Vespertine

XX

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

Quinn swallowed. “Scarlett,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

She was standing calmly in front of them, a gun in her right hand and a baton in her left. The gun wasn’t aimed at them—instead, she held it at her side. “I don’t want to hurt you,” she said.

Quinn opened her mouth to snarl a response, but Caiden beat her to it. “Fuck you,” he spat out.

Quinn actually raised a brow in surprise. Seems like he’s angrier about Scarlett betraying him than I thought.

“Caiden—“ Scarlett started, but Caiden cut her off.

“Get out of our way,” he said coldly.

“And what, Caiden? What are you going to do?” She asked, sounding exasperated. “Stop this and come back.”

“Back where?” Caiden responded mockingly. “Home? You mean the place you forced me to run from by ratting me out?”

She shook her head and pressed her lips together, but said nothing.

“Caiden,” Quinn muttered warningly, pinching his back lightly to remind him what they needed to do.

Caiden shrugged her off, ignored her warning, and charged Scarlett.

Scarlett cursed and raised the gun, but hesitated to shoot. As she paused, Caiden slammed into her and the two of them went down, scrambling for purchase and kicking before jumping apart. Quinn spotted Scarlett’s baton in Caiden’s hand as he stepped backwards. Then they flew at each other again, and all Quinn could do was watch.

Their fight seemed to play out like a well-rehearsed dance—it was evident that these were two people who had spent countless hours sparring with each other, training, perfectly aware of each other’s styles. As Quinn watched, they adapted, predicting each other’s moves based on that knowledge. Frankly, it was mind-blowing, and maybe a little sad.

But Caiden was losing. She could see it, in the swings that were a tiny bit too slow, in the way he unwittingly held back against Scarlett. The baton swung viciously, but not in any vital areas. And while Scarlett wasn’t aiming for the kill, either, she was gaining the upper hand. Caiden was falling back.

Do something, she thought. Use your powers. Hurry.

She concentrated on a large storage container behind Scarlett. Explode. Boom boom. Come on, you stupid box!

The wooden crate splintered with a groan and pieces of it flew outwards, but it seemed to surprise Caiden more than Scarlett. Scarlett ignored it completely and kept pressing onwards, until Quinn was forced to back up as the fight moved into the hallway.

“Not good!” Quinn yelped as she walked backwards. “Small spaces!”

Caiden grunted in acknowledgement and attempted to shove Scarlett back, but she slipped by in a fluid motion until her back was to Quinn.

Quinn lashed out with a kick, but Scarlett was ready. She turned, simultaneously ducked Caiden’s blow, and caught her ankle, but instead of pulling her closer, she shifted her weight downwards, slamming Quinn into the ground and rolling lightly off of her, forcing Caiden to slow down for fear of accidentally hitting Quinn.

She groaned and quickly got to her feet, glaring at Scarlett. She was now standing in the hallway further down, facing both Quinn and Caiden. She was breathing a little heavier, but didn’t seem to really be that winded.

“This is going nowhere,” she called, and that was when Quinn realized she had taken the baton back from Caiden. The gun was nowhere to be seen; presumably Caiden had kicked it away in the course of their fight.

“Please shut up,” Caiden responded, and started forward again, determination in his eyes.

Quinn joined him, but instead of backing up, Scarlett just shook her head. “Fine,” she said, a hint of anger creeping into her voice. “Have it your way.”

She inhaled, and by the time she let the breath out, her pretty green eyes had turned a menacing shade of red.

“Uh,” Quinn muttered. “Why are her eyes doing that freaky thing?”

“She’s a Hellhound,” Caiden responded. “Basically? Fight harder.”

“Have you ever beat her like this?”

Caiden didn’t reply.

Scarlett rushed them, faster than Quinn had ever seen her move, back when she was Marissa. She was suddenly struck with the memory of that mission they went on, and how she took on all those sorcerers alone. Now Quinn knew how she had done it.

