The Invincible (CHP 22)
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Summary Of Last Chapter – Audrey comes back to her room with the courage to go back and help the werewolves win against the vampires. She collides in with Zoe as she leaves and tells Zoe about hallucinations as a clue to solve Radley’s mystery. She reaches Brighton to find the entire den shattered. Veronica tells her that Theo was about to leave to activate the ‘circle of life’ when he was captured along with the rest of the pack by vampires. He leaves a clue for Audrey which she solves as ‘the bridge’.
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CHP 22
“What’s the plan?” Veronica asks me, intriguingly
“Listen carefully….” I say (Silently tells Veronica the plan)
“It sounds good but one mistake, one mistake and everyone goes down…” Veronica tells me.
“I know, and that’s why we have to be quick and careful.” I say, reassuring her.
“Let’s go..” Veronica says, tugging my arm.
“Wait, I need to make a potion.” I say.
“But, all the ingredients are messed up.” Veronica says.
“Not all of them, help me and we can mix it up.” I say.
She nods and bends on the floor trying to figure out which ingredient is still useful.
“What all do you need?” She asks me.
“Toarian Thyme, Cinterelli Vanilla, Wolf Ash & Lithuanian Oil” I tell her.
“All of these can be pretty dangerous if not combined well…” She says.
“I know… But I read Natalie’s book last week and I know how to combine them.” I say.
“There’s only one strand of Toarian Thyme that’s not spoilt…” Veronica says.
“That’s more than enough, give it to me.” I say.
She carefully hands it over to me as I drop it in Natalie’s wooden bowl.
“Is one bundle of Cinterelli Vanilla enough?” Veronica voices out.
“I just need one stick of Vanilla, you can break the bundle to 1/8th” I say
“There’s a dash of Wolf Ash left in this bottle…” Veronica says, showing me the bottle.
“It’s perfect!” I say, smiling
“How much Lithuanian Oil do you need?” She asks.
“A whole bottle!” I say
“Lucky you. I found one in the corner that wasn’t smashed.” She says, picking it up and handing over all the ingredients to me.
I add them all up together and mix it well.
“Give me an empty spray bottle.” I tell her.
“Here.” She says, handing me a plastic spray bottle.
I carefully pour the mixture in the bottle and seal it…
“Let’s go!” I say, tugging at her arm as we flit out of the den.
By the time we reach the bridge, it’s dark and not even a soul lurks around.
“This area is huge. Where do we know exactly where near the bridge they are being held?” Veronica asks me.
“Now Veronica, it’s your queue… I know your powers are controlled due to the lily essence but you’ve got to try and unleash them to figure out where they are…” I say, clutching her hand.
“But I cant… It hurts my brain whenever I try..” Veronica says, frowning.
“Can’t you endure a little pain to save your friends?” I ask her, burrowing my eyebrows, a habit I caught on to from Theo.
Veronica nods her head and closes her eyes, taking in a deep breath.
Veronica’s Point Of View
I close my eyes and take a deep breath in. ‘I’m doing this for my friends…’ I mutter to myself. My head feels heavy and I just want to lay it down on a pillow. The pain throbs and pulses in my skull, not a sharp pain like a knife-inflicted wound, but more of a dull pounding with a hammer over…and over…and over again. My brain feels like it’s on overdrive, but at the same time can’t process properly. Images and ideas and plans and deadlines run through my head, but they’re chasing each other round and round. My mind can’t catch a single one, but gets pounded with all of them at the same time as they ricochet and slam into the walls of my head.
Thump Thump Thump.
That’s all I feel, all I hear. Each pound inside my head sends agony running through my skull. I feel as if my brain, my skull, my head is being smashed away by a sledgehammer. All I want is silence and to be left alone, but voices surround me. They yell and shout at me…
Knowing I will never get away from this hell, I push away the pain and try to ignore it screaming inside. ‘It’s just the lily essence fighting back.’ I repeat to myself. I focus on the images whirling in my head. It’s pieces like a jigsaw puzzle.
‘I’m a banshee. I’m supposed to see the future. Connect the pieces together, use your powers!’ My heart murmurs to my brain. The pieces become clearer as the pounding becomes a constant throb and a habit, so I get used to the chiastic pain.
The pieces becoming clearer and clearer. I see him, I see Dylan! His head against the wall, moaning in agony, his hands and legs wrapped in chains which are constantly giving him electric shocks. I can see the others in the same manner too, all of them moaning and groaning in pain. But where’s Theo? I can’t spot him… Where is this place. It’s just a black room. My spirit is moving out of the room. Come back… My brain is blurring out again. I’m not done yet, I still haven’t found out which place they are in. My determination is banging against my stubborn abilities. Forcing it to go back, but it keeps moving away and just as I am about to lose full control, I spot a PJ sign near to the door.
I open my eyes, my throat throbbing against my delicate skin and my heart leaps into my mouth. I splatter on the ground, coughing and struggling for air. I hear Audrey’s muffled voice calling out to me. Her warm hands wrapping around my shoulders and pulling me up to the air. My eyes go blur and haziness wraps me around. It’s the lily essence. It’s punishing me for going against it and overpowering it. The feeling keeps on pounding against me for 15 minutes and then it’s gone. It leaves me as quick as it came. I overpowered it! I conquered my biggest obstacle!
