Alex had brought in several support teams, but they were only to form a perimeter in case any of the Furies got past us supes. Alex would monitor the operation from a van down the road, but the rest of us, even the depleted Leo, were going in. Regardless of whether they were human or supe, if they were with us, they were wearing full tactical gear—from helmets with visors to gloves. We weren't about to be taken down by tranquilizers and magic-suppressors again.
“All right, keep it tight,” I said to our group.
We had a much larger group than usual—what with the addition of my dad, Rywen, Ranval, Braxis, and the Dralmarin—but I was certain I could cover all of us with an illusion. It was just to get us into the house and give us the element of surprise. Once the fighting started, we wouldn't bother hiding—and that was mainly because of the threat of friendly fire.
We moved forward in a careful march three people wide, with Malik and Everan shoulder-to-shoulder with me and the rest of the group forming lines behind us, hands on shoulders so we wouldn't lose anyone. It seemed silly, but it got us to the backdoor unseen. Once there, we split up to surround the house. I went in with Everan, holding the illusion over us alone. He and I would search the house first and disable any transporters before the rest of the team moved in. We had the strongest magic and the ability to twist, making us the best choice.
I held Everan's hand as we moved through the house, passing a few Furies watching TV and some fixing themselves a snack in the kitchen. I was betting that the men on watch were upstairs where the height would give them a better vantage point. The woods had been cleared already, but no sentries were found and there were no patrols roaming the grounds. The house was owned by a retired couple who rented it out, but it was currently listed as empty. So, either Talon was renting it on the sly or was squatting. Either way, he apparently felt secure enough there that he hadn't bothered with his standard security measures—there weren't even any cameras set up. Sloppy, really sloppy.
Ever and I crept through the corridor, light on our feet, and cleared every room. Not of Furies, obviously, but of transporters. There weren't any downstairs, nor did we find Talon. Which led me to conclude that both were upstairs. He may have been lax in his security, but I was betting that the coward had an escape plan in place; he was really good at running away. We were about to head up when we found two sets of stairs—one going up and one going down. I didn't think Talon or a transporter would be in the basement. There might be another of his escape tunnels down there, but I doubted that he'd want to sleep there. So, we'd go up first.
The first step creaked. Even with our light, careful steps, several more did the same. It was an old house; it couldn't be helped. But since the landing was in sight, we had another option.
“I'm going to twist us,” I whispered to Everan.
Ever squeezed my hand in approval, and I took us on the fastest twist of my life. We came out on the landing, a soft creak announcing our arrival. My illusion dropped briefly while twisting, but we were several feet from the first doorway, and I quickly settled a new illusion in place before we moved forward.
The first room had a guard on watch at the window and a transporter attached to a wall. I was a little shocked to find the transporter without Talon, but I didn't hesitate. I shoved sour orange into the guard's aura, and he started to choke. He fell to his knees as we entered the room, Everan softly closing the door behind us. The Fury's eyes rolled, searching for his assailant. I dropped my illusion and smiled at him as he strangled. Meanwhile, Everan went to the transporter—a collection of metal rods stuck to the wall in the shape of a rectangle—and tore one of the rods away. He cracked the piece in two and tossed it on a chair just as the Fury passed out.
Everan and I probably could have cleared the whole house ourselves, but there was no sense in doing that when we had a huge team to help. Our main objective was to cut off the escape routes. We'd clear the top floor and then head down to the basement to make sure there wasn't an escape tunnel there. When that was done, everyone would enter at once. We didn't want a repeat of the other night. Sure, they'd still be able to fly, but we were prepared for that too.
“Transporter disabled,” Everan reported into his comm unit. “Clearing the second floor now.”
I put our illusion back in place before Everan and I crept out of the bedroom to check the other rooms. Water was running somewhere—funny that I hadn't noticed it before. Then I saw the open door and the wet footprints leading across the hall. The door must have been shut earlier, dampening the sound. I pulled on Everan's hand, but it wasn't necessary; he was already heading after the footprints. Before we reached the room they disappeared into, a low shout came from outside, followed by a thud. That was it. Still, it was enough to give us away.
Three men surged into the hallway. Everan and I instantly latched onto their auras with our magic. He drained them as I stole their breath. The Furies opened their mouths to shriek, but could only gasp. They fell to their knees, clutching at their throats even as their eyes rolled back in their heads. In moments, they fell to the floor.
“Did you kill them?” I asked in surprise as I released our illusion.
“I may have gone a little far with the draining,” Everan didn't sound upset.
“We should probably try to leave a few alive.”
Everan shrugged.
A soft noise came from the room we'd been heading toward—the one with the wet footprints.
“We've got a flier!” one of Rain's men said through the comm unit. “Top west corner.”
“It's Talon!” Jason shouted.
Crashing sounds came from outside the house along with gunfire.
“Aim to wound!” I shouted and ran into the bedroom, following the wet footsteps to the window. That's why he wasn't with the transporter; the bastard had been taking a shower.
“Stand down, he's with us!” another shout came from the unit. “Fuck, they're all with us. Don't shoot! I said stand down, that's our aerial team!”
Remember when I said we had the flying thing covered? Malik, Kyrian, Braxis, and Ranval comprised our aerial unit. With the Bleiten in their battleforms and the Triari a touch away from sprouting wings, they had the sky covered.
The gunfire stopped as I reached the window. In its place came the shriek of an extraordinarily powerful Fury. I cried out as I watched a Bleiten tumble from the sky. Above him, two other Bleitens wrestled with a wet, half-dressed Talon. It looked like Malik and Ranval. Which meant... my anxious stare shot downward just in time to see Braxis hit the ground. He laid there a moment, panting, and then lurched upright. I took a relieved breath as Braxis stretched his wings, crouched, and sprang back into the sky. Talon's deadly shriek couldn't kill Braxis now; it appeared that it wouldn't even keep him down for long.
I couldn't care less about the other Furies—my team could take care of them—I wanted Talon. I didn't even bother to inform Everan, just twisted down to the lawn, right below the aerial battle. I lifted my stare to find that the Bleiten warriors had been joined by a Triari. Not that they needed the help; if three Bleiten warriors couldn't restrain one Fury, they weren't worthy of the title of warrior. But Kyrian hadn't flown up to beat on Talon like the Bleiten, he'd gone to gag him. As Ranval restrained Talon's arms, Braxis and Malik broke Talon's wings, turning his shrieks into screams of pain. Those screams gave Kyrian the chance to shove a wad of fabric in the Fury's mouth and secure it with a leather strip. I let out a long exhale as the four men brought Talon back to the ground, his body hanging limply between them.
“House cleared. Support teams move in,” came a voice in my ear.
The woods came alive with human agents, running in to help secure the site now that the Furies had been handled. I couldn't kill Talon yet—not while he still had Leo's magic inside him and in full view of human witnesses. But when he bleakly looked me in the eye, I knew he saw his death there. He hung his head, water dripping from his wet hair over his bare chest, and drooped between the Bleiten. Kyrian handcuffed Talon's arms behind his back as I stepped forward, yanked off my helmet, and shook out my hair.
“Hello, lover,” I purred viciously as I stroked Talon's cheek with a gloved finger.
