Page 137 of Sidhe
She didn’t have time to be dumbstruck. She turned back to where Nathan was grappling on the ground. She was too far away by normal standards to make the shot, but she had a clear path now. She steadied her stance and it felt as if all the fighting around her stilled, slowed, the sound faded. When she fired off two successive shots, one from each gun, she knew even before she saw the figure atop Nathan jerk forward onto him that the shots would count.
Nathan clamored out from under his attacker a moment later, seeking out his savior, and their eyes met across the battlefield as the last of Kaley’s fire barrier died with her, Wally’s flames already extinguished, and no one but Alex having witnessed the chimera’s help.
Alex raised one gun to her forehead in a quick salute. Nathan merely grinned and nodded, before hurrying on into the battle. He was headed for Sasha, who had been taken over by Solrin, but Nathan could do nothing against that power. Then Alex realized who could, and she smirked to herself as she thought Nathan really didn’t know how lucky he was to have her on the team.
“Walter!” Alex called to the Spirit Guide, still expertly firing his crossbow into the hoard. “Go with Nathan!”
“He told me to guard the line here!” Walter shouted.
“Sasha’s been compromised; Nathan can’t free him from that without you! I’ll hold them back.”
Walter paused finally and turned to look at her. Indecision played in his warm brown eyes, but he seemed to know that she spoke the truth. Alex didn’t know if she understood her power fully, or what she could do with the opposite of ‘Famine’, but she knew that the opposite of Walter’s ‘Pestilence’ was ‘Healing’ and that was exactly what Sasha needed.
“Go!”
Walter hesitated only a moment more before he dashed ahead to follow Nathan, leaving Alex to guard the Gatehouse alone.
She glanced back at the doors, where Ula had taken over in her stead like a pro, shouting orders and passing around supplies. She looked up again to where Wally stood on the roof as if keeping vigil. Then Lindsey and Charis dropped out of the sky on either side of her, ready to guard her flanks.
Many had been lost, but many still remained. Alex was not alone.
Jim
Jimstruggledtoreachthe twins, having just barely escaped Cam, but soon saw that Epica and Attoinette had fallen to Solrin’s control as well. All of the incubi and succubae had been turned to Malak’s side, even the great and proud Aloysha.
The members of the Council were truly awesome in appearance and power. Jim was momentarily stunned by Irina’sdeep red markings moving in a blur, Lesta’s fire orange that even without horns had a menacing stature, and Cyzarine’s inverse in color that was different from any succubus he had ever seen—black skin and silver markings and hair. They were a rainbow of carnage.
Oberon stood amidst it all, not far from Jim, emanating light that pained the dark fae. Some died upon contact with it, some turned and fled, but he was already dimming, and Aloysha and his people were only momentarily blinded and pushed back.
“It will not last! They will attack again!” Oberon called in a voice that was not a voice to untrained ears, but more like the rush of wind and water.
Jim raised one hand toward the twin succubae ahead of him and summoned red light runic traps to hold them still. He struggled to take control back from Solrin and free them. Somehow he managed, and the twins were soon shaking their heads like coming out of a deep sleep. Jim spun around to Cam who was hot on his heels, to all of the turned incubi and succubae advancing again as Oberon’s light faded. Again Jim was successful, pulling Cam back to them; and once free, Cam, Epica, and Attoinette all quickly rejoined their side of the fight.
Jim tried to bring more back to their side, but it was too much, Solrin’s pull too strong, even on those of the Council. Oberon told him to stop, to save his strength. His powers would otherwise be needed.
Jim turned his attention to Sasha so far away among the light fae, fighting against them, fighting Gwen who was doing everything she could to not harm the incubus as she fended him off. For a moment Jim’s resolve wavered.
Then from over the hills and rocky terrain, he caught sight of Nathan, Walter close behind him, the pair rushing through the fighting to reach Sasha and somehow bring him back from Malak’s grasp.
Nathanhadbeenupsetwhen he first heard Walter call out behind him, but he was grateful after his Spirit Guide explained what Alex had figured out so easily. Sasha needed Healing, and Walter could provide.
Walter was suspiciously good with his horseman crossbow, Nathan thought, and he had to wonder if that was divine intervention or previous experience like Alex had with her guns. She had certainly been remarkable when she saved Nathan from that Shadow Immortal. Nathan had forgotten that Malak’s army would include those creatures as well.
Together they raced the final distance to reach Sasha, ridding the area of enemies easily and tossing light fae aside with warning glares to get out of their way. There was no way to know how much damage Sasha had caused while fighting on the wrong side, but it didn’t matter; nothing mattered but fixing this.
Solrin was too intent on reaching the Gatehouse to notice that Nathan had slipped past him. Nathan and Walter flanked Sasha, Walter dropping his crossbow as he grabbed for the incubus. Sasha was fierce and unforgiving as he fought them off, a frenzied animal reveling in the fight, his sword long forgotten. He slashed Walter across the chest before the Spirit Guide could even begin to heal him, and when Walter finally had a hold of him, gripping him by the forearms and pulling him in close, Sasha tried to lunge forward and bite at the tendons of his neck.
“Nathan!” Walter cried out.
As soon as Sasha pulled up for another lunge, Nathan was there, grabbing Sasha’s face and looking into his eyes, as Walter’s hands began to glow. It was Nathan’s gaze Sasha met,but Walter’s voice, whispering, “Be healed, Sasha Kelly. You are free from Solrin’s pestilence.”
The harsh light in Sasha’s eyes dulled, his struggling against Walter ceasing as he went limp and fell like dead weight. Through the goggles Nathan saw how the silver chains of Solrin’s power dissipated, and all three of them went down together. Sasha started shaking, gulping for air and looking around him like he had no idea where he was.
“Sasha,” Nathan embraced his incubus as best he could with Sasha still mostly in Walter’s arms, “it’s okay. It’s okay. He won’t be able to take control of you again.”
“The others.” Sasha coughed, looking to Nathan, to Walter. “Jim can’t handle all of them. There are too many.” He stared beyond them at the other camp where Jim and those with him were nearly overrun.
Walter turned, looked over at the distant chaos, seeing only a handful in their right minds fighting alongside Jim and Oberon. Walter could not use his power again; he could not Heal the struggle for control in all of them.
