Sam kicked the door in so they could enter. The trail of smoke led them to a small parlor near the back of the dark, but well-appointed house. Peabody had money but he wasnt loose with it, judging from the economy, but quality of decor. Sam kicked in that door, as well. Jasper rushed in, nothing more than a blur as he rushed to create a vacuum around the flames, stifling the fire that had already consumed draperies and a sofa.
Mr. Peabody lay gasping on the floor, a cloud of smoke hanging over him that rose toward the high ceiling. His daughter stood over him. The skirts of her beautiful gown were singed. Her dark hair was a mess, and her eyes and hands glowed like coals in a furnace. Finley could feel the heat coming off her.
Greythorne, she snarled.
Finley wasnt surprised that the woman knew Griffin. Sometimes she forgot he was a duke, but this wasnt one of those timesnot when he stood there, staring down his nose at Lady Ash as though she was little more than dirt beneath his shoe. Its over, Lady Grantfarthen. The killing stops here.
The older womanshe was perhaps in her midtwentiessmiled. No, Your Grace. It does not. And with that pronouncement, her right hand ignited into a ball of fantastic blue flame.
Get him out of here, Griffin instructed to Emily and Sam, gesturing at Peabody.
Lady Ash drew back her arm to throw her fire, but Wildcat dived into her, taking her to the ground. Out of the corner of her eye, Finley saw Sam scoop the old man off the floor and head outside. That was when she leaped into action to help Cat. Both of Lady Ashs hands were burning now, along with her eyes. Finley didnt think, she simply grabbed the pitcher from the small washing pedestalobviously Peabody liked to be able to scrub the ink from his handsand tipped it onto the woman.
She actually sizzled.
Swearing and sputtering, the woman struggled beneath Cat, who straddled her, trying to trap those flailing arms with her knees. As Finley bent to helpLady Ash grabbed for the pistol strapped to Cats thigh. It happened so fast that Finley barely had time to shout at Cat to move. But it wasnt Cat she should have worried about. The pistol discharged at the same second Jasper pulled his own. That was the exact same second that Peabodys home security automatons burst into the room, their own weapons engaged.
Being shot hurt. It hurt a lot.
Finley cried out as Lady Ashs bullet tore through her upper chest and exploded out her back. She staggered under the impact. The second bulletfrom one of the automatonsdrove her to her knees in breathless silence.
Finley! It was Griffin. She could hear the terror in his voice. He must really care about her to be so afraid for her. Stupid that would be what she thought about at a time like this.
Not going to die. She clung to that thought as she struggled to breathe. Punctured lung? Blood soaked her shirt, ran down her front and back in hot little rivers. Both bullets went through. Good. At least Emily wouldnt have to go hunting for them inside her. At least her body wouldnt try to heal around them.
She just had to heal before the wounds killed her. As she fell forward onto her hands, she prayed for the abundance of Organites in her system to get to work. It seemed the reconstructing process of her body had intensified as of late. Now was not a time to regress.
Lifting her head, she sought out each of her friends who were involved in the fight. The scene before her played out like one of those moving picturesone frame at a time. Emily was back and using her ability to communicate with machines to make one of the large automatons fighting them dismantle itself. Sam took another down with his incredible strength. Jasper used his amazing speed to grab Lady Ash and bind her limbs. Hed shot her in the arm.
She tasted copper as her gaze turned to Griffin. Finley opened her mouth, but only blood came out. Griffin wasnt watching her. He was watching Lady Ash and he...he was glowing.
Griffins power was the ability to harness the Aetherthe energy expelled by all living creatures, and the realm of the dead. It was a terrible power, one that he fought to control every time he used it. A power that had brought so much pain upon himselfand his friendsas of late. It was power he rarely directed at a person, and now he directed it at Lady Ash.
Shed made short work of Jaspers restraints, burning through them like they were spider silk. Even with soot and blood on her she was beautiful. She looked like a china doll, not the destructive witch shed proved herself to be. Finley watched as flame ignited in Lady Ashs palm and slowly licked its way up her arm, until her entire body was engulfed. The flame didnt harm her, dancing just above her skin. She watched in horror as the flame took on the form of a long whip in her hand.
The automaton that had shot her stomped toward Finley, pulling a large sword seemingly out of his very back as he walked. The floor between them trembled with every step. Shed be worried if those holes in her body were already starting to close themselves. Finley took two tiny capsules from her pocket, broke them open and jammed one into each entry wound, wincing as her ripped flesh protested. Organites in their pure form immediately set her insides tingling as they worked their magic. They were little beasties from the very cradle of life itself, responsible for the evolution of life. Putting them into her body might take her abilities up another notch and she didnt bloody care.
