Page 129 of Court of Evil

Some well-meaning tech no doubt hit the button to drop the shutters and activate the security measures, but now all it does is buy the others time to regroup. “Open them.” She looks to Addeus, her decision made. “Open the shutters.” She turns to the group behind us.

“We do not hide, not like those who wait in the shadows. We are hunters! We are warriors. We fight or die trying. Never before has a fight been more important. This time it is not just to protect our world, but it is also to protect our legacy. This is what it means to be a hunter. We will spill blood, but we do not kill innocents. Those people out there do, and they were scared we would turn on them when we found out, so they attacked first. If they had their way, we would all be dead, and the hunters would be destroyed within days, relegated to nothing but serial killers with patches. I will not let that happen. I ask you to stand with me today and face your brothers. It will haunt you, but they stopped being our brothers the moment they used their weapons against us. We’ll end this tonight. We’ll burn away the rotted, infected flesh tainting our name and be reborn. Tonight, we’ll show them what it means to be hunters. Who is with me?”

A cheer goes up, the hunters calling their agreement, and Shamus nods at her. “I’m with you, angel, until the end. This will be over before dawn.”

She turns back to the shutters and waits. There’s a click before a whirring sound fills the air. The shutters slowly start to rise, exposing the night sky beyond and the filled courtyard of Stalkers’ Rest.

The shutters continue to rise, and when they peel back from the rest of the building, she opens the front doors and steps out. Headlights flood the courtyard, aimed at her.

She stands at the head of our people, her chin tilted back, waiting as the horde of rogue hunters heads towards her.

They want to kill her to cover their own sins.

As she faces her own people, she smiles.

CHAPTER 54

The courtyard is silent, and my team and hunters gather behind me as we await their first move. If they expect us to hide or back down, they are wrong. My decision is made. We will see this through to the end or die trying. Shamus is right. This isn’t just about him or me. This is about our people.

It’s time to reclaim our legacy, starting now.

“Open the garage doors,” I murmur. Addeus does not question me, opening them, and trucks peel out, heading straight for the ones in the courtyard. One of our biggest trucks, practically a tank for extreme missions, rams into the front line, flipping cars into the air.

“Jarek, control them. Bring them down on the others,” I order.

He waves his hands, and those trucks change direction midair, smashing down on the others behind it. Explosions rock the courtyard as our tank carves a path through their masses. Some of the vehicles at the back notice and reverse out of Stalkers’ Rest, leaving the trucks behind as they spread across the hill, just like I wanted.

More trucks pull out of the garage, following the path the tank made, and they skid to a stop before the entrance toStalkers’ Rest, creating a barrier with only a small gap for our army to get through. Hunters pour from the cars, taking aim over the hoods and open doors. Shots fill the air as they fire into the other trucks. I see some windscreens shatter and blood exploding within. Some tires pop, stranding them, and it creates enough of a distraction to have them climbing from their trucks and making a stand, but they are quickly picked off by the hunters hiding behind our trucks.

“Push them back!” I roar. “I want snipers up on the entrance. I want them surrounded!”

“How?” Shamus asks.

“I saw them,” I tell him, “waiting for their chance. Our hunters are smart. Trust them. Trust me.”

Hunters surge past me, making a run for the entrance to the wall of trucks. Some fall as they run, and I feel every death keenly, so I swing my rifle around, head to the closest car, and press the stand to the bonnet before I put my eye to the scope.

I fire and move, fire and move, picking them off like flies.

“Zeev, Jarek, trap them in here with us!” I shout, giving them no chance to escape. I glance over to see Shamus on the roof of a nearby truck, the scope to his eye as well. Fang is at his side. Shamus’s shots are deadly, and hers miss, but it does the trick and keeps them suppressed. Ronan floats into their masses, turning solid behind them and snapping their necks before moving on. Addeus’s eyes glow, and their cars suddenly stop working, as do their timed grenades.

Tem waits at my side as I take aim again and fire. Some flee, but Zeev and Jarek’s barrier must be working because they cannot get out to join those waiting on the hill and they cannot get in to help. Sniper fire from the wall takes care of both until there is no one left in the courtyard but our own people and the hiss of smoking trucks.

Swinging my rifle around, I climb over the hood of the truck I used for cover and make my way through the wreckage and bodies to the gate where Zeev and Jarek wait. I peer outside, seeing hundreds, maybe even thousands of hunters still gathered. “They will have some people in the trees. The one good thing about Stalkers’ Rest is that they can’t get behind us.”

“I have some traps in the forest,” Shamus says as he joins me. “Just in case.”

“Fuck, I love a prepared man.” I smirk. “Spring them. The less that can sneak up on us, the better. I don’t want to get a bullet to the skull from the trees.”

He pulls out his phone and does something, and within seconds, flames erupt within the trees and screams can be heard. He winks at me. “Just in case.”

“You have been busy.” I grin as I look to Jarek and Zeev. “Drop the barrier. Tem and Addeus, I want you in the trees. Surround them like they would us. Zeev and Jarek, spread out and pick off as many as you can. Fang, you’re with me and Shamus. Ronan, do whatever you wish. We’ll push them back, disorienting them and splitting their forces. We’ll show them just what monsters are capable of. Free rein, no holding back. Use whatever you want.” She looks us over. “If we do not make it until dawn, I want you to know it has been an honour to hunt and fight at your side. I never expected to be able to trust anyone again, never mind find a family, but I have. I’m grateful to every single one of you for following me, trusting me, and helping me. If tonight is all we have, then I need you to know these last few weeks have been the best of my life. I have a hard job, and you have made it easier. You made it fun, you brought back joy and hope, and I wouldn’t have made it here without you.” I look over each of them, hoping they take my words to heart. “I have been searching for a home for so long, and I found it here with you. If I die tonight, know that I’ll die happy.”

“You’re not dying tonight,” Shamus snarls. “You have a long life in front of you, a life shared with all of us.”

I smile despite the situation we are in. “I hope you’re right, but I needed you to know just in case. I don’t want to die with regrets.”

“You won’t. There will be no dying tonight,” Fang snaps. “Stop being so morbid. Let’s kick some ass, and then you can tell us all in the morning over breakfast.” She laughs. “As long as Tem isn’t cooking again.”

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