Page 90 of Echoes of War

Before I could answer my friend, his attention darted behind me. I pivoted at the terror behind his gaze. An onslaught of more soldiers coming to avenge their fallen. I was out of arrows, but that was fine by me. I dropped my bow, freeing up some of the weight on my shoulders.

“And this,” Moe said, her aggravation at the situation clear, “is why we wait to scope out a situation.”

She was right, but once again what she failed to realize is that I didn’t care. A fight was a fight. It was going to happen whether we passed through here untouched or not. At least this way, my father and brother had a couple dozen fewer soldiers on their side.

Moe reached out to grab hold of me, wanting to use our new magic to take these out, but I shook her off. I, for one, didn’t want an easy fight. When they got closer, I realized it wouldn’t work, anyway. These weren’t men and women running at us. I mean they were, but they technically weren’t. These were Pansies. The kind my sick-in-the-head father had created.

Oh the joy of destroying something he cares so dearly about.

I had full confidence in Abel’s ability to aim, especially now with the confirmation that he was more than a Tinkerer or a Scholar with Seer capabilities, but alsoUmbra Mortis. Walking through the valley of the canyon, I stepped over corpses strewn about, a backup pistol on loan from Abel in hand.

It’d been a long time since I’d held one in my hands. The day I’d thought my father had died to be exact. This time, the trigger felt natural in my hand. I squeezed, letting the bullets flow freely,not caring where they landed. A few went down as I approached, whether they were from me or Abel I wasn’t sure. Moe’s eyes bore into my back, unmoving, watching the scene play out in front of her.Whatever her problem is, I don’t have time for it. I shook off the annoyance seeping from her, like she was intentionally pushing it out toward me to make her emotions clear.

There were only two left, yet my gun was the only one I heard left firing. I reloaded, realizing the chamber was empty. Strolling up to them, I put five rounds into the one that presented as what was once a young woman, not much older than myself. Still a woman perhaps. Not one that had a fighting chance of living again though, might as well put her out of her misery.

I halted abruptly, the final one was nearly seven feet tall. Its fiery red hair snagged my attention. Cropped right about his ears, his pale, ashen face was torn, hanging off on some sides, yet the remnants of freckles speckled near his nose and under his eyes remained. Its eyes were glazed over from what I could tell, but as I got closer, blue eyes stared through me, white haze dusting atop them.

He fumbled, arms slack at his sides as he stumbled toward me. Grunts and inhumane screeches slammed toward me, and he pushed into a full-on sprint closing in on the final few feet. I held my ground, let him get close enough where his rancid breath reached my nostrils.

Then, I unloaded what was left of my magazine. His body dropped. Ten shots rang through my ears, but the only thing I felt in that moment was the pleasantry of the recoil.

I holstered Abel’s Beretta, swapping it for a blade I’d been itching to use for some time. The one Alexi handed me when I’d departed Duluth.

If you find your brother, Reina, and he tries to drag you back to your father, don’t you let him. Not if you don’t want to. You fight like hell and you stand your ground. You’re stronger than he could ever be, stronger where it matters.Alexiares had pressed his hand over my heart, placing the blade there, waiting for me to take it.And if he tries even once to put his traitorous hands on you, cut those fuckers off.

I had a better idea right now, something that would grant me instant gratification. My knees touched the red soil beneath me as I hovered over the long-lost, recently dead soul. I drove my knife into his head splitting it like a cantaloupe.

Pocketing the knife, I made my way back over to my family. Abel’s eyes scanned my body, hand out waiting for me to return his gun. I slide it out my holster and into his palm. He chuckled nervously, turning back to pick up his dropped magazines sprawled around him. Moe’s mouth was open, and I tilted my head, trying to put feelers out there on what to expect, bracing myself for her impact. Water from the river emerged behind me, the current sweeping each of the scattered bodies and remaining weapons into the rush.

“You’re acting like a psychopath,” Moe snapped. “What iswrongwith you?”

“I’m cleaning up all evidence that they were ever here. No body, no case. What is wrong withyou,sister? Leaving the two of us to a fight could have been a disaster.”

“She’s right,” Abel said off to the side.

I grinned at him. Although he had my back, as usual, the concern on his face was as clear as it was on Moe’s.

“I’m just dandy,” I grumbled. “You’re one to talk, Tomoe. No one yells at you when you chop heads off and keep a big grin on your face while doing it. Mind the business that pays you.”

Her features softened, she grabbed hold of my hand squeezing it in response. There was confusion, sadness, and an overall sense of despair in her. Waving my free hand against some of the cuts on her body from her own fights, I healed her wounds.

With a touch of my magic, I sent her some peace. I kept my tug small, something she wouldn’t sense unless she searched for it.She didn’t need to worry about me, her grief alone was enough for us both. If she couldn’t bring vengeance into her heart, I would hold enough of it for us.

“We need to move, now,” Abel prodded, clarity in his deep brown eyes. He passed Moe some jerky from his pack, taking a bite out of mine before handing it to me, a sly smile on his face.

When I looked at him, I saw what others probably saw in me, youthfulness. That refreshing joy and optimism that had yet to be taken from him. I hoped one day we could have worry-free fun together. We were only going to be young once, our responsibilities shouldn’t strip that youth from us, no one should.

“We’re about a two-week walk from Monterey, race you there!” I said, tagging him playfully then taking off.

Riley

Aseries of rhythmic knocks pounded against the door in the distance, stirring me from my sleep. My eyes opened, warm golden-brown skin glinted in the sunlight pouring through the window of my room. A soft chuckle sounded beside me. I squinted, looking up to the curtain of sleek black hair falling onto the pages of a book.

The knock sounded again, and I groaned, pulling a pillow over my face. I was beyond exhausted; it hurt to open my eyes completely. Without Amaia here, I’d fulfilled the role of three people. I could count the amount of people here I was comfortable confiding in on one hand. Really, a few fingers now with Amaia gone.

It didn’t feel right appointing someone to fulfill the roles that now sat vacant within The Compound. Sure, my men could havehelped. They had the security clearance to do so, but doing that without my sister present felt like dirty work.

“Are you going to get that, or should I fall out of this story and get it for you?”

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