Page 32 of Rescuing Air

Three more rooms were empty and if our theory was correct, then the next set of doors should hold the people we were looking for. When the lock clicked on the next door, it came bursting open and Jay tackled Parker, slamming him to the floor.

“Jay, wait, it’s us!” I yelled, reaching out to stop Jay from pummeling Parker in the face.

Jay paused hearing my voice and looked up but the flashlight was shining right in his face, making him wince before I lowered it. “Lailah, what are you doing here?” Jay demanded, getting to his feet and stalking over to me. “Why are you and Parker running around while the alarms are going off?”

The angry energy that was coming off him had me backing up until I was pinned against the wall. “Ah, well, that’s a bit of a story that we don’t really have time for.”

“No, I think now is the perfect time for you to fill me in on what’s happening, or are you going to be a bad girl and disobey me?” Jay whispered. He slid a hand up my arm to my neck, gently gripping it. “Good girls get rewarded, bad girls get punished.”

I gulped at the fierceness in Jay’s silver eyes. “Dirty cops came and kidnapped the three of us, claiming we were involved in the bombing at Pride. We got away and Brayden came up with the idea you might be here, so we drove to Paarl. Once we got there, they were blasting our pictures all over the news and we knew we couldn’t get out of the city without someone noticing us. I called Cami, and she reached out to the base and they came to get us. It wasn’t until that moment I figured it all out.”

“What did you figure out?” Jay asked even though I was pretty sure he knew.

“Your father is a traitor working for the Dark Lord, running his army and is trying to kill us,” I blurted, not really sure how to tell a man I loved that his father was an asshole.

Jay narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean he’s trying to kill us?”

“Well...” I started but Parker got another door open and Micah came out swinging.

Parker got socked right in the mouth before Micah took a moment to figure out what was going on. “Lailah, what the fuck are you doing here with him?”

I let out a frustrated growl and attempted to shove Jay away from me. He let me move him, his hand sliding off my neck as I headed for Micah. “Can we cover that in a moment? We need to get the last few rooms open to see if Jay’s mom is in one of them along with Brayden and Hudson. Then we need to get the fuck out of this goddamn nightmare of a prison.” This outburst had both Jay and Micah looking stunned. “It’s been one hell of an experience since you guys went off to your meeting. The next time I tell you guys we don’t split up, you better fucking listen!”

Thankfully, none of them took the risk of arguing with me as I went to help Parker with the next keypad. Clearly, he didn’t need it since he got the previous one open on his own but it gave me a purpose. He’d been right. Now that he got the hang of it, he was opening the doors much faster. Thankfully, this time when the door was opened no one came out swinging. No one came to the door at all. Sneaking a look around the doorframe, I saw a woman on her side, sleeping on a cot. She was stunning, dressed in a simple green dress with her long black hair flowing out behind her. This woman had to be Jay’s mother. There was no other reason she would be here.

“Jay,” I called to him. He was in a heated discussion with Micah. “You’re gonna want to handle this, I think.”

I don’t know if it was the look on my face or the tone I was using but horror crossed his face as he dashed into the room and knelt beside his mother. He started to whisper to her in Japanese as he lifted her out of the bed, her head falling to rest on his shoulder. None of this woke her and I had to wonder what Makoto did to her, and why. There was no reason to keep her locked away like this if the plan was to turn her into one of those mindless demon-possessed people. Unless he was hiding her from the Dark Lord to keep her from that fate—but why?

Parker had moved on to the last two doors, freeing both Hudson and Brayden in quick succession. Now that we were all out, it was time to get moving.

“I don’t have time to explain everything but here’s what you need to know. Makoto is working with the Dark Lord. He’s trying to get me to show off all the powers that I have by having demon-possessed people attack me. Somehow, he figured out that me working alone wasn’t all I could do, so he pulled Parker into the mix. I’m guessing because he isn’t bonded to me. If he died, he wouldn’t take me down with him. Makoto unleashed a massive amount of them on us but we got out of there and did what we needed to set you guys free. Now that we’re all up to speed, can we please leave before something else happens?” I asked, talking as fast as I could.

“Why can’t I feel my powers?” Micah asked, staring at his hand as if he was trying to do something with it.

“Makoto gave us all a drug laced with demon venom, blocking us off from our powers. Before he sent me to fight, he gave me an antidote,” Parker answered.

That did not make Micah’s mood any better as he spluttered at the information. “How the fuck do you expect us to get out of here if we don’t have our powers to use?”

“If you’d given me a moment, I would have told you,” I grumbled as I walked up to him and grabbed his face with my hands to pull him into a kiss.

Clearly, I didn’t need to kiss him for this to work but right now I wasn’t going to take the chance that I might never get to again. Letting my power flow through him, I searched for anything that shouldn’t be inside him. When I came across the demon venom, I was able to burn it away, making him whimper as he held onto me for dear life. I knew this didn’t feel good, but it was what needed to happen if they wanted their powers back. As soon as I felt the last vestiges of the venom were gone, I pulled back my power, giving him one more brush of my lips before looking him in the eyes.

“Holy shit, why did that have to hurt so bad?” he wheezed as he rested his head on my shoulder.

I let my hand comb through his long hair for a moment as he collected himself. “I’m sorry, I know just how awful that is, but it was the fastest way to get your powers back.” Nodding, he let me go, and I faced the others. “Who wants to go next?”

None of them looked thrilled but Hudson stepped up to the plate, resting his forehead against mine. “Let’s save the kiss for a reward after you do whatever it is that made Micah sweat.”

“Fair enough,” I said, letting my hands wrap around his neck so I had more contact with his skin.

Now more comfortable with this new trick, I could manipulate the process faster. But no matter how fast I went, it would still hurt like a bitch. Yeah, it was a cleansing fire, but fires still burn and blister whatever it touched. The moment he was free from the venom, his lips descended upon mine as if it would give him life. “Thank you, Sunshine.”

Hudson moved and let Brayden take his place. He wrapped me up in a hug, tucking my head under his chin as I completed the process. He let out a grunt as I got to the venom and his arms pulled me tighter against him as if he was going to draw me into his body. When the deed was done, he peppered my face with kisses before landing on my lips in a quick but searing kiss. “Go help Jay so we can get out of this hellhole.”

Jay only had eyes for his mother at this moment, worry creasing his brow. “Can you check her too? She shouldn’t be like this. Even if she was drugged with something normal, she’s too quiet.”

“I’ll see what I can do but no promises,” I warned as I clasped one of his mother’s hands in my own.