Chapter 30
Pain exploded in my upper back and wrapped around the front of my shoulder as I stumbled forward. The static of the magical barrier chafed against my skin.
I got my feet underneath me, but then a gigantic wolfy body crashed into me, forcing me to my back. My body jarred, and vomit surged upward as the pain became worse than anything I’d ever experienced before.
Then I heard gunshots.
Get down and hide behind the trees. The coven members are using weapons, Raffe linked and pressed his entire weight on me. He then connected to only me, Babe, I’m sorry, but you’ve been shot. His body jerked, and sharp agony tore through him.
No. This wasn’t how we were going to die, unable to get through a barrier. Chaos rang around me. If I didn’t do something, we were all going to die.
Every single one of us.
I yanked on my power, no longer worried about moderating it. It was now or never.
My body sang and allowed the power to pulse from me. I used the trick Priestess Caroline had shown me, closing my eyes and envisioning my power attacking everyone to my north and none of us here. I felt the entanglement of my magic with the barrier, the way my power pressed against the static, swallowing it whole, and how it seeped into the ground.
“The barrier’s down!” Priestess Caroline yelled. “Use your magic against them. If they win, nothing will ever be the same, and the arcane-born will die. Pass the message along to all. We need to act now.”
I gritted my teeth, shoving Raffe off me. We were in the open. Get behind a damn fir, I commanded as I crawled the two feet to the nearest tree. Each time I moved, my shoulder felt like it was ripping in two, but I pushed past the pain. At least I was still breathing, and my power was working. At the bare minimum, I needed to stay alive long enough to save my parents and protect the people who’d decided to stand with me.
The vampires I’d injured yelled, “Let us get out of the way before you continue shooting!”
But the gunfire didn’t halt.
The ground quaked, and I propped myself against a trunk and glanced up to see the branches swaying. I groaned, the pain pulsing almost in sync with my power. I kept a strong grasp on my power, making sure it didn’t stop.
The gunfire continued.
Two of the vampires that had attacked me lay dead on the ground from gunfire, while the two others had taken shelter like the rest of us.
Raffe limped over to me, blood trickling from his side. Some bastard had shot him. I’d figure out who it was and make them pay.
He lay at my feet, positioning himself so that the sizable trunk protected him as well. He linked, Did the bullet come out? Then he raised his head to sniff my shoulder.
I swallowed my whimper, knowing he could feel my pain. Making noise would only put him more on edge, and he had a wound of his own. “I don’t think so.” Even speaking made the pain worse, but I didn’t have time to dwell on that. “I need to stop them long enough for us to get close and attack them.”
Suddenly, something yanked on my power—the animals of the woods answering my call.
I fought against the urge to hunch over from the agony. I hated asking for their help, especially since they were truly innocent in all this.
We’re on our way, the merged voice replied in my head just as Priestess Caroline and the other witches began to use their magic as weapons.
Keagan hunkered down and ran to our trunk, and bullets were fired at him. The trees blocked him, and he dropped next to Raffe, a bullet hitting the dirt just a millimeter away from him.
He glanced at the bullet and scoffed. “That was damn close.”
“Those who can control the wind help Skylar take the others down!” Priestess Caroline shouted.
Five coven members with us eased around the tree that protected them and made the wind gust against the trees, knocking over a few between the quaking ground and my power. They were able to aim for a specific tree and take it down.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Octavia, Dru, and Fane were five trees over to the right, with Cat-Keith darting through the brush and disappearing again. Dru and Fane ran across, spreading out to hide behind two other trees. Lucy stayed right on Fane’s heels, the fur on the nape of her neck rising.
I didn’t need a fated-mate connection to know how she felt. I was experiencing the same damn thing.
The three humans got settled and began firing.
“Tree!” a woman shouted, and some of the gunfire stopped as something came crashing down.
“Now that some of the gunfights are stopping, I’m telling my pack members to move,” Keagan rasped. “Otherwise, Olwyn will have time to bring reinforcements.”
Raffe nodded then linked with the five of us, We’re moving. Be careful and stay close to the trees. If you come across one of the Circle members, kill them. Don’t try to take a captive or let them manipulate you into thinking they’re innocent. They are our enemy, and they’ll kill us if we don’t kill them. His eyes locked with mine, making it clear that those words were mainly meant for me. Even if we once considered them friends. And make sure Dave doesn’t get near Skylar—we don’t need him going blood crazy and dying.
