Page 66 of Swamp Kings 2

“It’s okay, I’ll crawl.”

Bishop looked at Fin, the finisher of their sentences, finding only a grin.

“Any last words, thoughts or comments?” Bishop asked, looking around.

“Just a prayer,” Seer muttered, placing his hand in the middle of their circle.

Bishop put his on Seers and Zodak covered Bishops. He regarded the triplets, nodding at Fetch.

The triplets exchanged glances then Fetch placed his hand on the top, followed by Fathom’s then Fin’s.

Seer bowed his head and boldly prayed a concise warrior’s prayer of ass kicking and protection.

Game fucking on.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The cold air burned in Bishop’s fiery lungs as a new kind of venom throbbed in his fangs, all variations of violent deaths. Power pulsed in his muscles as Fetch led them to within ten feet of their target without a single encounter. Yet. The sun was setting but wasn’t nearly dark enough to conceal them.

Fetch glanced over his shoulder with a nod and they hurried the last stretch.

Once there, Fathom motioned for them to stand back then held out both hands, releasing awhompof energy for disabling those bombs.

“Hey!” a man yelled.

Fuck.

Fathom turned and placed his hand on Syphon’s shoulder, the connection of their powers sending a shockwave throughthe immediate vicinity as more yelling broke out. “Shoot ‘em!”

Zodak braced his legs apart and held his weaponized hand out. The blast from the hand-bomb slammed the two advancing men to the ground. Holy fuck. Fetch and Fin bolted behind Zodak, bracing their hands on his back right before a force hit so hard, it sent them sliding several feet along the ground.

The dark power around them shook the molecules in the air, bringing a long, strained roar from Zodak.

“Bishop!” Fetch roared.

Bishop shot forward and grabbed hold of Fetch, getting sucked into a vortex of malevolence so thick, it smashed against blood, muscle and bone. Symbols flashed across his mind as Fetch showed him the tattoos these men wore. A symbol of ancient evil trying to overpower Zodak.

Bishop’s panic caught up to theirs when he finally realized this darkness was fighting to break free and get to the children. Something flipped inside him that opened a floodgate of fury. Power ripped through hismuscles and turned him into a human torpedo as he rammed Zodak from the side and brought him and the triplets to the ground as dark energy hammered into him, digging hard and fast. His mind flung out measures--rate, flow, density, power, potential, limits, lethality.

Fuck, they were there, they were at the lethal threshold, needing to neutralize the darkness but needing to syphon every drop before they did.

It drilled deeper and deeper, going for their molecular motherboard, hitting Bishop's panic button.

“SEER!” Bishop roared.

Bishop held on as the dark power stood Zodak up and slammed him to the ground, crushing Bishop under him. He stared wide eyed into the clear blue sky as a streak of blinding light raced down in a single line and blasted straight into them. The all-consuming power devoured the darkness so utterly, it felt like he might of fucking imagined it.

Bishop realized he wasn’t breathing and couldn’t move.

“Brother!” Seer’s muffled voice lagged above him as his wide blue eyes bore into his.

A faint tremor crawled along Bishop’s spine, like gears groaning. Deep in his marrow, a current ignited then surged through his body, the pain of it cracking him open and spreading like lightning. Blood suddenly pulsed through crushed veins as his lungs sputtered with a raspy cough, while six months of healing flooded through him in seconds.

With every forced inhale and exhale, Bishop’s blood throbbed with raw energy, muscles jerking and spasming, vision blurring and bending before finally clearing.

“He healed himself,” Fetch marveled on his right as Bishop blinked and groaned, every ache forced out by the life driving through his veins.

Bishop sat up, seeing Zodak sprawled lifelessly with the triplets surrounding him, hands on his body.

---