“You should go with her,” Chase told me. “That blast was meant to disorientate and injure us but not kill. There’s a reason they’re trying to keep us in one piece, and I think that reason might be you and Emma.”
I agreed with that, but before I could follow Star, Daelighters were suddenly everywhere on the platform, climbing over the edge of the three lands that surrounded us and appearing through the transporter. Star, who was right at the ball of light now, managed to snag a glowing strand before anyone could touch her. But Chase, Marsil, and I were too far away to use the same escape.
“They’re coming in from all territories,” Marsil said, his voice a low grumble of anger.
“Who are they?” I asked.
“We’re part of the resistance,” a man standing in front of House of Darken answered.
He had the Darken “dark” hair going on. “Laous will free us from the control of humans. We’re the superior beings and will not bow down to grubbers.”
There was a beat of silence. Was he waiting for me to applaud or something? Considering I was mostly “grubber,” that was not likely to happen anytime soon.
“What do you want?” Chase looked very unhappy. His eyes locked on the section of the platform which held about half a dozen of his people. The Leights were all male, wearing tan color leather pants, and no shirts. Their ages ranged from very young – maybe twelve – to a few who looked older than us.
“We need to collect the two secret keepers,” another one of the resistance members said. “Laous wants them kept safe. They may be important for the final step in freeing the starslight from the Earth.”
There was no one here this time for them to threaten and gain my compliance. I trusted that Marsil and Chase could look after themselves. So this time I was going to fight, even if it meant I died here today.
“Come quietly with us and no one will get hurt.” Royale this time, the blond group standing close by, their skin still wet. The women wore bikinis and the men boxer briefs, all made from a wetsuit sort of material. Flashes of scales appeared and disappeared in irregular intervals across their bodies, and I would have been much more intrigued by this “almost mermaid” thing, except they were trying to kid-freaking-nap me again.
“Is it still called kidnap when I’m an adult?” I fumed, the random question snapping out.
Chase flashed me an amused grin. “Adult-nap?”
I shrugged, narrowing my eyes on some of the resistance closest to me. “That’s more like an afternoon nap.”
Marsil chimed in: “Maybe abduct?”
I nodded a few times, like I was seriously considering it. “Abduct would work, especially since you’re aliens. Yes … I feel like that’s the correct wording.”
Our glib conversation died off as the three of us fell in back to back, so we could see the threats coming.
“You need to shut the hell up, grubber,” an Imperial told me, creeping closer with other Daelighters at his side. “We warned Daniel not to mess with your kind. He didn’t listen.”
He sneered at me, and I recognized him then. It was the guy from the hallway at school, the one who’d fought with Daniel.
“He’s going to kill you,” I said sweetly, smiling as broadly as I could. “I hope you’ve said all your goodbyes.”
I got another sneer. “Some of us are willing to die for our cause.”
I chuckled, sucking in a deep breath and willing the energy inside of me to rise again. “Yes,” I agreed. “Some of us are.”
I leapt forward, flames rising across my body in an instant, waves of heat visible in the air around me. I smashed into the group of Imperials, who had been only a few feet away, preparing to snatch me up.
I knew my power wouldn’t do that much to them; they all had this same power from their land. Hopefully mine was stronger because of Daniel. I just needed to buy us enough time that we’d have a chance to run for it, back to the land of Leights.
Screams echoed, and I also heard skin sizzling. I rolled off fast, not wanting to inflict too much damage. It took me longer than it should have to focus on the scene, on the bodies … which were now nothing more than ash.No, oh my God, no.A scream ripped from me in one long sound, my chest heaving in and out.
My flames disappeared as I wrapped my arms around myself, pulling the energy back inside. “I killed them,” I whimpered over and over. I couldn’t seem to take my eyes from the scene. The piles of ash that reminded me of old-school vampire television shows, like I’d staked them all in the chest.
“Callie, we need to get to the trees. Can you make it?”
I jumped as Chase put a hand on my shoulder. “Don’t touch me,” I shrieked, eyes still locked on the ash.
The Leights overlord followed my line of sight, and before I could jump away again he wrapped an arm around me and hauled me closer. “You did what you had to, to protect yourself,” he said firmly. “They were going to steal you away. This is not your fault.”
“What if I hurt you?” I said, breath heaving in and out. “I didn’t realize it would do that – just completely ash them.”
