56
Tiv
Thursday 1st October, Year 828
Marco agreed that getting the rest of us killed was not a prudent idea. He agreed we needed to leave, and quickly. However he planned to regroup in a few weeks with a larger force at Garth, the closest port to Harroworth, and come back for Ben if the reinforcements failed. I found this a detail we could worry about later, once we had got the survivors out of Harroworth. I pushed Alayna entirely from my thoughts, knowing it would only make things more difficult. I could come back for her. I could warn them.
“Tiv, get here now!” Kale hissed, running into the room where I was frantically packing our things. The clamour of his entry jarred me, and my hands paused, wrapped around a rough-spun shirt.
“What is it?” I asked.
"Get here now or Marco will shoot her!" Kale barked, his grip iron on my arm as he yanked me towards the door.
A chill settled over me. I didn't need him to articulate who 'her' referred to; Alayna had always enjoyed chaos.
We careened into the main library where Alayna sat straight-backed at a table, like a queen on a throne, not a sheep in a lion's den. Her expression was bright when she spotted me.
"Oh, she’s lost her bloody mind," I muttered under my breath.
With her stood an older Lambentian woman and a woman a few years younger than Alayna. The young woman danced to the decrepit bookshelves and picked up a dust-struned book from the floor, holding it upside down and pretending she was very interested in the topic of blood magic. The older Lambentian woman flicked her gaze between the faces in the room, taking stock of us like we were on the wrong side. Like she didn't share the same golden eyes we did. With a graceful arch of her hand, a soft hum akin to the thrumming of hummingbird wings grew into existence and around her–from her–a luminescent barrier shimmered into view. The twinkling light cascaded over the three women like liquid crystal, enveloping them in a silvery shield. Everyone in the room froze. She was a familiar.
Xander stood at the entrance grinning as Alayna sat, drumming restless fingers across the table.
Marco raised his gun not to Alayna but to the young woman. “What are you doing here?”
He was clearly just as confused as I was, glancing my way. I threw my hands up in utter confusion.
"Well," Alayna started, voice infused with forced flippancy that rang hollow, "My brother won't demolish this place while I'm inside it now, will he?"
I groaned.
“You brought a familiar here,” Marco spat.
Alayna met his glare head-on, unflinching. "Yalma’s our translator.”
Xander faced Marco's ire next, “You just let them walk through the front fucking door?”
“If three pretty, unarmed ladies, ask to come and save our skins, I am hardly going to turn them away. Anyway, fighting with people who don’t want to fight isn’t fun,” Xander explained with a shrug and an easy smile devoid of remorse. Yet I noticed how forced the action seemed and for a moment, a flash of regret flicked across his features as he saw whatever was in Marco’s head.
Amelia's fingers wrapped around my wrist, her touch a deliberate tether to caution. Alayna's gaze flicked to the point of contact, and a fleeting, bemused smile tugged at her lips.
My brow creased as I tried to fathom her audacity in coming here, a teenager flanking her side like a fragile shield. At least she had a familiar, though one familiar against all of us would not save her.
I tried to move forward again and Amelia’s grasp tightened. “Don’t!” she hissed.
Tala and Jonas came in through the door behind Xander.
“There is no one else out there,” Jonas confirmed. “All signs suggest she has come alone.”
What the hells has she done?
The thought was obliterated as Xander met my gaze across the room and gave a subtle shake of his head.
“They’ll not be far away. They won’t let her get hurt,” I blurted out. I had no notion if it was true however Xander must have witnessed something in Alayna’s mind to suggest otherwise.
Hopefully, the looming threat of us all being murdered by her people, who were obviously somewhere, might be enough for Marco to want to keep our impromptu hostages alive.
My brother approached me, grabbing my arm roughly, “Did you tell her where we were?”
“No. Her brother got the information from who we left,” I choked out.
He spoke in a hushed whisper, “Is she bluffing? Are they stalling us?”
“No,” I replied, looking over at Alayna who flicked Amelia a small wink.
Honestly, I had just as much uncertainty about Alayna's intentions as Amelia had a strong grip on my wrist. Xander's judgement was my only clue; he wouldn't have granted them entrance for nothing.
"We should end her now... avoid future trouble," Marco suggested quietly, his hand shifting the gun's aim ominously toward Alayna.
I found my voice steady and forceful as I countered him. "No."
With impatient swiftness, Marco redirected his weapon toward the young woman again. "Then her. A message."
