21. Fourteen

Chapter 21

Fourteen

T here was a loud cracking sound, followed by a lot of screaming. Then there was nothing.

Then there was pain. Like, a metric fuckton of it.

Fourteen didn't know how long he had been out, but he did what he always did following an unplanned unconsciousness—a full system diagnostic. His face had two abrasions, one across the temple, one on his left cheek, the first one potentially serious, the second one minor. There was also a low throbbing in his shoulder from when he'd damaged it during the fight at the warehouse.

It had been knitting together quickly and efficiently until he'd had to kill the shit out of Cym's family members and their entourage. That combined with whatever the hell had just happened to him put his shoulder back to square one.

A pile of small to medium rocks were pinning his lower body, but neither of his legs were more than superficially damaged. He detected a bruise on his sternum in the exact area where he'd removed a plate in his armor. It wasn't an ideal spot to leave exposed, but it was the only plate that came loose when he had the idea to see what would happen if he used his armor offensively. It had been exceptionally useful in hand-to-hand combat during his rescue of Cym.

Wait. Where was Cym?

Fuck.

Fourteen blamed his head wound for addling his mind enough to forget where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. At least he knew it would heal quickly. Minor injuries were little more than an inconvenience for him—it was the major ones involving broken bones and sucking chest wounds that slowed him down. He could work through them if he had to, but he didn't enjoy it.

He peered into the darkness to locate Cym but couldn't see for shit. He dialed down his attention to eyesight and focused on his hearing instead.

From the muted sounds above, it seemed as though there was still a battle going on overhead, and he needed to get to it. Cym was damaged and had nothing but his questionable brother to help him. Hopefully, Cym could recreate the godforsaken spell he'd managed in the cemetery.

Fourteen had a feeling they were going to need it tonight.

He worked on removing the rocks pinning his legs and was halfway done when he heard something heavy land behind him. He forcefully tore his body out the rest of the way, going for expediency over caution, and ignored the pain as fresh lacerations bloomed down the side of his left leg; they'd be gone soon enough.

Fourteen rolled to his feet and whirled around, wielding the plate from his armor in one hand and a sharp rock in the other.

"Whoa, buddy, whoa! I come in peace!" A soft light appeared in front of a familiar face.

Fourteen relaxed his stance minutely. "Guardian," he said cautiously.

"I'm touched you remember, but I mostly go by Jack. Cymbeline sent me to fetch you topside so we can all get out of here, but if you don't mind, I'd like to give you a few upgrades first."

Upgrades? What the hell was that supposed to mean? "Why would I accept upgrades from the person who helped trap me the last time we encountered each other?"

"Okay, fair, but in my defense, you tried to kill me and mine. Like, a lot." Jack rubbed at an eyebrow with the palm of his hand and sighed dramatically. "I don't have time for the trust falls and weekend retreats necessary to get you to let me touch you—which I need to do in order to help you—so I'm just going to show you the severity of your situation."

The light coming from Jack expanded to expose the hole Fourteen had fallen into, allowing him to see what Jack meant. The bottom of the hole could have accommodated three of Fourteen's SUVs with barely enough room to open the doors on one of them. Five meters from the floor, irritatingly smooth walls closed in overhead to form a wide gash with rough walls that appeared scalable if he could reach them.

He couldn't jump that height. Not even with his enhancements.

Fourteen moved forward to examine the glossy surface of his prison and hissed in pain on the first step. The ambient light revealed a long, narrow rock embedded in his calf. He pulled it out and flicked it to the floor. Further examination showed the blood flow from the wound to be within acceptable parameters, so he ignored it and limped to the wall.

It was smooth like glass and continued through the entire base of the hole. Even with Fourteen's considerable climbing skills, he couldn't get himself out. Panic rose, but he didn't have time for it, so he told it to piss off until later. Surprisingly, it worked.

Fourteen turned to Jack. "This doesn't look natural to me."

"Whoever cast the spell was trying to trap you, probably so they could kill your man." At Fourteen's murderous growl, Jack threw up his hands defensively, palms out. "Which they aren't! Sterling has a decent shield around them, and my partner Adelle, who you've already met, is with them. They're completely safe right now. Mostly."

