Chapter 22
Ezra ran. He started out walking, thinking there was no way Jiprix could follow him. Since he wanted him alive, he wouldn't turn him inside out, but when fireworks lit the sky some distance away, he ran. Curses. Different-colored blazes.
He could sense Rourke there, and it petrified him. They were trying to kill him.
He ran. Ran as fast as he could, ran until he tasted blood at the back of his throat.
He might be a useless witch without any battle skills, but he would not let them kill Rourke.
He would not let them kill Ulric or Geri or Farkas or Connor or Due or the dark-haired woman with the blue eyes either.
He might not know anyone else, but he didn't want them dead.
They were his pack mates now.
He ran and stumbled over a fallen branch. Fuck. His knees hit the ground, but he pushed himself up again, still clutching the car key, and continued forward. When he looked around, the shadows moved. Two wolves appeared in front of him. Huge. Monsters.
Then, as if they were able to speak to each other they took up place next to him, one on each side, facing the direction of the fight. Had they come to get him?
"I'm sorry."
One of them bumped his hip with its forehead, and Ezra ran his hand over the fur. Warm and soft. "Is Rourke okay?"
A nod.
"I stole the key from Jiprix and left him in the car." He gestured to where he'd come from. "I'm so stupid."
Another head bump urged him forward. Ezra took a deep breath. "Okay, let's go." He didn't have a clue what he was to do. He couldn't fight anyone, but maybe once Rourke saw him, he'd make the pack retreat. This was his fault, and it was his only way to save lives--get them to stop fighting.
He took up a light jog, the wolves trotted at his pace and never left his side.
A couple of minutes later, the sounds of the battle reached him. There were snarls and growls, shrieks and laughs. Who could laugh at a time like this?
He almost tripped over a body on the ground.
The wolf to his left rolled it over, and Ezra sucked in a breath.
Ezama's lifeless eyes reflected the purple of Shuzur's lightning.
Her throat was torn out, and Ezra curled his fingers tighter around the car key.
She had never spoken a kind word to him, but it still shook him to see her dead.
The wolf to his right gently bumped its nose against his hand.
"Sorry. She was..." He couldn't find a kind word. "Ezama. Her name was Ezama." Blowing out a breath, he walked past her and hurried forward.
Only a few seconds later, the mayhem came into view.
At first, Ezra couldn't make sense of what he was seeing.
A sea of bodies. The wolves moved fast, winding between people and flying curses, while the witches were more stationary.
Some had shields, and many of those who didn't, hid behind those who did.
Shixyll stood in the middle, a grin playing on her lips as she flung her hands forward. He could almost hear the jingle of her bracelets, which was an illusion. There was no way some soft jingling could be heard over the screams, snarls, and growls.
A pained whine sounded nearby, and Ezra turned toward it. One of the men who'd been in the dining hall when he'd made the soup for Jiprix contorted, and his legs were slowly transforming into a tree trunk. No!
Ezra scanned the people closest. Izibine had her arms outstretched behind a shimmering shield, her fingers curled like claws and her eyes were like deep dark pits.
Without thinking, Ezra rushed forward. He crashed through the shield. The magic brushed against him, but it didn't hurt him. It could have. He had no idea what kind of shield it was, but he couldn't let her set one of the wolves on fire.
They tumbled to the ground, and his companion wolves were by his side a moment later. One of them buried their teeth in Izibine's throat, and Ezra looked away. He couldn't shield himself from the gurgling sound though.
Pushing up on his feet, he hurried over to the man. The curse was receding, and the man looked into Ezra's eyes with disbelief and fear. "Thank you."
Ezra shook his head. He didn't know how to reply.
His wolves, he wished he could tell who they were, brushed against his sides, standing closer now than they had when they'd been running toward the fight. Shields. He wanted to hug them, but this wasn't the time.
Light shined and half a second later, the wolf to his right pushed him. Hard. He would've fallen if it hadn't been for the wolf to his left, but before he could voice his thanks, the ground where he'd been standing exploded.
Ezra blew out a shaky breath. Fuck.
* * * *
Rourke saw Ezra on the other side of the battlefield. Geri and Farkas were by his side. He wanted to rejoice in Farkas taking out the bitch who turned people into trees. He'd wanted her dead for a long time, but there was no time to stand around and gloat.
Lightning bolts and fiery balls flew through the air, and he tackled Tala out of the way from one.
