Chapter 11
Aurelia
Minnie and I don’t speak as we head outside. We don’t have to. We’ve always understood each other on a deep level. She is the sister of my soul and I of hers.
And now, we are sisters of blood.
The guards, feeling our powers, step back, and when I shift into my phoenix form, blue sparks shoot out of me from the force. Minnie hisses as one of them catches her, but she blots it out with a quick hand and nods at me, rising into the air, her arms out like an angel.
If she is the angel of death then I am her valiant steed.
Mighty illuminated red-feathered wings sweep through the darkness as I feel Minnie’s hands grasp my ankles again.
Surrounding her with a shield, I gather my power.
But this time, Minnie gathers hers too, like powerful wings of her own.
A fierce cry erupts from both our mouths as we rocket across the land.
This time, I come to a supersonic halt just before we come up the hill to the property.
It gives us time to survey the house and grounds.
It gives us time to mark our prey. The guards shout as they see us, likely confused as to why they’re seeing a phoenix grace the sky.
They’re gobsmacked as they see me up close, mouths hanging open as they come to see us.
But this time, when we stride onto Clawson land, we are both visible, both our powers lashing outward in tendrils like the edge of a tornado.
As the tigers raise their guns, Minnie cuts through the air with her hand and they both fall to the ground, unconscious.
We round on the house, and my tigress screams up its length.
All her rage, all her fury out in full force.
The windows shatter. Every last one becomes nothing but glittering dust. There are screams from the inside as the confusion begins, but Minnie doesn’t stop.
I shift into human form, and she holds out her hand to me.
A dark smile touches my lips as I take it. I feel her heartbeat in her hand. It becomes a drum, the beat of which sings out to my own heart. Then I too reach out a hand, and we begin our destruction.
The house gives a low, agonised groan, and more screams sound from inside as it trembles on its foundations. Dust falls from the roof. The earth quivers. We start at the top, shifting the ceramic tiles and making them crumble, followed by the roof beams, snapping under our will.
People run out of the house, and after a surprised shout, they make a beeline for us.
I let Minnie carry on as my shark teeth come out and I feel their electrical impulses.
I squeeze their hearts rapidly, and they fall to the ground, clutching their chests until they pass out.
Sometimes telekinesis hits my shield and I smirk up at a high window, knocking that tiger out too.
Minnie’s grip is tight around my hand as she makes the second level shake.
White dust falls onto the bodies lying in the front yard.
I let my power roll like an ocean wave through the house, catching each and every person left cowering inside and knocking them unconscious.
I bring them outside, roughly dumping them on the lawn with the rest. The only people I can’t reach are those in the cells underground, but they’ll be safe for the moment.
There is only one person who fights me, and I allow it.
Titus stalks out of the house, brushing crumbling drywall off one massive shoulder. His steel jaw and teeth shine under the flickering lights of the house. “Piggy.” His voice is jeering. “Stop this.”
“Use my name,” Minnie hisses, her hand sweeping downwards, the palm now facing directly towards him. Titus takes a threatening step forward, but Minnie’s power halts him. The hulking tiger raises his own hand, but then his eyes widen, the whites showing all the way around.
Frozen in place by Minnie’s violent power, Titus seems to vibrate. His body goes stiff, and his eyes widen in horror as each second passes. Those mechanical jowls part in shock as the night seems to press on him.
“Use. My. Name.” Minnie grits out as her ex-mate’s nose begins to bleed, then the corners of his eyes, but he refuses to relent.
Minnie lets go with an angry scream. Titus stumbles back and falls flat on his ass, staring at his once-regina in a sort of confused disbelief.
Scrambling backwards, he finds his feet and runs for his life.
“That’s right!” she cries. “Run, you soulless bastard!”
We turn our gazes back to the crumbling mansion.
There are shouts behind us now, from the other big houses down the hill, and in the distance, a car screeches into the street.
An alarm is going off somewhere, but under our combined powers, the electricity of the house winks out and all suddenly becomes dark.
