Original Stories Fan Fiction / Romance Fan Fiction ❯ Playing With Fire ❯ Escape ( Chapter 13 )

Chapter 13: Escape

 

The rain was heavy as it poured down from the darkened skies, beating against the roof of the house. The roll of thunder could be heard in the distance as flashes of lightening shot through the room, causing Sage to jump.

“I hate storms…” she said while pulling back the curtain to glance out the window, her finger tips brushing against the barrier that was still in place.

“Want me to hold you,” Mia replied teasingly with a cat-like smirk.

Sage rolled her eyes before stepping away from the window. “I'll pass. What do you think is taking them so long…I mean, how long does it take to get breakfast? It's already 5pm.”

“Who cares, this gives us a chance to make a break for it,” Mia replied her crimson eyes searching the darkened room. In the midst of the storm, the power was knocked out, leaving the girls surrounded by darkness. However, Mia could easily see in the dark due to her demonically enhanced eyesight, whereas Sage settled for creating fireballs within the palm of her hand to light the way.

“Make a break for it?” Sage asked arching an eyebrow skeptically. “Right, because that worked out so well the last 50 times we tried.”

“Well that was before I had an idea,” Mia replied grinning widely.

“Care to share with the class?” Sage said.

“You know how they put up barriers inside the house?” she asked, continuing after seeing Sage nod in acknowledgment, “Well, what if they didn't put any up on the outside as well?”

“What does it matter? In case you haven't noticed…we're trapped inside not out.” Sage replied.

“Yeah, but I was thinking…what if you use your element powers to create an exit on the outside of the house instead. All we have to do is find a single spot on the wall that doesn't have a barrier in front of it, and you can use your powers to force your way through from the outside in.” Mia explained.

“But in order to do that I would have to manipulate the earth since I haven't learned to call on lightening yet,” Sage replied. “And my earth element abilities are still shaky at best.”

“Well…we've got time.” Mia said smiling at her friend encouragingly. “What's the harm in trying?”

Sage sighed thoughtfully, taking a moment to decide whether or not she could pull this off. “Alright…” she agreed timidly. “But I can't promise it'll work.”

“Good enough for me.” Mia chirped before running off to find a weak spot in the walls. The girls searched every room in the entire house, but could not manage to find a single spot that was untouched by the force of the barrier. Mia was about ready to throw in the towel, hoping that maybe the brothers would remain true to their word and let them return home on Monday, but what if they didn't…

“Hey, there's a door over there,” Sage said snapping Mia out of her thoughts. “I think it's the basement.”

Both girls made their way towards the door which was almost hidden by the staircase, opening it and making their way down the narrow wooden stairs. Sage created a fireball in the palm of her hand to light the way around the dingy basement. The area was filled with boxes, some of which were open. Sage walked over to one of the boxes marked “pictures”, noticing that none were of Chase or Kel. She picked up a silver frame with a picture of a middle-aged couple in it, holding each other lovingly.

“I wonder what they did to them…” Sage thought remembering Kel's words from earlier.

“This is our house,” Kel explained, “Well…it is now at least.”

A shiver ran up her spine when thinking about the hidden meaning behind his words, now realizing that this couple was never coming home again.

“I found it!” Mia's voice called out drawing Sage from her thoughts. She then ran to Mia's side, coming to face the only unprotected surface in the house. The spot was small and was located near the very bottom of the wall where the barrier couldn't seem to stretch to.

“What if this isn't a good idea? Sage asked now reluctant in her thinking. “I mean, what are we gonna do once we make it out? They can easily find us if they wanted to, and you saw for yourself how powerful they are. What if they catch us and we just piss them off more by running away…maybe if we just do what they say then they'll let us go.”

“And what if they don't?” Mia shot back without missing a beat. “You saw what happened back there didn't you? Most of their powers don't work on us, which is something they didn't look to pleased about, mind you. And by the sounds of it, that's not something that happens often. We need to at least get out of here and tell someone—”

“But they said if we tell anyone then they'll kill our families and that balance…whatever…will only get worse,” Sage piped in.

“Fine, then we get to your house and go through the spell book your Nana has and see if there's anything that could help protect us,” Mia replied.

Sage stared at her for a moment before nodding in agreement. She didn't know why she was so against escaping, aside from the fact that they could get caught and killed, but for some reason she didn't want to leave yet. And, despite the big game Mia was talking, it was apparent that she was hesitant to leave as well.

