How the fuck are these shifters going to walk inside with all their guns? I wondered.
But then Drake opened the trunk and grabbed some coats. The long rain coats were out of place given the weather, but better than nothing. Bodie tossed a coat on me to cover my wings since I couldn’t use glamour.
Larry carried Tee’s cat carrier and also grabbed a duffel out of the trunk before he gave Drake a nod. What the hell that meant, I wasn’t sure. But the four assholes tramped toward Union Station like they owned the place. Despite my anxiety, I couldn’t help but revel a tiny bit in how hot their badassery was. Like the Boondock Saints of L.A., they were totally movie-worthy.
I hurried to catch up to Bodie. "Where are we going?"
He shrugged.
"You’re okay with just leaving everyone and everything behind?" I asked incredulously.
My mind flashed to all the little shifter kids that Bodie and Easton watched. The guys could just walk away from all of them? What about all the shifters they supposedly helped?
"We have to go," Drake replied darkly as he shoved open the door and held it for us.
"But why?" I asked as I passed him and entered the station. The glass ceiling overhead, the intricate, shining tiles below, and the giant mural in front of us barely got half a glance from any of us.
Drake didn’t answer me, he never fucking answered me, just strode toward the ticket counter. "What bus leaves here next?" he asked an elderly gentleman perched behind the glass.
"We have a Greyhound to Palm Springs leaving at 1:20," the man replied.
"Good. Four tickets." Drake pulled out cash.
So we were leaving, and it didn’t matter where we went, only that we left quickly. I pressed my lips together. Easton hadn’t found Trite. But had Trite found Drake? Is that what this was about?
"Four tickets," Easton said, interrupting my thoughts. "We need five."
Drake shook his head. "I’m not going with you." He wouldn’t look at us, but I saw his jaw tick.
Shit. The worry that had been stewing in my stomach started to boil.
"What?" Bodie stepped away from me and moved closer to Drake. "The fuck you aren’t." He turned to the ticket man. "Five tickets." Bodie slapped additional cash on the counter as Drake walked off.
The old dude raised his bushy eyebrows and added an extra ticket.
My eyes drifted toward the front door. Was Trite out there right now? Or was it someone else? Who was coming for Drake? Why?
My feet shuffled after Bodie and Easton, who crowded Drake where he stood in a corner, glancing out the windows every few seconds, trying to keep it together. But I knew, somehow I knew, that he was fighting for every bit of fake calm he could muster.
"What the fuck is going on?" Bodie got in Drake’s face.
Drake’s eyes flickered to me, then back to Bodie. Then he turned and walked off without a word.
Bodie was on his heels in an instant. "Don’t you walk away."
"I’m going to the bathroom," Drake replied tersely.
"Nope. Not buying it," Bodie stayed on his ass.
Larry, Easton, and I exchanged long looks.
Easton shook his head. "He’s pulling the fucking martyr card."
He started after the other two shifters. He was probably going to try and break the inevitable fight up before it could begin.
I glanced at Larry, who looked over at me with a sad smile. "Please don’t run. This night has already been draining enough."
Run? Then it hit me. Why the fuck was I not already running?
My eyes drifted back to the three shifters, and then out the giant arched windows of the train station. I saw a man materialize on the street, wisps of colored Portal Potion smoke rolling off his suit and dissolving into the night air.
"Bodie!" I yelled, running toward him. "Mage Council!" I pointed toward the window, where another mage appeared near the first. Then a third. And a fourth.
"Fuck!" he shouted.
Bodie thrust the hilt of a knife into my open palm.
He stared deep into my wide-open eyes, his own irises glowing gold. "Use this, Aubry. I don’t care who you have to cut down, you just keep yourself alive. Understand?"
My head nodded, but I barely registered the movement.
The battle for Los Angeles had officially begun, and I was now officially free… but which side would I choose: the mages or the shifters?
23
Aubry
Who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy… that can all flip on a dime.
Tee’s words echoed in my mind as I watched the battle unfold.
