by C. M. Owens
Grabbing the knife off a dead soldier, I run forward and toss it. It nails him between the eyes and he drops to the ground just as I tackle her from the side to keep another one from stabbing her.
They’ve found her weakness.
Her black eyes meet mine, and Dice’s fucking “hashtag, freaky eyes” pops into my head at the worst possible moment. At first she snaps at me, trying to fucking bite me, but then recognition sparks, and I roll us behind a bunch of crates as more and more knives are thrown at us. It’s then I see the gashes on her arms. That’s how they found her weakness.
“Zee?” she whispers hoarsely as the black in her eyes slowly starts to recede.
Dice is suddenly at my side, firing at the blade slinging battalion.
“How fucking many people do they have in here?!” he barks. “And why can’t we get out?”
“Find Victor,” I tell him, looking away from Leah as he glances down at me.
“Who the fuck is Vic—”
His words end on a squeal when a bullet slams into his arm and knocks him back. He curses while covering his wound, and he glares at me like it’s my fault. I guess it is.
“Ella?”
“Totally power wasted. She lost it when she heard the shots being fired after you busted in here. Told you not to fucking come in. Now your girl is as crazy as Ella.”
I look down, but Leah’s black eyes are almost gone.
“You’re dead,” she whispers, reaching up to touch my cheek.
My lips brush hers, and I wipe away a tear that escapes her eye.
“Not anymore. Long story.” I kiss her, and her moan travels into my mouth as her hands curl around the back of my neck, pulling me closer.
“This feels like Thad and Roslyn all over again. This is so not the time for doe-eyes, make-out sessions, and love confessions,” Dice growls. “That shit only happens in the movies when they need a romantic element to keep the fucking chicks interested. Start killing people!”
Never thought I’d see the day where Dice was thinking more practically than me, but I push away from Leah to gauge the scene around us.
Several rounds of bullets fire, and I watch helplessly as Ella goes down, blood pouring from her wounds.
I start to chase after her, but a knife stabs into my leg, taking me down as pain shoots through me. Dice grabs my shoulder and drags me back, just as Leah jumps to her feet.
I pry the knife from my skin, cursing the pain it leaves in its wake. Wish I was knife-proof too. That’d be fucking awesome right now.
Everything blurs around us—bullets flying, knives launching, and no power against them. “Running low on ammo, and there aren’t any dead bodies close enough to thieve from,” Dice growls. “I’d rather not get shot again. It really fucking hurts.”
Leah slams into me, and my eyes drop to her stomach just as Dice fires three times above our heads. A guy falls off the balcony above us, screaming all the way down, but he already did the worst thing he could do.
Dice grabs the knife from her stomach, and as soon as he pulls it out, I push my palm against the wound.
“Blood,” I tell her, pushing my wrist to her mouth.
“Don’t think now’s a good time to be fucking, and that’s what will happen if she takes your blood,” Dice says. “And people think I’m the fucking crazy one.”
He fires several more rounds until his gun clinks empty.
“Damn it!”
Slade rips Ella away from the firing squad, tossing her across the room. She lands behind a partition wall of some sort, and he turns just as a woman tries to slam a blade into him.
Too late do I realize who the woman is, and Slade grabs the knife from her, turning so fast that he’s nothing but a blur. The knife slams into her heart, and Leah releases a bloodcurdling scream as all the hairs on my body raise.
“Nooooo!” Leah shouts, struggling to get up, but unable to move when I force her to stay down.
Slade’s brow furrows in confusion when Masie smiles and mouths, “Thank you.”
“NO!” a man with one eye roars, dropping close by before rushing outside.
Victor… That was him!
The militant madmen start retreating as Masie’s eyes roll back in her head, and then it dawns on me why.
“Gage! Light them up!” I yell.
Gage doesn’t get a chance to react. All the bullets and knives go still in the air as if they’ve been frozen in place, and my eyes trail over to Slade as Leah pushes my hand away.
