The Girl of Many Worlds | (Story formerly known as "Multiworldcial")

Chapter 39

Lana and Ichabod looked as anxious as I was as we looked for the noise source.

"Get inside!" a voice cried. Lock your doors! Pull down the emergency levers, and don't come out until you're safe! Go!"

Many people broke off into a sprint, running into their houses.

"The emergency lever?" Lana asked. "We have to go!"

They hauled me to my feet, clearly able to process my confused mind and how it would slow us down before getting to safety.

"What's going on?" I asked as we broke out into a run ourselves.

"The emergency lever can only mean one thing," Ichabod said breathlessly. "Somebody managed to bypass our defenses and has broken into the town."

A familiar odor reached my nose, sending an icy chill surging through my bones. It filled me with dread that much I knew. But why? Who was it? We rounded the corner to Lana's house, and all the strength left my body as he came into view.

Brutus.

The fear that flooded into me was indescribable. My vision tunneled, and all I could see was him and only him.

Lana and Ichabod stopped short beside me, frozen at the sight of the giant man pig in front of them. But he wasn't worried about them. All his greedy, dark eyes focused on me was me.

"Jade," he said, "Mercury sent me to retrieve you ahead of the war. I traced your scent down here."

His gaze traveled throughout the village and at the people inside their houses with a protective shield forming around them, whatever safety protocol they had in full swing. We were supposed to be in one of those protective bubbles. But in a terrible twist of fate, we were trapped between him and our refuge.

"She's not going with you," Ichabod said firmly.

Brutus snorted, and his eyes seemed to glow with desire. Oh gosh. My skin immediately started crawling. I felt myself desperately wanting to run away.

Arden... I need... I need you; I need your help.

"How do you plan on stopping me?" Brutus asked, pulling out his axe from behind his back. The three of us took a few steps away from him. I knew Ichabod was trying to be brave, maybe even in an attempt to protect the women he was surrounded by, but he was a chef. Not a warrior.

"We should run," I whispered.

"A good choice," Brutus confirmed.

We turned and began running, Lana shouting, "Over there!"

A couple whose protective barrier was still raised frantically beckoned us over to them.

"A good choice for everyone but you, princess," Brutus chuckled, and I felt something cold and metal wrap around my body. I screamed as I fell to the floor. My cheek stung from the impact. I spun over, realizing he had a chain attached to his axe, which he used like a lasso to grab me.

"Jade!" Lana shouted.

"Go! Just go! I'll be okay!"

"You'd better listen to your friend. Mercury ordered me to kill whoever interfered." He dragged me towards him, and the hungry look turned ravenous.

I looked back and saw them frozen in place. The couple had to drag them inside. A part of me felt the slightest relief when I saw the protective barrier do its work, keeping Ichabod and Lana out of harm's way.

"I've been waiting to get my hands on you since that dream," Brutus commented, desire in his voice.

"Get away from me!" I shouted, trying desperately to find the powers within me. The blue light seemed so dormant and useless. Never before had I hated to be part human. It used to be all I knew, and now it was just a terrible curse.

"You seem to have no choice but for me to stay nice and close," he said, lifting me with the chains that wrapped around my chest. "Mercury permitted me to have some fun with you. You know what that means, don't you?"

I felt the blood drain from my face. If he hadn't been holding me, I would've collapsed to my knees.

"Please, don't," I pleaded. I fought against him as he brought me around the back of one of the houses. He roughly pushed me against the wall as he placed the blade against my neck.

"Begging is not going to stop this," he said gruffly. "Accept that this is going to happen."

I gritted my teeth. "You can't kill me. You and I both know that Mercury needs me alive."

"Alive doesn't mean not maimed," he said. "Would you like to find out what else I can do to you besides join our bodies?"

My stomach lurched in disgust and terror. His laughter was terrifying as he reached for my dress.

"Don't worry," he whispered into my ear. "It'll be fun for both of us."

I struggled against the chains desperately. "Let me go!"

"Shush," he said, "or I'll slice that pretty mouth of yours."

His hands traveled underneath my dress, and I couldn't help but start sobbing. This couldn't be happening. His grubby, disgusting fingers reached for the hem of my underwear. I closed my eyes, waiting for it all to be over.

A scream of pure agony came out of his mouth, his breath reeking of a stench I'd never known before, making me gag some more. He fell to his knees before me, my dress falling back into place.

Arden stood behind him, his eyes chilly with a stare I'd never seen before. Zander stood next to him, his mouth shaped into a snarl. I trembled slightly. Even though I knew they were there for me, seeing how they looked was frightening.

"Please, don't hurt me," Brutus begged. "I'll give you anything. Anything you want!"

Arden's hands were shaking. They wavered at his side, slowly forming into a fist.

"I want you dead," he spat. "But unluckily for you, death is not a mercy I'll bestow upon you."

"No, please, let me go!"

"Tear his hands and legs off," Arden commanded. Zander's mouth widened as he bit into Brutus' hand and tore it clean off. I cried and closed my eyes, and before I knew it, Arden was in front of me, gently pressing me against the wall.

Brutus screamed in pain, but Arden covered my ears and looked into my eyes.

It's going to be okay, he said. Listen to the sounds of your home.

And then I heard it. For a quick moment, I was by the lake back home. The scent in the air changed from blood to summer. I felt my quaking subside and a calm wash slowly over me. I was swimming again, Dad chasing after me and dunking me underwater. Mom tackled Dad, and we all laughed. Their laughter echoed in my ears, and occasional tears trailed down my cheeks from the nostalgia.

I hadn't felt Arden move away from me. When I opened my eyes, Brutus was being banged up, sobbing as they carried him back towards the main roads. Arden followed behind them.

"Where are they taking him?" I croaked. His whole fleet held him above their heads as they marched on.

"He's going to be interrogated."

He stopped and looked at me seriously. He stepped towards me, his arms suddenly wrapping tightly around me.

"Did he hurt you, Jade?"

"Just my cheek," I whispered, his sudden embrace bringing me more comfort than I'd experienced since coming to Euphoria. My arms wrapped around his torso, and my head pressed into his chest. I could hear his heartbeat, unsteady and erratic.

"Are you okay?" I asked. His grip around me tightened, and his cheek pressed into the top of my head.

"I... I thought I failed y..." he trailed off and suddenly straightened. To say I ached for him to come back would be an understatement. "I thought I failed your father." He spun around and briskly walked away.