Masked

Chapter Twenty-Seven

        Wanting to let my anger out, I decided I would do some training as I had forgotten to the past couple of days. It wasn't as though I still did assassin work, but it felt nice to practice with my katana. After Luther had dragged me away from Vanya, I ran upstairs to change into my black catsuit. I was lucky I still knew where it was and that in frustration I hadn't thrown it out already. Once I was dressed up, I headed back downstairs to work on my attacks. My gratefulness hadn't left me, and the dummies got beaten up as I swung my blade around. The only time I stumbled was when a loud crash shook the entire house.

        "Vanya?" I mumbled timidly.

        She must have broken out herself meaning only one thing that she was not going to take no for an answer anymore. If I hadn't been afraid of what she might do if she found me, maybe I would have stayed downstairs and waited for her to come up and talk to her. Instead, I raced up the steps trying to find the others, my katana strapped on my back. I worked my way up to the second floor. No one was there. They must have already started to leave and take shelter. I was alone again.

        Another rumble shook me out of my daze. I had to make sure Mom made it out safely. If she was left to collapse along with the house, I don't know what I would do. Dust rained down from the ceiling as the walls vibrated. The Academy was no longer safe. As I made my way towards the area Mom would rest, I heard explosions coming from the bedrooms. I almost ran straight into Diego. It seemed as though he and Klaus had the same idea.

        He stared at the empty chair before getting pulled back as debris fell. "Where is she?"

        "Mom!" Klaus called out.

        I stayed behind, staring at the pictures. "Where could she be?"

        Klaus screamed, and I turned to see the two of them getting pummeled with stone. Nothing in this house was stable. I tried to get over to them, but the ceiling collapsed in front of me, blocking my way and causing me to cough at the powder entering my lungs. Not paying attention, I almost got crushed, but as I threw my hands up to cover myself, I noticed that nothing had fallen on me. Glancing up, I saw a slight shimmer in the air shaped in a bubble around me. It was protecting me from the wreckage threatening to kill me.

        So this is what Dad meant. Having this added bonus to my power didn't make me feel any stronger. Forcefields still made me a coward. Not knowing how long it would last or how to even control it, I kept my hands up until I was safe from being squashed. There didn't seem to be a way to reach my brothers, and so I decided I had to get out of the house. Bracing myself for impact, I leaped off the balcony and onto the hard floor of the foyer only to be surprised when the shimmer showed up again forming a sort of trampoline. I could get used to this.

        Once I stopped bouncing, I hurried through the front doors hoping to see the rest of my family escaped and unscathed. They weren't there. Even from the outside, the building looked like crap, and I could only imagine what craziness had gotten into Vanya's head to make her destroy her childhood home. Then I remembered the fact that she had been thrown into the role of the outcast. Still, I was worried she'd end up killing someone accidentally. Sitting on the sidewalk, I waited for someone, anyone to walk out and tell me they were safe.

        I jumped up when I heard Diego yelling at Mom to get out of the Academy. I followed the voice to a small alley beside the building where he and Klaus stood. They were alive. Their gaze was fixed on a woman, smiling sadly in the window frame of what I thought to be my room.

        Diego cried, "I'm coming after you."

        Hopping in front of him I tried to hold him back, knowing if he went back in neither of them would make it. Klaus covered his ears as the entire place became rubble. Nothing more than stones as flames rose. It was all gone. Diego pushed past me, searching for his mother in what little remained.