Fourteen rolled his eyes internally at the word mostly. Even with his stunted social skills, Fourteen knew a successful rescue operation relied heavily on making the rescuee believe you could get them to safety. He didn't know how to convey it properly, but he did know using the word mostly was a dumbass choice of words.

Jack wasn't filling him with a ton of confidence in his abilities right now, but if Fourteen wanted to get back to Cym's side, he was going to have to sacrifice his need for control of the situation. "What did you have in mind?"

A broad smile formed on Jack's face. "This is going to be fun, but I need Adelle for this. She has a Crafted toy I'm going to require." The man's dark eyes went unfocused, and Fourteen was caught briefly by their swirling depths. Something about them made him feel restless, and he was forced to look away until Jack snapped back to attention. "Okay, Adelle's made your group as safe as she can for the moment, and she'll be right down."

Had Fourteen hit his head harder than he'd thought? Because Jack hadn't used a phone or a headset to communicate with his teammate. Fourteen touched the laceration on his temple gingerly. He'd had worse and continued functioning optimally. Or maybe Jack had injured his brain on his way down to Fourteen.

Or maybe it was a magic thing.

It was probably that last one.

"Oh hey, I can help you with that head problem if you like. Um, I think I can anyway, just… uh, don't hit me, okay?" Jack reached out a tentative hand in offering.

"What are you going to do?" Wariness laced each word and Fourteen leaned back out of reach.

"Heal you, I hope. I'm going to need to touch your skin to do it, to get past your shield. It's going to feel weird, but it won't hurt." Jack waggled his fingers expectantly.

Should Fourteen trust this man? He appeared friendly and helpful, but Fourteen had been betrayed by friendly types before. He could always kill him if he tried something. Jack had at least six inches on him and was built like a tank, but if he was making skin contact, Fourteen would likely be inside any shield the man could put up against him, so he felt confident of his odds. At least one of the ten different ways Fourteen could think of to kill this guardian would do the job.

Fourteen cocked his head, examining Jack, and added three more to the list.

Finally, he stripped a glove off and offered his nondominant hand to Jack. He could do a lot with either hand, but it paid to be cautious.

Jack took it in his and closed his eyes. "Huh. You got a lot going on up there, don't you?"

"Is commentary necessary for this task?"

"No, but it passes the time." Several heartbeats passed, and Jack said "Adelle's coming down, don't freak out."

A moment later, a familiar blonde woman landed lightly on the floor in a crouch roughly an arm's length to his left. Fourteen silently approved of her black-on-black ensemble—it would suit her well for the evening's operation. When she stood, she moved with the agility of a warrior.

Fourteen met her eyes and nodded curtly.

She gave him the ghost of a smile. "Good to see you again, too. I'm glad you two are managing to play nicely."

"You wouldn't believe what he's got going on inside. Fascinating!" Jack's eyes were closed, but he looked like he was watching the best movie of his life.

"Stop sightseeing and finish up. The sooner we get them out of here, the sooner we can get to Marshall."

The seemingly ever-present smile on Jack's face faded and Fourteen finally caught a glimpse of the warrior inside. An annoyingly cheerful attitude wasn't the only thing the man had going for him, and it was a relief to see.

Jack's voice wasn't cold, but it had lost the childlike wonder it had contained moments ago when he said, "No need to nag, I'm nearly done."

Done? As far as Fourteen could tell, Jack had done nothing, everything still hurt the same as before, and any healing he'd undergone in the last few minutes was due entirely to Fourteen's own enhancements.

Then the world seemed to tilt twenty degrees, and Fourteen felt a buildup of pressure in his head. It was like his brain was expanding, but his skull had chosen to remain the same size.

Jack had lied. It fucking hurt. Somehow Fourteen wasn't surprised.

It was okay though. It wouldn't be difficult to show his dissatisfaction through violence once he was done with whatever the hell Jack had just done to Fourteen.

Before the pain grew to intolerable levels, he felt something in his head pop, and a cooling sensation flowed through his body, easing pain as it went.

"Okay, done." Jack opened his eyes, let go of Fourteen's hand, and stepped back with an expectant look on his face. "Better, yes?"