“You okay?” Audrey asks me when I stop gasping and thrashing.
“Yeah, I did it! I conquered the lily essence!” I say to her happily.
“You did! I’m so proud of you.” She says warmly.
I hold her hand and stand up. My feet stagger for a few seconds but then they are back to normal.
“Did you see anything?” She asks me, quietly.
“I did. Our pack, they are being given electric shocks. Too much of electricity can kill werewolves. They looked in horrible condition..” I say softly, my voice draining the life out of me.
“Did you see where they were?” She asks me.
“No… Before I could see much more, the lily essence pulled me out of it and right now I’m too weak to look again. If I try, I might die. I only saw a small PJ sign.” I say, regretfully.
“PJ? What does that stand for?” Audrey asks.
“I have no idea.” I say quietly.
“This PJ thing has to be somewhere near the bridge. Somewhere near water. What is near water?” Audrey mutters.
“I don’t know, maybe a port..” I say blankly.
Audrey’s eyes widen up and she exclaims “Oh My God Veronica! Yes! It’s a Port. I remember now. PJ stands for Port Jewel. It’s just around the corner!”
“Really? Let’s go!” I exclaim as she sprints round the corner and onto Port Jewel.
“Is it going to work?” I ask her, clutching her hand.
“It has to..” She says, planting courage in herself and me.
“You remember what you have to do right?” She asks me.
“Yeah… I just hope everything goes the way it’s planned.” I say
She smiles and nods “Best of Luck!” she mutters to me as she turns around and strides into the Port without any inhibitions. Sometimes I wish I was like Audrey. She’s so courageous and brave. I couldn’t even see the slightest fear in her eyes. She’s so determined. So focused. If anything gets in her way, it’s rooted out and nothing stops her. Sometime I wish I was as brave as her…
Audrey’s Point Of View
I put on a brave face in front of Veronica to reassure her that everything would be okay! Everything would be just perfect. But now that I’m in the port. My hands are shivering and I’m scared. Just one wrong step and I can be responsible for each of my friend’s death…My heart beat is all I can hear and feel. The silence in the port is unbearable, I have no idea which direction to walk and my feet slump with every step I take, they ache to go back but my heart drags it ahead with the courage to save the people I love. A tear runs down my face, as I realise there will be no escape if I make one mistake. No backup if I make one teeny weeny mistake. I think of Vanessa’s words in my head.
‘Fear is only temporary but regret lasts forever. If you face your fear, it will only scare you for a few moments and then leave however if you turn back and choose to not face it, it will haunt you as regret for the rest of your life. So wouldn’t you just face it once and get over with it rather than it following you for the rest of your life?’
I exhale one last time as I smile. I will do this. I give in to submission and acceptance of my fate. I pull out an arrow from the back of my pocket and throw it perfectly into a fire alarm. It rings deafeningly, alerting everyone in the area. Vampires run from each corner as they circle me. I crack my knuckles and grin. It’s time to show them what Audrey Tredwell really is.
I let the beast inside me free. I look in a piece of shattered glass and see my reflection. My eyes are glowing a bright orange with streaks of yellow; showing the wild fire within me. A few vampires back up unsure of what they are facing. One of them comes ahead to yank my arm but I grab his wrist and kick him in the shin so that blood pours out of his mouth and he screams. Best way to defeat vampires; diminish their source of blood. The other one grabs my arm as I use my leg to kick him off and slash his throat with my claws. Others pile on, a fear showcasing through their deepest souls but within a second they all are down. One of them flits near me. Using his vampire abilities to confuse me. I smile. The speed vampire’s flit at is 250 km/min. I count the seconds in my head and when I reach out my arm to grab his neck, he falls into my trap and is scraped off within moments. I walk ahead, twisting my neck to release the tension as I smirk. It’s not easy to win off me.
Another few appear and I take in to the action of my plan. I just had to kill a few to spread fear among the vampires. I killed 9 of them. Now it’s time to kill one more and then get beaten up. I slam them against the wall. Punching, thrashing, clawing and a final blow with a loud howl. Then one of them slams me against the wall and gives me a big blow on my eye. It feels as if the life is draining out of me and I sink to the ground.
“Take her and cage her up with the others.” The vampire says.
Two of them hold my hands and drag me to where the others have been kept. I pretend to be weak but in fact I’m not hurt at all. I smirk as my plan is in full action and the vampires have been trapped. They led me to where everyone was without me even asking. Legend definitely said truth ‘Vampires are beauties without brains!’ I smirk to myself as I press the buzzer in my hand, which they failed to notice. I give in to a small grin as I’m now assured that everyone will be out safe and my plan will definitely be a success.
Precap – Audrey opens up the rest of the pack as she knocks down 10 vampires who were supposed to keep an eye on them. She tells them the plan and assigns duties to everyone. She and Aiden reach the place where Theo is being kept and they realize it will be extremely difficult to get in as there are at least 50 vampires guarding the gate and another 20 inside, safe guarding Theo!
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