Her drive and ambition impressed me. I didn’t know if I would have been so resourceful if I was her age and in such a position. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was that resourceful now.
“You’re too young to be going into battle,” Chris said with about as much conviction as I had, which was not exactly a lot.
“I won’t beinthe battle; I’ll fly over it. I’ll drop some of these, then get out. Maybe also let a few loose around the exits so our people will have some cover when they get out. You two would be the only ones actually going inside. That is”—I didn’t think it was possible, but her grin grew even toothier—“if you guys are up for it.”
Chris and I exchanged glances. We knew what was, technically, the right thing to do. What we’d promised to do. But it was so, so difficult to ignore the temptation of going to help our friends. Jeez, were we really being swayed by someone who had graduated two weeks earlier?
It seemed so, because when Chris and I looked back at Esperanza, I spoke first.
“You have to swear you will only stay above the battle and won’t touch the ground at all, and that you’ll get away at the first sign of danger pointed toward you.”
“I swear,” she said. “Scout’s honor.”
I tried not to think of how recently the girl would’ve been in the scouts as I grabbed a few smoke bombs from the bag. Leo would be so pissed at me, but it would be worth it if I could ensure we would have a future where hecouldbe unhappy with me. We had an impressive number considering all the allies we’d called—about thirty of us in total—but I didn’t see how three auxiliary helpers would hurt anything. In fact, I was hoping we would be a pretty big boon.
“All right, then,” I said. “Let’s do this.”
31
VANESSA
The sound of glass shattering reverberated through the night mere seconds before chaos broke out. Chris and I sprinted toward the manor while Esperanza shrieked in the air above us. It was a primordial battle cry I wasn’t even sure she knew she was making.
Chris and I burst through the door, and all my worries that someone had heard Esperanza’s cries vanished. The catering team and some of the staff members barreled past us, looking for a place to hide or a way out. Good. That was fine with me. It meant fewer people would get hurt.
Esperanza dived overhead, a smoke bomb in each of her claws, and we raced after her.
“I can’t go into the main area,” I said, gasping for breath. “I don’t have a gas mask.”
“Why don’t you head to the kitchen then?” Chris said. Like me, he was out of breath. It made me feel better about my own lack of athleticism. I could ride my bike for hours with no problem, but running took a lot out of me. “You can always pretend to be staff if anyone questions you, but that way you canhelp get the escapees and the injured to safety. You know, cover their tracks with a bomb if you need.”
Now, that was a good idea.
“Okay, I’ll do that. You’re sure the smoke won’t affect you?”
“It shouldn’t. I may not be able to shift, but I’ve still got a lot of the perks regular shifters have. My body will metabolize it way too fast for it to have any effect on me.”
“All right, then. Stay safe.”
“You, too. Do us proud.”
I intended to. When we reached the next junction, I peeled off down a servants’ corridor that opened into the pantry connected to the kitchen. Honestly, helping innocent bystanders get out felt like the right thing to do rather than running and getting myself to safety. Leo would probably disagree with me, and I would have to deal with the consequences of breaking my own word, but that could wait until everyone was safe and sound and another brother was dead.
Priorities and all that.
As I entered the pantry, I immediately had to duck a skillet that was aiming straight for my head. I rolled forward, crossing my arms over my head for protection.
“It’s just me!”
Thankfully, no second hit came, and I recognized a girl from the catering team. I couldn’t quite recall her name, but I knew she was a college kid who had absolutely no idea what was going on.
“Oh my god! I’m so sorry. I thought you were...” Her voice broke, and she let out a sob. I scrambled to my feet and pulled her into a hug. Perhaps it was an overly familiar thing to do with a complete stranger, but she clung to me and began to weep into my shoulder. “I was serving champagne to the guests when a bunch of animals started jumping through the windows! Andthen some of the guests turned into animals, too, and our clients started flying!”
Flying? Oh, right. Chadwicke had used that trick. I still had a lot to learn about warlocks, but it seemed they could do anything if they could come up with a spell for it.
“Hey, it’s going to be okay. You’re away from the fight now. Let me help you get out of here. We’ll go through the back entrance.” Although I kept my tone steady, that small voice inside me screamed at me to run. To hide. That I was just a silly girl playing a game with monsters, and there was no way I could win.
Except I’d already learned what came from giving in to cowardice. As long as I was able to help, I would.
