“That’s right!” she cries. “Run, you soulless bastard!”
We turn our gazes back to the crumbling mansion. There are shouts behind us now, from the other big houses down the hill, and in the distance, a car screeches into the street. An alarm is going off somewhere, but under our combined powers, the electricity of the house winks out and all suddenly becomes dark.
More screaming tires tell us that multiple cars have come to a stop behind us. A dull roar sounds in my head just before a colossal telekinetic wall slams into my protective shields. I dig my bare feet into the Clawson turf and grit my teeth as Tiberius Clawson comes flying over his front gates wearing an expression of utter fury. He must’ve gone somewhere after our meeting, a few of his guard beasts in tow.
And now they’ve returned, raging at the sight of their crumbling property.
Minnie sweeps her arms up and out before slamming them forwards in a telekinetic blast. Tiberius is thrown back in midair, but recovers, righting himself. Three tigers are throwing open the gates, and I focus on them as Minnie shouts something at Tiberius. These tigers are some of his best, no doubt, and one of them takes advantage of my quick glance at my friend, and I’m caught by a force that sends me flying backwards. I catch myself just in time, baring my shark’s teeth.
They flinch at the sight of me. They flinch again as I hold their hearts under my power and squeeze until they burst. All three collapse at the same time, and Tiberius gapes at his beasts. That’s when Minnie strikes. She drives a spear of her power right at his big old head, and it catches him, forcing his skull to snap backward. But Tiberius is a nasty, strong beast, and he recovers quickly, roaring as he punches the air with power that makes Minnie skid backward. She’s pouring sweat, breathing heavily now.
I realise she’s not going to be able to do this alone. Something flickers at the edge of Tiberius. I blink hard as the image of a male, slightly taller than Tiberius, steps out from behind him. He’s transparent, barely there, but I would recognise him even though I’ve only met him once, a very long time ago. He’s impossibly tall, broad-shouldered, and has the same dark-haired features shared by all the Clawsons. The ghost of Cassius Clawson smiles at me.
I know sharks have the power to see ghosts and spirits, and I’d wondered if I would ever get to see one. Something in me is bonded anew as my mother’s second mate casts his gaze around the property, a light shining in his eyes before he nods at his brother.
“He was always weak around his feet.”
I blink at the deep voice, both near and distant at the same time, but Cassius doesn’t take his eyes off his brother’s sweating form. Without hesitation, I concentrate my power into a precise form, thin and straight. Throwing my hand diagonally across my body, I slice it through the air in a cut that ends by my side. Tiberius screams as he topples over.
Minnie roars, and I whip my head to see her tearing into tigress form and bounding over to the fallen beast. She’s on him in seconds, tearing into his throat with violent canines. Blood spills as Minnie shakes Tiberius by the neck.
“I’m proud of you, child,” Cassius says, looking up from them. His dark eyes are sad and shiny. “In another life, I would have heard you call me dad.”
I blink my tears away, hardly believing it. That here and now, I meet my mother’s second mate. “I’m sorry,” is all I can choke out.
He gives me a handsome, wry smile, and suddenly, I can’t believe my mother chose my father over this magnificent creature. “Don’t be,” he says. “I’m going to my regina now.” A second later, he’s nothing but a whisper on the night’s breeze.
There’s a strangled sound from the driveway, and I turn. Marduk and Yeti are staring at their regina with shocked awe. Marduk’s face is glowing, and Yeti is rapidly blinking. Beak is next to them, a deep frown between his brows as he surveys the carnage. I see what he’s looking at. It sort of looks bad, I suppose. “You came back?” is all I say.
Minnie snarls over Tiberius, looking at the newcomers with big, adrenaline-soaked eyes. Upon seeing her mates, she shifts back. “Oh, hi.” Minnie pants heavily, picking out a piece of flesh from her mouth and pushing her pink locks back like she’s just had an intense workout and not at all like she just brought down an entire mansion and is now covered in blood.
To be fair, whatdoesone say after you’ve laid waste to your enemies?
“We felt it,” Marduk says faintly.
“Your rage,” Yeti finishes
Beak steps towards me, and I pull him aside to give the Devi pack some space. “Are you alright?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say casually. But really, my head feels like it’s under a pillow, and I feel numb.
“We need to get out of here,” Beak says urgently. “The human police will cause some problems. Can you?—”
“We’ll dragon it, yes,” I say quickly.
We’re in the sky two minutes later, once Marduk stops kissing Minnie’s cheeks and realises blue and red lights are travelling down the street.
I’m wary of any pursuers as I fly. That feral part of me I always keep at bay opened right up with the fighting, and my blood is still hot from it. The council sends hunters after events like this, but with Tiberius being an underworld crime lord, they might leave it for the other crime lords to deal with. The falcons could come after us. Or they could pursue us on foot. Neither happens, however, and the skies are quiet and cool by the time I land on the hard stone of the animus dorm.
As I shift back into human form, my eyes are burning and my leg aches with old pain. But as I survey the dark skies, the dark grounds of my home, there are a number of things on my mind.
Minnie is in Yeti’s arms, covered with a thick jacket, her eyes tightly closed as if she doesn’t want to look at anything. I don’t think I want to tell her I’m proud of her. They’re not the right words. Words aren’t even enough now. She requires a medal of some kind, and I’ll have to think about that at a later date.
But it’s Sabrina who bursts out of the door, Blair and Blade behind her, who makes me stumble for the first time tonight. She lays eyes on Minnie and me, her hood thrown back, eyeswild and glistening. Her face crumples like tired paper, and she rushes at us with a sob. “Yousaid—” My friend’s voice crunches like old leaves as she draws us together. “Yousaid—” Fingers dig into my arms, desperate for me to understand. “You said you’d do it, and you did.”
“Kill them all,” Minnie says thickly. This is the first emotion any of us have seen from Sabrina for months.
“And we did.” I brush wet hair off her face. “Minnie and I took care of it.”