Sage then pushed the thoughts from her head, concentrating on her earth element technique. She was still new to it, but she knew that the storm would help give her a boost since a witch's power is strengthened by nature and other elements around them. She then began to gather the energy around her, including what she could summon from the storm. She then focused her mind on the ground below the surface where the barrier did not reach, causing it to quake slightly.

“Come on, you can do it…” Mia said encouragingly though her gaze was anxious as she stared at the ground.

Sage felt herself becoming frustrated after 10 minutes of trying to make the ground cave in below the wall. Her mind then drifted, remembering how Chase had called her the most pathetic witch he had ever seen. She hated to think that there might be some truth to his words since she couldn't even make a patch of ground move. A familiar rage began to bubble up inside her again, causing her to shake from anger.

“Damn it!” Sage yelled in frustration. Suddenly, a clash of thunder echoed through the basement before the surface of the wall exploded, leaving behind a decent sized hole. Both girls jumped back, startled by the lightening bolt which struck down on the wall and created the explosion. Mia turned to look at Sage wide eyed.

“I thought you couldn't control lightening?” she asked wearing an expression of sheer astonishment.

“I can't…” Sage replied with her own wide eyed gaze as the burnt smell of the lightening from the wall filling her nostrils. “I just…I can't control my emotions very well, and I guess the storm helped to strengthen my power.”

“Whatever works, c'mon,” Mia said walking towards the hole, the sizzling sound of the lightening now fading away.

One after the other, they crawled through the opening in the wall and out into the pouring rain. Once they were free, they released a sigh of relief before getting to their feet and spiriting off in the direction of Sage's house. They ran for 10 minutes straight, Mia's demon speed making the journey a lot quicker as she pulled Sage along. At this point, both girls were soaking wet as they ran down the street, cutting through a nearby park as a short cut. Not a single soul came into insight as they ran, nor were there any signs of cars passing by due to the storm. They soon neared Sage's house, now able to see it in the distance.

“Thank god…” Sage said releasing a sigh of relief as they came closer to their destination.

“Oh, I wouldn't be thanking god just yet if I were you.” Came a deep, cold voice from above them.

Both girls swung their heads up towards the sky at the same time, the rain beating down on their faces as they gazed up at Chase. Chase was causally hovering a few feet above them in the air with his hands stuffed in his pockets, and wearing a devilish smirk on his face. His baggy black pants hung low on his hips due to the weight of the rain, and his favorite black leather jacket was discarded as he now only wore his white vest. This was the first time either girl have seen Chase without his jacket, allowing them to bare witness to the pale blue markings, crests and symbols that covered the length of his arms and parts of his neck.

As Sage gazed up at his appearance, she didn't doubt that he probably had similar markings on his back as well, judging by how some of them had disappeared over his shoulder. They both took a step backwards, trying to put some distance between themselves and Chase, only to bump into another form from behind.

“And what are you ladies doing out on this fine evening?” Kel asked in a dry tone.

Mia and Sage then began walking backwards away from Kel, noticing as Chase slowly lowered himself to the ground behind them. Mia continued facing Kel as Sage stood against her back facing Chase, they were trapped…again.

“Who…us?” Mia replied a nervous smile gracing her lips, “We were just going for a walk.”

Kel's expression remained blank as he stared at her. “You like to walk?” he asked arching his eyebrow before tilting his head around to look at his brother. “Chase, did you know that they like to walk?”

“Why, no Kel, I had no idea.” Chase replied in a tone identical to his brother's despite the grin on his face.

“Well then by all means, continue,” Kel said taking a step towards Mia. “As a matter of fact…you don't mind if we join you, do you?”

Both girls remained silent. “Of course they don't.” Chase piped in on their behalf. “You were going this way right?” he said pointing his thumb towards Sage's house before turning and walking in that very direction.

“W—where are you going?” Sage asked anxiously taking a step towards Chase.

“I'm going to go murder your family,” Chase shot back bluntly without turning to look at her.

“No!” Sage screamed before running in front of him and placing her hands on his chest to stop him. “Please…”

Chase look down, quirking an eyebrow at her. “We had a deal, little witch. You cooperate with us and you and your family go free. And do you see this—” he gestured with his finger to them standing in the rain, “this is you not cooperating. You've broken your side of our agreement and now you want a request— shut up.” He said before maneuvering around her towards the house once again.

