His voice lowered, gaze sombre, he said, ‘The mercenaries the Mayor hired to guard the place opened fire on them, shooting them down like…’ He swallowed several times. ‘They didn’t stand a chance, not up against superior numbers, weapons and an enemy that did not hesitate to shoot to kill. Your detective did the only thing he could. He surrendered. Last I saw of him was as he and the other survivors were being shoved into the back of a couple of paddy wagons and driven away.’
He shrugged. ‘I finished up reaping the souls of those who didn’t make it, and came back here. Figured we were all done for, that maybe I should have stayed in Angellin, and then I saw you. What do you say, Tyler, you got another brilliant plan to save the day up those sleeves of yours? Because the way I see it, if you won’t use your being a Ha’niel we are all royally screwed.’
36
I moved away from Talaom and the others, needing time to think.
Sam was alive.
That single thought sang through my heart, drowning out everything else. He was alive, and it was up to me to make sure he stayed that way.
I turned back to Talaom. ‘You said the television station was on fire. How much damage do you think was done?’
He let out a harsh laugh. ‘Face it, Tyler, you can’t get the message out. Cade’s not stupid, and neither are his people. If there was a way for anyone to broadcast an SOS they have shut it down. We’re on our own.’
‘All right then. It’s up to us.’ I glanced around the room, meeting their eyes one by one.
Rebecca gave me a watery smile when my gaze met hers last of all. ‘What do you need us to do?’
‘We have to track down Cade so I can finish this once and for all.’
Talaom gave a snort. ‘Finding Cade is easy. He’s set himself up at the showgrounds, surrounded by his loyal subjects.’
I narrowed my eyes. The Easton Showgrounds was a sprawling complex on the Southside. It boasted an enormous centre ring with covered grandstands all around, as well as over a dozen pavilions, and plenty of space for large numbers of exhibitors to camp out during the many events held there. The perfect place to set up a command post for Cade’s forces.
I excused myself to go get changed out of my ripped shirt. I put on black jeans and a silver halter-neck top that would allow me to call my wings forth without causing further damage to my clothing. Not that I consciously planned to coordinate my top with my wings. It was the only item of clothing I owned that would suit, other than a skimpy black dress. Not what I wanted to wear to a showdown with Cade.
‘Okay then, let’s get going,’ I said as I stepped back into the lounge and scooped up my car keys.
The others crowded at my back as I headed to the internal door that led to the attached garage. I had no idea what I was going to do once I got to the showgrounds and confronted Cade. I only knew I had to do something. Chris, Rebecca and Talaom were close behind me as I stepped into the garage and unlocked my Corolla.
I pushed the button to open the garage door and handed the keys to Chris. ‘You should drive, in case Talaom or I need to go astral.’
It felt strange to sit in the backseat of my own car, but considering Talaom was almost a foot taller than me it made sense to let him have the front passenger seat. It wasn’t often my little car was made to carry four adults, but even with the front seats pushed back to accommodate the guys’ long legs, Rebecca and I had plenty of room to move.
Chris backed out of the garage, and used the remote attached to the dash to close the roller door behind us before making his way onto the street.
Silence filled the car as he navigated his way towards the bridge. Ours was the only car on the road for the first few blocks. It was eerie to see the streets so empty, and it wasn’t just the lack of traffic that made it so. There were no people out on the footpath, or visible in their front yards. Curtains flicked furtively in some of the houses we passed, the occupants drawn to the window to see who would dare to be on the streets after martial law had been called.
Three blocks from home, two blocks back from the bridge, a black van shot out of a side street and started following us. In less than a minute another van joined them. It crossed onto the other side of the road and accelerated until it was beside us, matching our speed. The windows were tinted, making it impossible to see who was inside, while they would have a clear view of the occupants of our car.
After a quick glance their way, I kept my gaze focused on the road ahead, stomach clenching as I tried to ignore our escort. For whatever reason, they made no attempt to halt or hinder our progress as we turned onto the main road and approached the bridge.