She barely avoided being gutted by a metal bar as Scarlett swung her baton fluidly. Caiden attempted to hit her from the other side, but with an effortless sidestep, she allowed Caiden to fall a little too far and took the opportunity to slam an elbow into his back.

With a strangled groan, Caiden pitched forward, but managed to balance himself enough to avoid sprawling on the ground. Meanwhile, Quinn was doing all she could to dodge Scarlett’s strikes, but one caught her in the side of the stomach as she tried to twist away.

Pain shot through her torso, but gritted her teeth and focused. She hated to admit it, but the fight was absolutely one-sided. It wasn’t about winning anymore, just about not losing. She backed up into the open space and considered just running away, then silently reprimanded herself for thinking like a coward.

She spotted Caiden reaching for Scarlett, and frowned as she realized he wasn’t trying to hit her. The frown cleared as Scarlett jerked away, careful not to let him touch her, and Quinn realized Caiden was trying to use his power.

How can I beat her? Think, Quinn. Think.

She would keep away from contact with Caiden, Quinn realized. But she would have no such cautions about Quinn. And it was high time she got creative with her power.

Quinn lunged forward, ducking a swing from her baton and wrapped her arms around Scarlett’s torso, pinning to the ground. The baton slammed into her back and Quinn cried out in pain, but she pressed on, digging her fingers into Scarlett’s waist.

She let the pain flood her body and bring out the anger.

Suddenly Scarlett gasped, then made a choking noise before dropping her baton. Her head dropped next, hitting the ground and lolling limply.

Quinn scrambled back, breathing heavily, eyes wide.

What did I do?

“What did you do?” Caiden demanded, voicing her thoughts aloud. “Did you…”

“No,” Quinn said, because she couldn’t think of anything else to say. “I couldn’t have. I don’t…I don’t know…”

Caiden crouched beside Scarlett’s still form and checked her pulse. “She’s alive,” he said, and then flipped up her shirt. He inhaled sharply, and as Quinn leaned forward, she could see why.

Her midsection was covered with a slowly spreading bruise, something ugly and brutal and indicative of deep injury. Caiden rested a gentle hand on her abdomen. “You must’ve ruptured something inside,” he said, his voice faint. “An injury like this…it’s like…it’s like you took a sledgehammer to her organs.”

Quinn heard a strangled little sob, and with mild surprise, she realized the sound had come from her own throat. She touched her face. It was wet with tears.

“I did that,” she said hoarsely. She had meant for it to be a question, but it didn’t come out sounding like one.

Caiden was inspecting Scarlett’s entire torso. “Cracked her ribs, too. But I can fix it.” As he spoke, his hands began to glow, and the bruise began to fade. He furrowed his brow in concentration.

“She’s got to have cuffs on her somewhere,” he told Quinn as he worked. “Cuff her before I’m done.”

“Quinn,” he said louder, when she didn’t move. “Come on.”

“Cuffs,” Quinn muttered, and rooted through Scarlett’s pockets. She found several zip ties instead, tucked in her jacket pocket. She used one to bind Scarlett’s legs together, and another for her arms. Then she sat back, watching Caiden work numbly.

“I wish I couldn’t,” she said suddenly, as Caiden finished and wiped his brow.

“Wish you couldn’t what?”

“Do that,” she replied, her voice trembling a bit. “I feel like throwing up.”

Caiden looked concerned. “What’s wrong? Quinn, you didn’t kill her.”

“I know. I know that. But I did something awful. I can’t explain it, but…” she trailed off, gazing at Scarlett.

“You have no trouble shooting or stabbing people,” Caiden pointed out. “This isn’t any different. And honestly, after what she’s done to you, to both of us, she kind of deserves it.”

“No,” Quinn responded vehemently. “Not…that.”

Quinn Vespertine, much like every warrior and assassin in the game, had always had a philosophy. Lines they didn’t cross. A code they had silently sworn to, and hers was this: she would never do anything to someone that they could not do to her. It served her well for the most part—if they could shoot her, if they could stab her, she could do the same with a clear conscience.