“No wait! It was my idea, I made her do it!” Mia piped in.

“Are you offering for us to kill your family instead?” Kel asked calmly gazing at her. Mia looked at him pleadingly.

“No…I just—”

“We'll go back with you!” Sage cut in. “Just, please…” she begged as her light green gaze locked with Chase's icy blue. Her grasp on his vest tightened desperately as the rain poured down harder on the four of them, thunder clapping in the distance.

 

Chase's P.O.V

 

Chase knew that they weren't really going to kill their family, especially since they can't enter their homes without being invited first, which was a piece of information they were not about to divulge. To be honest, he didn't know why they didn't just let them return home after the testing was finished. Neither brother had thought or discussed it before denying their earlier request as quickly as they did. Chase was actually quite surprised when Kel refused their request the same time as he did back at the house. They had no reason to keep them held hostage for the weekend since they had nothing to gain from it, and yet here they were…

Chase glanced over at Kel, wondering why his brother has gone along with all of this up until now, especially since a tainted demon was involved. Chase knew that Kel liked the panther demon, but he had no idea he liked her quite this much. And now, as he gazed down at the witch, he began to question his own intentions in this matter as well.

So they were immune…there wasn't really anything they could do about it right now, so why not let them go and keep an eye on them from a far? Their compulsion may not work on the two girls but it certainly worked on everyone else. If Sage or Mia happen to reveal their identity to anyone, they could easily erase their memories…so why?

Chase continued to look down at Sage as she begged him not to kill her family. He was actually surprised to see that they had escaped, knowing that the gap in the barrier was his mistake since he didn't really take the basement into account when putting it up. None the less, the little witch had impressed him.

“You get one last chance, don't fuck it up.” Chase said.

“You're both making this far more difficult then it has to be,” Kel added. “Now, are you going to come back willingly or do we have to use force?”

“We'll come back…”Mia said quietly walking towards Kel. Chase couldn't help but notice how Kel's eyes softened slightly when his eyes met hers, but he quickly masked it.

“Interesting…” Chase thought to himself knowing that Kel usually only allows his brothers to see that side of him, which was rare.

“Shall we?” Chase said with a dazzling smile while holding out his hand to Sage.

Her eyes shifted from his outstretched hand to his face before slipping her smaller hand into his. “Isn't this the part where you call me a jerk?” Chase said his grin widening as they began walking.

“I'm not in the mood.” She replied with a sigh. As the four started walking back, the rain was letting up. The brothers decided that it would be easier to teleport but needed to find a more secluded area to do so. They led the girls back towards the park they had run through, figuring it would be the best place to teleport without being seen.

Just as they were about to disappear into the park, a car horn was honked in their direction.

“Sage, Mia is that you?” came a woman's voice. All four heads whipped around to see Sage's grandmother and aunt slowly bringing their car to a stop by the side of the road, separating them from the group by a mere few feet.

“Nana…Aunty Em,” Sage said the surprise evident in her voice.

“Don't. Even. Think. About it,” Chase thought to Sage, entering her mind. He further made his point clear by tighten his grip on her hand. It would be easy for onlookers to mistake the two as a couple, seeing as how close they were now standing. Whenever Sage tried to move even a little, Chase's iron grip would hold her in place.

“What are you two doing in the rain, you're soaked!” her aunt said gesturing to their drenched appearance.

“Who are your friends?” her Nana asked in a dry tone, shooting both brothers a hard look as if already knowing that they were bad news.

Sage and Mia exchanged soulful looks, knowing that they would have to be careful here. “This is Chase, Nana, and his brother Kel,” Sage introduced as casually as possible, even though a part of her prayed for her grandmother to see past her façade.

“I've never seen or heard of you two before,” her Nana stated, her tone expressing her suspicion.

Kel plastered on a polite smile before replying. “We're new in town, ma'am,” at the sound of his polite and kind tone, Mia shot him a incredulous look as if amazed to discover that his voice could do such a thing. Kel resisted the urge to glare at her for her reaction before slipping his arm skillfully around her waist, pulling her to his side.

Sage's Aunt quirked an eyebrow at the display, her eyes shifting between Chase and Sage's intertwined hands to Kel holding Mia around her waist.

