A guard knelt and waited until his vision screen scanned Ella’s vitals. He nodded at his comrades and clicked on the communicator on his wristband. “She’s sedated, sir.”

  “Good.” A voice snapped back, “Now, bring her to me.”

  “Of course, sir. We’re on our…” He stopped abruptly, his head slumped to one side before he collapsed to the ground.

  Ella was back upright, arms at her sides. She was hovering several inches off the ground. A searing heat erupted not from her, but through her, like a volcano suddenly uncorked. It latched onto the guard's hand, and she heard his scream, a distant thing, as if she were underwater. Her eyes swam with whites and blues so bright they almost lit the space around the guards. The other guards shifted nervously, their eyes darting between Ella’s floating form and the pile of ash that was once their comrade's hand.

  Sweat beaded on the brow of the man with the taser; his hand trembled slightly as he aimed. They shifted their glances between each other, waiting for another to make the first move, as she floated, unmoving. One of the men slowly approached Ella from behind. He grabbed her wrist and instantly screamed out in pain. The others watched in horror as the man fell to his knees. He held up the hand that touched Ella as it burned away to ash that blew away in the garbage-laced wind.

  The men took a step back as Ella floated towards them. One man drew his weapon, took aim, and fired the taser at Ella. But before it could make contact, Ella’s head snapped towards the man. In a flash, she opened her mouth and released a shock-wave so violent it shattered the man’s mirrored mask. In an instant, Ella’s eyes returned to normal before fluttering closed as she collapsed to the ground once more.

  The guards paused, not knowing how to proceed, when a masked figure dropped next to Ella from above. “You guys should probably leave.”

  One guard stepped forward. “This doesn’t concern you, citizen.”

  “Oh, I’d say kidnapping a helpless, unconscious girl is everyone’s concern.” The man looked down at the guard with the missing hand and then at the guard with the shattered mask. “Well, maybe she’s not that helpless. But from the look of things, you should thank me for taking her off your hands.”

  “I’m afraid we can’t let you do that.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” The man’s eyes lit up. He tapped the earpiece in his right ear. “Thad, you’re up.”

  In less than a blink, a bullet blew through the guard’s helmet. A blur of motion – Thad's gun spitting fire – and the guard's helmet jerked violently as a bullet grazed his temple. He stumbled back, momentarily blinded, giving Hunter an opening. Then another and another. Hunter glanced at the guard to his right and gave him a wink. In one fluid motion, he grabbed the guard’s weapon with one hand and punched him in the chest with his metallic fist. Another bullet rang out, sending another guard to the ground.

  “Thanks, buddy.”

  “Fight now. Thank me later.”

  Hunter pointed the taser towards another guard and pulled the trigger, as he slipped a throwing dagger from the sheath strapped to his left rib cage. He aimed and let fly, finding a home in the chest of another guard. He stepped forward as the last guard standing ran in the opposite direction.

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  “Hunter? You got that one?”

  “Yup.” Hunter pulled the silver hatchet from his belt and squinted one eye.

  “Hunter?”

  “I got it.”

  The guard was about to break into the open street.

  “Hunter!”

  Hunter took a breath, aimed, and the hatchet spun end over end, sinking into the fleeing guard's back. He walked towards the lifeless man, pulled the weapon from the man’s back, and wiped the blood from the blade on the dead man’s shirt. When he got back, Thad had removed the daggers and handed them back to Hunter. Hunter slipped the mask off his face.

  “I still got it.”

  “Thankfully.” Thad surveyed the carnage that littered the alleyway. “What in the hell have we gotten ourselves into?”

  Hunter cast a glance at Ella’s unconscious body laying on the ground in a pile of trash. “I don’t know, but she’s in a lot of trouble.”

  Thad nodded. “A whole lot of it.”

  ***

  “So, are we just going to pretend we didn’t see that?“

  Hunter leaned back on his couch and rubbed his temples. “See what?”

  “Really?”

  “Would you be quiet?” Hunter glanced at the open hatch in his floor.

  “Hunter, she burnt a man alive.” Thad flopped down next to Hunter. “His hand literally blew away in the wind.”

  “I know. I was there.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  “We let her get some rest. When she wakes up, we’ll talk to her.”

  “And hope she doesn’t incinerate us?”

  “Listen, I don’t know what happened. I saw it, but I still don’t understand.” Hunter leaned forward, forearms resting on his legs, and rubbed his stubbled chin. “But do you really think she’s dangerous?”

  Thad sighed, “No. Not to us anyway. She’s a scared girl.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Do you think she knew what she was doing?”

  “I don’t think so. If she did, the Hawker wouldn’t have caught her in the first place.”

  “Do you think this has something to do with those symbols carved into her back?”

  “What else could it be?”

  “Whoever wants her has to be pretty powerful.”

  “Pretty dangerous, too.” Hunter patted his friend’s shoulder. “It might be time for you to cut ties here.”

  “No way.” Thad stood. “I’m in this to the end.”

  “The end might come sooner than you think and it’ll get bloodier as it goes.”

  “Agreed.”

  “You know we aren’t going to get out of this alive, right?”

  “I know.” Thad walked to the edge of the hatch and looked at Ella, asleep on the cot below. “We’re on to something big here, Hunter. I can’t walk away now.”

  Hunter stood next to his friend. “There’s no going back now.”

  “Eh, you know what they say, go big or go home. And besides,” A smile spread across Thad’s face, “this should pay off my debt for the mess I got us into in Columbus.”

  “Hey, she approached you first. How were you supposed to know she was a general’s wife?”

  The two men let out a laugh and shook hands.

  “To the end?”

  “To the end.”

  Hunter looked down at Ella, her face pale as she slept. He still didn't understand what he'd seen, what she was. But he knew one thing: their lives had just changed forever.