Grace panted as her heart rate sped up uncontrollably. In addition to the Cyst, there were at least seven Kurjans spread out, all armed, all waiting. They had either black hair tipped with red or red hair tipped with black, frighteningly pale skin, and light, purplish eyes. Most were closer to seven feet tall than six, and they were lean and muscled. The drawings she’d seen hadn’t done justice to how frightening they appeared. She looked up at the sky, praying for a hint of sun to weaken them.
The clouds were too thick.
Benny pulled a long box out of the hatch and slid it back to Adare, who ripped it open.
It was ten Kurjans and Cysts to the four of them, and though she knew Adare and Benny were good, nobody was that good. Grace bunched her legs to run.
“You won’t make it,” Adare said grimly, not looking up from a set of six square gray blocks with silver pins. “But start bargaining with them as I set these.”
Okay. She could do this. Her stomach rolled over and she forced herself not to gag. “Um, promise you won’t kill me,” she yelled, not having to make her voice shake since it did so on its own. They didn’t answer, so she cleared her throat and tried to kick some ice loudly to give the impression that she was on the move. She had no clue what she was doing.
Adare pressed something on the gray squares and handed a couple to Benny, took several, and then pushed the box toward Jacqueline. “You still have an arm?”
The shifter nodded, her eyes gleaming. “Definitely, and you’re gonna like these explosives. They’re new generation.”
“Okay.” Adare crouched, one in each hand. “Benny, you throw at the group to the left, Jacki right, and I’ll hit the bastard in the middle. Grace, the second these land, you shoot through the window at anything still moving, but keep your body down. On two.”
She couldn’t breathe. A buzzing set up between her ears, but she clutched the gun, waiting for the signal. Thank goodness she’d spent the last five years learning to protect herself.
“Two,” Adare muttered, standing up and heaving the square toward the Cysts while the other two did the same.
There was a beat of silence and then a rush of movement. Three explosions echoed in a row, and a cry of agony came from the left. Grace lifted up, aimed, and fired toward the different smoldering fires. A series of gunshots instantly impacted the SUV from every direction, and she ducked down to protect her head.
Adare threw another square, while Benny and Jacqueline did the same.
A clink sounded, and then a larger explosion annihilated the stormy day. Shaking violently, Grace lifted and fired the gun again, sending green lasers that turned into steel bullets toward a burning SUV that had smoke and fire billowing out of its interior.
At least six soldiers were still standing, spread out and approaching from three directions.
Benny grunted. “I’ll get another box.”
A Cyst soldier threw something into the SUV, and it glowed in the back seat.
“Fuck,” Adare shouted, manacling Grace around the waist and turning them toward the trees, running full bore through the snow.
The blast threw them into the air, and he tucked himself around her, holding tight. She screamed, her eyes shutting as they were propelled through the trees and landed in the snow, sinking several feet. Faster than she could blink, Adare was on his feet and shoving her behind a large spruce tree with icicles hanging from its branches.
She coughed snow out of her mouth.
Several more explosions detonated as the devices in the rear of the SUV all caught fire. He ducked as a wave of heat washed over the snowy land.
Grace tightened her hold on her gun. “There’s only one solution,” she whispered, the wind nearly stealing her voice. “I have to go with them.” He’d saved her once, and she had to do the same for him. Even if she had to shoot him to do it.
Benny leaned up from a tree to the left, half of his face burning. “Not a good idea.”
Jacqueline crouched to the right behind a spruce, her arm bleeding red onto the snow. “It’s our only chance.”
Unfortunately, it was a true statement. The wind blasted into the forest with the smell of burning metal and flesh. The enemy were advancing and fast, their heavy footsteps on ice echoing through the storm. “What the hell do you think I’ve been doing for five years?” she hissed.
Adare frowned.
“I’ve been training.” Well, as much as she could with her schedule. “Yeah, I’ve taken pictures and worked, but I’ve learned to fight and shoot, just for this kind of situation. I’ll go, stay alive, and you’ll come for me.” It was the only option.
“No,” Adare said.
Grace lifted her gun. Adare’s chest had been sealed with an impenetrable shield in the Seven ritual, but his head was another matter. He’d be out of commission for a while, but he’d survive a bullet.
“I’m not giving you a choice.” She aimed right between his eyes.