Fourteen's eyelid twitched in irritation. He performed a quick self-diagnostic and was surprised to discover that it showed all of his injuries to be healed. Even a stint in Storage couldn't have fixed him as quickly. Jack may have lied about the pain, but his results were undeniable

Fourteen decided to cancel the violence.

…For now.

"Better. Yes." Fourteen agreed finally and then frowned. His surroundings appeared different than they had before Jack had healed him. Everything seemed sharper and more vibrant. The walls of his prison pulsed with a subtle light they hadn't had earlier. He blinked rapidly, but the effect continued.

"I, uh, also tinkered with your sight while I was in there. I thought it would be a good idea if you could see magic—just for a little while!" The big man said hastily. "Probably. Anyway, you'll need every advantage you can get this evening."

Fourteen felt dizzy as his eyes tried to make sense of the kaleidoscope of colors emanating from Jack's body. He didn't like surprises, nor did he feel confident that seeing magic qualified as an advantage—it was far more likely to distract him than help. "My eyes worked fine the way they were," he growled. "If you have any more upgrades, you can keep them to yourself."

"You're going to need them to get out of here, so stop giving me death glares. Let me do my job, okay?"

"Upgrades? Jack,.." Adelle said, warning flashing in her eyes. She had an orangeness about her that quivered and leapt as she spoke.

"Seriously, Adelle, we have some leeway. I slowed time down in here, didn't you notice?"

"Great, so Marshall has twice as long before he goes and gets himself killed, very comforting," she snapped, and her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are you planning?" The orange light around her twitched like an angry cat's tail.

"Don't worry, this is going to be awesome. I can actually do the first part alone, just let me… ouch!" Jack snatched his hand back and stuck his injured finger in his mouth. "Why did you slap my hand away?"

"Why were you groping me?" Fourteen wasn't about to allow someone he barely knew to touch him without permission, no matter what he was selling. Especially if merely looking at the man made Fourteen want to heave.

Jack smacked his forehead, and small rainbows splashed out from between his fingers, "Right, right, trust issues. There was a whole mess of them in that captivating brain of yours. Sorry, I get carried away sometimes."

Adelle tapped her foot impatiently and cleared her throat before making a hurry the fuck up motion with her hand. Fourteen tried to ignore the way the color around her writhed, but he failed miserably.

Fourteen was finding it difficult to focus at minimum levels, let alone well enough to fight. Desperately, he reached for one of the cold places inside his head, trying to find his equilibrium. The effect was instantaneous; the conditioning wrapped around him and allowed him enough space to process the new information his eyes were giving him.

Now he could attend to the situation at hand.

Jack gave Adelle the stink-eye for her impatience and continued, saying to Fourteen, "Can I touch your clothes? I need to examine them to see what part of you I can attach my spell to. Your shield makes this sort of thing tricky."

"Please say yes before we all die of old age," Adelle pleaded. Her eyes turned toward the battle raging overhead. The orange around her was little more than an irritant for Fourteen now.

The part of Fourteen that wasn't wrapped in cold screamed in protest. Allowing Jack to touch his hand was one thing, but to be poked and prodded like a specimen was another. And for what? Another magical surprise that may or may not distract him while he was trying to fight? He hated this. Everything about the situation he was in either pissed him off, scared him, or made him feel out of control.

But Fourteen couldn't do this alone. Harper had most likely fucked off by now because he'd only agreed to stay long enough to be a distraction. Fourteen needed these damned guardians to get him out of this stupid pit, and Cym didn't have the time for him to indulge his fears right now. Fourteen had no choice.

He gritted his teeth and ground out, "Just do it."

Fourteen watched with barely leashed tension as Jack put a hand on his chest armor. Jack's body froze the moment his fingers contacted the material.

"Huh," he muttered, and his face grew thoughtful. Jack continued his exploration, running his hands lightly over the leather of Fourteen's jacket. "I, ah, need to touch your pants too."

"I said do it. Did you need an engraved invitation?"

"Just trying not to get stabbed," Jack said, eyeing the metal plate still clenched tightly in Fourteen's fist. He explored the pants quickly and efficiently, occasionally nodding to himself as he went. When he reached Fourteen's boots he slowed and looked up. "You didn't armor your boots?"

