After a couple minutes of running we hit main street, a couple blocks down from the fight. It appeared to be another fae Court fight, and Team Fire had gotten stuck in the middle of two factions.
The team was still standing—almost entirely thanks to April, who was protecting their front side with a wall of blue fire, and Medium Sized Robert, who was protecting their back side by swinging his club. Clarence was huddled between them.
“We need to attack fast—Team Fire is struggling. But we can’t get swallowed by the fight—we’ve got to drive the fae away from Team Fire. Ideally, we could pin them against a building,” I explained to Orrin, who was taking in great gulps of air. “Stick to the shadows. We’ve got the element of surprise—we need to capitalize on it.”
Considine’s red eyes flashed in the darkness. “In that case, I’ve got an idea…”
“This had better work.”I stalked up the middle of Main Street, fighting every instinct in me that said not to take the direct approach as I adjusted my hood, which I’d pulled up for the occasion even though my face was bare.
“It will,” Considine squeaked, his voice tiny and high-pitched—as if he’d been sucking on helium.
I pulled my gun from its holster. “I didn’t know you could talk in your bat form.”
“Behold, I am an enigma wrapped in a mystery. Are you not intrigued?”
I burned to adjust the slayer mask that I wasn’t wearing. “Sorry, no.”
“You are savage. But that just attracts me more!” Considine rustled in his hiding spot, his soft fur that covered his little bat body brushing the back of my neck as he likely made a mess of my hair while he settled into position inside my hood.
I ignored him—we were within striking range of the fae now.
Working as fast as I could—we needed to get Team Fire out,immediately—I picked my first target, a fae noble who was trying to stab April through her fire wall with a rapier.
I flicked my safety off. “Starting,” I warned Considine before I took my shot.
I hit the fae noble in the shoulder. He dropped with a dramatic shout, which had the effect I wanted. The fae on his side turned around and saw me—a seemingly lone figure—standing just behind them.
Take the bait, come on!
They were as slow to act as we’d hoped, giving me time to pick out a target from the other warring faction. I chose a troll—both because he posed the biggest threat to Medium Sized Robert, and because he was taller than the others, so I had a clear shot at him over the fight.
I shot—aiming for his hand. Unfortunately, he was a little farther away than the noble was, and handguns are less accurate the farther the distance from the target, so my shot went a little wide and I hit his wooden club, spraying slivers of wood on his teammates.
The troll bellowed, which still worked quite well in getting their attention, so in a matter of moments all the fae were staring at me.
This suited me fine. I’d keep taking shots as long as I could. I picked out a third target, choosing a siren—who had the greatest potential to harm me and my teammates with her singing abilities.
She was wearing a metal breastplate. I was using a low powered handgun, so it most likely wasn’t going to pierce her armor unless I shot at the same spot. But she’d still feel it, which was all I needed.
I shot her twice in the chest. She shrieked, her voice turning piercing, and dropped as if I’d shot her with a rifle.
Her screams rallied the fae, and both sides of the fight stormed toward me, rushing past Team Fire.
Considine moved on my neck.
“Not yet,” I whispered as I toggled my gun’s safety. I wasn’t sure if I was talking to him, or to myself. My fighting instincts screamed to turn tail, but I stayed in place, waiting for the last fae to pass April and her fire wall. “Now!”
I thrust my hand into my hood, closed my fingers around Considine’s little bat body, then flung him at the incoming fae.
Considine zoomed at them like a bullet. Just before he smacked the fae leading the charge—a faun with a spear—he swapped back to his vampire form.
Slamming into the faun with all the momentum of his much larger body, Considine smashed him into the pavement while simultaneously pulling a dagger from his belt and chucking it at the siren.
The siren had boosted herself to her feet, but Considine’s dagger sliced her in the thigh, digging into the flesh of her leg and toppling her again.
A dryad armed with a club jumped at Considine, jabbing at his head. Considine intercepted the blow, grabbed the club, and forced the weapon high so the dryad’s arms were stretched above his head.
“Form the line!” I roared, straining to make my voice heard over the growls of the fae. “Hold the line!”