The woman beamed widely, “Do it. Get it over with, pretty boy.”
Marco clenched his jaw yet before he was tempted to take her up on her bluff, Ashley cut in.
“Marco, she’s the youngest person in this room,” Ashley objected quietly.
A dawning realisation wafted over me; Alayna had counted on our humanity prevailing over rage. That we wouldn’t kill a teenage girl.
“We don’t murder innocent people Marco,” Kale agreed. That seemed like a lie considering what we’d already accomplished during our weeks in Vakoso.
“Innocent? Those rebels killed half of us. I saw that bitch kill Regan. How is that innocent?” Amelia hissed.
We’d been speaking Lambentian since she entered the room, however it didn’t go beyond my notice that Alayna’s familiar translator had not stopped muttering since Alayna sat down. Regardless, I kept my eyes fixed on her expecting her to do something. She didn’t. She was expecting me to do something.
Marco pulled back the slide on his pistol. My own hand, trembling only faintly, clasped on top of his, and I guided the muzzle downward.
“Why are you-” Xander said.
Marco wheeled around with a sharp cut-off. "You do not have permission to engage with this parasite, Xander."
“Yes, he does. Go on,” I overruled.
“Tread carefully, Tiv,” Marco growled.
I ignored him, hoping he wouldn’t hit me when we were alone, and signalled Xander to carry on with a nod.
“What do you want?” Xander continued.
The Vakosian speakers stared by at Alayna in anticipation. She looked to her audience and fear flashed across her features, replaced hurriedly by a bravado I knew all too well. “I am here to offer a truce.”
“It is a trap,” Marco said matter-of-factly. “She is nothing but bait dangling before us, and we’re wasting our time entertaining one insignificant rat.”
“Two rats. I’m here too,” the odd teenager chirped. “Maybe three rats. I dunno if you’d count Yalma? She’s one of you really.”
"I’ll never be one of them,” Yalma replied in Lambentian—a message laced with venom for us rather than for Alayna or the young woman.
Alayna laughed as though she had understood. She squared her shoulders before Marco and spoke again, “This is our home. For years now the only reason we’ve fought is to destroy the Umbrith so we can try and live peaceful lives. But if you keep sending Lambentian soldiers to us, we will continue to defend ourselves. I want you lot to leave us alone so that nobody else has to die unnecessarily, and make sure no more soldiers are sent to us. We don’t want to hurt you.”
As Xander pivoted towards me, his face etched with conviction, I sensed his belief in her words before he spoke them aloud. "I think she’s telling the truth."
A heavy sigh escaped me—a swirl of relief that dissolved as Marco intervened once more. "Xander, your role is not to opine," he snapped.
“Why the hells not?” he growled. “Should we blindly follow orders? Engage in atrocities just because your father says so? These people aren’t like the other groups we’ve taken down and you know it. They’re not our enemies unless you make it so.”
Ashley and Tala began whispering to each other, unsure of the exchange. Tala and Kale spoke no Vakosian, Ashley had very little too. Xander began explaining everything they’d missed.
Amelia's patience had eroded into a snarl: "Too much talk! Just kill—"
"No," my bark cut through the room like a cleaver through sinew; her grip on my wrist faltered but did not break completely as I glared at her unyielding stance.
Her eyes met mine—raw pain beneath swollen eyelids betrayed poorly cloaked anger. My fingers coiled around her pistol deftly extracting it from his grasp, not trusting her temper.
“Marco, you know I’m telling the truth,” Alayna interrupted, eyeing his gun. “You have come with instruction from Daddy Dearest to annihilate us. But it will take an army and we will keep sending Lambentians back in pieces if we need to. It’s not what we want and it's not what you want. Talk to your Dad and tell him enough is enough.”
Marco’s response was terse, a single word laced with finality. “No.”
We both knew the truth: Marco and I could both beg until we were blue in the face. Father would never stop sending people for the bastards he thought had killed our Mother.
"Ah, sweetheart," Alayna cooed with spite, her eyelids fluttering mockingly. Her lips curled into a taunting grin. "Are you still bitter because I chose Tiv?"
The room erupted with muttering amongst our ranks; Xander stifled a chortle as Marco spat curses through gritted teeth, his hand jerking the gun upward in a rage. I gawked for a moment. Why did she feel the need to antagonise him? The woman had absolutely no regard for her own safety. Had she always been so reckless?
