Page 90 of Land of Monsters

But I couldn’t. Not when his life was on the line.

“Just kill me.” He struggled to speak over the cloth, sneering at Eve. She knew us, knew how our powers worked.

“Aww… so sweet.” Eve rolled her eyes. “So easy to be a martyr when you have no idea what true sacrifice is. I have watched you two grow up in privilege and wealth. So fucking pampered and bubble-wrapped in your little world. You imagine yourself so strong when you wouldn’t survive a single day in the life I grew up in.”

“Is that what this is about?” I snapped. “We happened to be born into our family and had parents who loved us? Is this all about jealousy?”

“Americans.” She snorted derisively. “Your arrogance will always be your failing.” She grabbed the back of my brother’s neck, trying to pull him up. “Now move.”

It was a split second, but my twin’s gaze shifted to me, his intention clear. I opened my mouth to stop him. He had no ideaof the brutal lengths Eve would go to. She was not fibbing. She would shoot him without a thought.

His elbow rammed into Eve as hard as his limited energy would allow him, stumbling her back with a cry. Her shriek was like a bell through the plaza, triggering her faithful dogs.

“Raven!” I spun toward Ash’s cry, seeing him run for me just as Nikolay and the other men came upon me, carrying goblin cuffs, their guns held high, pointed at me and Rook.

POP!

A single bullet fired, the shrill sound tearing away any reservations. My mind blurred as instinct kicked in, driving my predator. I had no say, no control. Only the need to protect my family and kill everything that stood in my way.

With a savage roar, my dweller sprang to the surface, blades shredding through my clothes. My fingers twisted into claws, my teeth gnashing together.

“Raven!” Ash yelled again, but I was no longer listening. The obscurer gurgled in the back of my throat, yet I couldn’t seem to get any spell off my tongue. Trails of blood already dripped from my eyes and nose, energy draining quickly from me. My teeth snapped out for a man in front of me, nails cutting through his chest, dropping him to the ground. His scream bounced off the cobblestones as I stepped over him.

I tried to keep my sight on Eve, her blood a craving on my tongue, but more of the mafia moved in for me, blocking both her and my brother from view.

“Muzzle her!” Nikolay barked at his men, pointing at me, pulling my attention to him. Setting him as my target to hunt. His eyes widened when he felt my attention on him, his gun pointing at me.

My eyes flared with death, pitching for him, craving his blood.

Bang! Bang!

“Raven!” Ash’s voice was the blast in my ears, ringing with warning and fear.

Warmth trailed down my legs, blood oozing from my stomach where two bullets went through.

“Noooooooo!” Ash bellowed, firing at Nikolay, the plaza turning into a war zone.

Everything hazed around me and I took a step, my body crumbling to the ground. A symphony of violence was performing in the air, a sonata of screams and bellows between the spray of bullets. Locals hid behind anything they could find nearby, children crying.

“Rook…” His name clawed up my throat, my head lifting enough to see Eve yanking him with her. He tried to fight, but his body was too weak, his vocals cut off by the gag. The men covered her as she and another man got Rook into a jeep. I tried to push myself up, but my arms collapsed under me, and the jeep peeled away. “Noooo!” The scream of terror barely made it through my lips as I tried to pull myself across the cobbles, still denying my brother was gone.

Blackness filled my mind and sight like a swamp.

“Raven?” Ash was suddenly next to me, rolling me over onto my back, his expression pinched with terror. “Stay awake,dziubus.” Panic reverberated in every word, his eyes wild. “You will be fine.”

I blinked, wondering why he sounded so frantic. I felt no pain.

“Rook,” I croaked out.

Ash crushed his jaw together, not answering me. He shoved his arms underneath me, picking me up.

“Stay with me,dziubus.Please,” he muttered, more to himself. He rushed us out of the square, leaving families cowering and my victim’s dead body bleeding out, his final breath long over.

Once again, my mark stained the ground, leaving debris of violence in my wake.

?

“Stay awake, little beak.” His timbre weaved along the outskirts of my consciousness, pinning me back down, when all I wanted was to let go, fall into the peaceful darkness. “Please, Raven. Open your eyes.”

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