Fourteen felt his face heat up for some reason. It was a new sensation, and he wasn't a fan. "I lose my shoes a lot. No point in wasting expensive materials."

"Ooookay. I think I can work with this, but"—Jack paused with a strange expression on his face—"in order for the spell to take, I think I need your permission to do it. When I healed you, I was touching your skin. That was enough permission to breach your protections, but anything I place on your boots is going to slide off like water."

Fourteen could hear shouting overhead, but it sounded distorted and slow, making it impossible to understand what was being said. He couldn't hear the one voice he wanted to, and that was enough to quell any reservations he had about giving Jack permission. "You have my permission. Do your thing and get me back up there."

A sound like thunder vibrated the walls around them. Neither guardian looked concerned, but Fourteen had already been in one rockslide this evening and didn't like the idea of another.

Jack plopped his bulk on the ground next to Fourteen's feet and went to work. "You might want to hold on to something, I'm going to need to layer this over the soles of your boots." From his pocket he produced something egg-shaped that caught the light and refracted it, sending it bouncing off the walls.

Fourteen was forced to look away before its brightness completely ruined his eyes for night fighting. This turned out to be a mistake as Jack chose that moment to lift Fourteen's boot off the ground. Only years of training kept him on his remaining foot.

Adelle held out her arm in offering, but Fourteen ignored it. She graciously accepted his choice and said, "Cym is safe for now. I juiced his brother up before I left, so right now Sterling's shield should be able to hold off a tank. Don't worry, we'll be back before it breaks."

Jack dropped Fourteen's boot and hoisted the other one into his lap, forcing Fourteen to touch Adelle's still-proffered arm for five seconds to regain his balance. He could see her fighting down a smile before she turned her face away.

The thunderous rumbling shook the walls once more. Rather than ignoring it, Adelle jerked her head in surprise and shouted, "Incoming!"

Without hesitation, Fourteen tried to push Adelle to the floor so he could throw himself on top of her, but instead he bounced off her suddenly rock-hard form and was sent sprawling to the ground minus one boot. The top of their prison came crashing down as the rim collapsed, sending tons of rocks, dirt, and plant matter drifting down lazily as if the rubble had all the time in the world in which to crush them to death.

Jack continued working as though nothing had occurred.

It took a full thirty seconds for Fourteen to realize none of the debris had made it to the bottom of the hole. He rubbed his sore shoulder, feeling stupid and confused—he had hit Adelle with more force than he had intended. Had he hurt her?

Adelle stood where he had bounced off her, seemingly unscathed, with one hand reaching for the ceiling. He could see a ring on her index finger blazing orange, the same color as the translucent shield now hovering overhead.

Adelle turned to fix laughing, hazel eyes on him. "Sorry about that, but I couldn't let you distract me."

"No offense taken." Fourteen was just glad his gaffe hadn't killed them all. It was possible Cym had been correct when he suggested Fourteen's ignorance of magic was dangerous. Fourteen sat up and caught his boot as it came sailing toward him.

"Done. Put it on, but don't walk in them yet." Jack turned to Adelle and asked, "Do I still have time to give him a weapon?"

Adelle cocked her head to one side, her eyes blank and unfocused. "Barely."

"Okay, I can work with that. Throw me the thing."

The thing ended up being a stick-like object, roughly the length of Fourteen's forearm. He couldn't conceive where Adelle had managed to store it under her clingy outfit. Jack plucked it casually out of the air when Adelle tossed it, making it look like a well-rehearsed move.

"It'll be quick and dirty—" Jack waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "but better than nothing. Here, give me your hand."

This time Fourteen obeyed without thought.

Jack took Fourteen's hand and folded it over the stick. "We call this a dummy. It's something made in the Dreamscape that can be brought to the Real and Crafted there. Usually Crafting can only be done in the 'Scape, but some people, like our boss, can make some truly remarkable things to bring into the Real. This was his invention."

The object grew warmer, but not unpleasantly so.

"Okay, think about your favorite weapon—not a gun, please, that would be disastrous. Something without moving parts would be best."

Fourteen mentally ran through a list of his favorite weapons but none suited his current need. A sword would be too flashy for his purposes because the size he would need would only slow him down. A staff would be helpful for keeping multiple targets at bay, but it wasn't lethal enough. A pike would be better, but he wanted something with even more stopping power.