My stomach roiled. I hadn’t considered those possibilities, but he was right. My blood could affect even the vampires on our side, and we had no clue who was working against us. For all I knew, Hecate, Zella, and anyone else could be here.
Even Slade.
The damn traitor. Still, his betrayal cut deep.
Understood, Adam replied as he and the others in our pack surged forward, leaving Raffe and me behind.
Keagan’s group followed their lead. With my good side, I grabbed Keagan’s hand, tugging him back into place even though the pain wasn’t that much better since the back muscles were connected. Keagan’s head jerked back, and his forehead lined with worry.
“The vampires. They shouldn’t get near me.” I gestured to my neck, where the blood still soaked my shirt. “They won’t be able to stop biting me even though it’ll kill them.”
“That’s what Olwyn said and why we didn’t bring vampires on the attack. They know to stay clear of you.” Keagan’s lips pressed together. “But thanks for the warning.” He took off.
Skylar, do you understand what I said to the others? We can’t let our sympathies get the best of us. They’re okay with attacking humans. Raffe edged forward, blocking me from moving around him easily.
Yes. I opened up my connection to him so he could feel my sincerity, including my concern. My body had started to feel heavy, but I wasn’t sure if that was from the weight of the decision I’d made or from blood loss.
Good. Now stay with me. He trotted ahead, his discomfort increasing from his injury. I don’t want to lose you in this mess.
Swallowing hard, I pushed myself off the trunk, and the pain pulsed. Darkness clouded my vision. Most of the secret society coven members had abandoned their guns and were back to using their magic, which somehow comforted me, even though it was just as deadly.
A few gunshots still rang through, indicating not all our attackers had abandoned their weapons.
I focused internally on the sounds of animals coming toward us. I didn’t know why they felt the need to protect me, but I wouldn’t complain.
My head grew dizzy, and I tripped on a root. I caught myself, and my entire body jerked, causing the vomit to come up. My stomach emptied, and the sound of fast footsteps had my head tilting forward.
The shorter man who’d attacked me earlier raced toward me, fangs extended. I tried to prepare myself to fight, but it was impossible.
I’d have to use my power.
I lifted my good hand, ignoring the way my back felt as if it would separate, and focused on his dead, milky-brown eyes. I needed him to die, and before I understood what happened, my power had shot out, and his head exploded.
Pieces of tissue and blood splattered the nearby trees and the vampire’s body as it sank to the ground.
Thank goodness I’d already vomited, or I’d be upchucking right now.
Some of the Circle coven members had seen what I’d done to the vampire.
“Dear goddess.” A middle-aged man paled as he froze.
I turned my attention to him and focused on the ground. The earth split open underneath him, and he vanished.
A lump formed in my throat, and the horrible taste in my mouth got worse. I’d killed two people in under a minute. My heart ached, but at least it distracted me from my injuries.
Babe, what’s wrong?Raffe linked as he hunkered down, readying to attack a woman shooting flames at Lucy. It doesn’t feel like you got hurt.
I’ll be okay. The last thing I needed him to worry about was the fallout of the fight. He needed to focus on the threat in front of us. I”m still not used to all the blood and violence.
Once we’ve saved your parents, we’ll get away from all this shit, he vowed and lunged at the witch just as the flames burned Lucy’s paws.
Lucy whimpered. A warlock three feet over spun in her direction and smirked. He raised his hands, and the earth shook harder underneath her.
The prick wanted to use my power to help kill one of my own. Oh, fuck no.
I imagined the earth shooting from the ground and tilting toward him so Lucy could rip out his neck. My power inched stronger, obeying my command. I yanked my power back in, not wanting the earth to shake as hard with us fighting the enemy coven members, and I especially didn’t want to allow them to leverage it against my pack.
Just as I wanted, as the man stumbled back, Lucy jumped from the ledge and ripped out his throat.
Something slammed into me.
I spun around to find Gavyn. His hands were raised toward me, and the static of his magic swirled around me, but the wind merely blew my hair. His normally warm forest-green eyes were darker, and his expression hardened so much that he didn’t even resemble the man I’d known on campus.
Good. Maybe that would make this easier.
He turned his hand, the tornado following the direction and lifting Raffe off the woman he’d attacked. Gavyn lifted him higher and higher.
My stomach clenched, and my body went numb.