“Nice cover,” Chase thought to his brother.

“Might as well milk it for all it's worth since we're not entirely sure if compulsion will work on their families yet.” Kel thought back.

“Are these your boyfriends, girls?” her aunt asked teasingly, clearly not as suspicious about the situation as much as her Nana was.

The question, however, caught both girls a little off guard. A few days ago, they would have been delighted to be involved with the brothers, but now they weren't so sure if that was such a good idea anymore.

Her grandmother was watching her intently, as if waiting for some sort of sign.

“Yes, we are.” Chase replied before either girl had the chance. His usual cocky smirk was replaced with a more charming one, no doubt the one used for manipulating people in situations such as this one.

“You girls never told me you had boyfriends!” her aunt said excitedly while her Nana looked anything but.

“Is this why you've been so distracted?” her Nana asked ignoring her aunt's antics.

“Well…kind of—”

“I take it your mother doesn't know you're both off with boys, and in a storm no less, instead of at home doing the project you claimed to have this weekend… that is the reason you wanted to sleepover at Mia's, is it not?” the old woman continued without missing a beat.

Sage stared dumbfounded at her grandmother, clearly not expecting to be caught in a lie so quickly. She tried to think of a lie on the spot as to why they were here, but was drawing a blank. Lying was never her strong suit, which is why she mostly left it to Mia, who was also seemingly drawing a blank as well from the look on her face. Before the silence could continue, the brothers stepped in.

“I'm afraid it's our fault,” Kel cut in. “They were working so hard that we thought they could use a break, so we took them out for lunch and decided to take a little walk through the park—”

“In the middle of a storm?” the old woman cut in arching a dubious eyebrow. The corners of Kel's lips twitched slightly clearly irritated that the old witch had the audacity to interrupt him.

“Fucking mortals have no manners” he thought to Chase.

“I bet you wanna change your animal diet now don't you, little brother?” Chase shot back smugly.

“It wasn't raining all day, ma'am.” Chase said unable to hide the irritation in his tone. “We were walking through the park when the storm rolled in, and we were just walking the girls back home.”

Her grandmother's gaze narrowed as if not believing anything that he was feeding her. “Those are some interesting markings you have there,” she said directing her gaze towards Chase's arms and neck. “That's not something one would find on a spirit demon.”

Chase was losing his patience and he was losing it fast. “Most are just tattoos,” he said in a clipped tone.

“I see…” the old witch continued. “Well boys, I can take it from here. Why don't you girls get in the car and I'll drop you back to Mia's. Don't want you getting caught in the storm again.”

“I fucking hate witches,” Chase mentally growled. “I'm about to shove my foot up this old hag's wart infested ass!”

“Relax,” Kel said calmly before nudging Mia firmly, but not roughly enough to draw any attention.

“It's okay,” Mia replied quickly after Kel nudged her to intervene. “I already called my mom so she knows where we are…really, we don't mind walking.”

“So if I call your mother right now, she'll know all about this?” the old witch asked eyeing the group closely.

Sage had to hand it to her grandmother, the woman was sharp. Her Nana knew that if she truly had a boyfriend, then she would have mentioned him sooner, which is why she was acting so suspicious towards the brothers right now.

“Um…” Mia said now looking towards Sage to do something.

“You know, it was the strangest thing…” her Nana continued. “Earlier today, the storm in this area drifted away as if someone was…summoning it. And then it came back a few minutes later. You wouldn't happen to know something about that, would you Sage?”

“No Nana…” Sage replied softly, hiding her surprise at realizing that she had actually summoned the entire storm to break the wall instead of just a lightening bolt.

Her Aunt, having finally catching on that something was wrong, decided to cut in. “Sage sweetie, can you get in the car for a minute? We would like a word.” She asked now glancing between the two brothers in the fashion way her grandmother was.

“Fucking witches…” Chase muttered under his breath but was clear enough for everyone to hear.

“I'm sorry, what was that?” her grandmother asked sharply.

A scowl crossed Chase's features before he masked it, replacing it with a bright smile that almost seemed genuine. “I said…”

“Chase…” Kel warned slowly.

“Suck my balls you fucking old hag,” he finished with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Chase!” Sage scolded, but as soon as his name left her lips he had already snapped his fingers, freezing time.

