Page 26 of Rescuing Air

“She will be injected with the serum and be useful for once,” Makoto stated. “If I could do that to all of your men I would, but the Dark Lord has other plans that he hasn’t shared with me yet.”

How could Makoto believe a word that the Dark Lord says? He was a Prince of Hell and lied to everyone about everything. There was no way that anyone was surviving to see the new world he was creating.

“Cami and the others at headquarters know we’re here. How do you plan to get around that?” I inquired. If he kept telling me things, then I would know for certain that Makoto might not be willing to listen to what the Dark Lord wanted and kill me sooner just to appease his anger.

Makoto gave me a tight smile but didn’t share, making me take a deep breath of relief. “I wouldn’t put your hopes on anyone finding you before things are set in motion and you can’t stop it.”

Well that answer gave me mixed feelings...

“So what now? You have me here, as well as the others, but it seems like you’re waiting on something,” I pressed, feeling like I didn’t have the full picture just yet.

What could have happened to make Makoto turn his back on the Elementi? This was in the works before Jay was born, since Makoto had owned his military company for thirty years or so from what Jay had told me. His mother had trouble getting pregnant with him, so it was a happy moment to have had a son, but Makoto never saw it that way.

“I told you, while I have you here, I intend to see what the angels decided to bless you with, even though you have no connection to the Elementi whatsoever. The honor of having Synergy born into the world should have come from one of the legacy families. We’ve been a part of this war for generations, leading back to the first Elementi Knights. No matter how many times I asked Jalen what your powers were, he never told me. He wouldn’t even tell me what your spirit weapons were.”

My eyes widened at the fact that Jay would hold this information back when so many others at Ryevick knew all about what I could do. Did Jay really not trust his father to such a deep level?

“Maybe Jay knew you couldn’t be trusted but hoped he was wrong about you,” I mused. Makoto had shown he had a temper so maybe he would let something slip if I got him angry at me.

“Jalen is smarter than people ever give him credit for. He’s quiet so people say things around him, but they also assume it means he’s not very bright. Turns out it’s quite the opposite. He uses people’s perceptions against them.”

Okay, well that plan backfired.

“Enough of this. I know you’re trying to do your best to get information out of me, and while I admire the attempt, you’re not skilled at it,” Makoto pointed out as he signaled to a guard. “You seem alert enough to put you through some evaluations. If you choose to fight this, my men won’t have any issues reminding you what a cattle prod can do.”

The guard unlocked the cell and grabbed my arm, yanking me to my feet and dragging me after him as he headed down the hall. We left the jail area, but I didn’t see anyone else in any of the other cells, telling me the guys were in another area. I didn’t have much of a chance to take things in as I was muscled around and shoved into a room that reminded me of the warded training room back at Ryevick. It was the only place we could fight and use our powers without worrying about destroying anything.

“It’s up to you if you live through these evaluations,” Makoto said before he closed the door, leaving me alone in the room.

My gut told me I was not going to like whatever happened next but I didn’t plan on dying anytime soon, so I would do what was needed. Another door opened, and a woman was shoved through before the door was slammed shut. She looked to be around my age. Her clothes looked ragged and dirty like she’d been locked up for quite some time. Her body was thin enough you could see her bones and when she lifted her head to look at me, her eyes were completely black. I gasped and involuntarily took a step back from her, feeling a wave of evil coming off her.

“What happened to you?” I whispered.

At my words, her face split into a smile that was all teeth, and those teeth were pointed like a shark, not human at all. “I was freed from Hell only to be trapped in this useless human body. That’s what happened to me. Why do you smell so delicious? They’ve sent lots of people for me to play with but none as sweet as you. What makes you different?”

“They’ve done this to others?” I gasped. “And you killed them?”

“A demon’s got to eat and the souls of those they leave with me are my favorite food,” she informed me with a chuckle. “Most of them were failed subjects of the serum but you, you are something else entirely.”

She advanced on me, her clawed hand reaching out to me as if she could just pluck my soul right out of my body. Who knows, maybe she could since I couldn’t tell what type of demon she was. Nothing I learned seemed to come close to what she is other than the higher demons like the one who tried to poison me back when I first came into my powers. Stumbling back, I tripped over my own feet and fell to the floor, making the demon laugh.

“Oh, you are going to be so much fun to play with before I kill you and eat your soul for dinner. I can tell it’s a powerful one that will help me level up and give me a chance to get out of this fucking place,” she snarled.

“Wait, you’re trapped here?” I asked. “What if I helped you get out of here?”

“Now what fun would that be? No, I would much rather eat you, then take my chances with the old man,” she said, crouching down as if she was preparing to spring at me.

Since the events at the catacombs, the guys have been adamant about my training and felt it would also help me with my panic attacks. Right now, I was so glad that they had beaten it into my muscles because when she launched herself at me, I reacted before my brain could catch up. Rolling to the left, then popping up to my feet with my sai in my hands, I was ready to deflect the kick she sent my way. Now, in no way was I at the level of the guys but I could hold my own, although no matter what, I was always better at defensive moves than attacking.

“Ho-ho! You’re an Elementi!” she announced excitedly. “That just made this all the more exciting! Now I know if I eat you, I’ll be able to free myself and eat all the souls I desire.”

This time when she attacked, it was faster and harder, forcing me to be on the defensive, not giving me a chance to make a move on her. I’d been trying to keep what skills I had to myself but it seemed that Makoto wasn’t going to let that happen and purposefully put me with a powerful demon. When a kick glanced off my cheek, I knew I needed to get some space between us so I could recenter myself. Throwing up a shield, I shoved her back from me so hard, she slammed into the wall, leaving a dent.

“Would you look at that, the little girl has tricks,” the demon mumbled, getting to her feet. “Seems like I need to stop playing around.”

I gulped. If she’d just been toying with me, I knew defeating her was going to be impossible without using everything I had to my advantage. Taking a deep breath, I pulled on my powers and wrapped them around me like a cloak. I felt my sai shift into my short sword and shield, along with armor settling over my body, offering me protection. Geared up, I settled into a low stance with my shield raised, ready for whatever this demon was going to throw at me.

“Now, if that isn’t a neat trick! I’m not sure all the armor in the world could save you from me,” she taunted as her claws extended, making me think of Wolverine.