Even Heroes Fall

Chapter Nineteen - Ghoul

Violet lies on the ground next to the sewer cover looking like the victim of a hit-and-run. Her black outfit is ripped in multiple places and covered in a layer of grime. Dirt streaks through her hair and across her face. Apart from a few cuts she does not appear too badly hurt, but her sudden lack of movement worries me she might have a concussion.

Violet's eyes are closed. She is displaying vulnerability I have never seen before, from both Violet and Justice. Justice is stubborn and strong-willed, always doing the right thing even if that means burning the contract stopping her from doing her job. And Violet, well she is fiercely loyal to her friends. Celia, Marshall, she would do anything to protect them. But now she seems broken, like the spark inside her has gone, and I know I am responsible.

The moment the snipers fired at the explosives in the warehouse I realised my mistake. Was I so naive to think that I was ahead of Castlemain for once? That after one failed attempt on my life that morning he would not try again when he knows I am already vulnerable? The attack on me in Harrow, Devereux's murder... everything seems so carefully orchestrated leading me to the warehouse, using Violet as bait. But even I did not think Castlemain would go as far as to murder Devereux. It is because he was my contact at City Hall? Or was it as simple as framing me for the murder to get me out of the way? My head is spinning with so many fresh questions, but right now I need to focus on what is in front of me.

Our exit from the sewer has left us a short distance from the industrial estate. I can see smoke billowing up in the sky from the explosion. The police will be crawling all over the scene soon. Will they find evidence we were there?

I lean close to Violet and murmur her name. 'Are you okay?'

Her eyes flicker open and she looks at me uncertainly for a moment as though she forgot who I was, but then she nods.

'Okay, good. We need to go.' I ignore her protests and lift her into my arms. For the first time in my life lifting some else feels like an effort which tells me my body is almost at its limit from lack of time to heal. I am aware that if I do not sleep soon I will be useless the next time Castlemain sends someone after me.

I carry Violet down the road towards the industrial estate where my bike is still parked. If we take a tube in the state we are both in, people will definitely notice. I stop at the edge of the estate and we hide behind some shipping containers, giving me a chance to catch my breath and listen for any signs of danger.

I can hear people searching through the rubble of the warehouse and I suspect they are working for Castlemain although, unless one of them directly says his name, from this distance it is not possible to know for certain. They have uncovered the place where Violet and I fell through to the sewer and are now debating the chances of our survival. In the distance the wail of police sirens begin to curl towards us as our window for getting out of here unseen grows smaller.

'Stay here,' I say to Violet firmly. Neither of us are in any position to fight but I perhaps have enough strength left to get me over to the bike. I don't wait for her response before pulling in the last of my energy to propel me at high speed away from our hiding place and over to where the bike is stashed. When I reach it I almost collapse onto the floor, my whole vision is blurring and I can feel the wound on my side bleeding. But I force myself to focus, not for me, but for Violet.

I get onto the bike, start it up, and speed back over to where I left her. She seems surprised when I toss her the helmet.

'Get on.'

'Where's your car?'

'There is no car.' I raise my eyebrows at her. How can she be so stubborn at a time like this? She hesitates, so I add, 'it is the bike, or nothing.'

Very reluctantly she puts the helmet on and climbs up onto the bike behind me. She seems hesitant at first to put her arms around me but after I bark at her to grab me or she will fall off, she does so. I try not to focus on the sensation of her holding onto me tightly as I once more hit the accelerator and have us speeding out of there in no time.

It is probably a good thing she cannot talk to me whilst we are riding because otherwise I would definitely have received a lot of resistance from Violet for my chosen end destination. When we arrive outside the back of her house and I park up, helping her off the bike, the expression on her face tells me everything I need to know.

'What the Hell are we doing here?' she hisses, lowering her voice, as she hands me back the helmet.

As I manoeuvre her bike into the undergrowth of the back garden I reply, 'my place is compromised. Castlemain found it.'

'And you think he won't find you here?' she gestures dramatically to her house, her cheeks tinged with the pink of frustration.

'I'll be honest... he might. But right now I need to sleep. To heal.' I point to the blood that is slowly dripping onto the pavement from my wound. When she looks down at it her eyes widen in shock as though she did not notice before.

'You need a hospital!' she protests, not getting it.

I shake my head fiercely. 'Definitely not. Even if the Met decide I am not responsible for Devereux's death hospitals mean tests, tests mean results no one can explain... what do you think happens to a superhuman when people start to do tests?' I am keeping my voice low as well so the neighbours cannot hear but my tone takes her aback.

'We... we can't go in looking like this.' She finally says. I am unsure if the desperation in her voice is because she is trying to keep me out of the house, or because she is afraid one of her friends will discover her secret.

I listen for a moment. The house is silent. 'No one is home.' Then, without waiting any longer, I stomp around to the front of the house. I use the spare key from under the flower pot that Ceila showed me one time and ignore the glare I am receiving from Violet. She can be annoyed at me later - I just saved her life, didn't I?

Once we are safely inside I immediately go up the stairs towards her room.

'W-where are you going?' Behind me her voice rises in horror.

'I can't sleep in Celia's room, can I?' But reluctantly I allow her to join me and let me into the room first, although I can tell she is not happy about it, clearly she knows she has no choice.

It is the first time I've been into Violet's room and I am vaguely aware of the photographs of her and Celia, the overflowing shelves of books I doubt she has time to read, and a poster of an old movie I have never seen before. The moment I see the bed I find all my energy has vanished and I topple down, face-first, just able to mumble 'sorry' before passing out.