Page 36 of Retribution

People began to gather their senses around us, banding together to use their various abilities to fight back. However, the fight was sporadic and nearly impossible when you couldn’t visibly see what you were fighting. In front of us, a giant burning boulder crashed down, smashing into what used to be the living room.

“Shit.” Ellis turned. “What do you want to do?”

We were almost to the patio door. Did we enter or not was the question? From my right, Sterling, Justice, and Lenin approached, magic flowing from Lenin’s fingers as he jogged in our direction. I looked around us, chaos unfolding at a rapid speed.

“Take her inside. It will at least protect her from the arrows,” I instructed. I just hoped that the decision was the best one.

“Done.” He turned, heading toward the door, though Liberty’s weight was slowing him down. He wasn’t as large as I was, and though he was strong, he had been holding her weight while dodging arrows and rocks.

In my arms, Lacy whimpered, her tiny arms wrapped so tightly around my neck she was nearly choking me. Shit! She didn’t deserve to be in the middle of this thing any more than Liberty. She was just a kid. Barely old enough to do much for herself. And instead of playing in the streets and eating all the ice cream she could stomach, she lived her life behind bars and dodging arrows.

Sterling reached our side. “What the fuck is happening?”

“It’s the damn wards. They weren’t strong enough for these people,” Ellis growled, and he didn’t have to say it. I heard theI told you sodripping from his voice. It was his biggest fear. The one thing he worried about daily, more than he let Liberty know.

“We need to get her into a secure area, and then I will form a protection,” Lenin interjected.

“I’m going to stay out here with our people,” Justice spoke.

Our people.

I hadn’t thought of them like that but isn’t that what they were? The people closest to us. The shifters. The witches. The fairies. The outcasts. They all banded together on our lawn, fighting the only way they could, with all their will, as people began to drop from the heavens with death and destruction in their eyes.

“I’ll go with you,” Sterling offered as he pulled out a knife he always had on him.

I could tell by the moisture in Liberty’s eyes that she wanted to stop them. Wanted to tell them no. Wanted to protect them both. Instead, she nodded, a faintgoleaving her lips before they disappeared into the crowd of our people.

I dodged right, nearly missing a ball of fire, trying to ignore the fact that a place that I loved, our home, James’ legacy, was going up in an inferno one little piece at a time. Ahead, Lenin pulled open the door, holding it while Ellis carried Liberty through. I followed behind Ellis, and then Lenin entered, closing the door behind us.

We were halfway through the kitchen when Ellis stopped, his body jolting before he stumbled backward. I caught him with my free hand, holding him up as I gazed over his shoulder and straight into the eyes of a man I hoped never to see again.

Chapter 18

ELLIS

Silver.Sterling silver.

I could smell it burn through my flesh. Felt the intensity of the poison as it spread through my bloodstream. The pain was more excruciating than I ever felt. I stumbled backward, my strength instantly waning, and luckily for me, Oak was there to catch us both.

Liberty’s eyes were like saucers as she peered at the arrow protruding from my chest. Her fingers reached for it, but I used what strength I could and stopped her. “Don’t.”

“But-” I shook my head, knowing if she removed it, it would be the end. As it was, I could hardly stand.

Without missing a beat, Lenin streamed his magic outward toward the face, the god-awful face of a man I never wanted to see again. The magic strands wrapped around him, and with a flick of his wrist, he was thrown through the glass and into the battle outside.

“We don’t have much time,” Lenin mumbled as he stole Liberty from my arms, and though I knew it was for the best, I missed her already. I wanted her back. I wanted her skin touching mine. I needed her eyes watching me. Needed the security of her closeness.

“I’ll come back for you.” Oak passed me, his eyes pained because he knew. He knew as much as I did how this would end.

I refused to just wait for Oak. So I followed behind him and Lenin, using the walls to support my weight. They disappeared into the study, and I knew they were going through a maze of doors to deposit her as far away from the action as possible. It’s what I had planned to do.

I had made it to the first doorway before I could no longer hold up my body. I slumped to my knees, but Oak was there before I could fully hit the ground. He reached down, pulled me over his shoulder, taking the same route he had just taken Liberty.

We ended up in the library, and the moment we stepped foot inside, Lenin’s fingers began to glow, a shield put into place. Oak put me on the floor next to Liberty in the far corner, as Lenin announced, “It will not hold long.”

But it would be long enough, I hoped. Liberty crawled on her knees toward me. “We need to take it out, Ellis.”

“No.” I shook my head because I hadn’t said all I needed to yet. I hadn’t told her. She needed to know I’d be okay. I needed her to understand I accepted this fate.

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