‘Yes, sir,’ he agreed and fumbled with his seatbelt but it wouldn’t come away. ‘It’s jammed,’ he said, a hair away from panic.
My seatbelt came away easily, and I used the flip knife I always carried on me to saw through his seatbelt. His door was far less crumpled than mine.
‘Ready? On the count of three, I’ll release the shield, you’ll open your door, and we’ll both scramble out your side.’
He nodded and reached for the handle.
‘Three, two, one, move!’
He pushed the car door open and we scrambled out. When we were out of the vehicle I released the protective air shield around us. The instant I did, the car roof crumpled, and sound slammed in at full volume.
Shouting.
Gunfire.
Fuck.
Bullets screamed into the car. They were shooting at us!
I hurried after Channing and barked, ‘On my six.’
He manoeuvred behind me, and we crouched to take in the tableau before doing anything rash. We used the car as a shield as more bullets flew our way.
Black-clad mercenaries strode towards us, weapons up. Not Other realm weapons, but guns.
‘Raise an individual air shield around yourself!’ I ordered. ‘Thick enough to stop bullets.’ Then I raised one around myself. It was easier without having to extend it over Channing or needing to hold up the weight of a car as well. It also gave Channing and me greater manoeuvrability as we didn’t need to move as a pair.
I looked around me and assessed the situation. As well as the mercenaries toting guns, three fire elementals strode behind them, the flames on their hands cast forward and the air shimmering around them as if the world were melting.
Then I saw a dryad emerge out of a tree. For a moment, I thought it might be a good Samaritan come to help us, but then he threw a knife right at me. It bounced harmlessly off my air shield but my heart thundered all the same.
This wasn’t a kidnapping. It was an execution.
I picked the blade up. On the hilt was the mark of the Domini.
Oh fuck.
This wasn’t Reed playing games. This wasn’t Jingo wanting to scare me. This was a Domini execution squad, and they were gunning for me.
Robbie’s vehicle slammed to a stop behind us, the doors flew open, and my fiancé was out first, moving like a deadly athlete. Ivan and Maktel were on his heels, Hanlon flanking, all of them armed and ready.
Robbie’s eyes were mercury-bright and furious, and the relief that rushed through me at the sight of him was instant and stupidly fierce.
Thank Hel. Channing and I were wildly outnumbered, but the tide had turned. Maybe that would be enough to make the Domini rethink their attack.
But no, the mercenaries didn’t hesitate. Gunfire erupted again.
Ivan opened the boot of the car and threw out a shield. Robbie caught it, manoeuvred his body behind it, then charged at the mercenaries. Ivan passed a shield to Hanlon and Maktel and then all four of them rushed to meet the enemy.
Ivan barrelled straight into the nearest man and snapped his rifle clean in half like a twig.
Maktel ploughed into the line with a bellow, swinging his mace in a brutal arc that landed with a wet crunch in the side of one of the mercenaries. His screams ripped into the air, but they were lost amongst the noise of the battle and the rush of blood in my ears.
Hanlon moved like a shadow, less massive than the others but just as lethal, catching the dryad mid-lunge and slamming him into the ground so hard he let out a broken ‘oof’.
I focused my efforts on the fire elementals. As one rolled a fireball towards Robbie, I sent a blast of freezing air to snuff it out, like blowing out a birthday candle.
Over and over, I snuffed their flames out, but then the fire elementals coordinated. They lifted their hands together, and a large flame bloomed. At the same time, they sent smaller ones hurtling towards the ogres and I had to choose.
