The stuttering man dropped his club and ran from the station, making Xander chuckle at his cowardice. One of the other Liberators swung his club towards him, but he was far too slow, as expected. Xander swiftly sidestepped his attack and punched him square in the face, causing the man to fall backwards and land on the floor.
The others charged at him, but he was too quick for all of them. He continued to dodge their blows with ease. Like a blur of motion, constantly moving and striking from unexpected angles, he wore them down and watched them fall one by one.
Xander spotted a woman on the floor in the centre of the station, her features had shifted into her Lamia form, whilstthree Liberators beat her down with clubs. He ran over, tearing one of the Liberators away and throwing him to skid across the floor several feet away. Edward and Nicolai grabbed the other two, disarming them and keeping them restrained in their grasp.
“Where the fuck are the police?” Nicolai yelled.
The question had arisen in Xander’s mind the moment they’d stepped through the portal, but he’d had a suspicion that Rook’s claws had sunk into the police force long ago. If he could have his minions in Parliament, he could have them anywhere.
Xander picked up the Lamia woman as she started to lose consciousness, her head bearing a huge gash on the side with blood pouring down her face. He looked around as more and more Liberators stormed the station, beating down anyone that stood in their way. He had half the mind to unleash his powers, to kill every single one of them, but he couldn’t. He wouldn’t let them make him the monster they wanted him to be, no matter how much he wished he could give in to his dark side.
“Get her out,” he shouted to Deion and Kadeem as they approached. “Get anyone that isn’t a fucking Liberator out of here!”
Deion took the woman from Xander’s arms, his Medici magic healing her head wound with a mere touch to her face, before he brought her along to follow Kadeem who’d managed to barrel through a swarm of Liberators.
Kadeem had always been a true warrior of the group. He had been an excellent fighter as a mortal, despite his shorter build, and as a Lamia he was ruthless in battle. His Acquai brands along his forearms often made people wary, the blue swirling waves were striking against his deep black skin, but his brothers knew who he really was.
He was kind, always the first to offer his services to those who needed it, which had made him an excellent choice to travel the world to form allies. But, just like the water he could conjure andcontrol, that kindness could be swept away in a tidal wave of fury at any given moment. Judging from the glare in his dark eyes, all manner of calmness had gone the moment he saw the Liberators attacking innocent people.
Xander tracked their movements as Kadeem made a path through the Liberators for Deion to gather as many injured individuals as possible. Knowing the pair of them would take care of themselves, Xander turned to the two Liberators that Edward and Nicolai held, his eyes flashing black with rage as he saw the blood splatters on their clothes.
He entered their minds, searching through their recent memories to find any trace of Adriana, to find where she had gone. But he saw nothing, only how they had stormed the station and attacked every single person they came across, including children.
His nostrils flared in anger and his jaw clenched as he destroyed them from the inside without a second thought. They barely had time to scream before their skulls collapsed inwards as he crushed their minds with his power and their bodies dropped to the floor.
“Xander!” Edward hissed, noticing the people surrounding them watching him with wary looks. “Xander, there are witnesses. The police could be here at any moment.”
“Let them come,” Xander replied, not recognising his own voice. It had been a long time since he’d been this angry. “I’ll expect their gratitude for doing their fucking job.”
Another Liberator charged, his hand clutching a bloody knife that he aimed at Xander’s chest as he let out a battle cry. Xander grabbed his hand, twisting it in his grip until he fell to his knees and released the knife. As it clattered to the floor, a familiar scent wafted from the blood staining the man’s knuckles. A beautiful, delectable scent.
Xander stood over the man, his breathing heavy as he recognised him from the news. Tightening his grip on the man’s hand, he tore into his mind, flitting through his recent memories and landing on one with Adriana’s face.
The man had followed her to the station, remaining hidden by the buildings with his three friends. He stalked towards her, and watched a tall man restrained her whilst another held a knife to her stomach.
Xander saw Adriana defend herself, she held her own well. Until she froze after tearing through the throat of the man who stabbed her, giving the man whose mind Xander was invading the perfect opportunity to strike. He swung his fist, landing painfully across her face and sending her down to the ground.
Adriana trembled in pain as the tip of the knife that had embedded itself in her shoulder stuck out the back. He watched as two others began to kick her body on the floor, aiming for her face and stomach, before they were thrown into the air and slammed into a wall.
A young black woman with dark curly hair pulled Adriana to her feet and wrenched the knife out of her; another Incantrix, Xander realised. They ran down a path to the side of the entrance, away from the station, as dozens of Liberators stormed the building.
Xander retreated from the man’s mind and glared down at him, listening to his pathetic pleas to let him go. He wrapped his fingers tighter around his hand, crushing the bones under his strength.
“Is this the hand you hit her with?” Xander asked, a cold playfulness in his tone. “I think that it is. I think this is the same filthy fucking hand.”
The man wailed as his knuckles crunched and his fingers snapped. Blood poured down his arm as broken bones pierced and protruded from his skin.
“Your fate was written the second you decided to lay a hand on her. Now, let me introduce you to it.”
Xander’s shadows swarmed around him, crawling up to the man’s face and slithering into his screaming mouth. He let go of his broken hand and watched the man’s body writhe on the floor as his shadows tore him apart from the inside.
All of a sudden, the man’s screams stopped and he lay limp. Xander’s shadows poured out of the man’s mangled body and flitted back to him, back to their master.
Looking around the station again, Xander noticed the fighting had started to die down. The majority of the Liberators had been knocked out by the Court leaders or, in some of Xander’s cases, lying dead on the ground.
He looked to Edward, gesturing for him to unleash his Somnum power. Edward stepped forward and held his hands to his sides, palms facing up. He closed his fingers into fists, bringing his hands to his chest, before throwing them out in front of him. The remaining Liberators all dropped to the floor, falling into a deep, magical sleep. Xander hoped Edward had placed each and every one of them in their worst nightmares.
With a quick check to make sure Deion and Kadeem were still helping the injured, Xander stormed towards the entrance, grabbing his suit jacket from the floor along the way. He heard the wails of police and ambulance sirens, but some of the public had been attacked so brutally he knew there was nothing anyone could do to save them, not even Deion. Magic always had a limit, it always had a balance.
