Page 47 of Rescuing Air

I squeezed both Brayden and Hudson’s hands before I released them and stepped forward. “Hello, all of you, my name is Lailah and I’m the element known as Synergy.” I paused, letting everyone get out their reactions to that statement. “You are all well aware of the serum and what it does, along with how the demons are using it. I want to put your minds at ease about something though. Even if we could find a way to banish the demon possessing them, they will forever be vulnerable to another taking its place. There are people working tirelessly to find a solution but right now, their best fate is to be put out of their misery. They are aware of what is happening even when controlled by a demon so all the atrocious acts that the demon has done, they have witnessed. All that to say, death isn’t the worst thing that can happen to them. It will set them free.”

The room filled with murmurs as they decided how they felt about what I’d said. Jay came to stand beside me, placing a hand on my lower back for support as he addressed them. “You all have weapons that have been blessed and ammo that has been christened with holy water, allowing you to fight both human and demon possessed. This battle isn’t just about our survival or stopping evil for now, this is the final battle to determine who will rule mankind. Fight for yourself, your family, friends, and other loved ones, because we’re all that stands in Hell’s way.”

Alarms began to blare and lights flashed all around us, causing people to scream. A few bolted from the room toward the exit, knowing this meant that Makoto had finally broken the wards around the school. They were here and there was no more time to prepare. Jay clasped my hand tightly as we headed to the surface, knowing we needed to be the first ones to greet the army. They were here for us after all.

Back in the warehouse, Jay dropped my hand and yelled for Micah. “Help me get these doors open so that people can get out easier.”

Soon, the large rolling doors were open, illuminating what was in the space and revealing an ATV we could all fit in, with the open space in the back for hauling things. The keys were in it and Parker started it up with ease. “Everyone, get in!”

I spotted Cami standing alongside Blessing and motioned for her to join us. “No, Lala, my place is here. Go be the badass I know you are and save the world, alright? I’ll find you after all this is over.”

Seeing that she wasn’t going to budge, I let Micah pull me up into the ATV and hung on as Parker slammed on the gas, sending us rocketing out of the building. Clearly, he’d gotten his driving skills from the same person who taught Cami. I thought we were going to die before we even made it to the front of the campus.

“Lailah, can you send your power out and tell us if they’re just coming in through the front or if they’re attacking on all sides?” Hudson yelled over his shoulder.

Upon his request, I took my power and tossed it out around me, sending it far and wide, coating the whole campus as I looked for demon signatures. The hard part would be if they had two groups since I wouldn’t be able to track the humans this way, but it was better to try than not try at all. My power shone brightly as it hit the army that was in front of us, but I could also feel smaller groups coming from the left and the right sides of campus as well. “Looks like they have teams on either side but they aren’t moving. They must be waiting for a signal.”

Parker slammed on the brakes almost tossing me from the vehicle if Micah hadn’t caught me. “What the fuck, man?” Micah yelled.

“Look, I know you might cut off my balls for this idea, but I think we should split up and hit the groups that are waiting. If three of you go and distract the main group while Micah and I lead teams to the right and left, they won’t expect it,” Parker pointed out. “Jay, you know I’m right. They don’t know that she can find them, and if we keep them from flanking us, it could make all the difference.”

Jay sat there silently for a moment processing before he spoke. “Lailah and I will meet the front lines while Parker and Hudson go to the left and Brayden and Micah go to the right. I know how to stall my father and if he is the conduit for the Dark Lord, then his real target will be Lailah. The faster you can defeat the smaller groups, the better. Go back and get Blessing and Cami to help you with their people. Play their game against them.”

I hopped out of the ATV and Jay followed. “Be safe and come back to me or I’ll bring you back and kill you myself. I’m pretty sure I can do it, too.”

