Page 42 of Frost and Fate
Aria’s beautiful face paled. “What is it?”
Nova shook her head. “I don’t know.”
They looked around the room. Matlena and Brona continued their work. A terrified scream interrupted their chanting. Nova turned to Brona. The redheaded witch was pulling frantically at a hand that had wrapped its way around her forearm. At first Nova thought it was a survivor. As she watched, the hand shifted and grew. Where a small woman’s body had just been, now lay a full-grown man. His body was mottled with rotting flesh and dark tattoos snaked around his bald head.The Collectors!
Leah and Aria moved in, but before they could reach him, he raised a palm and slammed it down on the floor. The concussive shockwave sent everyone tumbling backward. When Nova looked up she saw a number of black floating sigils rotating around the Collector’s body.
“No!” Matlena cried from across the room. “The wards!”
Aria was on her feet first. She lunged for the man. Before she could reach him, a large hooded figure appeared in the lobby. The mysterious figure wrapped his arms around her and they were gone.
“Aria!” Nova yelled. Where had they gone? Where had he taken her? Magic flooded her veins. Without another thought, she hurled a wave of ice toward the disgusting bald man. It hit him with such force that his body flew up and straight through one of the glass walls that made up the complex’s entryway. He hit the stone steps outside with an audible crash and did not move again.
As Nova turned her gaze she caught sight of Darren. His eyes met with hers and she opened her mouth to speak. Before she could warn him, the air around them crackled. An army of Collectors appeared. A large group surrounded the outer lobby while a small group appeared within the lobby itself. Fear struck Nova so strongly she could barely think.
The lycans reacted in an instant. Some chose to shift into their wolves, while others remained in human form and used the weapons they had in hand. Leah dove at the Collector nearest to Nova, shifting into her lean black wolf in midair. The man screeched as she made quick work of his face and throat. A scream tore across the lobby as two mangled Collectors headed for Laurie. Nova darted in the blonde’s direction but came to an abrupt stop when a Collector dug a hand into her long silver hair. The man jerked her back with such violence that when she hit the floor, her body continued to slide until she finally hit the lobby wall.
Nova looked up, dazed. As the same man approached her, she had a moment to take in the scene. Leah’s wolf continued to ravage bodies, one after the other. Blood was sprayed along the walls and across the shiny marble floor. Nova couldn’t see Brona or Matlena from this vantage. She didn’t know where the witches had gone. Laurie was backed into a corner as her attacker continued forward, and Aria—where was Aria? That hooded figure had taken her, taken her away!
It had all happened so fast, Nova barely had time to comprehend the disappearance of the Alpha’s sister. She couldn’t see outside. She didn’t know how the rest of the pack was handling themselves. Her heart ached to think of Darren out there.
Darren.Energy pulsed through her.Aria. Laurie. Leah. Gideon. Lucas. Aaron. Brona. Matlena.They needed her help. With each name her powers grew. She closed her eyes, and when they opened again, she knew they now shone that pale silver blue.
The Collector bent down and reached a bony, rotten hand toward her. Nova shot a hand out and wrapped it around his putrid ankle. Ice flowed through her fingertips, cementing his foot in place. The ice spread up his leg and Nova saw his milky, dead eyes go wide. He tried to pull away from her, but it was too late. The ice consumed him. He released one last strangled cry and the ice overtook his face, sealing him in a shimmering blue. His frozen expression was one of absolute terror, and it gave Nova a momentary feeling of satisfaction. She took advantage of the spare moment to ditch her elegant heels, knowing she needed better mobility.
After freeing herself of the shoes, she jumped up, running across the lobby toward Laurie. To her surprise, both men had moved away from the Chosen woman. One sat on his knees and wept uncontrollably. The other man screamed and rammed his head over and over again into the wall. Laurie’s blue eyes showed a darkness and intensity Nova had never seen before. Sweat dripped from her brow as the men continued their unusual behavior.