"That's enough to go on, I think."

Fourteen frowned. "I haven't picked anything yet."

"Shush. Let me work."

"Things are about to go critical upstairs!" Adelle called, eyes still unfocused, staring at something Fourteen couldn't see.

"You shush too," Jack muttered under his breath.

Fourteen felt a rush of something go through his hand, and the stick glowed, pulsing through a rainbow of colors. He watched, mesmerized, as the dummy lengthened and changed shape before his eyes.

When the glow faded, Jack stepped away, leaving Fourteen to inspect his work.

He'd never seen anything like the object in his hands. One end looked vaguely like a poleaxe mixed with a scythe. Rather than ending in a point, the blade went to the very end of the weapon, and the edge was jagged, rather than curved. It looked positively lethal.

Fourteen smiled. He wasn't sure if it showed up on his face, but on the inside he was beaming.

When he inspected the weapon closer, he noticed the edge of it shimmered with the multicolored light he was starting to associate with Jack.

"Oh wait, one more thing." Jack took the weapon back and ran his hand along the base of the staff, leaving a blaze of rainbow fire in its wake. He handed it back to Fourteen. "This end is for humans. Any of those that come at you could have a nightmare inside of them, and if they do, that should knock it out if you can get it through their shields."

Fourteen held out the metal plate from his jacket and showed it to Jack. "I used this to take out a witch's shield earlier. Is there any way to attach it to this?"

Jack gave a low whistle. "That… would be a bad idea right now. I'd need time to keep it from blowing up in our faces, but maybe we can experiment after this is over?"

Fourteen's inner smile broadened. He was starting to like this guy. Violence toward him was officially suspended indefinitely.

Jack continued, "The other end is for anything coming at you that's squiggly, slimy, or just fucking terrifying. It might not stop 'em, but you should be able to slow 'em down until we can deal with them."

"Time's up," Adelle, announced. "We have to do this now, Jack, or their shield won't survive what we're about to do!"

"Looks like it's showtime." Jack grabbed Fourteen by the arm and pulled him carefully over to Adelle. "Take her hand, and when I say jump, you jump with everything you've got."

"Copy." Adrenaline flooded through Fourteen's system. He had no idea what was about to happen, but he was ready for this fight.

Jack flung the egg from earlier at the rocks overhead. It suspended in midair and pulsed, faster and faster, until it looked like a strobe light. Fourteen's night vision was going to be completely shot.

By some unspoken gesture, Adelle dropped her shield a split-second before Jack shouted, "Jump!"

Fourteen complied and was relatively unsurprised as the ceiling gave way before them as they flew up and out of the pit. He hadn't been certain what to expect, but he'd already decided Jack and Adelle were to be trusted—for now—and he only gave his trust to people competent enough not to smash themselves against several tons of rock for no apparent reason.

As they came up and out of the pit, Fourteen tried to find Cym, but the debris from their dramatic entrance made it impossible to see anything.

Rather than smacking into the ground as it rushed toward them, they touched down lightly. Fourteen assumed he had his boots to thank for that.

"Was that the only jump they had in them?" Fourteen didn't want to have to take off his boots to keep fighting, but he didn't like the idea of fighting in something he hadn't practiced with.

"The only big one, yes, but for the next hour, you're going to want to be careful with your fancy ninja moves," Jack informed him, ignoring a spell that crashed against his shield.

"What about this?" Fourteen shook his new weapon. "How long will it last? And I'm not a ninja," he murmured that last part to himself.

A handful of witches staggered toward them out of the gloom and dust. Even at a distance, Fourteen could see something white and malignant pulsing inside their bodies—it looked like he was about to get a crash course in fighting with Jack's upgrades.

"You keep telling yourself that," Jack said with a laugh and put his back against Adelle's. Fourteen saw him pull something out of his sleeve that looked like a sword made of living flame—it crackled and hissed angrily. "Your weapon will last as long as I want it to, so have at it."

Beside him, Adelle pulled off her belt and snapped it. It blazed with orange fire, lengthening and growing until it grew to the size of a bullwhip.

Maybe these guardians weren't so bad after all.