The metaphorical dime had been tossed; it flipped over and over in midair, and I held my breath, unsure what side the coin would land on. Because it wasn’t mages versus shifters anymore—black and white—at least not for me; shit had gotten mixed together until my life was Fifty Shades of Grey, all hot sex and hard decisions.
Fuck me.
The doors to the depot smashed open, along with several of the huge, three-story tall arched windows. Glass shards scattered across the marble floor like stars, gleaming in the cheap artificial light of the circular chandeliers above us.
Two mages in suits walked in through the empty doors.
My throat dried out and I swallowed hard, wondering what the hell I was going to do, and why the future always had to get pinned down in life-or-death moments like this.
Why can’t life altering decisions be slow and well thought out?
Wind blasted my cheek from the window and I turned. A fall fae named Mollie appeared in the window frame, shooting jets of air at us so fast and low that we were literally swept off our feet and tossed on our asses.
That put a stop to my philosophical ramblings real quick.
Instead of choosing a side, why don’t you just try and come out of tonight alive? my inner snark scolded me.
I lifted my knife, but Mollie was Mage Police. Could I really attack her if it came down to it? Did I want to?
Martyr complex isn’t really my style. But…
I whirled behind Drake, who’d partially shifted so that he had huge black wings. I needed more time to think.
Shit, if it was only mages from the council… it would be different. Those assholes had treated me like shit. But Mollie? Others who’d been under my command?
Maybe I could just run for it?
But then Bodie would chase me. That would leave him exposed. And they wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate him.
I closed my eyes and rubbed at them, the stress making me dig in hard.
I heard shuffling sounds and opened my eyes to see Easton and Bodie also ducking for cover behind Drake’s huge ass wings. They were seriously big enough to be a small circus tent.
As I watched the guys checking their guns, I felt the loss of my utility belt and my powers fiercely. Fucking Larry. I was gonna have to stick out this fight as if I were human. While I liked fighting, I liked having the upper hand even more, so this was just great. Damn it.
I ruled out attacking Mollie, whose wind power made it impossible to get close to her anyway. Plus, I’d met her husband and kids at a company picnic. I just… couldn’t.
I peered around Drake’s wing as another mage popped into existence over by the ticket counter. Was there anyone out there I hated enough to fight? Or was I gonna sit here behind Drake like a pansy-ass preschooler until the sun rose?
I squinted through the shadows. There were now three mages and Mollie here in the station with us. I didn’t recognize the mages, so that left them open as potential adversaries. But I did recognize the formation. They were setting up a perimeter. We’d soon be surrounded.
"Well fuck me in the ass with a donkey cock," I grumbled.
"I like how you think, babe, but now’s not the time," Bodie quipped, racking a sawed off shotgun before he whirled out from behind Drake’s wings and fired off a shot that hit its mark. A mage’s head burst apart like a watermelon, the potion in his hands falling to his feet and exp
loding, fire dancing out of the broken glass and licking up the dead man’s legs as his headless body toppled forward.
The few humans left in the vicinity screamed as they ran. Nothing like a flaming, headless body to cause panic and mayhem. A winged fae? Unexplainable wind? Dragon wings? Nah, the humans probably just thought they’d stumbled onto a badass movie production and had somehow gotten lucky enough to be an extra. But when bodies started dropping, humans peaced the fuck out.
I didn’t have time to feel anything, much less horror, because the new mage by the ticket counter pulled out a white Sleep Grenade and lobbed it at us.
Hell fucking no!
I dove forward, landing right on top of the potion as it broke. My abdomen blocked the dust from billowing up and knocking us all on our asses, useless and snoring for hours. Drake reached an arm down and helped me up, retracting his wings, which arched over his head like huge shadows. Something about him resembled Goliath, from that kid’s cartoon, Gargoyles.
I was momentarily distracted by that image, when the impossible happened—Drake complimented me.
"Quick thinking," he said.
