Ascension

Chapter 15

The front of the shop was suddenly blasted with a flood of purple light, making Mick and Gabe throw their arms up to shield their eyes from the brightness. The air hummed and tingled, buzzing with the dark energy that generally preceded an Ascension and a shrill sound pierced the air. The lights in the reading area flickered wildly and the shelves trembled, the books spilling out of their places and on Mick’s head. He covered himself with his arms to shield himself and curled into himself as tightly as he could as the squeal of the Watchers tore at his ears. Through the din, he heard a clatter of footsteps and Reid’s voice shout out a command.

He squinted through a gap in his arms as the purple light flashed blinding white for a brief second. He saw Reid standing in front of the door, palms firmly planted on the wood as the bell above him rang merrily even through the piercing din. Trish stood behind him, one hand over her forehead, the other covering his. Her eyes were squeezed shut and she breathed heavily through her mouth as she pressed his brow harder. Reid’s palms glowed on the door that was rattling on its hinges. Through the brightness, Mick could see Carly standing near Reid’s elbow, her small form flickering in and out of sight.

The noise stopped abruptly as the light winked out, leaving the front of the shop as dim as it had been before. Mick felt Gabe grip his shoulders and saw Reid panting against the door, Carly materializing next to him to hold his arm. Trish staggered back, tottering on her feet, and Rooster caught her, the eye on his forehead glowing the same shade of purple as the light that had filled the shop. Mick craned his neck to peer outside the shop window and saw a line of Watchers standing motionless, their eyes glinting in the pale moonlight. When he glanced up at Gabe, he was exchanging a hard look with Rooster and flicking his gaze to Reid, his eyes sharp and mouth drawn in a tight line. Gabe’s eyes flashed with strength and purpose and Mick blinked up at him, feeling strangely aroused and more than a little like a damsel in distress.

He shook Gabe’s hands off and pulled himself to his feet. There was no point in any denial anymore.

“They’re going to be back,” he said, “and they’re going to bring a few more eyes with them. Are we going to keep trying to hold them off in here?”

“I told you that they can’t get in,” Reid wheezed, leaning back against the door. He looked at Mick with knowing satisfaction in his eyes. “I added a few more layers on the firewalls. Now, their screeching can’t kill us through the walls either. Thanks, Trish.”

She didn’t lift her head from Rooster’s shoulder, but raised her hand in a thumbs-up.

“Why are we staying here then?” asked Mick. He followed Reid as the man staggered into the reading area. “True, they can’t get in, but we can’t get out either.”

“We don’t have enough info on our side,” Gabe replied. “We’ve set the pieces and we know what we need to blow this place, but we don’t know where we’ll have to go in City Hall to find it. We wouldn’t even have set this in operation today, but we weren’t counting on you, Mick,” he told him, turning to face him. “You know this place better than any of us, Reid included. You’ve lived the Game six times over. Do you know how to break through City Hall?”

Mick glanced around the reading area. Reid was draped over a small sofa, chest rising and falling heavily in exhaustion as Carly rubbed little circles into the palms of his hands. Rooster sat down on a three-seater couch, holding Trish in his arms and making her stretch her legs out. Gabe stood by his side, eyes bright and alert.

He suddenly felt inadequate.

“The people who work there aren’t that hard to deal with,” said Mick, “so long as you have a bit of steak with you. They’re like dogs - not the friendly kind – but they’re easy to distract. They like their meat bloody. If they aren’t fed, they’ll chase after you.”