Yes, she had always been a firecracker. The difference now was, if she exploded, she’d be killed and probably take us all with her.
“Enough,” I snapped, my hand guiding Marco’s weapon downward once more. “Stop letting her under your skin.”
Yalma translated, causing a derisive laugh to shoot beyond Alayna’s lips. I shot her a pleading look; she simply winked.
Give me strength.
“She’s a liar, Tiv,” Marco said urgently. He spoke so low only I could hear, “She destroyed our family.”
“She hasn’t. Father has manipulated you,” I countered.
Marco looked incredulous.
“Why not just wipe us off the map? She must know that sparing us won’t stop a war. More will come in future… Why is she helping us?” Kale asked. Yalma immediately translated.
Alayna's eyes locked with mine, fire flickering in their depths. “Tiv asked me to help. There’s not a lot I can do but if you leave and stop more coming tomorrow then we’re even. We’ll let you leave. We won’t chase you. We will let you go home.”
Yalma repeated the words in Lambentian like an echo.
That acknowledgment was all the impetus I needed; I wrenched free from Amelia’s weakening grip, and navigated the tense space to Alayna’s side. I didn’t get far, walking into the diamond shimmer that surrounded Alayna.
“Yalma, he’s safe. Let him in,” Alayna reassured.
The familiar simply shook her head.
"Ah please Yalma,” whined the young woman. “This is getting good."
A light chuckle escaped Alayna before she continued, "If Tiv is here with me, we've got ourselves a pretty hostage."
"Appreciate it," I responded dryly, the corner of my mouth lifting into a wry smile.
Her responding beam took my breath away.
Yalma relented momentarily; Alayna seized my hand and tugged me through the temporary lapse in the familiar’s shield. The moment I was by her side, the diamond shield reappeared around us. As I settled in the chair beside Alayna, our shoulders brushing in a motion that sent the most ill-timed jolt of want through me, Jonas’s aim wavered but did not falter. Another smirk found Alayna’s lips as our fingers entwined and she faced Amelia with defiance etched in every muscle of her body.
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Tala looked at her hand in mine, “You trust her?”
“Yes,” I said simply.
Marco’s expletive punctuated the air, his eyes blazed and teeth bared in a grimace.
“Why?” Tala pressed.
“Because she is here, not the Harroworth Rebels who could have easily trapped us and killed us. She could have kept me and given me to the Harroworth rebels yet she let me leave and warn all of you. If she wanted me dead—any of us dead—we'd be already dead... I love her.”
Yalma translated my words and the young woman started laughing.
“Fuck, you’re so intense,” Alayna muttered, still staring ahead, yet a ghost of a smile graced her lips.
Amelia's reaction was as silent as it was visceral, a slow boil of envy and resentment presented a tensed jaw as she watched our interlocked fingers. Struggling to maintain composure, the corners of her mouth quivered before settling into a thin line. Amelia's head turned away sharply. She directed her gaze elsewhere—anywhere—but the two of us sat before her. It was probably the only thing she could think to do beyond attacking the forcefield that surrounded us.
“Alright, I’m with Tiv then. We need to leave these people alone,” Tala said simply. “Marco, there is no reason not to leave them. We are fighting a pointless war. You do not care about this place enough to allow more of us to die for its total destruction.”
She didn’t know how wrong she was.
Amelia rushed to her friend and started hissing venom but Tala shook her head.
“I’m with Tala, we’re just going to get more of us killed,” Kale agreed.
As whispers grew into debates around us, Alayna leaned closer, her eyes sparkling with mischief, “I hope they’re saying nice things about me.”
“You’re playing with fire,” I murmured.
“Please, tell me the other options I have at my disposal,” she said, suppressing a smile. “Ben said he’d level this building this afternoon. I didn’t have much time to think. You need to convince your dad to leave us alone.”
"Alayna," I said softly, leaning in so only she could hear, “There's no guarantee of safety here for you—for us. Father won’t listen to a single word Marco or I say.”
“That’s not good news for anyone in this room, or anyone else that your dad sends,” Alayna muttered. “I don’t fancy dying today.”
“You won’t. I won’t let that happen. Hopefully I won’t need to take a magazine of bullets for that notion; I will if pressed though.”
“You’re such a romantic, no wonder you bagged the supermodel for a wifey,” she scoffed sarcastically.
“That harpy will never be my wife,” I hissed.
"Good. I don’t like her… Judging by those daggers she's throwing, I gather she's not my biggest fan either. Shame, I was really looking forward to critiquing your wedding decorations," Alayna teased with a wink.