But this did not fit her code, and for some reason, it felt like that breach was leeching her humanity from her.

“I don’t want this power,” she finally said. “It’s just too easy to use.”

Caiden didn’t understand fully, but he could tell that Quinn was shaken by what she had done. He looked down at Scarlett, and then at his perfect hands.

What if he didn’t have his power? Would she have died? Would they have, a long time ago?

Would he be here at all?

Whenever he thought about his power, there was always a bit of loathing, a disgusted feeling of contempt, angry at having his life stolen from him because he had been cursed with the abilities that he had.

But what about the good?

Was he willing to give that up?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. He looked to the corridor, tense and wary, but relaxed as he saw Arette running towards them.

“I found you!” She exclaimed in relief. Then she frowned at Scarlett’s unconscious form on the ground. “Who’s this? And what happened to her?”

Quinn grimaced. “It’s a long story, but she works for the people who kidnapped us. I think.”

“Probably,” Caiden agreed. “Speaking of, we should probably get out of here.”

“What about Scarlett?” Quinn asked.

“Leave her here, obviously,” Caiden said, but Arette looked thoughtful.

“I don’t know. Why don’t we take her? You know, like as a bargaining chip? We can put her in the trunk and feed her occasionally, all that.”

Caiden scoffed. “As soon as she wakes up, she’s going to kick our asses and then throw us in prison.”

“Not necessarily,” said Quinn. “ I did tie her up. And usually being held at gunpoint is good incentive not to try anything.”

Caiden bit his lip. “Fine,” he agreed, but didn’t seem happy about it. “But if this backfires, I will say I told you so.”

He bent down and scooped her up, grunting under her dead weight. “Exit?”

“I’m assuming it’s on the other side of the room,” said Arette, pointing. “In the other hangar that was where the exit was.”

“How did you get out, anyways?” Quinn asked as they walked to the garage door.

Her jaw tightened. “I’ve had a lot of practice getting out of locked rooms.”

There was a knock on the door of the surveillance room.

“Come in,” said Astor, but he didn’t look away from the screens as he watched Quinn, Caiden, and the girl called Arette force open the hangar door. He watched as they dragged Scarlett away, took her car keys from her pocket and used them to find her car in the lot. He watched as they put her in the trunk, and as they got in, Quinn in the driver’s seat, Caiden riding shotgun, and Arette in the back. He watched as they drove away.

“They are resourceful, I have to admit,” said Staed as he came to stand next to Astor. “We didn’t expect them to take Scarlett, though. I’m surprised they managed to overpower her at all.”

“Quinn used her powers,” Astor said, and there was a touch of glee in his voice. “Now we know for certain what she is.”

“A powerhouse,” Staed agreed. “At least that’s going according to plan.”

Astor sipped his coffee. “I have faith in Scarlett. I’m confident she’ll bring them to me when it’s time.”

Staed frowned. “I don’t know, sir. I have an uneasy feeling about this. For a while it seemed like Quinn and Caiden were just on the run, but ever since they got that other girl to join them, it’s almost like…like they have a mission. What are they planning?”

Astor narrowed his eyes. “Something foolish, no doubt. But I don’t believe it’ll be something we can’t handle.” He looked at Staed then, and sighed.

“Hearing your voice come out of that body is highly unnerving. Couldn’t you have picked a different look? And we’ve got to change the signal for turning off the field. James nearly missed it because he was laughing too hard.”

Staed shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to try being a scientist. I thought tall and skinny was the stereotypical scientist look.”

Astor snorted. “Egbert, though?”

Staed rolled his head, cracking his neck, and grinned as his body thickened and shoulders widened, his features changing from unassuming to intimidating, his lightly arched brows becoming thick, heavyset ones to match his dark, hollowed eyes. “Had to improvise.”

“I’m telling you,” Astor said, putting his mug on the table. “Your powers are wasted every time you choose not to look like a beautiful woman.”

“Nice try, sir. But in your dreams.”