That thing… looked like some weird hybrid monster. Not a Canidae or even a feline but a combination. Its claws looked prehistoric. And the horn on its head? What the fuck was that?
The irony that they were hunting monsters ‘too dangerous to exist’ and then creating their own was beyond hypocritical. Hysterical laughter bubbled up inside me but it lunged at Hadley and all humor left. She sent volts through it, her hands raised as a dozen streaks between her hands surged into the monster.
Its screams were deafening. The air was so thickly charged that I could barely move.
“My wife is badass,” one of my husbands muttered through the radio. I could hear the strain in his voice and was pretty sure it was Gale but with my ears popping, it was hard to tell.
I was horrified when that thing pushed forward, eyes blazing in fury. With more effort than I thought I had strength for, I raised the taser and squeezed the trigger. A little star shot out of the end and dug deep into the ribs of the thing. Its face spun toward me. I smiled, turned the dial to the red zone, and hit the button.
Smoke of burning flesh instantly filled the air as the thing made the most horrendous sound. I could feel it grating on my bones. I stared, my chest heaving as I continued to fry the damn thing.
When Taranis came barreling toward me, I was so distracted that I dropped the taser again. A blast of heat hit my back, making me careen forward. I gripped my side, not sure when I managed to gain that injury and rolled, ignoring the sting from the deep wounds on my back.
Taranis dove, knocking me backward. We crashed into the wall as a new fucking beast that I’d never seen before landed where I’d been. It was covered in fire but didn’t seem fazed at all.
“You okay, sugar?” Tara asked, his hand wiping frantically at my head.
I nodded and he pulled me to my feet. Trying to keep my groan in, I grabbed for my taser and took aim at this new thing. Tara pulled it from my grip and let the new dart fly. It landed in the side of the thing’s head.
It was quick. It was already airborne in a pounce toward us when Tara hit the button. While I caught my breath behind him, I looked around. Zilan was in the doorway of the security office, still down but no longer convulsing. I hoped that meant he was okay and not dead. The thought of that was too much and I had to turn away. Gale was bleeding. I was pretty sure Neph had a broken leg.
“We aren’t doing well,” I whispered.
“We’re fine,” Tara said, shoving his back into me and pinning me to the wall. “All fine, sugar. Catch your breath.”
We weren’t fine. Hadley’s scream of fear and fury made us both snap our heads to the side and caught the moment another fucking thing landed on Tem’s back. By the way his body arched and his eyes widened, I knew it wasn’t good. Tears blurred my eyes.
And then the building shook and dread settled on my shoulders. This was a stupid idea. We were just twelve people. And we were dumb to cripple ourselves by locking a whole family of storms inside a building where we couldn’t truly let our monsters out.
The lights flickered. In the distance, screams rattled the windows. Screams of people and… screams of monsters. Big monsters.
“No,” I whimpered. “We can’t take anymore.”
The door to the stairs flew open, dropping from its hinges, and out poured a dragon. Fire blazed in its eyes and from its jaws as it screeched in fury. It was far too big for the space and yet somehow, fit fluidly.
Moving around the walls and ceilings as if gravity wasn’t a challenge. It ripped the monster from Tem’s back and locked its jaw, shaking it until we heard its bones pop like kernels exploding. He went for the other monsters I missed, taking them all out. Chasing the last when it tried to run away. And then it went through the rest of the floor, lighting fires and filling the air with screams.
I slumped when another body walked through the door. Torin, looking like a fucking god. Pristine in his suit and frowning in disapproval.
He moved through the rubble and blood, stopping at Tem first. I watched with fear as Tem took a deep breath and a fierce shudder before slumping into Torin.
“Come on, sweet pea,” Torin said, pulling Tem to his feet. “Take a breath.” He leaned Tem in Raiden’s arms before moving to Neph.
Torin frowned. “The Nephilim are outside.” He shoved something to Nephele’s mouth. Neph grumbled and fought him but swallowed whatever it was. “Don’t be so proud. Swallow it. I know you know how to swallow.”
Although he tried to keep it in, laughter burst from Neph’s mouth. He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. “Thanks.”
He quickly cleaned up Gale before kneeling next to Zilan. Torin was a damn beast. He came from a line of some of the most powerful witches in the world. While he made it his business not to use his magic much because he didn’t want that kind of attention on him, when we began this war, there was no doubt that he’d be there to pick up the pieces.
My eyes stung as I watched him rest his hand over Zilan’s chest. There are only three witchy bloodlines that can control magic the way he can. And you always know when a witch comes from one of them. Their eyes glow an eerie green.
As Torin’s did now. He pulled the magic from Zilan’s body and it rose in a sickly gray cloud that had a screech all its own. Zilan jerked. He suddenly rolled over and vomited before he swore. “What the fuck?”
“Charming,” Torin said.
Zilan looked over his shoulder. His eyes widened as he shoved himself away, rolling into Kohara’s feet.
Torin toyed with the magic. Yes, he was using it like silly putty. Manipulating it and squishing it. Listening to it scream. When he was done, he frowned and clenched his hands around it. It popped like a bug, guts bursting and dripping to the floor with asplat.