The girls looked around to see everything, from the sway of the trees to the blowing of the wind, completely frozen in time.

“They're not immune.” Kel confirmed drawing everyone's attention to the car with the two frozen witches inside. Sage tried to hide her amusement at seeing the outraged expressions frozen on her aunt and grandmother's faces at hearing Chase's lewd comment. But this was not a laughing matter.

“Why are you two the only fucking ones that our fucking powers don't fucking work on! Chase said his temper flaring as he glared down at Sage.

“Why the fuck is he yelling at me?” she thought hotly before meeting his glare head on.

“Gee Chase; I'm so fucking sorry, I'll get right on that for you,” she said rolling her eyes. “What the fuck do I look like!? You two are the ones that came into our lives and fucked shit up, so don't bitch and moan to me like a little girl just because things aren't going your way!” she yelled poking him in the chest to emphasis her point every so often.

Chase's eyes flashed black for a second before returning to normal and glaring down at her. He then took a threatening step towards her, closing the space between them. “Who the fuck do you think you're talking to, bitch?” he asked his tone calm and deadly.

Sage stepped up to meet his challenge, her narrowed gaze never leaving his. “I'm fucking talk to you, asshole. You seem to think that you're some kind of god just because you're a “true demon” when in this reality you're just another piss poor demon looking for an ego boost. I'm so tired of you looking down on me and my abilities when you're the one that can't even get his to work. So you know what? Why don't you take all your bullshit and go fuck yourself.” She finished glaring heatedly at him.

Moments of silence went by as Chase returned her glare with one of his own. “Kel…”

“Yeah, I got it. You better hope compulsion works on them…” Kel said already knowing what his brother wanted him to do. Chase then gripped Sage by the arm and vanished into thin air.

“What's he going to do to her?” Mia asked with panic in her voice.

“She'll be fine,” Kel reassured her before turning to the two witches in the car, chanting the incantations under his breath and erasing their memories only to replace it with new ones. He made both witches believe that Sage was staying at Mia's house and neither is to be contacted until they return home. He also made sure to confirm with them what they will say if anyone calls looking for Mia. He was thankful that compulsion worked on their relatives, thus checking another one off the list.

Before unfreezing time, Kel teleported them out of the area and reappeared in a small clearing in a forest just outside of town. “What are we doing here?” Mia asked looking around the dark and wet forest.

“I need to hunt, and since I can't leave you alone and my brother is busy…you're coming with.” Kel replied in a bored tone.

“Hunt?” Mia asked perplexed before falling in step behind Kel.

“Eat.” Kel rephrased without looking back at her.

“What do you eat?” Mia asked slowly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.

“Animal blood,” Kel replied evenly causing Mia to stop in her tracks. “Excuse me?” she said arching an eyebrow.

“You're excused.” Kel replied as he continued walking.

“You guys drink animal blood?!” Mia said disbelievingly.

“No, just me. Chase feeds on humans.” Kel replied as if it were the most common topic in the world. “It's unfortunate that he's taken a liking to your friend, but I'm sure she'll be fine.”

The color drained from Mia's face. “They drink…blood?” she thought to herself knowing that Kel could probably hear her.

Kel smirked at her thoughts. Demons in this world survived on either human food or raw meat, which is why their diet was such a shock to her.

“That's…nasty.” She replied after a few seconds. “You go do that and I'll wait—” Kel glared at her. “Or I can come with you,” she changed her mind quickly.

“After that stunt you pulled you think I'm letting you out of my sight?” he asked.

“Or maybe this is your way of trying to spend time with me,” Mia said smirking at him teasingly. Kel simply rolled his eyes before turning his attention back to hunting.

“Wait here,” he said before disappearing, leaving her alone.

 

 

Chase teleported back to the house, throwing Sage onto the bed once they appeared in the bedroom.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Sage snapped angrily, glaring up at him as he towered over her.

Chase suddenly smirked down at her, a mischievous glint shining in his icy blue pools. “Oh nothing, I just wanna see where all that mouth of yours goes once I'm through with you, bitch.” He replied smirking darkly at her.

Sage suddenly felt her courage falter as he slowly approached her, his eyes turning black as he cracked his neck from side to side…

“Go fuck myself, huh?” he repeated her words as he crawled towards her on the bed. “I think it's about time I taught you that lesson…”