Yet another person who wanted to hurt my mate and had to die.
Screams, cries, and the stench of blood intensified around me, but there was one clear thing I had to do. We hadn’t even gotten to the house, and there was already so much death and destruction around us. This had to end now.
Lowering my head, I kept my gaze locked on him and pushed my power straight at him. It hit him in the chest. His eyes widened, and he lowered his hand, reaching for his heart. His ash-blond hair hung in his eyes as he clutched his chest and dropped.
Shit.
Had I imploded his heart?
Cold tendrils of fear clenched my chest as I jerked toward Raffe and saw his body slam down from fifteen feet off the ground.
“No!” I shouted, my emotions and power heightening like never before, and I rushed to him. Everyone who wanted to hurt us needed to die. We hadn’t done a damn thing wrong.
Pain sliced through our bond, and I ran to him and dropped beside him. “Raffe,” I croaked, and my power gushed from me, blowing up like a bomb. I could hear the vibrations as it hit the ground, trees, and even the air around me, crackling like lightning.
Then there was silence.
What the fuck just happened? Keith linked. All the people we were fighting just dropped dead.
I suspected it was because of me, and my heart clenched. What if I’d killed those on our side too? But as I glanced around, it looked like everyone on our side was okay. I touched Raffe’s face, hanging on to the warm bond in my chest. That was the only thing keeping me from losing my damn mind.
People gasped, but none of that mattered.
Raffe? I linked, desperate for him to answer me.
His eyes cracked open. You fucking saved me.
My body sagged against his. Dammit, are you okay?
Yeah.He whimpered, getting his legs underneath him. I’ll be fine.
Don’t—I started.
He stood even though I could feel how much his body ached.
We need to get to your parents. He nodded. Which we might have a chance to do now that you killed every enemy in the clearing.
What?I looked around and noticed all the dead bodies. Mostly it was the secret society, but I also noticed several of Keagan’s pack, two vampires that had come with us, and a handful of coven members from Caroline’s and Ednah’s covens. Luckily, both priestesses were still alive, along with their immediate families.
Worse, every one of them was looking at me in a way I didn’t understand, with a combination of terror and awe. The same way the kids used to look at me in school. My heart squeezed.
I’d have to tend to it later.
“We need to go,” Keagan said, waving his hand. “While we can.”
Can you keep going? I linked to Raffe, not wanting the others to hear this question.
He answered, Let’s get this the fuck over with.
Amen to that.
I stood, my back screaming, and forced myself to put one foot in front of the other. Soon, our entire group was moving.
Dru rushed to me, his face twisted into a frown. “Where are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing.” The doctor in him was coming out, but we didn’t have time to deal with injuries. We needed to keep going. “I’m fine.”
“But—” He reached out.
Octavia took his hand and said, “Come on. We need to keep an eye out.”
As we moved toward the house, I took stock. Fane and Lucy were side by side. Fane looked fine though Lucy had blood trickling from claw marks. Josie and Dave were in the lead, also seemingly fine. Keith and Adam were with Stephanie and Sedona, and none of them looked too bad off, though blood coated both wolves’ fur. It didn’t seem to be theirs.
All in all, our pack was okay, except for Raffe and me.
My power fizzed inside me, having taken a huge hit from the large amount of energy I’d expelled, and I could again hear the rustle of animals scampering toward us.
We pushed forward. The animals would know where to find me.
But my power ebbed with every step I took, lessening to a faint buzz. Shit.
After what felt like way too long, we reached the edge of the woods by the backyard. Keagan and Ednah stopped in their tracks, rushing to take a few steps back.
Something was wrong.
I darted forward, the adrenaline numbing the pain.
I couldn’t believe what I saw.
Fifty people were gathered in the backyard, wearing armor and with guns pointed at us. Olwyn, Slade, Aldric, and Warin stood on the wooden porch above them.
I swallowed. This was bad, and it was just the people outside. If you can still hear me, only attack the people connected to this house. Read my body for cues. I may not be able to talk.
“Please tell me you have animals coming,” Priestess Ednah rasped. “We’re low on our magic from the last fight.”
That had been Olwyn’s plan—to drain us and, if we made it through, force us into another battle against fresh fighters.
“I do—” My power vanished, and my body sagged with fatigue. I hadn’t heard an answer.
My connection to the animals was gone, and Supreme Priestess Olwyn screamed, “Attack them!”