More screaming tires tell us that multiple cars have come to a stop behind us.
A dull roar sounds in my head just before a colossal telekinetic wall slams into my protective shields.
I dig my bare feet into the Clawson turf and grit my teeth as Tiberius Clawson comes flying over his front gates wearing an expression of utter fury.
He must’ve gone somewhere after our meeting, a few of his guard beasts in tow.
And now they’ve returned, raging at the sight of their crumbling property.
Minnie sweeps her arms up and out before slamming them forwards in a telekinetic blast. Tiberius is thrown back in midair, but recovers, righting himself.
Three tigers are throwing open the gates, and I focus on them as Minnie shouts something at Tiberius.
These tigers are some of his best, no doubt, and one of them takes advantage of my quick glance at my friend, and I’m caught by a force that sends me flying backwards.
I catch myself just in time, baring my shark’s teeth.
They flinch at the sight of me. They flinch again as I hold their hearts under my power and squeeze until they burst. All three collapse at the same time, and Tiberius gapes at his beasts.
That’s when Minnie strikes. She drives a spear of her power right at his big old head, and it catches him, forcing his skull to snap backward.
But Tiberius is a nasty, strong beast, and he recovers quickly, roaring as he punches the air with power that makes Minnie skid backward.
She’s pouring sweat, breathing heavily now.
I realise she’s not going to be able to do this alone.
Something flickers at the edge of Tiberius.
I blink hard as the image of a male, slightly taller than Tiberius, steps out from behind him.
He’s transparent, barely there, but I would recognise him even though I’ve only met him once, a very long time ago.
He’s impossibly tall, broad-shouldered, and has the same dark-haired features shared by all the Clawsons.
The ghost of Cassius Clawson smiles at me.
I know sharks have the power to see ghosts and spirits, and I’d wondered if I would ever get to see one. Something in me is bonded anew as my mother’s second mate casts his gaze around the property, a light shining in his eyes before he nods at his brother.
“He was always weak around his feet.”
I blink at the deep voice, both near and distant at the same time, but Cassius doesn’t take his eyes off his brother’s sweating form.
Without hesitation, I concentrate my power into a precise form, thin and straight.
Throwing my hand diagonally across my body, I slice it through the air in a cut that ends by my side. Tiberius screams as he topples over.
Minnie roars, and I whip my head to see her tearing into tigress form and bounding over to the fallen beast. She’s on him in seconds, tearing into his throat with violent canines. Blood spills as Minnie shakes Tiberius by the neck.
“I’m proud of you, child,” Cassius says, looking up from them. His dark eyes are sad and shiny. “In another life, I would have heard you call me dad.”
I blink my tears away, hardly believing it. That here and now, I meet my mother’s second mate. “I’m sorry,” is all I can choke out.
He gives me a handsome, wry smile, and suddenly, I can’t believe my mother chose my father over this magnificent creature. “Don’t be,” he says. “I’m going to my regina now.” A second later, he’s nothing but a whisper on the night’s breeze.
There’s a strangled sound from the driveway, and I turn.
Marduk and Yeti are staring at their regina with shocked awe.
Marduk’s face is glowing, and Yeti is rapidly blinking.
Beak is next to them, a deep frown between his brows as he surveys the carnage.
I see what he’s looking at. It sort of looks bad, I suppose. “You came back?” is all I say.
Minnie snarls over Tiberius, looking at the newcomers with big, adrenaline-soaked eyes.
Upon seeing her mates, she shifts back. “Oh, hi.” Minnie pants heavily, picking out a piece of flesh from her mouth and pushing her pink locks back like she’s just had an intense workout and not at all like she just brought down an entire mansion and is now covered in blood.
To be fair, what does one say after you’ve laid waste to your enemies?
“We felt it,” Marduk says faintly.
“Your rage,” Yeti finishes
Beak steps towards me, and I pull him aside to give the Devi pack some space. “Are you alright?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say casually. But really, my head feels like it’s under a pillow, and I feel numb.
