Their Light

Special Chapter - Peter Meeting Hadley

Peter

We watched from a distance. The warehouse was obviously a headquarter for this group of Malum. The group was larger than average, but nothing we couldn't handle. I stiffened as Malum drug Finn out of the warehouse. He was fighting, but he couldn't break free. I cursed him internally. One of the first things they drilled into us was never go anywhere unarmed. Our sabers were an extensive of ourselves.

"Who is that?" I whispered, seeing a female exit the warehouse as well. The Malum held her in a harsh grip. We had two people to rescue. Poor, unlucky human. She was probably in the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up in something she couldn't understand. We needed to get her away from all of this.

The moment the Malum focused on her. I started to move. Finn was fighting, but I could see he wasn't going to get there in time. None of us were. The knife pressed against her throat and my breath caught. I tried to come up with a plan, but before I could the knife sailed away from her throat as if the wind had ripped it from the Malum's grasp.

Dumbfounded, I didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. I focused back on the girl to find a Malum sucking her life force. I moved instantly. Teleporting, I appeared directly behind the Malum and pulled him away. It only took seconds for me to finish him. Caspian had already taken out the one holding her.

The girl was on the ground. I teleported directly to her. I didn't want to waste any time. She flinched away from me. Her eyes stared at the concrete. I couldn't believe she was still conscious.

The moonlight highlighted her cool blonde hair. She was covered in dirt and grime. I wondered how long the Malum had her for. I hated to think she was a long-term prisoner of theirs. No one could come back from such a thing.

I reached a hand out toward her, but hesitated. Her wrists were secured behind her back. I didn't think she would appreciate a stranger touching her. I also didn't want to leave her here. The fight was still going on around us.

Thunder roared over and rain began to pour. The girl gasped as it soaked her to the bone. I felt the same. The icy rain would not help things. I cursed, trying to think of my options. I really only had one that made sense.

"I'm sorry about this," I told her before reaching out and hugging her to me. I took us down the street away from the fight. There was a rather large awning that we could use as shelter.

Once we appeared again, I quickly released her and stepped back. I had never felt anything like that before. My neck burned the moment I touched her skin. A connection snapped into place between us, one I had only read about in books. It was impossible that it was happening to me.

This the knife, it all made sense. The girl wasn't a human. She was a Probus. A Probus that had been held by Malum. Shit would hit the fan when the Praeses found out.

She took a few deep breaths before looking up at me. My wide eyes stared back at her. I had no idea how to handle this situation now.

"What?" she asked, slurring the word. She rubbed her face, glancing at her wrists. I had made an executive decision to leave the zip ties behind on our little trip.

"I needed to get you out of there, Probus, and teleportation is my ability," I tried to explain. "I'm sorry we didn't get there sooner. We came for Finn and didn't know you were there. They'll finish up and then we can get you back home and figure out how this happened, Probus."

I knew I was rambling, but what else would you do when faced with an unknown Probus who just marked you with something absolutely impossible. I crouched down in front of her as I talked. Standing over a Probus like that didn't feel right.

She stared at me for a while before her gaze began to travel. Her eyes landed on something, and she attempted to move that way. Her legs gave out. I rushed forward, catching her. She flinched away from me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, my hands hovering near her arms. I didn't want to touch her without permission again.

"Rain." She motioned to the edge of the awning. I was confused, but knew better than to question a Probus.

I wrapped an arm under her shoulders and helped her into the rain. She sank down against the brick building. Tilting her head up, she let the rain flow over her. As she sat there, her breaths became steadier and some of her color returned.

"Who?" she asked. I cursed myself internally for not properly introducing myself.

"Oh, I'm sorry. My name's Peter, Probus. I'm with Statio Asa, same as Finn," I informed her. Her eyes narrowed, and I braced myself.

"Statio Asa?" I glanced down. It wasn't a very well known Statio. I shouldn't be offended that she doesn't know it.

"It's not a very well known output, but it's close to here, Probus. You'll be safe there until we can get you home." She snorted. I tried to tamp down my slight anger at her disbelief in our abilities. It was something I had gotten used to, for the most part. But from her it really stung.

"You're Finn's brother?"

"No, that would be the twins, Probus. They're on their way back now from Domu," I explained. They would have taken this trip right when we needed them most.

"What do you keep calling me? Prolus? Provus? What is that?" I couldn't believe what she was saying. It wasn't possible for a Probus to not know who they are. She had to be more injured than I initially thought.

"Probus, did you hit your head?" Her eyes sparked with anger.

"No," she snapped. "I don't know what the hell that was, but I didn't hit my head. Now what the hell is a Probus and why do you keep calling me it? My name is Hadley."

"Hadley!" I had never been more thankful for my chosen brother. I had no idea how to respond to any of what she just said. Finn ran to her and crouched down. "Are you okay?"

"What the hell is going on, Finn?" She glared at him. Caspian and Zeke made their way up the street toward us. She stiffened at their approach.

"You really don't know anything?" Caspian asked, bewildered. Finn must have caught him up on whatever was going on. She threw her head back against the brick wall. Even I winced at Caspian's words and the noise her head made against the wall.

"Hadley," Finn said. "Caspian didn't mean it like that." Caspian nodded.

"I didn't mean any insult, Probus."

"Can you please stop calling me that?" she groaned.

"Who are you?" I whispered under my breath. She wasn't like any Probus I had ever met before. I could feel so much through this connection we now shared. She was amazing. She was also absolutely terrifying.