They all nodded and Parker whipped the ATV around, heading back to the warehouse. I looked up at Jay, squared my shoulders, and pulled my new crossbows into existence. “Let’s go play chicken with the Dark Lord and see who blinks first.”

twenty-eight

Lailah

As Jay and I made our way to the front lines, I couldn’t allow myself to worry about the others. They were trained to fight, and they now had stronger powers than ever before. The Dark Lord knew none of this. Taking Jay’s lead, I stood tall when we reached the front entrance to the school. I could hear the sound of many feet thundering through the air as they approached. We stopped and let them come to us. What I found interesting was that they were on foot. If it was me, I would have used large vehicles to bust in and drop a large amount of people off, flooding the space. Instead, they walked in like they owned the place or they’d already won the battle.

The first wave of the enemy came to a halt and parted, revealing Makoto dressed in all black with a hood pulled up, shadowing his face. I could feel the darkness in him for the first time. He was, without a doubt, the conduit for the Dark Lord and had been for quite some time. The energy that pulsed out of him smacked into me but I lifted my hand, allowing a shimmering wall of my power to block it from pressing on me further. I didn’t put too much strength into it, not wanting him to know how strong I was just yet. We needed to give the others time.

“We finally get to meet in person, Little Synergy,” the Dark Lord’s voice boomed, filling the space. “My servant has told me much of your visit with him and how you let one of your own men die so you could save yourself.”

“Parker died trying to save me, the way no one else could since he wasn’t bonded to me,” I responded, playing along. Did he really not know that Parker was alive?

“I suppose it wasn’t a hardship to let him die after he betrayed you like that,” the Dark Lord mused, as he turned his head to face Jay. “Yet you still keep this one with you, even though his father had been betraying the Elementi for decades. Makoto is a man after my own heart, a lover of power, willing to do whatever it takes to have it and keep it. They say children don’t stray far from their parents. Is that really someone you want to have fighting alongside you?”

A smile tugged at my lips. “Then it’s a wonderful thing that he takes after his mother, isn’t it? She refused to bow to Makoto’s wishes even if she wouldn’t abandon him. Jay has proven to me time and time again who he is and trust me, he’s exactly who I want at my side right now.”

Snarling came from the shadowed hood as twin green flames glowed but still revealed nothing of his features. “Then I will cherish the tears you spill as I take the soul from his body and eat his heart so that he will never return to this world.”

“Only God can wield that kind of power,” Jay snapped. “All demons are created from angels that have been cast out of Heaven. They were all of a lower status, unable to act without his permission. Even when demons attack now, they must bow to his rules. I don’t think trapping a soul in Hell for eternity is a power you have.”

“It seems that you have paid attention in school, but who’s to say what you learned is the truth?”

I scoffed. “Why would we ever believe a word that comes out of your mouth? Demons thrive off lies and half-truths. They are master manipulators, getting humans to do what they need by making it their choice. I don’t doubt that you’ve managed to change things in the history books but the Elementi have followed the truth for generations, ensuring that things won’t be tainted by the likes of you.”

“Such courage and passion,” the Dark Lord sneered. “It’s no wonder why the angels chose you to be Synergy, with all that hope and promise flowing through you. Do you think Makoto is the first person of the Elementi that I’ve turned? A mission like this isn’t one that you win by moving fast. It’s the long slow game, moving the right pieces in the right places. No one will ever know who is truly loyal and who isn’t. People will do just about anything when they are given the right motivation.”

His words made my mind race, trying to figure out what he was telling me. He had a hidden weapon, I knew it. He was alluding to it, but I couldn’t figure out what the hell it was.

“Why would the angels have sent me if the Elementi didn’t follow the rules they set for them?” I demanded, trying to get more information.

Makoto advanced, his hands clasped behind his back as he moved slowly. “Because they believed they were doing it for the right reasons. As you said, Little Synergy, we are the masters of deceit. Makoto believes an angel came to him in a dream, telling him his son would be the savior of the world. When it didn’t happen, he turned to me. There was no angel. It had been me all along, driving his need to gain power and prestige. Before your dear Air Knight came into his power, Makoto believed in the Elementi, and did all he could to make it protected against the likes of me. Only when the heavens let him down did it create the perfect opportunity for me to provide my help. Now I had a man who had more control over the Elementi than the Elementi did.”