‘Shit!’ Chris’s exclamation came a split second before he slammed on the brakes.
The seat belt gripped tightly across my body as I was flung forward, connecting with the still healing bruise from the car accident three nights ago. I screwed my eyes shut, pain driving the air from my lungs. The amount of cursing coming from my companions echoed my own thoughts.
When I could breathe again, I opened my eyes and felt like letting off a fresh round of cursing.
A roadblock stretched across all four lanes in the middle of the bridge. Mercenaries in black combat gear stood in a line in front of the roadblock, with what looked like automatic rifles in their hands. And all the weapons were pointed at us.
One of them stepped forward, a megaphone held up to his mouth. ‘Get out of the vehicle, and keep your hands where I can see them.’
Chris swivelled around to look me in the eye. ‘Go,’ he said. ‘Get into the astral plane and go.’
I shook my head. ‘I can’t just leave you guys.’
‘Yes, you can. You need to get to Cade. I can handle this lot.’ He gave me a confident grin. ‘I’m a Bradbury. I handle tougher situations than this on a daily basis. I’ll have them eating out of my hand quicker than Talaom here could rip out their souls.’
I knew he was right in at least one respect. I couldn’t stop Cade if I was being interrogated or imprisoned by the mercenaries under his command.
I gave a quick nod. ‘Be careful. Don’t get too cocky. Talaom might be able to reap souls and slip into the astral plane to avoid a bullet, but you and Rebecca can’t.’
Rebecca laid a hand on my arm. ‘We’ll be fine. Go finish this.’
I sucked in a deep breath, and slipped into the astral plane, calling on my wings as I did so. I lifted up and out of the car, hovering in the air above it as the mercenary with the megaphone spoke again.
‘You have three seconds to comply or we start shooting.’ He held his free hand in the air, fist clenched, ready to give his men the order to fire. ‘Three…two…’
Chris opened his door and slowly got out of the car, as Talaom and Rebecca did the same. I waited as the three of them put their hands in the air and moved to stand in front of the car, not ready to leave them in the hands of the mercenaries until I was sure they were going to be okay.
The mercenary frowned, lowering his hands as he stared at them. ‘Where’s the other one? There was another woman in the car with you.’
‘You’re mistaken,’ said Chris, his voice light. ‘There’s no one else in the car.’
The mercenary raised one eyebrow, lips quirking. ‘Really? Then you won’t mind if I do this.’ He dropped the megaphone to the ground and pulled a gun out of the holster strapped to his right thigh. He aimed it at the car, grinning fiercely as some of his men grabbed hold of Chris and the others and pulled them away from the car. Then he opened fire.
The side of my beloved Corolla was peppered with bullets, most of them centred on the side I had been sitting.
‘Okay, that’s it.’ No way was I leaving the others in this psycho’s hands. I flew forward, returning to the physical plane as I came to a halt in the air in front of him. ‘You owe me a new car.’
He stumbled backwards at my abrupt appearance, lifting his weapon and aiming it at me. I used a thread of aether to rip it out of his hands and send it flying over the
side of the bridge, hearing a satisfying plop as it landed in the murky water below.
‘What the hell?’
‘Exactly. What the hell gives you the right to shoot my car?’
He regained his composure, glaring up at me. ‘Listen, lady,’ his eyes slid over my wings, ‘or whatever you are, I have full authority to enforce martial law on any and all citizens of Easton.’
I put my hands on my hips as I let my feet touch the ground. ‘I don’t care what authority you think you have. Martial law is over. I’m in charge now.’
His eyes narrowed. ‘Just because you have wings doesn’t make you boss. I answer to the Mayor. You want to take charge, you need to take it up with him.’
I reached out and latched onto the song of his soul.