"Thanks, boss." She was out of breath, having taken down one of the witches he couldn't remember ever seeing before. He most likely had, but it was no one who'd made an impression.
"Did you see Ezra walk through the shield?" She was still panting, scanning the surroundings instead of looking at him.
"Yes." He'd taken a couple of steps in his direction despite knowing there was no way he could reach him in time, but Ezra had walked right through it.
"So it only works on us."
He nodded. "If they're all the same."
"Right." She dove out of the way, and a ball of blue flames landed near where she'd been standing and melted into the ground.
A pained shriek rose to the stars. Rourke made his way toward it, Tala by his side, and Due neared fast from the opposite direction.
Theron was on the ground, growling and whining, teeth snapping and claws striking at something invisible.
Another shriek left his throat as his skin split open.
Like Jiprix. For a moment, Rourke couldn't breathe, then he let out a snarl loud enough to shake the sky.
As the scent of blood filled his nostrils, he whirled around and tried to locate Shixyll.
He would fucking kill her.
"Ezra!" Ulric's call had Rourke turning toward him. He followed his gaze and found Ezra running in front of several witches. His heart stopped. One fireball, one lightning bolt, and Ezra would be no more. He would be no more. He couldn't live without his mate.
"Kill him!" Shixyll's voice rose over the chaos, and Rourke watched in horror as she let go of her hold on Theron and flung her powers in Ezra's direction.
Geri threw himself in front of Ezra and took the curse. His snarl of pain raised the hairs on Rourke's arms, but Shixyll let go of the connection and tried to hit Ezra anew.
Rourke ran. His legs were eating up the distance in a way they never had before. He had to get to Ezra, had to save Ezra.
Geri remained on the ground, but Farkas reached through a shield and ripped out the larynx of the witch closest to them. The fur on his front leg caught fire, but he threw himself on the ground to suffocate the flames.
Ezra stopped to help him, and Rourke roared. He couldn't stop. Unmoving targets were easy targets.
Farkas pushed him aside and flew to his paws, placing himself in front of Ezra despite his smoldering leg. Rourke could've cried from gratitude.
Shixyll threw another curse, and the purple lightning struck again, but Farkas dodged both. Ezra patted his leg, unaware of the danger he was in.
Despite running as fast as he could, Rourke wasn't moving fast enough. He had to get there.
"Kill Ezra!" Shixyll's call was loud enough for everyone to hear. "If you kill Ezra, Flint will fall! Ezra is the key! Kill him!"
A few witches were looking at each other in confusion. Ezra's head whipped around and his gaze landed on Rourke. Horror was written all over his face. Rourke didn't know why, but the next second Ezra was moving again.
Farkas was by his side, and Geri struggled to get to his feet.
There was a weird standstill in the fight. Ezra, Farkas, and Geri were moving toward Shixyll who was throwing curses aimed at Ezra. The pack was moving in the formation of an arrow toward Ezra with Rourke at the front, and Ulric, Tala, and Due right behind him.
The witches' flummoxed standstill only lasted a few seconds, then they began to draw power. As if trapped in a nightmare, Rourke watched as every single one of them shaped forms in their hands, their claw-like fingers forming balls of different-colored lights. They were getting ready to throw them.
He wanted to close his eyes. His heart stopped beating; the air turned to lead in his lungs.
They would kill Ezra.
Right as the first witch let go of their fireball, Ezra dove in behind one of the witches with a shield and disrupted it. The ball hit, and the witch screamed, but it soon turned into a gurgle as blood poured out of their eyes, nose, and mouth.
Ezra tackled the next witch, and Farkas finished them off. Lightning hit the pack, and judging by the whine, someone was hit. Rourke didn't stop to see who or how bad. He had to get to Ezra.
The next moment, the sky turned into a rainbow of explosions. Several witches threw their curses at the pack, but Rourke kept running.
He was closer now, and he had to choose. Should he run toward Ezra or Shixyll?
The next second, he was on the ground.
Ulric ran past him, but Tala stopped by his side. "Rourke?" Fear was evident in her voice.
He shook his head. He didn't think he was hit by a curse. The fireball had knocked him over, but he wasn't in pain. Strange, but there was no time to wonder about it. He flew to his feet, and Tala nodded.
It took him a second to locate Ezra. He was closer to Shixyll than he'd anticipated. He'd stopped attacking the witches he passed, going straight for her. Fuck. He didn't stand a chance against her.
Rourke would never reach them in time.
* * * *