“We need an exit plan,” Dannysaid.
My eyes kept falling on the poor destitute dog, lying there on his side, panting helplessly, as if he’d given up on trying tosurvive.
“I’m not leaving without the dog,” I statedfirmly.
The second those words left my lips, the female druid hurled another red ball of magic. I didn’t even see her conjure it. It was just there, catapulting through the air faster than anything I’d ever seen—headed straight forIsaac.
His name barely tore from my lips when the red ball smashed into him. He’d been looking at the dog, same as me. He barely had time to pull up his staff, trying to position it to take the brunt of the hit, but a good majority smashed into him, throwing him backward into the wall,unconscious.
Shit.
Dom and Keegan were suddenly back at our side as more gunfire sounded. Logan was shooting any sorcerer trying to conjure. We’d backed up slowly since we’d entered the room, but now the staircase exit was being blocked by thedruid.
Doubleshit.
This time I did see the woman preparing her magic. It was barely there, a flicker of red, and I was squeezing the trigger on mygun.
A bullet sank into the meat of her thigh and the red magic fizzled out as she brought her hand down to staunchit.
“Nice!” Logansaid.
“I was aiming for her chest,” Iconfessed.
The woman looked up at me, hatred in her red glowing eyes. “You bitch!” She lunged, throwing red magic that I dodged; it crashed into the wall behindme.
Just beyond her, yellow magic flew from some dickhead, hitting Danny square in the stomach beside me. It was a warzone. My dragon pushed at my skin; she was seconds from coming to the surface. If I couldn’t protect myself, shewould.
We were screwed. Soscrewed.
‘I could shift,’ Loganoffered.
‘No!’That would out him, and most likely get him killed faster. This shaved-head woman looked like she already wanted to drink Logan’s magic with astraw.
Logan had emptied his guns, out of bullets; my eyes kept darting to the dying pit-bull. One glance behind me showed Isaac was waking up, but was nowhere nearuseful.
Keegan was ripping his shirt into strips, tying tourniquets off to save Dom who looked barelyalive.
Behind me, Danny was mumbling something on thefloor.
“Purl,” Dannyrasped.
I popped off another shot at the advancing druid, panic starting to consume me. Keegan, and even bloody, injured Dom, were growling and snarling at the advancing line of men. Even in their human forms their animal sounds tore from theirthroats.
“Purple,” Danny groaned at last, and his meaning slammed intome.
I looked down to see him covering his balls and Ismiled.
Purple.Yes. This room was full of men and they were about to be brought to theirknees.
“Sloane … no,” Logan growled as I handed him my gun and he emptied the cartridge, bullets bouncing off the shields the sorcerers haderected.
I felt for the crackle of power that lay just under the surface of my skin. It rolled up my arms like water, flowing and without hindrance. When I felt it reach my palms, I pushed. A blanket of purple magic shot out from my palms so fast I was thrust backward a few feet. Something deep inside of me fissured—I couldn’t explain it, but it was like my soul had been ripped in half—everything ached. My vision blurred, but I could see enough to see the entire room was on the ground, grabbing their junk and moaning. Even the female druid lookedincapacitated.
My head was pounding; my knee joints ached. What the hell had Idone?
“Let’s go!” Logan grunted, and I realized he was holding a barely-consciousIsaac.
I shook my head and my vision cleared a bit, my dragon healing kicking in, I hoped. Without thinking, I stumbled forward, past the moaning bodies, and knelt before the pit-bull. When my hand reached out to pick him up, hegrowled.