She covers the wound herself, and I notice it’s already healing. Less blood is spilling, and the flesh is slowly pulling closed.
The hex… Her aunt said it changed us. Just like my wound healed, so is Leah’s… I wish it worked that way when Slade attacked her.
Deadly silence fills the air, and my eyes snap back over to where Slade’s silver eyes are full of menace and twisted delight. With one flick of his wrist, the bullets and knives fly through the air, slamming into every man or woman who was trying to kill us.
Screams don’t even have time to escape. Bodies drop all over, and the battle is won within a blink. Slade cracks his neck to the side, and he glances toward the doorway where the others escaped. In a blink, he vanishes from sight, while Chaz goes to scoop up Ella.
“Is she—”
“She’ll be fine,” Chaz says, interrupting me as relief fills all of us.
Dice claps his hand on my shoulder, and he points a finger at me. “Don’t ever fucking die again, you stupid son of a bitch.”
My eyebrows go up in confusion, and I swear I see him wipe away a tear. He clears his throat and walks away as Kya disappears from sight.
One person is missing, and it just now occurs to me that I haven’t see her.
“Karma!”
Dice waves me off. “She’s fine. She couldn’t ever break in,” he says with a shrug.
“Dice knocked her out of the perimeter before it closed us in,” Chaz adds.
“You asshole!” Karma barks, walking in as she glares at Dice.
Dice shrugs, smirking in her direction. “Hashtag, sorry not sorry.”
Thad grabs Roslyn by the waist, and she leans on him as they both limp our way. She looks to have taken a couple of shots to her right leg, and Thad’s arm is hanging at his side. The wound on my own leg is still healing, but it’s not painful anymore.
“Fucking mortals,” Thad grumbles.
Kimber walks toward us, seeming unscathed as she holsters her gun. “Drackus just called. He and Kane have freed the children, and they’re coming to kick our asses for not waiting.”
“How’d they find the kids?” Chaz asks, still holding Ella in his arms.
“Calypso found a spell to find mortal souls that belong in the immortal world. She’d actually been working on using it for a while, but tonight it worked. It led them right to the children. The second this seal broke, so did that one.”
My body sways off balance when something hard collides with my shoulder, and I curse while glaring up at Gage. “You’re a fucking asshole.”
“Duly noted,” I mumble, moving back to check on— “Motherfucker!”
Dice walks over, staring at the same empty spot I’m looking at as panic rises in my chest.
“You’re going to have to get that damn girl a leash.”
Then a daunting thought crosses my mind as a sickness unfolds in my stomach. My eyes dart over to Chaz then Gage, and we all three curse as Chaz hands Ella over to Dice.
“What?” the incubus snaps.
“Slade!” we all three yell at once.
I’m going to kill that silver-eyed son of a bitch if he takes her away just when I got her back.
“Don’t you dare fucking lose it,” Gage growls as we reach the edge of the woods. “I really don’t fucking feel like dealing with anymore tonight.”
Since I can’t make any promises, I don’t say a word.
Chapter 34
LEAH
I grew up as the freak who had t
o look over my shoulder anytime there wasn’t a teacher or parent around. I grew up feeling lost and scared. I grew up a pacifist and peacemaker despite the bully world I lived in.
I grew up weak.
Now I’m the hunter, and he’s the prey.
My breaths are as silent as my footsteps when I blur stealthily through the woods, still clutching my slowly healing gut. His heartbeat is hammering in his chest, and his breaths are harsh and labored.
Mortal.
Human.
Weak.
Putting myself right in his line of retreat, I watch as he runs as fast as he can, looking over his shoulder the entire time. His words about never running cross my mind, and I smirk at the irony life has served.
Just as his head turns back to face forward, he stumbles to a halt, barely stopping himself from falling when he sees me.
“Hello, Victor,” I say coldly, stepping out from the shadows and into the streak of moonlight that is beaming through the trees.