“We need to get out of here,” Beak says urgently. “The human police will cause some problems. Can you—”
“We’ll dragon it, yes,” I say quickly.
We’re in the sky two minutes later, once Marduk stops kissing Minnie’s cheeks and realises blue and red lights are travelling down the street.
I’m wary of any pursuers as I fly. That feral part of me I always keep at bay opened right up with the fighting, and my blood is still hot from it.
The council sends hunters after events like this, but with Tiberius being an underworld crime lord, they might leave it for the other crime lords to deal with.
The falcons could come after us. Or they could pursue us on foot.
Neither happens, however, and the skies are quiet and cool by the time I land on the hard stone of the animus dorm.
As I shift back into human form, my eyes are burning and my leg aches with old pain. But as I survey the dark skies, the dark grounds of my home, there are a number of things on my mind.
Minnie is in Yeti’s arms, covered with a thick jacket, her eyes tightly closed as if she doesn’t want to look at anything.
I don’t think I want to tell her I’m proud of her.
They’re not the right words. Words aren’t even enough now.
She requires a medal of some kind, and I’ll have to think about that at a later date.
But it’s Sabrina who bursts out of the door, Blair and Blade behind her, who makes me stumble for the first time tonight.
She lays eyes on Minnie and me, her hood thrown back, eyes wild and glistening.
Her face crumples like tired paper, and she rushes at us with a sob.
“You said—” My friend’s voice crunches like old leaves as she draws us together.
“You said—” Fingers dig into my arms, desperate for me to understand. “You said you’d do it, and you did.”
“Kill them all,” Minnie says thickly. This is the first emotion any of us have seen from Sabrina for months.
“And we did.” I brush wet hair off her face. “Minnie and I took care of it.”
“Thank you,” Sabrina sobs. “Thank you.”
It takes a while to calm our leopard friend down. In the end, Blair has to carry her back to the pack dorms. Minnie and I watch her in quiet, satisfied solidarity.
“There will be consequences,” Marduk warns. To his credit, he doesn’t accuse us of anything. Doesn’t berate us as silly girls doing something reckless or insane. I think it’s because he’s just as nuts, but I appreciate it all the same.
“That’s why I’m putting us in lockdown early,” I say.
“Beak, notify the guards. Same protocol as the heat lockdown. Take any tiger guards off the roster for a week. Wolves will be best, and I want the birds patrolling the northern highway. We’ll probably be safe tonight, but tomorrow, I’ll take the night watch myself.
” Beak nods, a slight smile on his lips as he leaves.
I turn to Marduk and Yeti. “Did I miss anything?” I’m trying to take my new job as guardian seriously.
I’m not even entirely sure what Celeste meant by it.
“Is your psychic shield around the school still active?” Yeti asks.
“Always is.” My father is always a threat, and for all we know, Titus will go straight to him.
“Then there’s nothing more we can do.”
A sudden weariness creeps up my legs, and I feel the need to sit down.
That feeling travels upwards, trying to drag me to the depths of hell.
I expended a lot of power tonight. Minnie is in much the same position and will likely sleep for ages now, but at least she has her mates to help her feed and replenish her power.
I bid everyone a quick goodnight, and we depart.
Minnie is hurried to the pack dorms, and Beak strides off to instruct our guards.
I wander into the silence of my pack’s suite, my ears still ringing, my skin still tingling from the flight.
My excess of power had been a problem before I’d left for Drakos House, and I’d needed my mates to take my spillover.
At Drakos Estate, it hadn’t been a problem because I was recovering from Xander’s mate severing.
Then re-growing my leg had taken all of me.
It still takes a lot out of me to deal with the newness of it, and of course, the ongoing pain.
For the first time in a long time, I feel depleted.
I rummage for microwave meals in the freezer and find one, setting it up to heat while I sit at the dining table. Alone. “I wish you were here,” I whisper into the night.