Thunderstruck
Felix
In our rush to find the hooded figures and Chess, Fitz and I tear up the ground when we burst out of the forest. Huge paws slap the grass and tight muscles bulge as we leap through the air into the Shifter Training Circle. An unfamiliar scent greets me and I catch my twin’s eyes as we prowl around the stone arena. He peels off, checking the perimeter while I stay out in the open.
There’s something here, and it’s angry.
Sitting in the middle of the battleground my family built, I let out a bone jarring roar as only a Raj can. Hopefully, it draws our enemy out of the shadows for a fair fight. If not, I’m going to hunt it down and rip the eyeballs out of its sockets.
No one threatens our girl on my watch.
The night is still, and I huff in frustration. Shifters and magic users split over the bullshit tactics of their kind—shit like attacking then hiding from the fight. As much as I don’t want to admit the gargoyle is right, everything about the air in the circle feels wrong .
My brother’s head pops around the corner of a bleacher section, shaking to let me know he, too, came up empty-handed. Tigers can’t frown, but I would if I could. Joining him, I take a deep sniff of the weirdly sweet yet musky scent, then pad across the circle. I know my twin has my flank without words; it’s part of our bond as Raj and enforcer. When I reach the outer edge again, I try to catch the smell, but it isn’t there.
I may have to explore other senses—not that I know if I have them.
Walking out of the battle arena, I track the feeling of dread in the pit of my stomach. When it lessens, I change course, correcting until it gets worse. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing exactly, but since I occasionally get a whiff of the prey I’m seeking, it must be working. We pass the Shird, stalking away from the lake and Tower towards the middle of campus. This is where we had the snowball fight and I realized Delores was meant to be in charge.
Of what, I don’t know, but between her command of the team and using alpha power on Chess…
It’s not hard to put together that she’s not normal prey; the question tonight poses is what the hell is she then? Her longer bunny fangs, the claws, her half-shift—all of it pointed to something I’ve never even heard of. That was before she turned into a ball of blue bunny lightning in the moonlight.
Wait. There it is.
The aroma hits me again, and it’s strong, so I take off across the wide expanse towards the Honeywell Admin building. When I round the side to face the freshwater lake, I’m too dumb founded to stay in my full animal form. Fitz skids to a stop, shifting to stand next to me as we look at the scene in shock.
An island has risen in the center of the water and on it is a group of hooded figures chanting. The blue light from before surrounds them as the sound gets louder and when one moves, it reveals Chess lying on the ground in their circle. Fitz lets out a snarl, but I put my hand over his mouth.
We can’t give away our position or they’ll come for us, too .
“We’ll get him, brother. But right now, we have a tactical advantage.” His eyes are murderous as he glares at me, and I know he’s going to break free. “ Stay .”
My twin gives me a look of betrayal when I use the alpha voice to keep him in place, but I can’t have him running off half-cocked and bringing this shit on our heads. We don’t know who or what these people are; if we push a fight, we will absolutely lose.
“ Pariatur, tenetur libero possimus. ”? 1 The cloaked leader shouts as they raise a hand in the air. They’re holding a crystal that looks familiar, but I can’t place it. Acolytes echo the sentiment and the person continues. “ Lumine Sanguinis Luna, deos invocamus olim. Regnum terribile incohatum est cum regina a rege in exilium erit finis. ? 2 ”
Fitz wrenches my hand off of his mouth and leans in, hissing, “Do you understand a fucking word of this shit? It’s like the TV show Chess likes with the brothers who hunt demons.”
I shake my head, knowing he’s right. “I don’t speak Latin. This will be a job for the winged warriors.”
“How?! It’s not like we’re going to remember and we don’t have a secret phone pocket in our tiger skins, fuckhead.”
My eyes narrow and I give him a look that backs him down for a moment. “The damn cameras, dummy. Ren put up more cameras on the building edges after the fucking Tower incident. I think they have sound.”
“I fucking hope so or we’re screwed because someone cheaped out.” His chest rumbles with a growl, then he looks at me pleadingly. “We can’t let them hurt him, Felix. It will kill me.”
Grimacing, I turn back to the light show, trying to see what they might be doing with our adopted brother. He’s not moving, but Fitz would feel if he was dead. So he’s alive and knocked out—hopefully. “We won’t let them kill him, brother. But we do need back-up. Where the hell are the others? ”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to kick their—” He stops talking when the chanting gets louder and Chess’ body lifts into the air.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. Don’t do this, you spell casting knob heads. I’ll never get my brother back if his consort dies.
“ Dimitte vinctum, O Magna Horned Deus, Et Dea Mater. Hoc vase utere ut erumpere primo obice sic vivimus! ? 3 ”
With a cry of victory, the leader flings their hands out and a wave of power like I’ve never felt in my life hits the campus. Fitz and I are knocked to the ground when explosions trigger all over in a cascade of decimation. Reaching over, I grab my twin’s arm as we desperately suck in air. The smell of smoke and fire is followed by loud alarms and screaming from every direction.
Where are Delores and the ancients? What happened to Chess?
“Not…not… dead,” Fitz gasps as he squeezes my arm in return. “Have to… find him.”
I blink, trying to move my limbs carefully. Fuck knows if we have concussions or internal injuries—we were too close to that blast. And Chess… Gritting my teeth, I gather all of my strength, knowing it’s my time to be the real king. I force my tiger to emerge and stand on shaky legs until the world settles. There are people running in every direction; it’s pure chaos.
I don’t care. I’ll get my brother’s love or die trying.
With a roar of anger, I leap into the water and swim towards the fucked up island like my life depends on it. The hooded fuckers are gone, but our boy is lying there, still as a statue. It takes every ounce of energy I have to get to him, but I finally hit the shore. I’m exhausted, but I can’t stop; I have to save him for Fitz and our family.
I suck in a deep breath, my lungs burning with effort, and let out my command in a roar that makes my throat raw. When my head drops, I watch as Chess’ body flickers for a moment, then the forced shift takes over. His cheetah emerges, curling into a mewling ball. I don’t know the extent of his injuries, but I let my legs give out and drape over him to protect his form while he tries to heal.
We lie there as the world around us goes to hell in a handbasket, my eyes half-closed as my heroics take their toll. The acrid smoke of fires burning hot on the land doesn’t help me breathe easier, but I stay in place, guarding the sleeping cat with my life.
I’m about to give in to sleep myself when a much bigger, much angrier sound echoes off the land and makes the water around us tremble.
When I look up, there’s our brave as fuck bunny and my brother riding a goddamned dragon who looks ready to level the entire place in one go. Renard is flying behind them, his electric blue gargoyle eyes alight with fury. They land with an earth shattering thud that bounces both Chess and me, and I finally close my eyes in relief.
“Good thing… you got… to ride… the dragon… before we died,” I sputter at Fitz.
Then my eyes roll back in my head and everything goes black.