"We train for it at PD," I responded. Part of me hoped for a head nod or a tiny smile. But those two words were a bigger compliment than I’d ever seen Drake give anyone, even the guys.
Another mage lobbed a glowing potion at us, catching my attention a moment too late. This time, the glass globe held a mix of orange and blue smoke.
"Damage Potion incoming!" I shouted.
Drake scooped me into his arms and tossed me high into the air before flapping his wings to fly out of the way. He caught me just as I started to fall, and then hovered in midair right next to one of the hanging circular chandeliers.
"Oof!" Drake’s chest smashed into me as he spat fire down on the mage who’d thrown the Damage Potion. The man used a Portal Potion to disappear just before the flames reached him.
A shot rang out and Drake dodged the whizzing bullet. Barely.
"Burn their pockets," I told him in a rush, "it’s where they keep their potions."
The tip slipped off my tongue before I even realized what I was saying. Was I actually helping the criminals? What the fuck? I hadn’t decided that. I hadn’t decided anything, other than trying to stay the fuck alive.
Drake propped me on the chandelier before swooping down and doing as I’d suggested.
My eyes scanned over the faces of the furious mages below. They surrounded the depot almost completely. There had to have been at least ten of them who’d portaled there now. That meant they’d all been sent by the council or were members themselves. Only council members were given unlimited Portal Potions, because the damn things were so difficult and time consuming to make. Two years, from what I’d heard.
I watched a mage fall as Easton slashed through him, huge black claws protruding from his human hands like a goddamned X-man. Was this battle seriously going down like some kid’s Saturday morning cartoon? Goliath and now Wolverine? What was fucking next? Balto versus Mickey the Magician?
My sarcasm felt like the only weapon I had; the knife Bodie had given me was too insignificant. I needed a sword or a gun. I wanted my goddamned fire magic back.
Below me, a mage started to wave his arms in a big arc and chant. "Fuck! Compulsion Spell!" I cried.
Drake flew up and grabbed me, tossing me down toward Bodie before swooping at the mage with fire spewing from his mouth.
Bodie caught me and quickly set me down, not pausing to cradle me for even a moment. "Be careful, Aubry," my mate scolded.
Aubry... when was the last fucking time Bodie had called me that? He was too in love with his annoying-as-shit little nicknames. Was he pissed at me for some reason?
I stared at my mate as he lifted his gun... and pointed it at my heart.
My heartbeat tripled. No.
"Bodie?" I whispered in shock and confusion.
His eyes narrowed and his head thrashed, his teeth scraping over his bottom lip in an incredibly strange gesture. It was almost like he had an itch he wasn’t allowed to scratch.
Oh shit. I grabbed for my knife, but with his gun already aimed at my chest, I was too late.
A shot rang out.
Bodie crumpled in front of me, blood dripping from a ten-ring hole in his forehead.
I felt dazed as I stared at Bodie's body on the ground. My vision flickered. No, his body flickered. Bodie's face disappeared, and a fae I'd never seen before lay on the ground, dead.
Fuck me. No. Fuck him. Fuck that fly and his goddamn glamour.
I wanted to kick him, but that kind of shit was only good in video games or the movies I created in my head—where my hair looked fucking epic, and a sunbeam always shone from behind, making my ass look fantastic as I jumped up and roundhoused a motherfucker. In real life, badassery came from paying goddamned attention. Maintaining control of the situation.
And I hadn’t been.
I was never this off during a fight. Normally, I loved the adrenaline rush, lived for it. Anxiously anticipated it while my beat cops did stake outs and found my targets. But I was used to springing traps on others. I wasn't used to being on the surprise end of an attack. I wasn’t used to being unclear about what side of the fucking fight I was on, either.
Everything about tonight was different.
But at this point, the asshole fae had proven they didn’t give a shit about my hostage status. One had literally just attacked me—not just the guys near me, not just with wind or Sleep Grenades that knocked out everyone. Some asshole had just tried to shoot me.
