over to me.

Ruby held her hands up in surrender. "Ah mean da boa no harm," she said to Lexie.

"If you're lying, I'll kill you," Lexie warned her, and she meant it.

"Ah hears ya lad an clear," Ruby said then began untying my wrists from the cot. "Boa, ya mean a lat ta dat gal," she whispered to me. "Ya not gonna let her hut me, are ya?"

"I won't let her hurt you if you promise me you'll never work for Barka or the Rebellion again," I bargained.

"Ah won't," she said. "Ah swears it."

I helped her unite my ankles once my hands were free and said, "Okay, then. We have a deal. I'll get you out of here safely."

"Ah's sorry 'bout all dis," she sighed. I could tell she really did regret that she'd tried to help Barka. "Ah din't know use a good ole boa when ah took da job."

"It's okay, Ruby," I said as I reached under the cot and grabbed Barka's pistol. "We all make mistakes. You fixed your mistake, so we're good."

I ran over to Lexie who was still standing over Barka. "Nice rescue," I said to her.

She grinned. "Just returning the favor."

Suddenly, shots rang out inside the warehouse, and I could hear bullets ricocheting throughout the building. I also heard high-pitched whistling sounds—a bunch of them. Then howls and screeches filled the air like there was a pack of wolves and birds or prey outside the warehouse.

"What's going on out there?" I asked Lexie.

"The Hunters are holding off the Rebellion so I can get you out."

"The Hunters?" I blinked. "All of them?"

She nodded. "Yep. Lily called them in so we could mount a rescue mission."

I was touched. I didn't think Lily cared. "That was sweet of her," I said.

"She didn't do it for you. She did it for revenge…and because I refused to leave New Orleans without you."

"Lexie!" I heard Noah's voice echo in the warehouse. "We need to get out of here!"

"We're coming, Noah!" she called back to him. She turned to me. "Time to go."

"What about him?" I asked, nodding at Barka who was sitting on the floor and clutching his wounded shoulder.

"That's up to you."

I looked at the pistol in my hand. "Lexie, make sure Ruby gets out safely. I'll be out in a minute."

Lexie rested her hand on my shoulder. "Don't do anything you can't live with, CJ."

I nodded to her, then she and Ruby left the room. I was alone with Barka, and this time I had the upper hand.

I knelt beside him. "How's the shoulder?" I asked about his bullet wound that looked pretty nasty, but wasn't lethal.

"It hurts like hell," he hissed and narrowed his eyes at me. "And I'm sure you're loving every minute of this."

"Maybe," I said. "But you know what I'd love even more?" I pressed the business end of the handgun against his shoulder, digging the barrel into the wound, and he screamed in pain. I pressed harder, and he screamed louder. "Payback's a bitch, ain't it?" I growled. I was angry for what he'd done to me. He'd made me weak and helpless and vulnerable when he used that voodoo doll. A little payback was in order.

I let him scream a little longer, then pulled the gun away from his wound. He gasped for breath and clutched his shoulder with his right hand. "You son of a bitch!" he panted. "I'll kill you for this!"

"You'll try, but you'll fail," I said, repeating the words he'd said to me in the dream.

I turned the gun over in my hand and pistol-whipped the asshole across the face, knocking him out cold. I could've killed him. I should've killed him. But Lexie's words kept ringing in my head: don't do anything you can't live with. My fatal flaw—my compassion—had won out again. I'd gotten payback for the pain he'd caused me, and that was good enough…for now. So instead of killing him, I left him there, unconscious and bleeding on the floor.

I left the office, but not before grabbing the voodoo doll that was sitting on the table. That doll had caused me tremendous pain, and no way was I letting it back into Barka's hands.

I made my way through the rows of shelving in the warehouse. The place was a war zone. There were arrows flying everywhere, and gunshots echoed throughout the warehouse. Young girls dressed in silver camouflage were scattered around the warehouse, facing off against the members of the Rebellion.

I needed to get out of there before I got caught in the crossfire and took an unlucky hit to my Achilles spot. I zigzagged through the shelving, making my way toward the door. When I made it to the door, I burst out of it to find myself looking at the same scene I saw inside. The Hunters were firing arrows at the Rebellion, and they were firing their guns back at the Hunters. I saw a few timber wolves chasing a member of the Rebellion down an alleyway, and hunting falcons were dive-bombing other Rebellion members.

"CJ!" a voice called out to me. I looked in the direction of the voice and saw Noah standing in an alleyway, waving at me to run to him, so I did.

Once in the alley and out of the heart of the battle, I saw that Noah wasn't alone. Lexie and Lily were there with him. Noah handed my backpack to me. He'd had it since we split-up last night. I'd entrusted him with my pack, because Thoth's scroll was in it. I didn't need to be losing it or it falling into the hands of the Rebellion.

