Burnin' Up | J. Saltzman - Legacies [1]

F O R T Y - T W O

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The great hall is filled with students and soldiers, all tense and ready to fight. In the corner, Kaleb slowly reaches into the sun. When the burning sensation does not come, he smirks and looks up at Teddy.

On the banister, Teddy, MG, and Rafael look over the rest of the people. When Teddy receives Kaleb's signal, he flashes his yellow eyes with a wide smirk. He glances at the others to see MG toying with a silver necklace and Rafael struggling to control the wolf.

"You sure you're up for this?" Teddy asks.

"Not at all," Rafael replies. "But if you're fighting, I'm fighting, too."

Teddy nods before he looks down at MG. "What's with the necklace? Looks like Hope's."

MG's lips tug into a smile. "For making quiet things heard." Teddy steps aside as MG yells out, "Salvatore Stallions! Let's ride!"

Teddy roars and the great hall descends into chaos.

Jumping down the stairs and landing in a squat, Teddy lets his wolf out as he smirks at the soldiers. He swings and kicks at anyone with a Triad logo who gets within ten feet of him.

All around him, students use the powers that make them special to fight off the invaders. Witches turn guns into rose petals; vampires play peek-a-boo with soldiers; wolves throw the aliens across the room.

Suddenly, Teddy finds himself trapped on the stairs with Burr creeping towards him. "So you think you're a superhero or something?"

"Honestly?" Teddy smirks. "Kind of."

"And what do you think would happen to your sister now, hm?" Burr asks as he raises his gun. Rage boils in Teddy's gut as he snarls. "Maybe I'll just kill poor...Stella, isn't it?"

"Stay away from my sister," Teddy growls.

"No, I don't think so. She has a date with a bullet." With a sigh, Burr steps forward. "Too bad she's not here."

Suddenly, the man's eyes blow wide open. Teddy smirks at the witch standing behind the soldier. "Too bad she is here," Teddy says as the man drops to his knees, coughing up flaming bugs.

"Bastard," Stella hisses as she throws Burr across the room with her magic. "Stay the hell away from my brother."

She does not watch as Burr scurries away like the bug he is; she only turns to let Teddy wrap her in his arms. She sighs in content as he whispers, "You ok?"

"I'm fine," she lies before she turns to help Josie sit down as the rest of the super-group crowd the siphoner.

"You don't look too hot, Jo," Rafael says.

She shakes her head. "We got to go after Burr."

"Don't worry," he says, taking out a ring. Teddy and Stella stare at it as Rafael sniffles. "I got magical Hope bling, too. If Josie and Lizzie can help me with a veiling spell, he'll never see me coming."

"Is that what I think it is?" Stella breathes.

Rafael nods.

Shaking her head, Stella says, "Listen, I can get rid of all of them. I just need a piece of their clothing or something of theirs. Something they all share."

"Would their gun work?" Jed asks, running up to the group with a gun hanging from his finger.

"Yes, but don't hold it like that!" Stella snatches the gun. "Do you want to get us all killed?" Jed raises his hands in surrender as Stella turns to the twins. "Get her someplace safe, please. This might hurt her."

As Lizzie gently takes Josie's arm, the brunette weakly says, "No, don't. I'm not gonna leave you. You're hurt too—"

Stella shakes her head. "It was just a graze." She glances at her brother who's expression tightens in rage. "Raf, I need you to help me corral these Triad assholes while I perform the spell. T, make sure none of them sneak up on me."

The two wolves nod. Stella takes one last look at Josie. "I'll see you soon, ok?"

"No," Josie whimpers. She reaches forward and both girls double over with a groan, holding their shoulders. Teddy helps Stella as MG picks up Josie.

"Go," the vampire says. "Lizzie and I will get her to her room. Save us, Stella."

The Hale nods with her eyes on Josie's pained expression. With one last look, she marches out of the school with her wolves beside her.

As Rafael turns into a wolf—hidden by Stella's vanishing spell—and runs off, Stella and Teddy walk to the middle of the field. "We're gonna have a lot of company in a few seconds," Stella says as she holds the unloaded gun in her palm. "You ready?"

"Always," Teddy replies with a smirk.

Stella takes a deep breath, pushing her hands above her head; she ignores the bursts of pain from her shoulder. The gun floats in the air as Stella concentrates. Suddenly, a burst of silver magic explodes from the weapon.

Screams echo from human mouths as every Triad soldier on Salvatore grounds drops to the ground before the silver threads of magic emanating from the gun drag them to the field. The silver string wraps around their ankles tight enough to cut off blood flow.

The moment all of them are on the field, Stella whispers, "Incendia." The edges of the field erupt in silver flames as Stella's eyes turn the color of the fire. "Now, stay," she says at the confused soldiers. "Or my friend will rip your throats out."

Rafael appears out of thin air, snarling in his wolf form. Burr, at the head of the group, takes out his own gun. "You can't beat this—"

Stella raises her open palm before clenching it into a fist. As her eyes glow bright silver, the gun in Burr's hand begins to glow orange. He shouts as the gun melts between his fingertips; the molten metal snakes down his arm before forming a smoking pile on the ground. He falls to his knees, cradling his hand.

Stella steps up to him with narrowed eyes. "If I was the monster you want me to be, I would kill you," she says loud enough for the others to here. "You shot Josie."

"And you," Burr spits as hatred fills his eyes.

Stella lets a cold smirk grace her lips. "But I'm fine. Josie's not." In the blink of an eye, Stella raises her fist and slams it against Burr's jaw. A sickening crack echoes through the air as Burr's jaw breaks. He thuds on the soft grass, his eyes shut. "Anyone else?" Stella yells as she raises her gaze to the other soldiers. "Anyone want to take on just a couple of kids?"

The soldiers stay put as Stella turns around and leads the two wolves out of the fire barrier. The silence that follows only brings more satisfaction to the Hale witch.

Kaleb steps out from the school, walking next to Stella. She glances at him and orders, "Make sure everyone is ok inside." The vampire nods, walking back in.

Stella's eyes move up the Salvatore school until it settles on one specific window of one specific room. When she closes her eyes, she can imagine the twins lying on the bed together; Lizzie holds a shaking and dying Josie in her arms.

"Get a car," Stella says after a moment of silence.

"What?" Teddy asks. "A car?"

"You heard me. A car." Stella opens her eyes and turns to her brother with a renewed sense of panic.

Teddy grabs her hand as they both run towards Teddy's rental. As they climb in, Teddy asks, "Why do we need a car? Where are we going?"

Stella shifts painfully in her seat, brushing her hand against her shoulder. "Triad Industries. Hope's at Triad."

Only one more chapter!! Hehe...

Hope you enjoyed!

-L