by Jamie Davis
Voices grew louder. She crouched at the corner and looked around it.
A hundred yards away there was a pair of Red Leg cruisers and a small police van with its back doors open. Benches on either side faced the center. A metal grate covered the windows. Light could come in, but nothing could leave.
Two Red Legs walked up from a basement apartment dragging a man and woman behind them, both of them cuffed.
Behind that group, another two officers emerged with a hulking man, kicking and thrashing between them. He’d been cuffed and shackled, forcing him to take tiny, angry, shuffling steps.
Two final officers came up behind the big man, helping the other pair to wrestle him along. The trio in custody were the ones she’d been waiting for.
She could practically taste her connection.
“We can’t let them get captured,” Winnie whispered.
“There are six officers that we can see. Who knows how many others are nearby. We can’t do anything right now.”
The first man was shoved into the van. Then one of the Red Legs grappled with the woman to hoist her into the back.
This couldn’t happen.
Victor would be furious, but Winnie had no choice.
“Cover me,” she said, then stepped out around the corner and sprinted toward the group, pulling in every possible molecule of magic as she ran.
Footsteps pounded behind her, Victor at her heels.
The Red Legs had yet to see them. The cloaking spell was still working, but it would be simple enough to spot them now that they were running right for the brightly lit area under the street lights near the van.
The shackled chanter saw Winnie first.
He grinned, then doubled his struggle, thrashing even harder against his bonds as Winnie closed the distance between them.
The Red Legs pulled out their stun batons and began raining blows down on the man until he was twitching on the concrete.
Winnie growled, and then she was on them.
The cloaking spell slipped away as she attacked.
The nearest Red Leg must have seen something out of the corner of his eye—he turned and raised a hand to block her first spinning kick at his head.
Winnie blocked the attack then dropped to one knee.
She extended a hand, palm outward, and with an exhalation of air sent a magical punch right at the man’s midsection.
The officer doubled over, flew backward, and crashed into the van.
He crumpled to the street.
Winnie continued her attacks, aiming magical blows on the two Red Legs beating the big man on the ground.
They fell over backward. One of them struck his head on the van’s rear bumper with a terrible CRACK! and fell limp to the ground. The second man started to stand, drawing his sidearm as he did.
Winnie tried to pull in another spell to counter his attack, but a pair of gunshots ripped through the air behind her.
The Red Leg toppled over backwards and lay still, the gun still in his hand.
Winnie turned around and gave a grateful smile to Victor.
Three down, three to go.
Winnie stood, then launched herself at the nearest Red Leg.
The woman turned to face Winnie, drawing her sidearm.
But she was too late.
Winnie slammed into the Red Leg, chest to shoulder.
The blow sent them both to the street with all of Winnie’s weight coming down on top of the officer.
Winnie grabbed her wrist and smashed it down on the ground.
The woman lost her grip on the gun and it skittered across the pavement.
A flurry of additional shots tore through the air: Victor using his twin pistols to drive the other two Red Legs behind one of their vehicles.
Winnie brought her elbow down on the woman’s face.
There was a terrible crunch and a fountain of blood.
The officer looked up at Winnie, her eyes rolled up in her head, broken nose gushing, and lost consciousness.
Sitting up and taking advantage of her cover, Winnie searched the woman for keys. She found them attached to a clip on her belt.
Victor twisted back behind the van as a flurry of shots pinged its armored body.
“We need to get out of here, Winnie! If you’re going to do something, now’s the time. I heard one of them calling for help on the radio. We’ll never make it back to your mom’s apartment now.”
“I’ve got it.”
Winnie stood and invited the magic.
Fatigue threatened to fell her.
But she pushed the exhaustion away and fought to regain control long enough to trace a golden trail of magic in the air.
Danny’s startled face stared out from the other side of Winnie’s window.
I’m finished, Victor. Pull back. Help me get these people through. Time to split.”
Winnie pulled the female chanter from where she lay in the back of the van and pushed her towards Danny.
The woman stumbled forward and then she was through.
The other chanter in the van scrambled to his feet, his hands still cuffed behind him. “I don’t know who you are, lady, but I’m glad to see you.”
“Go through the window.” Winnie pointed.
The man looked confused, but darted through the opening anyway.
Victor fired off a flurry of final shots. Then he leaned over and started to pull the big chanter to his feet. Winnie helped and together they barely managed to get him back to his feet and shuffling towards the window.
Two Red Leg cruisers tore around the corner, accelerating towards them.
With a final frantic effort, they shoved him through then ran in behind him.
Winnie turned and waved her hands over the opening in the air, using a counter spell to snap it shut rather than letting it dissipate slowly.
Then Winnie collapsed.
She looked up and saw Victor glowering down, concern and fury clouding his face. Darkness claimed her before she could smile.
CHAPTER 22
Winnie woke up disoriented, confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. She expected the storeroom she shared with Danny.