"Thanks, bro," I said as I took my pack off his hands. As I strapped on my pack, I turned to Lexie. "Did she make it out?" I asked about Ruby. I had trusted Lexie to get her out safely, but I wasn't expecting the fighting to be so intense. I hoped Ruby hadn't gotten hurt.

Lexie gripped my arm for assurance. "I got her out. She's fine, but she took off. I don't know where she went."

"Thanks, Lexie."

"So, Lexie said she wounded Barka," Lily said to me. "Did you finish the job?"

Finish the job? I blinked. "Are you asking if I killed him?"

She stared at me expectantly. "Well, did you?"

I shook my head. "No, I didn't. I told you that's not my style."

She rubbed her forehead like my compassion was giving her a headache. "You're such a pansy."

"Hey!" Lexie snapped at the lieutenant. "You're outta line. CJ's not a killer, which makes him a better person than you."

"I don't claim to be a good person," Lily snapped back at Lexie. I don't think she was used to being spoken to like that by another girl. "I'm a leader, and I make the tough decisions. I'm not afraid to deal out justice, and I will bring Barka to justice." Lily turned to me. "You said you wouldn't try to stop me from seeking vengeance for my fallen Hunters. Are you going to keep your word?"

Four of Lily's Hunters and her wolf, Echo, had been killed by the Rebellion—possibly even more today. Who was I to stop her from getting revenge? "Do what you have to do, but I don't want to be involved."

"Very well," she nodded. "You three get out of here. We'll clean up this mess. And Lexie, I'll be in touch."

Lexie gave a nod of acknowledgement to the lieutenant.

"Thanks for all your help, Lily," I said, and I sincerely meant it. I couldn't have done this without her. "I owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything, CJ. You saved my life yesterday; we're even. Now, go. Get back to New York."

Lexie, Noah, and I took off running down the alley, away from the battle being waged between the Hunters of Artemis and the Rebellion. Lexie and I ditched our guns in a dumpster as we ran by. Guns were something the Mist wouldn't hide from the mortal world, and we definitely didn't need to be caught carrying by the authorities.

We sprinted from the warehouse district in the early morning darkness that was just beginning to give way to light, and we didn't look back. We ran until we could barely hear the gunshots anymore, and we steered clear of the wailing police sirens that were making a beeline for the warehouse district.

Once we'd slowed to a walk, I asked, "Will the Hunters be okay?"

I wasn't asking anyone in particular, just wondering aloud, but Lexie answered, "They'll be fine. They're like shadows. They'll disappear without a trace."

That was good. I didn't want any of them to be arrested by the New Orleans police for…how would they spin that? Gang violence?

"I have a question," Noah said as we walked. "How are we going to get back to New York?"

"To be perfectly honest, Noah," Lexie said then paused as she yawned. "I don't really care as long as I can sleep on the trip."

I completely agreed. I needed to sit down before I fell down. I was so exhausted I could barely function. "There's an Amtrak station here, I'm pretty sure," I said. I wasn't crazy about the idea of taking a train back to New York (it would be a looong trip), but I sure as hell wasn't taking a bus. Been there, done that, not fun.

"I wonder what the odds are of us getting a cab to the nearest train station at…" Noah glanced at his watch. "Six in the morning?"

A sputtering engine approached up the street behind us, and we turned to see an old beat-up Ford Taurus pull up next to us. The driver's side window slowly came down, and I was surprised to see Ruby sitting in the driver's seat. "Y'all needa ride?" she asked.

I immediately scanned my surroundings, making sure she was alone, that she hadn't been followed by the Rebellion. Noah and Lexie were doing the same thing, I noticed. "You're alone?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Dey din't falla me. Gat in."

We climbed into the car. I took the front seat and Lexie and Noah took the back. "Thanks, Ruby," I said as I fastened my seatbelt.

"Don tank me, jus tell me wur ya wanna go."

"The train station," I said. "We need to get on the next Amtrak outta here."

"Das nat too far. Ah'll get ya der," she said as she slammed on the accelerator, throwing me back against my seat.

Ruby was right. It was only about a fifteen-minute drive to the Amtrak station. After giving Ruby our thanks and saying goodbye, we went into the station to buy three tickets to New York.

This wouldn't be the first time Lexie, Noah, and I would be riding the train together. On our very first quest together during my first summer at camp, we'd taken the train to Georgia. It felt like such a long time ago. I barely knew them then. I'd only met Noah a week before we went on that quest, and at that time, it had been six years since I'd last seen Lexie. They were essentially strangers to me then, but now, three years later, we were all best friends.

Noah and I split the cost of the tickets, and we settled into our seats on the train. It would take twenty-seven hours to get to New York, and I planned to sleep the majority of them. Noah and Lexie must've had the same idea, because we were all three asleep before the train even left the station.