After several tense seconds with no recourse, I turned to Mark and smiled, finding him peering at me oddly.
"What?" I asked.
"That was incredible," Mark said appraisingly.
I giggled as a blush slowly crept up my face.
"Are you sure you’re okay, how did if feel going through the barricade?" I asked curiously.
"Your gifts are truly amazing. I didn't feel a thing."
"Yay, I'm glad," I said, feeling more lighthearted than I had in a long time. Standing on the other side of the makeshift jail made all the difference.
"How about you? Did you drain yourself protecting me once again?" He said, all laughter gone.
"I feel fine. Matter of fact, I feel oddly energized. It's like the electrical current recharged me or something. Maybe it worked the same as Shawn shooting me up in the heart with adrenaline."
"He gave you the shot in your heart? He and I are going to have a serious talk if we make it out of this alive," Mark said, striding across the room toward the antique wing chair in the corner of the room.
I watched in amazement as he flipped it over like it weighed nothing. He pulled off two of the legs of the chair at once, like he was pulling weeds outside. He placed the two of them to the side and pulled off the last two legs before joining me.
"Here, it's not much, but at least it's something," he said, handing me two of the legs to use as weapons.
I looked down at them admiring his handiwork. He had pulled them off at an angle so they each had the small piece of wood they had been mounted on still attached, giving it the look of a wooden hammer.
"Good idea," I said, giving him a small smile as we headed toward the door. I turned the knob, expecting it to be locked, but it turned easily in my hand. I looked at Mark puzzled.
"I guess my father never thought I would make it this far. Before you guys showed up tonight, Harmony used her warped gifts to keep me compliant. I haven't had a thought or emotion that was completely my own until tonight. He wasn't taking any chances of me Ascending and being able to fight Harmony off."
My heart twisted at his words. I felt awful that he had suffered so much over the last few months at the hands of his sister and his father. "I'm surprised you even made it," I whispered, knowing full well what normally happened to Guides and Protectors when they were separated.
"I think I did because I knew you loved me. Any time Harmony wasn't playing her sick games with my mind, I would recall moments you and I had shared, and I think that helped. Once you Ascended, Harmony tried to use that against me to make me turn, but it only made me hang on to the memories even tighter."
"I'm so glad you did," I said, humbled that he had put more faith in our love than I had.
"Ready?" Mark asked, pushing the heavy mahogany door open.
I nodded my head.
Mark stepped out protectively into the bright hallway. I followed behind him as he slowly moved down the hallway in front of me. I felt secure having him here, even with my new gifts. I had worked hard not to be envious of my friends and the bond they shared with their Protectors, but watching them over the last few days had been tough. I knew that Mark was no longer obligated to protect me, but it made me melt a little that he still embraced that role.
The hallway was well lit and as stark white as the one my friends and I had seen earlier. Several doors broke up the space of the long hallway. We paused at each one so we could check them out and I was surprised that they were much like the room we had just left. We passed another living type room and a large, oversized state of the art kitchen with every modern amenity available. We grabbed a couple of butcher knives to wield with the makeshift clubs from the chair Mark demolished. We moved past each room once we discovered they were clear of Daemons and showed no sign of our friends.
Several doorways later, we stopped at a room that turned my blood to ice. The room itself wasn't intimidating, it was the objects inside it. For appearance sake, it was the most elaborate master bedroom I had ever seen. The space was easily the size of the entire bottom level of my mom's house. A large king-sized bed made of rich maple wood sat on one side of the room across from a wall made up of nothing but flat-screen TV's. Each TV was turned on and I could see they were monitors for multiple areas around Victor's lair. I saw multiple Daemons roaming around on the majority of the screens, obviously standing guard in each section. Victor had been well prepared for our attack. Scanning each monitor carefully, I gasped when I finally saw John, Kieran, Kim and Jacob on one of the monitors. It looked like they were being held captive in a large laboratory. Kim and Kieran looked to be unconscious on lab tables much like I had occupied in Victor's other lab. Oddly, Paul and John sat idly by like they didn't have a care in the world.
"What's wrong with them?" I asked, shocked by their vacant expressions.
"My sister," Mark said bitterly. "I'm sure my father is using her to keep them docile. She’s quiet gifted at making you forget things that are important."
"So, I need to take her out," I muttered, studying the monitors intently one last time. I didn't know if I should be relieved or terrified that I didn't see Haniel or his group anywhere on the monitors.
"That’ll be the only chance we’ll have," Mark said as we exited the room.
"Do you know where the laboratory is?" I asked as we made our way down the hallway at a faster pace than before.
Mark shook his head. "No, I wasn’t given much freedom to move around."
"Well, this hallway has to lead somewhere," I said, increasing my speed. Seeing my friends in peril had spurred my new role as an Ascended into high gear and I once again took charge of the situation.