For a fleeting moment, I forgot we were trying to convince a group of people not to kill her. We could have been playfully bickering in a soggy field in Outer Harroworth. She wore the same tight jeans, which were no longer tight on her, with her statement leather jacket and ragged combat boots. Despite the ordeal that had undoubtedly taken its toll on her, she hadn't lost an ounce of her magnetic pull. Yet she had changed so much. I wished I had food for her. Despite this, she still looked phenomenal. I did not care about my surroundings, I wanted to find somewhere for us to be alone again.
“You look beautiful,” I observed.
“Tiv, focus,” she smirked.
“I can both admire you and focus,” I quipped.
“I don’t think so,” she beamed.
“I like him,” the odd woman grinned. “Can we keep him?”
“I hope so,” Alayna muttered, another smile tugging at her lips.
“Who are your friends?” I asked.
Alayna nodded her head to the side, “That’s Yalma, our healer. Hates using magic. I all but had to beg her to be here.”
Yalma barely waited for Alayna to finish before she spat in Lambentian, “I’m more than competent with magic so watch yourself Hawes.”
I stiffened but didn’t respond before Alayna continued.
“That’s Leesa—I somehow managed to adopt a sister while you were gone. She’s a horny head case. Just ignore her,” Alayna chuckled.
As if to cement her point, Leesa winked and bit into her bottom lip in a flirtatious gesture. I quickly took my gaze off her, feeling heat creep into my cheeks.
“Told you so,” Alayna muttered. “So, who are your mates? I’m not sure they like me.”
I laughed, “Tala and Kale are the single most disgusting couple I’ve ever met yet good fun when they can keep their hands off each other. You met Xander at the door. Borderlines on madness to be honest. You’d love him. They’re my best friends.” Her expression flickered with unease and my lightheartedness faded, replaced by concern. She was hiding something. “Alayna... you can't let them get hurt. They're good people.”
Her eyes softened momentarily before hardening again. "I know what's at stake."
I looked around and realised Marco had not taken his eyes off me, the outrage that I had chosen her over him once again clearly etched on his face, “She’s utterly manipulated you.”
His words bore into me like barbs.
"No," I replied after a strained pause that seemed to stretch on endlessly while my pulse hammered against my temples, "you've put your trust in the wrong people. The wrong person."
"You haven’t got a fucking clue who I’ve put my trust in." Marco’s snarl shattered the fragile ceasefire like glass underfoot, “Jonas, kill them.”
I leapt up, moving instinctively between Jonas and Alayna, however my reaction came too late; Jonas had already taken his shot–not at Alayna but at Yalma instead. The room erupted into chaos as bodies dropped to the floor in desperate cover; only Alayna and her friends stood unfazed as if rooted there by sheer willpower. Or so I thought. No. They just knew they were safe. The bullet collided with Yalma's shield before whistling harmlessly into aged woodwork somewhere behind us.
“I’m fine,” I heard Alayna say before calling, “Leesa?”
“The idiot clearly doesn’t understand Yalma yet. I’m fine,” Leesa chirped. “Come on Yalma, one little curse on the ugly bastard.”
“Shut up Leese,” Alayna snapped.
Fury ignited within me as I whirled upon Jonas, who appeared smaller somehow under the weight of his folly.
"Raise your gun again and you’ll regret it," I spat, each word loaded with contempt and disbelief. “If you can give me one valid reason for killing an innocent, unarmed woman then I’ll let you.”
“She isn’t an innocent woman, Tiv! She is a terrorist!” Marco shouted in Vakosian. “You know what she did to the ones we left behind. Demitrius and Eddie wouldn’t have politely told them where we were hiding.”
Amelia immediately translated, trying to convince Tala to change her mind, and it began to work; the remaining groups’ stares became unfriendly towards Alayna as they figured out that Marco was right.
“We tortured and killed the ones who were left behind. We’ll do it again to the next soldiers you send. We will not stop fighting. But we will never come for you. You just need to leave and not return. It’s simple,” Alayna explained.
I wished Alayna had not been as blasé about the murder of our friends. As Amelia translated Alayna's response, Tala and Ashley rushed to continue packing and Kale put his hand on his gun.
“Can you watch yourself?” I hissed at her quietly.
“Lyings hardly going to help,” she whispered back.
“Neither is bragging,” I barked.
