Page 130 of Court of Evil

“Deal.” I spare them all one more glance before turning away. They are right. I need to believe we will survive this or I might chicken out. I’ve never backed down from a fight before, but the thought of losing them has me second-guessing myself. I can’t afford to. I need to be strong and confident for this to work.

“Lift the barrier,” I order.

I feel the moment the magic drops. I have to trust in my team and the hunters behind me. I step out onto the field where they wait. Suddenly, something surrounds my body, and I glance down at myself, but I see nothing.

“Just in case.” Zeev winks. “Go ahead. Make them pay. Their human weapons cannot hurt you now.”

“But you’ll need your strength?—”

“I need you alive more,” he counters before he kisses me quickly. “Trust us. Go.”

Nodding, I watch him disappear into the dark and then turn back to the horde. “Let’s do this?—”

A war cry goes up behind me, and the hunters from the courtyard surge out to meet their brethren. Guns fire, bodies start to drop, and the clash of knives fills the air. Explosions rock the earth down the hill where grenades are being tossed, and sniper rifles can be heard overhead. The scents of blood and death fill my nostrils as I take a deep breath in before swinging my sword around—my father’s weapon—and without hesitation,I throw myself into their masses. Shamus and Fang follow me, but I have to trust them to hold their own.

I duck under an axe and bring my sword down on the back of the hunter’s knee. His scream tears through the air, and when I glance back, Shamus is driving a blade into his neck. I keep moving. We either need to make them retreat or kill them. It’s the only way to win.

I keep moving forward, my sword carving through blood and skin. Screams fill the air, and when I glance over, I see flames springing up from one of our hunters’ flamethrowers.

I can see Tem’s shadows in the trees, making waves. Addeus has them crawling all over him as he takes on a whole horde himself. Fang swings her gun around, firing like crazy, while Shamus moves seamlessly at my side. Jarek’s magic leaks across the ground, killing anyone it touches. Zeev’s laughter can be heard from here as he carves a bloody path through the masses. Shaking my head, I focus in front of me, my sword slicing through more men as we wade into the centre. The trucks’ lights splash over the macabre massacre, the moon high above us.

A familiar face catches my attention, and my entire focus narrows to him. Fred is a lieutenant back east. He was transferred away from here after he tried out for Black’s team two years ago. Black said he was skilled but unhinged, and I’ve only heard bad reports about him since. He needs someone to keep him in line, but he likes death and killing. I carve my way to him, and he turns when he senses me, a mocking grin on his ugly lips.

I stop before him, my sword dripping blood. “So you’re in charge.”

“Looks like it since all our commanders inside are dead. I suppose I have you to thank for that?” he retorts.

“That would be me.” I tilt my head. “You know you cannot win.”

He glances around. “It looks like we are to me. We’ll kill you and your little monsters, and then we’ll take over Stalkers’ Rest. By morning, we will send word to the other outposts. We will reclaim our guild and heritage without all these rules and laws, and you’ll be dead.”

He’s right. We are losing. There are too many of them, even with my monsters. I need time. I need to make it happen.

“We’ll see about that. Don’t worry, I’ll pike your head next to your hero—Black.” I smirk.

He snarls and leaps at me, but I capture his mind midair. I managed it without touch, but for what I plan, I’ll need more. It’s risky. I haven’t trained that hard. It could kill me, but I have no choice.

I press my hands to the ground, anchoring myself. Everybody is touching it in some way, so I use it like a conduit. My powers flow through it to them, capturing minds. Every now and then, I feel their minds slip away as they die from my hunters’ hands, and I let them go as my eyes shut.

I pour everything I have into the ground, trying to widen my net. I need time. I need . . . the world to freeze.

I repeat it as my body strains under the weight. My hands seem to burn as I dig my fingers deeper into the soil, and my body heats as if I’m running a fever but worse. It feels like the sun is trapped inside me and I’m pushing to let it out.

My agonised scream fills the air as I fall to my knees, power flowing from me. I connect to all the minds here belonging to those who would stand against us. Power burns me from the inside out, connected to my bloodline. I feel them standing behind me like ghosts, their hands slipping into mine as my body burns.

I embrace the pain and let it tear me to pieces as I capture our enemies’ minds and freeze them, throwing their own worst sinsback at them. I use their nightmares and darkest secrets against them.

I channel everything I have.

Every failed hunt.

My father’s death.

My own betrayal.

The taste of the afterlife.

The taste of happiness.

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