Chapter 40
Wyatt
Milo is in bad shape. He’s succeeding in stopping the Angels from accessing his head fully but he’s growing weak physically from the efforts.
I feel utterly helpless.
Unable to do anything but hold onto him and hope that my voice soothes him in some way. I continue talking as he rides out attempt after attempt from the Angels taking over his mind. He’s coming down from a particularly brutal attack when the building around us shakes and there’s an almighty boom.
“What the fuck was that?” I say after the noise descends into a lower but still concerning rumble that sounds like a building collapsing.
Torn between checking it out and keeping Milo shielded, I wait a few more seconds before untangling my limbs from my boyfriends and sneaking over to the window.
I’m not prepared for the sight before me. The main building is entirely gone. In its wake is a mass of smoke and dust as rubble rains down.
“Holy fuck.”
Milo staggers from the bed and joins me as I’m unable to put into words what I’m seeing.
White winged beings are still flying in the skies, battling with the guards we’ve come to know over the last couple of months.
Zafihra is taking out Angels as she soars the air in her dragon form.
Seeing her makes my skin itch to join her.
Who I don’t see, however, is the girl I love. I cannot spot her bat like wings or ombre horns amongst any that are battling in the air.
Scanning the ground fast, I spot a few of the panther shifters, any one of them could be Garrick. None of them are with my sassy badass demon though.
Milo grips on to the window ledge as he leans closer to the glass, clearly searching for Tacita as well.
“I need to go find her.” Something is telling me to haul arse and get out there.
Milo stands a little straighter, clearly trying to hide the pain he’s still in.
“I’m coming too.”
I really don’t think it’s a good idea but I can’t stop him, and to be honest I don’t want to leave him behind either. Surely I can keep him safe. There’s so much chaos going on out there, no one is going to notice us searching for our other half.
“Can you shift?” I ask Milo, having the sense that he can at least blend in with the other giant cats.
He pauses for a second and looks like he’s going to sign something, but in a blink, Milo disappears and in the space he was just occupying is a sleek predator.
I duck down to my haunches so I’m eye level with him.
Gently I lift a hand to stroke a hand over the crown of his head, between his dextrous rounded ears that flick this way and that, no doubt trying to process all the sounds he can now hear with his heightened sense.
“Stay close okay?” I tell him.
His head dips once telling me he understands.
“Except, if this goes south, you need to get yourself out, alright? Head into the mountains and far away from anywhere the Angels will find you.”
Amber eyes narrow at me, his dislike of the plan B I’ve laid out clear. A giant black paw lands on my knee.
“I won’t leave you unless I have to, but if we run into trouble, I’m going to want to shift as well.”
More shouting erupts as the guard unit on the ground tries to re-organise after the explosion. The urgency to set eyes on Tacita heightens.
Garrick too.
Milo follows at my heels like a shadow. He moves silently, but jumps at any of the particularly loud sounds.
I have a quick second of doubt that I’m doing the wrong thing by bringing him closer to the Angels.
I have no idea where the fuckers are that are trying to break into his head but surely the closer they get, the harder Milo will have to fight.
Taking a quick look at him as we reach the main hallway of the Guards’ building, he is panting slightly, but that’s the only indicator of the pain he’s in. Our eyes meet as I grab the door handle and he gives me a nod.
“Let’s go help our girl,” I say as I swing it open and we’re thrust straight into the melee.
We make it about ten steps before we’re dragged into the fighting.
There are way more Angels compared to Demons.
Even so, the Demons are not losing any ground.
I wish I’d thought about grabbing some weapons, but I can’t linger on that regret as a white winged guy lands right in front of us and goes to grab me.
Dodging, I punch the fucker straight across the jaw on the rebound.
We tussle for a while, but I soon realise I’m not strong enough to defeat him.
He’s a supernatural being and I’m currently in my human form and with human strength.
He’s about to overpower me when Milo launches from the shadows of the Guards’ building. I see a flash of black fur before my opponent is screaming in pain, a panther shredding his back as teeth and claws sink deep.
I manage to get out of his grasp as Milo closes his jaws around one of the branches of the male’s wings, causing blood to fly as the Angel flaps in desperation. Milo gets dislodged, hitting the ground as the Angel takes off.
“Are you okay?” I rush to Milo. He’s crouched low to the ground, his tail flicking and his ears pinned to his head, a sign I think is anger, but he appears unharmed.
His flat tongue licks his blood covered jaws and I get a flash of the long canines he has in this form.
He rises slowly and starts to look around.
Taking that to mean he is fine, I stand too and decide to retreat to the side of the Guards’ quarters, to the safety of the shadows once more.
We are going to have to be much more careful.
Attempting a head count, to identify all those that I know, I spot Rio in the skies.
He looks covered in blood but is fighting with such brutality that you never would’ve guessed the guy didn’t always have his wings.
Granted, he still lands on his arse more than his feet when landing, but in the sky he moves just as smoothly as the guards he’s fighting alongside.
Amongst those on the ground, the medic guy who saved Milo is fighting with potion bottles. Small clouds of gas explode as they smash on the concrete, momentarily rendering his opponents frozen, or screaming in pain, until he snaps their necks. It’s merciless, even for me.
Seffy is nowhere to be seen, and neither are several of the other contestants. I wonder if they’re still in the dormitories. Would there be some of the guards there as well?
Relaying my thoughts to Milo, we form a route before we head out once more, trying to keep as far away from the main fighting as possible.