Page 2 of Loving Nightmares
“You have no fucking right to judge,” he snarled, tightening his hand on my father. “Like I said, it really doesn’t fucking matter. Make your choice, Arabella.”
“Ara,” my dad finally said, his voice strong and steady. “Donotlet down the institute’s wards.”
“Want to be a martyr that bad, old man? You may be the perfect person for this job, but I’ve heard our soother here is soft-hearted. I have many more nightmares I could put in harm’s way if it means accomplishing my goal.”
My father didn’t react, but his gaze told me that he was serious—that he wanted the wards to stay up, no matter what that meant for him. That wasn’t all I saw though. No, I also saw something else there—determination. My dad didn’t plan to die. His hand moved in a sharp, small movement War couldn’t see, and when I saw the number two, I realized what he wanted me to do.
I turned and looked at the god terrors around me and my men, drawing in a steadying breath as I walked up to Zain and Cy and spoke quietly.
“I don’t know what he has planned, but be ready to draw the wards back to the secondary line so they’re just surrounding the institute. I also need someone ready to give them that signal.”
“We can,” Amun said as Damian nodded, going with the other three as they quickly departed.
“I don’t want you out here.”
“I’ll back up,” I promised Ashur, his voice low and rough near my ear, though I had no plans on following through. At least notto the extent that he would want. If Ashur had it his way, I would be safely inside the institute. That wasn’t an option here.
“Trying to protect your mates?” War scoffed as I turned back around and moved closer to the bastard. The rest of my mates spread out, all of them tense and ready for battle. While I didn’t love the option, I also knew it may be our only chance to ensure this ended—that War would back down.. I just hoped my dad knew what he was doing putting himself so directly in the line of fire.
“I’m not trying to be a martyr,” my father said, drawing War’s attention. “I have no plans on dying, Gunnar.”
I refused to recognize the terror as anything but War since he seemed so keen on spreading it, so hearing his name was a bit odd at first.
“How is that?” the god terror mused. “The only power you have, weak human, is the technology inside the institute. It’s nothing compared to nightmare power.”
My dad flashed a massive, uncharacteristic grin. “That is where you’rewrong.”
I saw the confusion in War’s gaze before everything…detonated.
My eyes went wide as I leaned back, away from the explosion that nearly burst my eardrums, a sonic boom of power that had the wards shaking with electric blue light.Holy crap.
Then my dad showed War exactly what happened when you messed with our home.
All at once, wires and cords exploded from my father’s back, seemingly millions of them ripping off his shirt as they tore free of his body. He looked like a cyborg, skin and metal mixing to create a form that looked a lot like Drive’s. War stumbled back as a thick cable whipped across his chest, a surprising amount of pain blossoming on his face at the unexpected action.
That was minor compared to the wave of slaughter the wires wrought on the humans within a mile of my father.
Metallic silver cords wrapped around the humans’ necks, tightening to the point that they just…popped their heads right off. Thick ropes of tungsten shot forward like spears, blood showering the ground as they skewered the humans in their path. Hundreds of thin steel wires snaked up from the ground, pulling their victims down before puncturing their skin and spreading beneath it like parasitic vines until they burst out again, an electric current frying the corpse.
War backed away, his breathing rough as he stared at my father in pure, unadulterated shock. I didn’t blame him. I could feel the surprise of my mates as if it were a tangible object, and I was nearly shaking, affected by the energy present.
“Fuck.”
Blackwell’s one-word response to what was going on had me nearly laughing, though the strained noise that left me wasn’t even close to humorous. Cy and Zain were waiting on my signal, and Damian and Amun were watching from afar, ready to relay that message, but Blackwell, Razar, Ashur, and Saint watched my father’s display with authentic enjoyment. I didn’t blame them. I would have loved the display of pure power…if War hadn’t gotten angry.
“Attack!” he bellowed. New people flooded in and I knew instantly it was time. We had to help.
“Damian! Amun! Give the signal!” I called as the nightmares gathered around me tensed, all of them preparing for battle.
“Watch the guns,” I hissed, delivering one final, essential message. “They have bullets that can actually hurt you.”
The nightmares around me nodded, and I realized they had already been informed as I took in the extra armor they wore. It wouldn’t be enough, but hopefully it would help for now.
Cy gave a high-pitched whistle, and all of a sudden the wards were gone and nightmares were surging forward violently. Behind me, the wards tightened around the institute like a membrane, and I began walking back, not leaving the battlefield but knowing I worked better as a leader than in hand-to-hand combat.
Saint stayed with me, but everyone else surged forward into battle, and when my god terror tensed next to me, I realized hewantedto fight.
“Go.” I pointed towards the others. “Seriously, they need you, Saint. I’ll be fine.”
