Page 124 of Ares' Shield
All I did was piss it off. Great. What the hell are we going to do now?
“We may need to think of a plan B,” I shout over my shoulder to Raven.
“What was plan A?” she asks, chuckling.
“There was a rough plan A.” I stick my tongue out at her over my shoulder.
I flick the whip out at the bull again and it roars. I jump out of the way as stampeding feet race for me.
Jayden screams and shadows engulf me as the bull opens its jaws and blue flames spew from its mouth.
A second later, I’m next to Jayden, out of the bull’s path. He wraps his arms around me. “We have to stop this.”
“I don’t know how we can. Unless I can flick this whip just right.” I turn in his arms just as the other bull breaks through the shadow wall.
“Raven, get out of there.” I flick my whip at the bull racing for me and throw my other hand out to zap the one racing toward Raven and the others.
Raven turns just as the head of the bull crashes into her and she’s thrown back into Greyson. They fall to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
“Fuck.” Jayden jumps in front of me.
His shadows leak to the ground around him and as I move to his side, his eyes swirl with black. This is so not the time for him to lose control.
“Jayden, we need to stay calm.” I grip his arm, but his hellfire ignites and slithers down to his hands.
He throws his hands out and the chains wrap around the bull stomping toward us. I spin to the other bull and crack my whip but again it just pisses it off.
“Why won’t it work on their huge necks?” I throw my hands up.
The bull charges me with a bellow of fury and an idea forms. It’s probably reckless and stupid and Jayden will probably be pissed at me for it later, but it just might work.
I roll away before the bull can trample me and jump back up to my feet.
“What are you doing, B?” Raven shouts behind me.
I ignore her and sprint to the bull, but it turns abruptly and horns slice out at me. Red-hot pain slices through my gut but I don’t stop my momentum. Planting my feet, I leap over the horns and flip in midair, landing on the creature’s back.
My stomach sears with pain, making my breaths come out choppy. “Fuck. It got me.”
“What are you doing?” Jayden roars and races to me.
The bull bucks and the bronze beneath my legs heats to nearly scalding. I don’t have much time before the fucking thing burns me alive.
“I’m going to take down the bull,” I say and grip my stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding.
“You’re fucking bleeding everywhere,” Jayden yells.
“Just give me a sec and Adrian can heal me,” I throw over my shoulder as the bull bucks beneath me.
I place a hand on the bull’s shoulder, but pull it back quickly. My palm comes away red and burned. Gripping my whip in my hand, I swing it around the bull’s thick neck and catch the end with my injured hand.
“You’re crazier than me,” Raven whoops as I pull back on the whip, cutting off any chance for the bull to breathe fire.
Jayden’s chains snap around the bull’s neck, the hellfire even hotter against my skin than the burning bull beneath me. The black and orange flames lick the bronze at the bull’s neck.
I pull back harder, and the bull turns to ash beneath me.
I fall to the ground with a strangled cry and wrap my arms around my stomach that’s still gushing blood. Dust wafts up around me.