“I’m not bragging. It’s true and Marco needs to-”
A bolt of lightning cut her off as it shattered the window behind us, showering everyone in shards of glass which bounced off Yalma shield.
Alayna spun to face Leesa, “You told me you’d distracted her!”
“I did!” Leese replied quickly.
"Ben, for fuck sake," Alayna muttered to herself.
“We need to leave, now,” Xander called in Lambentian.
“What the fuck was that?” Jonas panicked, his wide beady eyes fixed on the hole created by the bolt.
“We helped kill a Fated familiar yesterday. Looks like the other half of that pair wants in here,” Xander’s reply came in a rushed string of words as he pulled his gun out and turned to the entrance.
The entire room stilled like a stone. Nobody asked how he knew that information. Nobody cared. But I did. Because he had saw it in Alayna’s head.
“You led a familiar with a vendetta to us?” I hissed.
“Not intentionally,” she replied, stiff jawed. “You need to run.”
“Not without you,” I said quickly.
She gave me the same hopeless look she’d given me in her room when I asked her to come with me.
Yet before I could say more, hissing in the distance halted our heated exchange. Alayna tensed and she sprang to her feet, her hand darting to her belt, only to hover as she remembered her lack of weaponry. Beside her Leesa huddled close.
“That’s bad timing,” she murmured.
“They won’t get in,” Alayna said uncertainly as she cast an uneasy glance at the ceiling.
Marco’s face split into a menacing grin, chilling me to the bone.
“Course they'll get in,” Leesa said with a chuckle that sounded too much like resignation.
“Yeah, but they won’t get past Yalma.”
“And if they do?”
“Well they don’t eat Lambentians so we’re screwed,” Alayna breathed out. “Hopefully someone can deal with them from the outside before they get in and maybe they can put Louise on a leash while they’re at it.”
“I can ward off a few,” Yalma said apprehensively. “Anymore than two or three might be a problem.”
“You’re a familiar who can conjure barriers. What’s the issue?” I said sharply.
“My powers mirror my condition when I'm projecting it. How would you cope against a horde of Umbrith?” Yalma said, breathing deep as if concentrating.
“Let’s go,” Marco barked. “Let the creatures have the scum.”
“Shit! Get the Vakosians out of here,” Xander barked to me.
Everything happened very quickly after that. Alayna had been wrong. The Umbrith easily got in. And the couple Yalma had hoped she could repel seemed laughable as seven winged beasts burst through the windows and empty bookshelves, showering yet more splinters of wood and glass down on us. They immediately went for Alayna, Leesa and Yalma. They converged on Yalma's protective shield, their mottled grey, blending with the shadows as they pummelled against the barrier with relentless ferocity. Muscles rippled beneath their leathery skin as they beat their powerful wings, stirring a storm of displaced air that whipped around us. The shield vibrated under the assault, pulsating waves of energy rippling outwards. Cracks webbed across its surface, and with one final, concerted strike, it shattered like brittle ice. Yalma's gasp was lost amidst the Umbriths’ screeches as she crumpled to the ground, her strength sapped by the brutal onslaught. With the bulwark gone, Alayna’s eyes dilated in horror as the creatures darted forward.
“Yeah, we need help,” was all she said.
I put myself between the girls and one of the beasts, hoping to deter it. Its talons clutched at me effortlessly; I was wrenched from my protective stance and flung like a ragdoll across the room. The impact came with breathtaking force; I crumpled beside Ashley and Amelia in a tangle of pain and disorientation. Shockwaves radiated through my body where it had collided with solid ground. As spots danced before my eyes and a metallic taste filled my mouth. Ashley and Amelia helped me to my feet as I braced myself on them. The creatures had never so much as looked our way in the past, never mind touched us.
"That's new," I rasped out once I managed to drag air sharply into protesting lungs. My voice emerged ragged as I tried focusing through the throbbing in my skull. "Shoot them!"
Gunfire erupted, an attack that should have been the end of the Umbrith. Bullets punctured its hide, leaving black viscous fluid oozing from the wounds–blood. Despite being riddled with holes, the creature stood undeterred. Struggling to take flight with its bullet-torn wings, it resorted to a desperate crawl toward Tala and Kale who had shot at it.
I dashed to grab Alayna however Xander got there first, throwing himself at a beast and, to my disgust, spat in the thing's face. When his saliva made contact with the Umbrith, its skin melted away and a more black liquid poured from the wound. Like when Sarah Hall had done it all those years ago...
