“Thank you, all! I’ll never forget this!” My voice cracked.
Everyone nodded, and Luka reached forward and squeezed my thigh. This time I didn’t pull away.
Pearl flew higher into the sky and Luka’s voice came through our bond.‘Please don’t get hurt. I would die if anything happened to you.’
I chuckled, looking back at him.‘Literally.’
He rolled his eyes.‘That’s not what I meant.’
Reaching out, I laced my fingers through his, leaning into his body.‘I know. I will be safe. I promise.’
He squeezed my hand, and then I pulled away and reached up, grabbing the end of my swords, loosing them from their sheaths.
A pearlescent dome of protection suddenly appeared before us. Pearl hovered above it. I peered down to see the bowmen looking up at us, ready for the assault. Their gaze shifted and then they glanced down at the field, which was now filling with our combined force. They didn’t know which to shoot.
“Did anyone bring a bow?” Sage asked just as one of the fey loosed an arrow.
“I got it.” Demi raised her hand and flicked it at the arrow, causing it to change direction.
Holy crap, this woman had all kinds of powers that were not normal for a wolf.
Just then, the witches in the woods screamed a collective cry and the dome shattered, dissolving before us.
“Now!” Marmal shouted and then we dropped. I was airborne for a few inches until Luka grasped my hips with one hand and slammed me back onto Pearl’s back. I grasped one of her horns to steady myself. I muttered a quick thanks and then looked down at the chaos before me. Women and children were running everywhere as Munai and fey soldiers flooded the courtyard.
Pearl slammed her talons onto the earth, landing us right into the middle of the fort, and I wasted no time.
“Happy hunting!” I cried to our group, launching off of the dragon at the first male fey warrior I could see. My sword cut through his neck like butter before my feet even slammed to the ground.
I rushed forward, taking the next fey head on. He wasn’t a Munai, no black eyes or weird demon look, but he was still powerful. I had to pivot to the side as his sword came down on mine. The clang of metal rang throughout the courtyard as I pushed him backward toward the gate. With a grunt, I caught him off guard and my blade sank into his stomach, right where the liver was. He dropped to his knees, sputtering, and I pulled my blade free.
“Aspen, open the gate. We will hold them off!” Sawyer cried out, and I turned to see an onslaught of warriors had just crashed into our group, who were now in a little fighting circle surrounded by Munai and fey warriors.
While my crew kept them distracted, I charged for the gate, which had a giant steel bar latching it closed. Three male fey were standing in front of it, facing me with swords drawn. Three against one.
Awesome.
If I didn’t get this door open, my friends and I would no doubt be slaughtered. We needed backup. Now.
Beast mode activated.
I thought of Maz, and of my mom being trapped here, and of puppies left by the side of the road, and every evil thing I could think of, building up the rage inside of me. Then I charged with a battle cry. The two fey on the end each got a throwing star to the neck while I collided with the one in the middle. Our swords clashed as I reached into my thigh holster and pulled out my Glock. Two squeezes later, he was dead on the ground. The two fey I’d thrown stars at were rising now, no longer stunned by my distraction, but I put them down easily. Bullets to the brain. Fey were so much easier to kill than vampires.
“Aspen, look out!” Liv called behind me and I spun just in time for a Munai to skid to a halt before me, the tip of my gun pressed to her chest, indenting the skin there.
“Bye,” I whispered, and pulled the trigger.
She dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks and I turned my attention back toward the door. Holstering my Glock, I spun and grasped the cold steel. I could hear the vampires and wolves outside howling and smashing against the door. I needed to open it, STAT. I didn’t dare look behind me to see what kind of battle Luka and the others were fighting. I focused on the task at hand.
With a grunt, I heaved the large piece of metal out of the two brackets holding it and it slid out of its position, falling to the ground. Now that the door was no longer latched, the force of our men on the other side pushing it knocked me backward. I fell into someone’s grasp; fingers went around my throat and I was dragged backward away from the advancing horde by my neck. Looking up, I saw the Munai that I’d shot moments ago, a healing red sore on her chest.
Oh crap.
Clearly they had magic I knew nothing about. Kicking off the ground, I flipped backward with all my force, knocking the demon back, and pulled out of her grasp, gasping for air. Pain burned in my throat where she’s tried to choke me.
Luka zoomed into view then, pounced on the Munai’s chest, and pulled her head off like it was a plastic toy. “Go release the prisoners!” he yelled to me. “Liv. Basement trapdoor!”
I knew he was just trying to get me out of the worst of the fighting, but I didn’t waste time chatting. I looked up and around the space, taking in all of the doorways that might lead to a basement.