But this was the hospital.
Winnie rolled over and looked out the window.
Sunlight poured through it and brought last night to mind.
Danny and the others must be letting her sleep off the casting that had emptied her body.
And man, was she famished.
Winnie got out of bed, pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top, and slipped on her sneakers. She was about to leave in search of a kitchen or better when the door opened and Danny came in holding a tray of food and pot of coffee.
He smiled then he set the tray on a small desk in the corner. “Rested?”
“Yeah, I feel great. Thanks.”
Winnie sat at the desk and grabbed a slice of buttered toast. She shoved half of it into her mouth with a smile. She looked down at the mug and filled it with coffee then added sugar and cream. Three stirs and a sip.
“So, last night was exciting,” Danny said, his tone maybe too accusing.
“Already, Danny?” Winnie sighed, deeper than she should have. “We did what we went there to do. We found the missing chanters. Exactly like I promised.”
“They seem like nice people, Win. And I’m glad they’re safe. But we’re still not agreeing on the level of acceptable risk. Victor’s pissed. I’ve never seen him so mad.”
“He’ll get over it.” Winnie said.
“Victor isn’t going to flinch with your safety, Win. He threatened to tie you up and leave you in your room until you came to your senses. He’ll swear he was kidding. I’m not so sure.”
“Oh, he did, did he?”
Danny pulled up a chair and sat.
Then he started right in. “Who can blame him, Winnie? You put us all at risk last night. You can’t be selfish and call it something else. You did what you wanted. What would have happened if—”
“Nothing happened.”
&n
bsp; “But what if it had?”
Had was a slap.
Winnie thought. She stopped.
She listened.
“Dumb luck got you through that fight, Win. You can’t tell me you had some master plan. We all deserve more than that. Fail that and you fail us. Fail us and Kane wins. Kane wins and the earth is done for.”
Winnie moved her food with the fork.
Danny had delivered the food, but he had also taken her appetite.
He was right. She should apologize.
She dropped her fork. “Danny, I—”
“You need to come outside! Both of you,” Tris shouted, running into the room. “Something wonderful is happening!”
The air was pregnant. And Tris was practically glowing.
Once she had their attention, Tris turned around led them out of the room.
The walked in silence to the hospital’s primary building.
And there she gasped.
Wildflowers had colored the world. Every hue, and all of them in a race across a sprawling lawn, then up the hospital walls.
This couldn’t happen overnight, even if the flowers were in season.
Nothing so impossible had ever been this beautiful.
Winnie whispered, “When did this happen?”
“Overnight. One of my techs brought a vase with fresh flowers into my room while I was working on a project. Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve seen fresh flowers? So I asked where they came from. She said ‘they’re everywhere.’ So I came out here and saw this.”
“What’s it mean?” Danny asked.
Winnie took in the view, inhaling the fragrant air.
Then she looked up and wanted to cry, because the orange was finally gone.
“It’s like the crater,” Winnie said. “The land is healing itself. Nature has found its balance here.”
“It’s because of the magic we’re using,” chimed Victor behind her.
Winnie turned.
Victor was standing with Morgan, the two of them holding hands.
He smiled and continued. “The Fae created a hidden island of natural balance within our world at the crater. Perhaps the magic you and some of the others are using here is powerful enough to produce a similar effect. The place is surrounded by cloaking and a defensive magic that is more powerful than anything the world has seen in a very long time. It would make sense that this place would turn into a second sanctuary.”
“Makes sense.” Tris nodded. “We’ve done things here in collaboration with each other that others haven’t done before, at least not in recent memory.”
The small group stood atop the steps at the hospital’s entrance. They took in the view. Listened to the breeze. Enjoyed the silence.
“I should fetch your mother and the twins,” Morgan said. “She’s inside working with Fiona and Jacob. They should see this. They helped to make it.”
“That would be great,” Winnie said. “I’m sure they could use a break from my mom.”
Morgan left and Victor’s gaze strayed from her to Winnie.
“About last night,” she started to say.
“It’s fine, Winnie.” He raised a hand. “You did what you thought you needed to do. It worked out.”
“But we could have done it differently,” Winnie said. “I’m sorry. We rushed in because of me. And we didn’t have to do that.”
“Well, apology accepted. And no, I wasn’t happy. But now … you might be right. We wouldn’t have ever saved them if we hadn’t acted when we did. And the Red Legs were caught totally off guard.” He laughed. “The never saw a chanter warrior like you coming.”
“Chanter warrior?” Danny rolled his eyes. “You know you’re encouraging her?”
“Magic on instinct is scary to watch,” Victor said. “Winnie is a chanter warrior.”
“I never would have made it home without you. So thanks.” She turned from Victor to the group. “I should greet the new arrivals.”
Tris hooked a thumb over her shoulder. “They’re all still resting. We fed them and they crashed. Only thing you’re going to hear from them right now is snoring.”
