Page 17 of In Prey We Trust

Delores

There were only three of them when I let out the battle cry.

Unfortunately, within seconds, none more popped out of the goddamn aether and fanned out with their comrades. Each of them seems to wield some type of magic, but fuck me if I know what it is. All I know is my bunny is in rage mode and holding back to study these fuckers like Felix taught me almost hurts. Raina and The Captain spread out to cover the flanks, just in case, and Fitz went one-ton tiger the second their back-up arrived.

I’m the leader, somehow, and I have to show them I can do this.

“Who the fuck are you?” I growl as they chant. The colorful array of powers grows slightly when they begin, and I take a deep, calming breath. I have no idea if I can do anything like I did at Apex or if that was a fluke. Nothing I tried all summer brought about sketchy blue energy, so I’m inclined to believe it is the latter. But I won’t go down without a fight—especially since I think these jackholes are part of the disappearing students problem. “I said, who the ass-reaming fuck are you guys?”

The tallest figure finally looks at me, but their face is in complete darkness inside of the hood. I don’t know if it’s a mask or a spell, but their identities are a mystery. A deep, melodic voice echoes in the air as it speaks, “Impossibile, venimus domum. Genus nostrum per saecula cruorem quaesiverunt similem tuum.1”

What is with bad guys and fucking Latin?

I turn to look at Raina and the Captain, unsure what to do. TigerFitz definitely doesn’t speak it and what little I know from music and pop culture will not help unless they want a folksy quote. “Any chance either of you knows what they’re saying?”

“Aye,” the Captain says as he nods at me. I look surprised, and he gives me a wily grin. “Treasure maps, lass. It sounded a wee bit like ‘Impossible one.’ We’re here to bring ye home. We’ve been searching for ye for centuries or something close.”

TigerFitz bats at my hand and I look down to see hunger glinting in his eyes. He’s on #teamkillthemall and I can’t blame him. What would you do if masked magic nutters came to kidnap you? I smile down at him, scratching his head lightly with razor-sharp claws. “My super hot psycho boyfriend has the right idea. If they will not give up, there’s only one option.”

“Walk the plank, ye scurvy dogs!” The Captain gives me a feral grin and Raina sets her crossbow with a deafening ‘click.’

Fitz leaps forward with a roar that rattles the windows of the car behind us, not waiting for further directions. His target is the willowy leader, so I head for the acolytes on her left side. The distinct pop of bolts fills the air and the chanting stutters when they find their mark. My eyes catch the tiny pirate raccoon charging into the right flank of the circle while his mate picks off as many as she can. I don’t know how the hell her ammo is made, but every time she hits someone, they jerk like they’ve been tased.

When I get to my group of hooded asswipes, I note which color magic they’re using. Aubrey and Rennie will ask me this, and I have to remember every detail possible. The one furthest to the left is wielding something red that immediately turns into a whip of fire. Ducking quickly, I do a somersault across the ground, barreling into its legs like a damn bowling ball. It knocks the fiery wizard person over and before it can get up, I pounce. I know the others are watching and waiting for their turn to enter the melee, but I’m not sure why. I hear a pained snarl from Fitz and another round of bolts behind me, so I use this moment to pull the hood off.

Scooby-Doo reveal for the win!

But it won’t budge, and when I go to poke my clawed fingers into the eyes of my captive, they disappear into nothingness. Realizing this isn’t going how I imagined, I look over to see my tiger going for the throat of General BlankFace as they tumble over the ground. He’s not playing and I don’t have the luxury of being sentimental, either. My lips curve into a large, fangy grin as my bunny takes control, as my claws rake over the tender skin of its throat. The blood from slashing my flattened fire guy literally spurts into my face like a red glitter glue bomb, and I sputter as I push to my feet.

“What the actual fuck?”

I don’t have time to consider what in the hell this shit means as contestant number two shoots green vines from their hands, grabbing my legs to yank them hard. Two more vines follow and I snarl at the earthy smell of the magic trying to hold me. Obviously, this dickwad is some Poison Ivy reject and if I don’t keep my hands free, I’ll get sucked in like that damn plant in the wizard movie. My eyes cut to the side and I consider my moves quickly.

The fire. Asshole number one set a bunch of brush on fire.

Twisting my body, I dive and roll to the right, using the force of my bunny leap to drag the idiot with me. The vines tighten on my ankles when it figures out where I’m army crawling, but I grit my teeth and pull him along with every ounce of strength I have. More vines brush against me as I fight my way to the burning bush. If I can just reach it, I know I’ll be able to get the plants to release and I can fight this fucker with head on.

A crossbow bolt whizzes past my head and a startled yelp of pain comes from the shithead holding onto me. Their grip loosens a fraction, and I use that to drag us both to my target. My hand grasps one of the burning branches and I hiss at the pain, but waving it towards my feet makes the fucking Audrey II like greenery let go of me. Yes! I shout in my head as I roll over and spring to my feet. The hood villain backs away as I wave the fiery stick, but I keep advancing. When I get close enough, I toss the distraction in the dirt before launching into a flying spin kick combo that drops him like a sack of potatoes.

Two down, I think to myself as I make quick work of my evil grass-type gym leader. Now for the purple pussy watching us.

“Your mother was a hamster,” I yell as I charge toward my last opponent. Maybe not the most badass trash talk ever, but I’m new at this shit.

A weird boom echoes through the air and my head suddenly feels like it’s going to explode. Dropping to my knees, I hold on to it, rocking as the pain thuds in my brain. Shit. Purple bad. Purple is terrible.

I gasp as tears well up in my eyes and suddenly, the entire world around me changes. Images of death and destruction flit past me in rapid succession, including the bodies of my friends and my men. There are so many shifters dead around them, and everything is dark in the sky. The tall hood Fitz is fighting is standing over the carnage, laughing in a musical tone that doesn’t sound like what I heard earlier. Its laugh gets louder and higher pitched the longer it goes on until it feels like a full-on villain victory scene.

“Come with us or this is your future,” a voice says in a low, hypnotic tone. “Everyone you love will suffer.”

“Wait a minute. This is bullshit. It’s like a kids’ movie. I’m not falling for some dime store Mysterio B-Reel.” The illusion shimmers, my recognition making the magic falter slightly. My eyes narrow and I look at the corpses with fury. “This isn’t real. You can get fucked, you faceless Kadabra!”

Another pop and I’m back to the battle, panting as I look up at the figure who was fucking with my mind. Before it can respond, I do a backward roll, then kip up to a standing position. My fists clench and I stare at the asshole who dared to show me the only people who care about me in gruesome death masks with organs hanging out. Rage pumps through my veins and I hear my heart thumping in my tall rabbit's ears as the fury spreads through me.

Sparks dance over my raised dukes and my expression turns smug. “Clobbering time.”

“Redi domum, discipuli mei. Nunc lepus relinque.2”

The loud command comes from behind me, and I know it must be the dick Fitz is battling. Raina and The Captain have gone quiet, so I can only assume they handled their rainbow magic cult people. My friend’s bolt saved my bacon with the eco-wizard, so I’m grateful, but I wish they’d jumped in before that nightmare vision. Taking my eyes off the jerk in front of me, I watch the bodies disappear one by one. I grit my teeth and whip back to my opponent, hoping to get one final blow in before it's gone, but it’s too late.

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