Page 67 of Elven Crown

“Aww,” he crooned. “You reallydocare.”

She would have loved to snap back with something equally witty and chastising, but several griybreki voices grew louder from behind, accompanied by their slapping footsteps as they all burbled in their incoherent language.

It wasn’t any tongue Rebecca knew, even an adulterated one.

She slammed a hand down on her augmented rifle’s power system to rev it up again, and as her weapon glowed from the inside with its own low whine steadily rising in pitch, she spun around to face half a dozen griybreki, all with their weapons aimed at her now.

The deafening crack of her magitek rounds spewing from weapon’s muzzle as she squeezed off shot after shot disappeared within the chaotic din of so many other weapons firing all over the docks. Of griybreki shouting at each other. Of her other operatives barking out a warning or the location of new enemy targets.

The Port of Chicago docks strobed with magical light of every color, griybreki screams warbling in the air as the battle continued.

Rebecca had fired several more rounds than necessary before realizing she’d taken down the six griybreki who would have taken her down first if she hadn’t been so quick to react.

But Rowan was just fine. That was what she’d hopped into the semi’s trailer to ensure, and now that she knew, she didn’t want to stay here any longer than she had to.

She hopped off the loading ramp, spun around the rear corner of the truck, and came face to face with even more slobbering, snarling griybreki babbling incoherencies as they launched themselves at her with blubbering battle cries, their webbed feet slapping furiously beneath them.

She skidded into a lunging pivot to avoid the first fired attack, then ducked two more before opening fire on any griybreki thatcaught her eye. After the next three she took to the ground, she let her rifle power up again with renewed magical energy and tossed a few orbs of crackling red battle magic at the next wave of attackers, just for fun.

In seconds, every griybreki around her lay sprawled out on the concrete, their mouths gaping wide, their final screams now gone silent, and their eyes wide and staring at nothing. The moment their eyes stopped glowing, they were gone.

“Holy shit!”

Rebecca spun toward the voice and almost fired her weapon. But it was Rowan standing in front of her.

“When did you learn to dothat?” he asked with a laugh.

More shouts rose across the docks before another two griybreki came slap-slapping toward her, their razor-sharp bared as they jabbered their battle cries.

“I’ve learned a lot of things in the last few centuries,” Rebecca growled, then took aim and fired off two more quick shots. Both griybreki dropped without a sound. “If you ever got off your ass and made yourself useful, I bet you could learn a thing or two yourself.”

Grimacing, Rowan swiped another handful of griybreki brain-goo off the front of his shirt and flung it with a quick flick back up into the open trailer. Then he gazed at his hands in disgust. “You know what? You guys got this. I think I’ll just sit back and watch from here on out.”

By the Blood, she wanted to slap some sense into him. She would have, if the rest of her team wasn’t currently engaged in a firefight with the enemy.

Better not to have anything to do with him instead.

So she left Rowan there beside the open trailer and hurled herself into the bulk of the battle at the edge of the docks.

The second she rounded the front of the third vehicle and caught a glimpse of the chaos surrounding the rest of her team, she wished she’d joined them sooner.

Magical weapons fired in all directions, whining and buzzing as they left glowing trails of colored light through the air. Hissing and crackling joined the shouts of both her team and the griybreki. The scent of hot metal and the worst body odor she’d ever smelled mingled on the breeze to mostly overpower the underlying notes of exhaust fumes.

Not a single griybreki driver had cut his vehicle’s engine.

Stray rounds cracked against concrete and shattered lampposts. Some even found their way through the sides of the semi-trailers with Eduardo’s precious weapons cargo inside.

Some idiot somewhere was apparently trying to open up the shipping containers, round after fired round pelting the metallic walls before the sharp crack of one bullet actually making it through filled the air.

Rebecca fired two more shots at a griybreki trying to scurry past her, dropping him instantly. When she looked up next, the first thing she saw was Leonard standing amidst the chaos, the hem of his brown leather trench coat swaying in the breeze as he struggled with a jammed weapon.

“Leonard!” she shouted. “Behind you!”

A whizzing yellow bolt of energy zipped toward Rebecca’s head.

She ducked.

Leonard spun around.

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