The colour leached from his face and he fell to his knees when I gave his soul a tug. ‘Are you sure about that? Because, from where I’m standing, it looks like I hold your life in my hands.’
A loud click sounded in my ear and I looked up to see another mercenary had come up beside us and was holding a gun to my head.
‘Let him go,’ the mercenary said, hard voice at odds with her surprisingly delicate features.
I smiled at her even as I used aether to form a barrier between us. ‘He’ll be dead before you can squeeze the trigger. And then you’ll join him.’ I let the smile slip from my lips as I used aether to augment my voice so all the mercenaries arrayed around us could hear my next words.
‘It’s over. This campaign, coup, whatever you want to call it, is done. You are going to pack up your gear and get the hell out of my town.’ As I spoke I used the songs of their souls to weave a symphony in the air around me, linking them all together until they felt everything their commander did. As one, they fell to their knees, guns dropping from hands gone limp as their souls answered my call.
Faces pale, breathing coming in gasps, horror welling in their eyes, they stared at me.
Sure my point had been made, I released my hold on their souls, though I kept in tune with the song they created in case any of them decided to do something stupid.
I looked to where their commander still knelt at my feet, not at all fazed by the black look he was aiming at me. ‘You have one hour to get your people out of Easton, or I will finish what I started here. Do you understand?’
‘I’m not going anywhere, bitch. We’re owed a lot of money for this operation.’
‘Not my problem. You can’t spend your money if you’re dead.’ I reached out and gave all their souls a little tug. Just enough to remind them what I could do. ‘You need to make a choice. Your wallet. Or your life.’
‘Screw this,’ said the female mercenary beside me as she retrieved her weapon and holstered it. She turned to her commander. ‘If you don’t call the retreat, I will. We are not getting paid anywhere near enough to warrant going up against this shit.’ She waved a hand at me. ‘Let the winged freaks fight it out. We can send a bill to whoever wins for the rest of our money.’
She looked back at me, one eyebrow arched. ‘One way or another, we will get our money.’
I smiled at her. ‘Good luck with that.’ I turned my back on her and walked over to where some of the mercenaries were guarding my friends. I didn’t have to say a word. They took one look at their commander and backed off, hands well away from their weapons.
Within moments the roadblock was dismantled and they had piled into their black vans, leaving us standing beside my bullet-riddled Corolla. I stifled a pained sigh at the sight of it, and then deliberately turned away. I could deal with that later. I had far more important things to worry about.
37
I could hear the loud murmur of hundreds of voices as I neared the showgrounds, Chris and the others suspended in an aether cage below me.
The noise level swelled the closer I got, using what little cover the surrounding buildings offered to hide our arrival. Soon there was nothing to obscure my view of the showgrounds, or hide me from any of the Tr’lirians who cared to look my way. But none were in the skies above the complex. I was able to exit the astral plane and land the cage on the empty road closest to the main entrance.
The gates were wide open; unguarded. I unravelled the aether cage, letting the remnants of it blow away as I retracted my wings and peered into the complex. Chris, Rebecca and Talaom joined me, all three of them casting suspicious glances around the area.
‘They must all be in the centre ring,’ I said.
Chris ran a hand through his hair. ‘Sounds like that’s where all the noise is coming from.’
‘Where are the guards?’ Talaom asked, a frown creasing his brow. ‘They’d never leave it unattended. Something’s wrong.’
‘You think it’s a trap.’ I cast my senses forth, searching for any souls in the vicinity. I could detect a large number of them, able to distinguish the difference between a human and a Tr’lirian by the way the souls called to me.
‘Chris is right. They’re in the centre ring. All of them.’ I turned my head left, staring at the small pavilion nearest the entrance. ‘But there are three humans in there.’
Talaom cocked his head, eyes slitted as he concentrated on the pavilion. ‘Mercenaries?’
I shook my head, still staring at the pavilion. The large roller doors on the end and those along the side were all down, giving no clue as to who was inside. I sifted through all the sensations coming to me through the aether.