She forced herself to her feet. She wasnt bleeding quite so heavily now, couldnt feel the gurgling in her chest. She was going to live.
Too bad she couldnt say the same about the automaton. She punched her fistwith the brass knuckles Emily had fashioned for herthrough the creatures chest, smashing its logic engine and dropping it in its tracks.
Lady Ash screameda ragged, eardrum-piercing sound that brought them all to a standstill. All but Griffin, that was. He was the one responsible for the womans anguish.
Finley had no idea how hed done it, nor how it was even possible, but somehow Griffin was using his own abilities to turn Lady Ashs power against her, so that her fire actually began to scorch her flesh and clothing. The awful smell of burning hair began to fill the air as Griffin seemed to glow from withinas though a light had been switched on inside him. Tendrils of power radiated from him, swirling around him like opalescent ribbons. That was new. The rest of the ribbons wrapped around Lady Ash.
It was also terrifying.
Griffin! She cried. He was going to kill the woman if he didnt release her. Lady Ash might deserve to suffer for all shed doneshed killed peoplebut Griffin wasnt the law and he wasnt God. Hed already been haunted by one death this year; his conscience didnt need another. Griffin!
He still didnt acknowledge her. He began to lift off the ground, pulled up by his own power. Bloody hell, this was not good. She had to stop him.
But before Finley could help Griffin, she needed to take care of the automaton advancing on him. Her wounds were healing quickly, but shed lost blood, and was still sore. She was nowhere near her peak fighting condition, but it was going to have to do. She had to stop that machine before she could stop Griffin from making a horrible mistake.
She oughtnt have worried. The metal hadnt even touched Griffin when an arc of sizzling blue light danced along its fingers, all the way up to its shoulder. The polished body began to convulse and gears ground and screeched. Sparks flew, and Finley raised her hands to protect herself from them. The automaton clattered to the ground, just as Finley saw what it was that had felled it.
Griffin had built a sort of energy field around himself and Lady Ash.
She wasnt going to make the same mistake of touching it.
Griffin! She cried, You have to stop!
And he did. Suddenly, the flames around the woman flickered out, and Griffins feet touched the ground once again. She ran to him, but he held up a hand stopping her from coming any closer. Dont, he said. When he turned to face her, both of his eyes glowed an eerie blueno pupil and no iris, just blue. Finley, dont come any closer.
She was dumb at times, but she wasnt stupid. If he told her not to come any closer it was because he was afraid of hurting her, and she would stand her ground. A few feet away from her Lady Ash crackled and smoked, her body slowly turning into her namesake. Griffin had killed her.
Finley stared at the charred corpse in horror, not because the woman was dead, but because Griffin wouldnt be able to live with himself for the death.
Take a deep breath, she told him. Just calm down.
Get out of the way, Fin. His voice was quiet and hard. Now.
No. She shook her head, putting herself between him and the body. You wont hurt me, Griffin. I know you wont.
But I will, came a dark whisper from behind her. The threat slithered down her spine, but she refused to shudder. Instead, her gaze locked with Griffs. It was terrifying, that blue fire in his eyes, but not as terrifying as the realization that a ghost had just spoken to her.
Garibaldi?
Griffin nodded.
Youre more clever than you look, the voice whispered. Now that she knew who it was, Finley could hear his faint Italian accent.
Thanks, she replied dryly, not making any sudden moves. Every instinct demanded she whirl around and put her fist through the villains head, but that was the problemher fist would go right through his head, and that was only if he was visible.
Finley? Emily asked, glancing from her to Griffin. Whats going on?
Finley barely glanced at her. It looked as though the others had defeated their opponents, as well, but thankfully there was only one corpse. Every bit of machinery was still. Garibaldi obviously hadnt lost his touch when it came to controlling metal. Weve company.
Behind you? Emily asked. She wouldnt be able to see Garibaldi unless he wanted to make himself visible. She hadnt heard him either. None of the others had, except for Griffin. Finley had only heard him because shed spent some time in the Aether with Griffin and had begun to become attuned to it.
Right behind me. If the bastard had breath shed no doubt feel it on the back of her neck.
There was a high-pitched whine and then a blast of white light so strong Finley was momentarily blinded. What the...?
Garibaldi sworeimpressively. Little bitch almost hit me!
Another blast. This time Finley covered her eyes and dived to the ground. Emily wielded what looked like an Aether pistol, but she had modified it. This thing had a larger barrel, a smaller grip, and a flashing red light on the side. Missed. The Irish girl was obviously not pleased. Where is he now?