“Toby!” I cry out, even though I know the shadows already took him.
Beyond the pain, I feel someone next to me, calling out, but I can’t clearly hear them. I open my eyes. The white-haired man with ice-blue eyes stares at me. His lips are moving. He takes the gun that I dropped on the floor and tucks it away. He grabs my elbow and pulls me to my feet. We hobble toward the open door. With impressive speed, he pulls out the gun and shoots a man in the head.
The ringing in my ears finally starts to fade. This man could be my enemy. I was going to save my enemy.
I grasp the spare gun hidden in my waistband, undo the safety, and point the gun at the back of his head. He stops and slowly turns around. He slowly lowers the gun to the floor and raises both hands, palms out.
“Shadow, what have they done to you?” he rasps.
“They saved me from the magic wielders. Are you one of them?”
He closes his eyes. “I am, and so are you.”
“No. Byron said that you’re the enemy. They saved me from all of you. You tortured me!” I shout.
Opening his eyes, he counters, “Those are lies. I’m here to save you, son.”
My finger twitches over the trigger. Footsteps approach. The first man through the doorway brandishes a gun. I raise my own and shoot over the white-haired man’s shoulder, catching the newcomer in the face.
I was just a second too late. He fired a shot before falling to the floor.
Anders staggers forward and drops to his knees, clutching his chest.
“Anders, no!” A shrill scream shatters the window. Glass flies everywhere. The girl with the long, blond hair jumps in through the window. She removes her glasses as she lands on her feet. Her blue eyes match those of the man I was going to help. She runs past me and crouches down beside him.
“Anders! Please be okay. Please be okay. You can’t leave me.”
Another man enters in the doorway, gun at the ready. She throws up a hand, striking him with lightning.
Images flicker in and out of my mind. She killed an innocent man with her lightning magic. She looks up at me, tears streaming down her cheeks. A white scar trails down her face. Yes, she’s the enemy. This is the one they told me about, the one who kills innocent people with her magic.
“Tyler, we need to get out of here. The team can’t locate Byron and Beaver. We need to leave and get the two of you help.”
I drag my feet across the broken shards of glass and stand closer to her. I raise the gun in my hand and press the barrel to her temple.
Her eyes widen.
“I’m going to kill you. If you escape me, I won’t stop searching for you until you’re dead.”
Clapping noise comes from the hall. Byron and the ugly bastard with the missing front teeth lunge into the room, stepping over the dead bodies littering the floor. “Do it! Kill the bitch! She’s responsible for your brother’s death.”
“Lies!” she screams at the man. Her hand moves in his direction. I press the gun closer to her temple, stopping her from making another move.
“Don’t,” I croak out in a barely audible whisper. My hands tremble. Pull the fucking trigger. Pull it. I know what I need to do. My mind screams at me to pull the damn trigger, but something holds me back.
“Tyler.” She sniffs back tears. “I didn’t kill your brother. It was an accident.”
“She’s responsible for my son’s death!” the man bellows.
She squeezes her eyes closed. Tears stream down her cheeks, guilt evident on her face. I stare her down. I’m not falling for this pitiful act. “Your tears won’t save you.” Pull the fucking trigger! Pull it!
“I love you,” she whispers. “I promised Toby that I would never forget how much you love me.”
She’s manipulating me, tricking me into letting her go so that she can continue to kill innocent shifters.
“Stop playing her game and fucking shoot her!” Byron yells.
I press the gun harder into her temple. “Say your goodbyes,” I grit through clenched teeth.