“Get me when they’re up. Something comes alive inside me around them. Same thing I feel around Fiona and Jacob. I—”
A shout in the distance.
A gunshot.
Gunshots.
First one and then dozens. The way they spattered the dirt and concrete, and sent billows of pollen flying, hundreds were coming.
An alarm screeched.
Bullets multiplied.
Winnie ducked and everyone scrambled.
Another scream curdled from over by the main gate.
Winnie looked over and swallowed her scream.
Demons. A dozen or so. Gnashing and snarling, scraping their paws on the ground, readying themselves to charge.
They were vaguely humanoid. Their scaly, gray skin had patches of course, dark fur randomly covering them. They wore shreds of cloth wrapped around their midsections. Their faces were a nightmare.
Large gaping mouths held four rows of needle-sharp teeth.
Low moaning howls sounded from their throats as they rumbled forward, now sprinting the distance, leaping the walls and fortifications, ignoring the bullets slapping their bodies as they charged toward them.
An armed recruit emptied an entire clip from his rifle right at one of the charging creatures. But the beast barely slowed as it bowled the man over, tearing the screaming man to ribbons with teeth that weren’t even trying.
A second recruit ran up next to the beast and fired three point-blank pistol rounds right into its head. The thing went down, but not in time to save the dying man beneath it.
Winnie tried to shout a warning as one of the other creatures spun around and bounded towards the central building on the way to end a man who’d just killed one of its pack mates.
The recruit turned his gun on the demon, but didn’t have time to pull the trigger before the creature had his head opened like a melon.
“Get back! Everyone inside! Now!” Victor pulled out his pistols and started firing at the nearest charging creatures.
Well-aimed shots claimed two a leap or so from the steps.
Victor backed up towards the door, still firing at the onrushing monsters, forcing the others to crowd through the doors behind him.
Once everyone was inside, Danny and Tris pushed the double metal doors closed. They lifted a heavy iron bar across them and sealed the entrance closed.
A heavy weight slammed into the doors.
Something snarled from the other side.
More gunfire. Three times louder.
Creatures were probably crawling over the wall across the grounds.
Winnie looked around, trying to catch her breath.
“What are those things?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” Victor slid fresh clips into his pistols. “But they’re damned hard to kill. It took several head shots to drop one.” He looked around. “We need cover. There are other entrances to this building. They’ll find their way inside soon enough.”
“What makes you think they’re coming in when there are people to attack outside?” Tris asked.
“Because they were running right for us, ignoring anything that wasn’t in their way. I think they’re here to attack Winnie. We need to get her to safety immediately. Then we can hunt those things down and kill every last one of them.”
Glass shattered somewhere to the right.
Victor turned then cursed the three charging creatures.
He picked one of them off with his reloaded pistols but the others were too fast. They leapt at Winnie, knocking her down.
A barrier of solidified air appeared between her and the claws and the teeth, but it had happened before she could try.
Danny picked up a metal chair and crashed it down on one of the beasts attacking Winnie.
It rolled off of her, then shook off the blow and turned on him.
Tris shouted. M
ore breaking to their left. Snarling roars.
More were inside.
Gunfire threatened her shield. A bullet hit the edge and it looked like a finger through JELL-O.
Another two others joined the first.
Pure hell shoved its tons against her.
A scream followed a shout across the room.
Winnie turned. The twins and her mother were running, strafing gunfire. The children looked strangely angry.
Amid the gunfire, Winnie heard Fiona yelling, “Dispel them, Victor. It’s the only way!” Then she and her brother rushed into the fray.
Winnie lost sight of them.
Lost sight of everything.
She was being buried alive, still struggling against the demons atop her.
Then the children appeared, their hands glowing.
They touched the beasts.
A golden nimbus of light blinked the earth into the sun, then their forms collapsed into dust.
Winnie rolled over coughing, searching the room for Danny.
She found him on the floor, nursing his scratches, beaten but alive.
The gunfire had died.
She looked up, her smile grim. “We need to go outside and make sure none of these creatures escaped. Kane’s found our hideout.”
CHAPTER 23
The next two hours were spent helping the wounded and burying the dead.
Thirty-one of Winnie’s fighters along the perimeter or on the grounds died during the attack. They counted twenty-four creatures. The attack had been centered on the main gate with scattered groups of two or three waging assaults on other places along the wall.
Some had been killed by gunfire, most had been destroyed by the twins and Victor. Without him constantly dispelling magic, they would have been lost. But now he was empty, barely able to stand.
Winnie stood on the steps with her core command team, watching a group of recruits slinging one of the demons into a freshly dug pit.
“Is that all of them?” Winnie asked Garraldi. He hadn’t left her side since the attack. He had six heavily armed runners standing in close proximity, ready for a second attack or anything else.
“We think so. I was with Maria at the far end of the compound when the first one came over the wall. We were drilling a fast response team so we hit that one immediately.”