Page 126 of Court of Evil

Ronan reported that the siege is from inside and outside. They had been gathering quietly, collecting weapons to take us by surprise. Hunters from all over approach Stalkers’ Rest, their lights illuminating the outside area in case we make it out.

“At least we’ll clean up your hunters all in one night.” I chuckle as we walk from the apartment to the stairs at the end. Addeus shut down the elevator so they cannot take us by surprise.

“That’s one way to look at it,” she mutters.

“Those who are not involved are locked in their rooms. Shouldn’t we let them help?” Addeus suggests.

“No, it is not their fight. It is ours. They could get hurt or die, and we will need their numbers to keep our guild alive when this is through,” she reasons as she opens the door and peeks into the stairwell beyond.

“Addeus is right. We should let them fight,” Shamus suggests. “Not all are against us, Tate. This is their home too.”

She looks back at him, debating it. “And if they die?”

“We’re hunters. We face death daily. At least they would die protecting something important. They have trained for this, so let them fight.”

I know she hates the thought of any more blood being spilled because of her, but sometimes leaders make hard choices.“Unlock their doors and let them choose. They can either wait it out or fight with us. I will not force them to, but I won’t take their choices away. Now let’s move before they blow the whole building while trying to get to us.”

Just then, small explosions meant to fill us with fear rock the building. Ronan has already reported that they are not causing major damage, just trying to spread our forces thin so they can pick us off one by one.

“Can you get me on the speakers?” she asks Addeus. He simply nods and holds out his hands. She clasps his, and he nods.

She clears her throat, and it echoes around the hallway from the speakers. “Fellow hunters, this is Tate. I am with Commander Vilaran. Tonight, we are under attack by a very familiar evil—those within our own ranks who wish to betray our commander, our laws, and the very fabric of what it means to be a hunter. They want their crimes to be kept hidden, and they want to get away with murdering innocents in the name of our guild. Now, because our commander and I would not let that happen, they seek to end us all. I will not ask you to fight, since this is a war I started, but your doors are unlocked. You can stay inside and wait to see who wins, or you can pick up a blade and fight. It is your choice. No one will order you to. Tonight, you must choose for yourself who you wish to be.

“I, like most, have lived, breathed, and suffered for this cause, for the belief that what we do has merit. We are hunters. We are the shield between good and evil. We bloody our souls to keep the world safe. We are the line between humans and supernaturals, but we are not indiscriminate killers. Some among us are, however, and they are afraid of what I will do when I find out they are no better than the monsters we hunt. Well, they should be. Tonight, I will cleanse this organisation of the evil that has rotted its core. For those who are here to dous harm, I only have one thing to say—you have come to die and we salute you.” She nods at Addeus, and he cuts off the transmission.

Without a moment of hesitation, she kicks the door open and stalks down the stairs, her footsteps loud. She is not hiding, and neither are they. We barely reach the next flight before the door bursts open, and a surge of angry hunters pours from within—a trap.

She simply laughs, grips the railing, and flings herself over it, letting those who would grab her fall to their deaths. When she lands on the other side of Tem, her eyebrow arches as she reverses their trap. “Foolish men.” She nods at me. “General, these are yours.”

I know my smile is cruel as my bloodlust takes over, and all I see is red. I unleash everything inside me, everything my sister tried to lock away. I become the blade Tate wields. I will be the evil they fear.

I will be the reminder that humanity is not the strongest race out there.

We are.

Their blood splatters across their sacred halls, their screams echoing for all to hear as I carve through their masses like a well-aimed gun. My magic tears them apart as easily as my hands, shredding them like tissue paper. My laughter fills the air like a haunting melody as their screams reach a crescendo. They attempt to flee back into the hallway, but the door shuts, and Tem grins at them. They try to move down the stairs, but my girl is there.

Her hand darts out and smacks into the wall, creating a barrier. “Uh-uh, where do you think you’re going?” She grins, and when they lunge left, she does the same, grinning all the while. “Didn’t you want to fight? I warned you that whoeverstood against me would die.” She looks at me where I stand in their masses. “Continue.”

A knife soars towards my face, and I stop it with a blink, freezing the person on the spot as I duck under the frozen blade and move their arm. I point it at their own face and unfreeze them. They see it coming, their eyes widening, but their momentum will not allow them to stop it as they drive it into their own face and fall into the crowd, only to be trampled.

A bullet hits my side, but the slight sting is barely felt, more like an irritating tickle, but it gets my attention, and I grip the man’s neck, lifting him into the air as he turns a myriad of colours. The hunters freeze, their eyes widening as they watch. I know my eyes glow, as well as my hair and skin, as my magic moves through me, down my arm, and into him. Thousands of tiny shards of glass cut him from the inside out, tearing through his organs, muscles, and veins, and when his mouth opens to scream, blood pours out, not sound. More streams from his eyes, nose, and ears as he kicks and moans. Finally, he bursts like an overripe fruit, all within seconds.

All from a single touch.

I turn back to the others, just a fraction of their numbers remaining, and I smile pleasantly. “I would run if I were you.”

One throws himself over the stairs to avoid me, but I simply click my fingers and bring him back with my magic. When he floats in the air before my girl, I force him to his knees. The others fight to get past as I laugh, and then I do the same to them, capturing them with my magic and forcing them to their knees as she watches. I move through them, opening their mouths. “We are sorry. We are nothing but fools meant to die.” I control their words, and her eyebrow arches at me as I dive into their brains and tear them to pieces.

I make them into nothing but empty shells, ripping out every thought, memory, and feeling, and I let them choke on who theyare. When I finally stop their hearts with a thought, I let them crumple down the stairs like broken toys.

I stand amongst their bloody bodies. “Shall we continue?”

“Let’s.” She opens the door to the floor and steps inside, and we follow.

The hallway is empty, tinted orange by a flashing alarm and lined with open doors. I hear whispers and shuffling, and so must she.

Her knife drags along the wall of the corridor as she prowls down it. “Come out, come out, little mice. I can hear you scurrying around.”

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