Nova remembered the conversation she and Laurie had in the penthouse about her powers and the ability to manipulate emotions. Laurie had said she chose to use her powers to radiate positive emotions, though she could just as easily radiate negative ones if she wished. Nova had no doubt this is what was currently happening. The man on the floor sat in a state of total despair. Nova watched on in horrified fascination as he reached for a large piece of broken glass from the floor. Tears continued to pour from his milky eyes as he pulled the shattered edge across his throat. With one last gurgle he slumped over and ceased to move again.
The second man was coated in blood now as pure rage forced him to continuously bury his head into the wall. Before he could completely end his own life, a tan wolf sailed through the lobby and bit down so hard that he completely severed the bloody man’s head from his neck. A bloodstained muzzle looked up and toffee eyes burned into Nova.Lance.The Beta’s blond fur was covered in blood and gore. He had obviously fought tooth and nail to get to his wife.
“Lance!” Laurie cried out. She stroked a hand across his long blond ear. Nova’s heart ached to know how Darren was doing. She had to get outside. More screaming from across the lobby drew her attention. Brona was twisting her hands in complex patterns. The man who stood in front of her began to jerk violently. Her red hair blazed as she continued her magical assault. It was only after the body began to crumple that Nova noticed a familiar figure on the floor.
Matlena!The old woman clutched a bleeding wound on her side. Nova darted in their direction.
“No!” Brona shouted. “I’ve got her! They need you!”
Nova nodded and dashed down the steps of the complex. The scene outside was chaotic and overwhelming. Wolves, humans, and undead Collectors fought amongst the slew of blood and bodies. Nova didn’t have to look long to find Darren. She was drawn to him like a beacon. The gun he had been using to shoot with before had now become a blunt force weapon. He swung it around, bashing in faces in all directions. Darren looked up, evidently sensing Nova’s presence. He quickly moved through the crowd to make his way to her.
A large hand gripped the back of Nova’s neck then. She struggled as her feet were lifted off the ground. The Collector was attempting to raise her even higher when a massive impact dropped them both to the concrete. Nova looked up to see Gideon. The Alpha’s eyes burned with a blue fire beneath. His style of brute force was continuing to serve him well while he literally ripped his victims limb from limb.
As his cobalt blues found hers, he uttered a single question. “Where’s Aria?” The ferocity in his gaze made Nova want to cower.
Finally she choked out, “They took her. They took her!”
The shift ripped through his body with such speed and size that Nova had to stumble backward to avoid being crushed by the massive beast that had just emerged. Gideon’s wolf towered above everything in the area. His wolf was easily twice the size of Leah, Lance, or Darren’s. It was a monstrous creature covered in thick, dark brown fur with Gideon’s sapphire eyes shining atop a snarling muzzle. Gideon moved through the crowd like a dark wind, ripping a path of destruction.
Nova finally pulled her gaze away from the nightmarish beast when Darren reached her side. They didn’t have time to speak before the Collectors descended again. Fighting side by side, she and Darren worked together. He would slam an opponent down to the ground and Nova would freeze them in place. They made a damn good team.
“Nova!” a familiar voice called out from somewhere in the carnage. Nova searched for the source and saw Lucas, his body pinned down by an army of Collectors. He was looking at her, a hand outstretched. A light went on in Nova’s mind.
Weapons!
Of course, it’s what Lucas had been training her for. Nova clasped her hands together. As she drew them apart, a long, shimmering sword took shape. “Lucas!” She dropped to one knee and slid the icy weapon toward her target. It miraculously reached him in one piece. Lucas grasped it firmly, and drew it up to drive the sword through a Collector’s abdomen. Within a few moments, Lucas was back on his feet.
Nova began pumping out weapons as fast as she could, axes, swords, throwing knives, hatchets. She quickly passed them around to the lycans closest to her. It wasn’t a permanent solution. The weapons would break or be melted eventually, but she had to do something. The number of Collectors was surging. They just kept coming! A fresh group had just arrived and were charging toward the fray.
Nova wanted to get close enough to use her magic, but there were too many bodies and people in the path.A wolf could make it.An idea formed in her mind. She grasped Darren’s muscled upper arm. “Shift!”
