Rune
More vampires sprint and jump from the woods on the far side of the clearing.
“Be safe.” Uncle Frio kisses Aunt Bridget.
Bridget nods. “Go help them.”
Uncle Frio steps back. And my eyes widen as a layer of ice crackles across his clothing. Then he jumps.
I turn my head to watch. And Barth disappears in a flash of gold, reappearing over by Volik.
I stand watching with Nix and Bridget.
Bullets are still flying through the air, but no one, on either side, seems concerned.
Nix is good at jumping, but neither of us has the offensive experience the others do. Which is why Bridget is staying with us as our muscle.
Nix feels confident in her ability to use gravito as protection. Volik’s been working with her nonstop since she revealed her power. But I have had far less practice. Which is why Barth brought me this shield.
It’s magicked, so if a druid dagger so much as touches it, the shield will let out a blast of power. Probably enough to knock me and my attacker down, but it’s better than getting stabbed. Because even if it isn’t in the heart, vampires still feel pain.
An arm flies through the air.
Like that. That would hurt.
Orion rubs his giant wolf face against the ground. And it takes me a second to realize that a decapitated head is stuck in his teeth.
An inappropriate laugh bubbles out of me.
Orion’s growl rolls over the noise of the fight, and my laugh turns into a grimace when I watch him flex his jaw, crushing the skull in his mouth.
A new portal pops up to our right. On the roof of an old cabin.
I lift my shield to cover my torso.
Barth is still visible in the clearing. So this will either be Dread or a bad guy.
A surprise third option has me taking a step back when several eagles fly out of the portal.
The eagles are big. Like bigger than eagles should be.
I watch one swoop down and come back up with the severed leg in its talons. “What the…?”
Movement snaps my attention back to the portal. And I watch Haruto step out.
“Get the parts!” He dramatically mimes picking things up. “No one comes back empty-handed!”
I look back to the clearing. To all the eagles with something in their grip.
A hand. Part of a head? Two eagles are carrying guns… Alarming.
A human screams as four eagles lift him into the air and start to fly him over the clearing toward the portal.
“No.” Haruto waves his arms. “I said parts.”
The eagles drop the screaming human.
The screaming increases when Orion jumps up and catches the human by the hip. But the screaming stops when he violently shakes his head, helping to create parts for the eagles.
Haruto lets out something akin to a bird call. Then he runs back through his portal.
The eagles angle down, speeding through the portal after him in a single-file line.
When the last eagle disappears, the portal snaps shut.