His eyes narrow, and a mask of anger takes over his surprise and fear. “You,” he seethes, acting as though he has a right to be pissed.
Taking another step closer, I let my eyes burn their new shade of blue, staring through his false bravado. Once upon a time, he actually scared me.
Now I see him for the coward he is.
“You let them turn you,” he growls.
“I did. Turns out the monsters aren’t as vile as some people I know.”
My eyebrow cocks up, and I pretend like my stomach isn’t still bleeding and aching.
“You must have missed the part where a fucking monster just killed your aunt.”
My jaw grinds. I walked away from her when I was lost to the darkness. The last thing my aunt did was sacrifice herself to save me, and because of this son of a bitch, I was too lost to even tell her goodbye.
I swallow the knot in my throat, fighting against the new surge of emotion, and I force a calm, steady tone.
“Slade shoved the knife in her heart, but you put that knife in his hands and left her with no choice but to find a way to die. He reacted out of instinct, and she forced the sacrifice in order to save the lives of innocent children and people tonight.”
“People?” he hisses, spitting like the thought disgusts him. “They’re not people. You’re not a fucking person anymore, Leah. Animals. Monsters. Blasphemous demons. That’s what you all are.”
He clutches a knife in his hand, probably waiting on the perfect moment to strike. Making sure to keep a firm grip on my wound, I slowly pull out my own knife.
“You don’t want to do this, Leah. Walk away, and I won’t kill you tonight.”
“Aunt Masie died because of you, Victor. I didn’t even get to tell her goodbye because of you. I’m not walking away.”
A dark, sinister smile curls his lips, and he narrows his eyes in challenge. “You never learn your lesson, do you? Little Leah. Always the victim. Always the runner.”
“I’m not running, Victor, but you’re doing an excellent job of stalling.”
He lunges, and I step to the side, narrowly dodging the blade. He turns and faces me, but I’m just toying with him. I thought I was terrible at fighting after nearly dying at Slade’s hand.
Turns out, I’m actually badass, but Slade is just a lot better.
I really should have busted into Victor’s place and piled up the body count. But wasting time on regret won’t change the past.
We fight. We survive. We move forward.
Kya’s words sink to my bones as I study the man in front of me—a weak man with a simple mind. He only sees a puzzle piece and never the full picture. It’s how he’s always been.
When he comes at me again, my knee slams into his ribs, and something cracks on impact, just as I spin and throw my elbow into his already broken nose. He staggers backwards, cursing and grabbing his nose as I level the playing field. Now his middle is as vulnerable as mine.
We fight. We survive. We move forward.
“Bitch,” he mutters before spitting out a mouthful of blood. The smell taunts me with a sickly sweet aroma.
It’s the first time blood has tempted me since Zee, but I’ve used so much energy tonight that I’m hungry, craving it…
Victor catches me distracted, and his fist almost connects with my face. But I catch it in my hand, crush it, and kick him in the same spot where I know I broke his ribs. A garbled cry escapes him, and he falls to the ground on his knees as I continue crushing his hand in mine.
He swings the blade up in his other hand, but I catch his wrist, snapping it the same way Slade once did mine. He cries out in pain, and I bring my knee up, slamming it into his face before finally letting go of both of his hands.
He thuds to his back, and I walk over, squatting beside him before teasing his throat with my knife. He sucks in a sharp breath, and I feel the dark smile playing on my lips.
“You really are a monster,” he says, wincing when the blade bites into the flesh of his neck just enough to make a slither of blood appear.
“You really are a victim,” I counter, and his eyes widen just as I slice through his neck, looking away before I have to see the damage.
I’m not cold, but I’m no longer the weak girl who has to look over her shoulder. I never want to fear him again.
Looking down, I see my stomach has completely healed, and I draw in a breath of surprise.
Something crashes behind me, and I turn just in time to see one of Victor’s men fall to the ground. His eyes are lifeless, proving he’s already dead. My eyes dart up as Slade appears, silver eyes zeroing in on me.