‘No. There’s something about them.’ I closed my eyes to allow me to concentrate better, trying to separate the songs I could hear. One of them called to me, setting my heart racing at its familiarity.
‘Sam.’ My eyes snapped open and I set off at a run towards the pavilion. I reached the closest roller door, hunting for the way to open it.
A large padlock secured it to the ground. I wanted to tear the padlock off and wrench open the door, but I took a moment to focus on the other two souls I sensed were also in the pavilion with Sam. A relieved smile curved my lips and I formed a thread of aether to break the padlock open.
Before I could open the roller door, Chris grabbed my shoulder and pulled me back. ‘You don’t know who else is in there.’
‘Yes I do,’ I said, using aether to force the roller door up.
The interior of the pavilion was in darkness. Darkness filled with muted rustling noises. I stepped inside, allowing my eyes time to adjust to the gloom, the only light coming from the open doorway behind me.
Sam, Connor and Rhonda were chained to a support pole in the centre of the pavilion.
Sam’s familiar easy smile set my heart racing as I quickly scanned the rest of the pavilion to confirm what my senses were telling me. They were alone.
I ran over and hugged Sam as tight as I could. ‘Thank God you’re okay. I was so worried. Talaom said you were in a gun battle at the television station.’
‘I’m fine too, Sis, in case you were wondering. So is Mum.’
I looked over at Connor, a huge grin on my face. ‘Glad to hear that.’ I let go of Sam and used aether to break the chains around their wrists.
As soon as his hands were free Sam cupped my face in his hands, eyes searching mine. ‘Where have you been? God, Tyler, I thought you were dead again.’
‘It’s okay. I’m okay,’ I said, relishing the feel of him, the scent that was uniquely his.
I pulled back slightly, smiling as his gaze steadied. ‘I’ll fill you in later. Right now we need to find Cade.’
‘That shouldn’t be too hard,’ said Rhonda. ‘I heard Killian ordering all his soldiers to assemble in the centre ring once we were secured. It appears Cade wants to deliver a final pep talk before they go out and inform the citizens of Easton there is a new God in town.’
‘Want to help me burst his bubble?’ I asked. ‘It’s time Clan Godden found out the truth about their leader.’
‘And what truth would that be?’ Rhonda’s eyebrows arched.
‘That he’s not fit to lead them, let alone declare h
imself God.’
Sam gave me a searching look. ‘What’s your plan?’
‘Show his people who he really is. Without them to follow his orders, he’s nothing. To defeat him, I have to get his people to turn their backs on him.’
‘And how exactly do you plan on doing that?’ Chris asked.
I resisted the urge to shrug. ‘Not sure yet. I’m just going to have to wing it.’
Family and friends at my side, I marched towards the centre ring. As quietly as we could, we made for the large gate that allowed livestock to enter the main arena.
At any moment, I expected an alarm to sound, but as the murmur from the centre ring quietened down I realised all their attention was focused on the imminent pep talk from Cade. We reached the gate and I crept forward with Talaom to see what was happening.
Cade and Killian stood in the middle of a large raised stage situated at the end of the arena closest to us, alongside the livestock gate. Almost filling the arena, arrayed in neat lines facing the stage, were thousands of Tr’lirians. Each one was arrayed for war; swords sheathed on their backs so only the hilts were visible above their heads. They were all winged, the men bare-chested and the women in tight-fitting vests. All of them had their eyes fixed on Cade, awaiting his words.
I waited too, wanting to see what he said, hoping I could use his own words to my advantage. An expectant hum filled the air as Cade stepped closer to the edge of the stage and raised his hands in the air.
‘Today is the day we take our rightful place as rulers of this world. No more will we have to hide our existence from humans. After today they will all learn to worship us as the gods we are.’
Okay. This was it. Time to step up and prevent a war.
Silver Reaper (Reaper Series Book 3) Page 21