The Degenerate (Mythics Book One)

9

 "Ivy..." Theo's voice was low in my ear and I numbly looked at him, then at the phone in my hand.

"Let them come." No, no, no. That was such a stupid decision. How could I let my emotions rule me like that? My heart was racing so fast I was certain it was going to burst right out of my chest.

"Then we're leaving," he snapped. "You just lost all chances of getting any answers out of that woman." He gripped my arm. "Let's go."

Didn't he understand? I couldn't physically make myself walk out that door without getting anything. However stupid, I pulled away from him and marched up to Jacquelyn. "The NME are on their way. Why can I only remember some parts of my childhood? Who was that a picture of in your closet? Who am I?"

"Stupid child," she sneered, glancing up at me. "I will not spell it out for you. The NME is the least of your problems and a mere annoyance to me." She turned an icy glare to Theo. "It's too late for you both. The house has been surrounded from the moment you stepped through that door." Her lips turned up in a vicious grin.

Theo grabbed my arm and jerked me backward as the front and back doors flew open, smashing into the walls and sending picture frames clattering to the ground. Windows shattered in the dining room and somewhere upstairs. The floor was littered with the shards, like tiny diamonds. Men and women dressed in government-issued black uniforms poured inside like an army of ants. Their faces were shielded with tinted visors and thick, box-like squares on each side of their helmets where their ears were located prevented any supernatural sound from reaching them. Not like I could try to persuade them all at once. There had to be at least a few dozen of them. Guns were at the ready and the front lines possessed something long, black, and sleek. Blue electricity crackled at the tips. Cattle prods.

I stumbled back, tripping on my own jeans. Jacquelyn stood in front of the island, arms crossed. Theo pulled a large switchblade from his waist and flicked it open, though I doubted it would so much as glance at their thick armor.

I watched his dark gaze shift to Jacquelyn. He started for her, flying across the room with speed I doubted was natural. He pinned her to the ground in the fray, knocking over chairs and dishes in their struggle, and I knew it was only a matter of moments before one of the guys in uniform stepped in and pulled him off.

I should have felt something about that, I thought. I didn't feel a thing as the woman I had once called my mother was thrown to the ground in fury.

While I was distracted, a pair of thick gloved hands enclosed around my throat, squeezing, strong as a vise. I gasped for air, bucking against the man, but doing little good. I clawed at his hands, eyes wide. I could only choke out a warning as one of the uniforms lifted her cattle prod high into the air and in one fluid motion jammed it into Theo's back. Blue electricity arced over his body and he went limp, twitching and convulsing. Over the din, I barely heard a grating sound and realized Theo was laughing through the pain.

The scream tore itself from my throat, a pathetic, strangled sound. Jacquelyn rose to her feet, touching a hand to one of the cuts across her cheek. Another seeped blood along her jaw in a clear attempt at her neck. Her eyes were alight with a fascinated glow as she watched Theo and I felt nauseous.

I thrust my chin to my chest in an attempt to ease some pressure and crushed his wrists inward while throwing my body forward. Surprisingly, cheap self-defense tips from the internet worked. I hit the glass-covered ground retching and struggling for breath. Shards sliced into my hands, drawing blood, but I slowly came to my feet and hurled myself at the woman who had electrocuted Theo. I landed on her back like a psychotic monkey and her knees buckled, causing us to fall on the ground together. She easily threw me off and I landed with a harsh thud, banging my head on the wood floor. The colors around me brightened and dimmed and the world tilted oddly.

Then, I was lying on my back, staring up at the reflective visors of six different soldiers. A cold hand made its way to mine and I realized I was right next to Theo. I couldn't turn my head without tears springing to my eyes, but I took comfort in his presence. Even if we were both defeated. At least we shared the same rage.

"Ivory Dunbar," said one, his voice warped through the helmet. "Theodore Gray. You have been found guilty of being proclaimed dangers to society and evading police arrest. You will be escorted to a secure holding facility. Any attempts to harm or escape through supernatural means will force us to shoot to kill."

My blood ran cold in my veins. Rough hands lifted us both up and our hands fell away from one another. While Theo still looked weak and considerably paler than before, he stood on his own and ground his teeth together. Waves of power rolled off him in the form of emotional bursts of rage and punishing swells of every negative emotion he could get his hands on--- fear, anxiety, doubt, grief, shame. Everything seemed to coalesce and gather strength before everyone realized what he was doing. He couldn't help it, these feelings he put off. They were the only things he had ever failed to control and it usually manifested in the form of lust or irresistible charisma. These things were usually the cheese in the trap and drew people toward him like moths to a lantern. It was how he had been made.

I had just never seen him so angry before.

"You!" growled one of the soldiers. "Knock that off."

I could see the man's gloved fists twitching at his sides and knew that the power was getting to him just like everyone else in the room. Even I felt my knees wobble a bit, but I forced myself to stand.

The soldier jerked his head and the woman holding Theo back calmly reached over---

---and snapped his neck.