“Did you kill him so you could have me to yourself?” I growl, ready for a rematch if he wants to force it.
“You blamed One-Eye for your aunt’s demise. I assume that’s the woman I killed in there, given your reaction when she fell.”
Not what I was expecting him to say. Apparently he’s been lurking and listening in.
My eyes narrow, and he glances down to Victor’s lifeless body.
“Victor caged her. He turned her into a prisoner. He stole her will to live, her properties, and used her. Yes, I blame him. He made her choose me or her own life tonight. He underestimated her.”
He studies me for a moment, and he takes a step back. “You’re being honest.”
He acts surprised by that, and my brow furrows. “What do you want?”
“My parents’ souls can rest. Your aunt was an Aquarius. I’ll leave this alone if you will. Obviously you want to kill your own kind more than you want to kill ours, judging by tonight.”
“I thought they killed Zee.”
“I saw that. So you’ll leave this alone? Or do you want revenge?”
Rolling my eyes, I grab the knife from the ground and wipe Victor’s blood off on my pants before putting it back in my boot.
“Victor is the only one I wanted dead, and it wasn’t for revenge. It was because I didn’t want him on my back. Without him, and this—” I grab the amulet from around Victor’s neck and crush it in my hand. “—I won’t have to worry about the anointed. Neither will the others.”
We stare at each other until it just feels awkward, and I break the silence again. “Are you going to leave this alone, or do you still want me dead?”
I swear he doesn’t know how to do anything but glare.
“As I said, my parents’ souls can rest. I’ve done my part. I just don’t see you letting this go, considering the person who died at my hand.”
“As I said, Victor is the reason she’s dead. It’s only a betrayal if you trusted the person. Logic is my only reasoning, Slade. I’m not like you. I’m not like him. I’m just me. Zee isn’t logical, and he will fucking kill you for what you did to me, but I’d rather not look over my shoulder for you any more than I wanted to look over my shoulder for him.”
Again, he just stares at me, like he’s working things over.
“I can’t sense a lie right now…”
He can sense lies?
His eyes narrow again, but he takes a step back. “You’re not what I expected.”
Feeling emotionally drained and exhausted, I snort derisively. “Welcome to our fucked up world,” I say, throwing his words back at him.
He vanishes from sight just as I hear Zee’s voice boom through the woods. Oh shit. He sounds pissed.
“Here! I’m over—”
My words end on a squeal when he suddenly appears, and he grabs me at the waist, lifting me up and throwing me over his shoulder.
“What the hell?” I ask, trying to lift up but not being able to.
“Until one of the others finds a spell to latch you to my fucking hip, I’m tying you to my bed. I’ll be damned if I ever lose you again.”
Chapter 35
ZEE
Silently, I appear at the old oak behind the barn as Leah sits beside her aunt’s grave. We’ve been here for two weeks, but today we have to go back. Every day she sits in silence and just stares at the tombstone or off into space. Today is the first day she’s actually speaking to her.
“I wanted to be mad at you for never telling me who or what I was, but I can’t. Your reasoning was sound, considering how my mother took her fate. I think deep down you were hoping I’d never turn. If you hadn’t insisted on sheltering me from the truth, Victor might have tried taking me under his wing. I think we both realize how big of a twist that would have put in my life, and it wouldn’t have ended well. I really would have become a monster.”
My heart clenches in my chest as she blows out a breath, and she strokes a flower’s petals before laying it on the grave next to the others she has placed there recently.
“I’m going back. Turns out I’m a fighter after all. But I fight with heart instead of cold indifference. That’s because of you. Your compassion and patience saved my life from a world of coldness. Everything I’ve become is because of you, and I love myself, Aunt Masie. I really do. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a place where I belong.”
My breath freezes in my lungs, and I watch as she kisses the headstone, sitting back down as her eyes gloss over with unshed tears. Turning her was something I never wanted to do, but now… Somehow it seems like it was the only thing to do.