"Fucking fae glamour," my mate’s voice said from behind me.
I swung around to see the real Bodie, looking fierce as fuck, his face streaked with gunpowder and blood. He lowered his handgun and slung an arm over my shoulder, pulling me in tight.
My mate bond freaking sang.
I pulled the knife Bodie had given me out of my waistband and moved so we were back to back. If nothing else, I knew my mate would protect me. And I’d do the same. But did that make me a criminal? Was I one of the bad guys now?
Fucking hell! Stop thinking and just smack some fucking skulls together, my adrenaline shouted.
A mage approached from my left. His pockets were burnt to a crisp. It looked like Drake had succeeded in following my suggestion. I grinned. That meant he had no potions—no Sleep Grenades, no Mage Fire, no Damage Potions, or Portal Potions. Fucker had hand to hand combat left, and that was it.
Or so I thought.
That was before Big Nose pulled out a gun. "Life tip: if you don’t wanna die, don’t bring a knife to a gun fight." Schnoz laughed as he lifted his weapon at me.
I kicked out hard and fast, so that his gun-arm swung wide, then lunged forward and stabbed him right in the gut.
"Great tip. Gonna file it under ‘fuck you,’" I sneered.
A car engine roared outside along with the screech of tires. A moment later, four wolf shifters burst into the station, fangs gleaming. Echoing howls bounced around the room as the wolves joined the fight.
Fuck! Would those assholes attack me too, just because I was fae?
One of them lunged right at me, answering my dumbass question in a hurry.
Easton appeared out of nowhere. The massive man, who was still in human form except for his claws, ran in front of me and blocked the new wolf. Raising an arm and shaking his head, he pointed across the room at three new mages who’d just portaled in with a pop.
One of those mages was Triton.
Fuck!
My heart clenched when I saw him immediately go after Drake. The dragon spewed flames at him, but my best friend dodged and tossed out a portal potion. He disappeared. Seconds later, he reappeared behind Drake and started a spell.
Bodie, now a pure black wolf amongst his gray and white packmates, leapt through the air and latched onto Trite’s arm.
"No!" I started to run forward, but I slipped and fell across the blood striped marble. I twisted as I fell so that
I could land on my ass rather than my knees… And that’s when I saw Mollie, slowly lifting a gun to the back of Easton’s head.
He couldn’t see it, and the other two weren’t there to help. There was only me.
Fuck.
The thought of Easton getting hurt threw shadows across my chest. Those shadows felt like voids in the sky, where planets used to spin, and the potential for life used to exist, only to be wiped out entirely. If he died, the shadows would take over. The void would ensure there was nothing left to explore. Nothing left to reach for. No possibilities. No hope. Only blackness. Soul-crushing blackness.
I glanced left, watching in slow-motion terror as Drake and Triton each fought to gain the upperhand.
I glanced right, fear and dread curling in my gut as Mollie clicked off the gun’s safety, preparing to end Easton’s life.
Half a breath.
That was all the time I had to make a decision.
Easton or Trite.
I shoved myself onto my feet and yanked out my knife. I wrenched my arm back and focused on my target. Just like throwing a dart. The blade left my fingers, twirling soundlessly through the air, as it rushed toward Mollie’s neck.
I didn’t wait to see if my aim was true, because she’d already pulled the trigger. I heard the crack of her shot reverberate through the air around me, as I raced her bullet, desperately sprinting to get to that big, giant, overstuffed teddy first.
I smashed into his shoulder, trying to push him out of the way.
But it was like tackling a mountain. I hadn’t moved him far enough. Not nearly far enough…
The slug tore right through Easton’s back and out his chest, splattering me with his blood.
24
Easton
I turned to look at Aubry in shock and in wonder… She’d just saved my life.
Even as pain tore through every fiber of my being, even as her scream echoed on repeat in the back of my mind… She'd still saved me. If she hadn't pushed me, that bullet might've gone straight through my heart.
Fae Captive (The Mage Shifter War Book 1) Page 26