Alayna's eyes reflected the shock–eyes wide and gleaming, “How-”
“I’ve been around a while,” Xander said, answering her unspoken question.
Couldn’t read minds, my arse.
Mind-reader or not, his timing was impeccable. He hoisted Alayna up by the arm and dragged her to safety. Unseen by him in the mayhem, I noted Alayna's fingers deftly slip Xander's handgun from its holster. Despite the entire situation, I actually smiled at her.
Pulling her close, I whispered, “I love you," against her hair, savouring the scent of meadows and gunpowder that clung to her.
Alayna's lips brushed my hand in response.
“You pick your moments,” she replied as her eyes scanned the room for Leesa.
When she glanced behind me, her eyes went unnaturally wide. She seized my arm, attempting to shield me. Anticipating another Umbrith attack, I was unprepared for Ben's sudden grip. He spun me around with intimidating force and pinned me against the wall. His silence was deafening–void of remorse–and his eyes bore into me with an unreadable intensity.
Alayna was at our side instantly, voice shrill as she yanked at Ben's arm.
“You promised,” she screeched. “This is not the plan.”
With an impact that stole my breath away, Ben slammed me backwards once more before discarding me like a broken toy on the floor. He said nothing before spinning and running toward Leesa who was single handedly trying to kill an Umbrith. Watching her, it made sense why Alayna brought her. While she looked young, she was deadly; dancing between deathblows like a phantom.
Several of Alayna's group stormed the building with a sea of rebels. As Alayna helped lift me from my daze on the ground, she shoved me several steps back as a feral-looking woman entered the room. Her blonde hair seemed to almost stand on edge, blue eyes glowing.
Alayna leapt in front of her grabbing her face and forcing the woman’s gaze to Alayna’s.
“Louise, please,” Alayna begged. “You killed who did it. Murdering these people won’t bring him back-”
A string of electricity zapped across Louise’s fingertips and Alayna stiffened with a gasp, crumpling to the floor momentarily before scrambling to get away from Louise.
The familiar’s electrifying gaze surveyed the carnage unfolding before her; the Harroworth Rebels and Xander attacking the Umbrith and the Lambentians providing backup from the far wall. It seemed the Umbrith had united us for at least this moment. Yet Louise’s eyes fixed on me, the nearest Lambentian to her and my heart all but stopped as she took a step towards me, electricity ricocheting up and down her frame.
Alayna was on her unsteady feet in an instant, throwing herself between the familiar and I. Instinctively, I grabbed Alayna and threw her behind me. I didn’t bother grabbing for my gun; I wouldn’t be quick enough, I simply stood as a human shield as Alayna continued begging behind me.
Louise looked at me carefully, her head tilting slightly. There was no humanity behind her eyes. When Alayna tried to jump past me once more, I grabbed her around the waist, effortlessly throwing her back behind me again.
“Get the fuck off me!” Alayna screeched, trying to claw me out of the way.
“You get off me!” I shot back, shoving her away before she tried immediately to dive past me again.
I wouldn’t let her move closer, continuously shoving her off me in case the lightning I was about to be fried with transferred to her too. Louise’s dead eyes simply darted from Alayna to me as if she was utterly baffled by our little wrestling match.
“I’m sorry,” I told the familiar simply. Because I was. For all of it.
Her eyes flashed with a grief so sharp it could have cut me yet only for a moment before her gaze deadened again.
“I felt it you know? I felt the second your lot took him from me. I felt his heart stop,” her emotionless monotone sent shivers through my body as my throat tightened. “And now that piece of me is gone and it will always be gone. It’s like missing a limb. You don’t know how it feels but you will. Which one of yours should I take?”
I repeated the only words that filled my head. “I’m sorry.”
Louise’s eyes darted to Alayna who was still clawing to fling herself in front of me, her pleading screeches reverberating through me, as I held her in place.
“Aly, please get off me,” I begged, voice filled with rawness I had no control over.
At my words, Louise’s eyes locked with mine once more. The impending sense of dread I felt fizzled out instantly as she spoke again.
“Riley would have done that too,” was all she said, turning to her rebels and raising a hand.
An explosion of lightning hurled from her palm. Alayna pulled me further away as we watched the bolt fly across the room, missing Aaron by inches to strike the Umbrith flying at him. It’s crumpled with an ear piercing screech and before it was able to stand, rebels descended on it, stabbing and tearing at it until it was torn to black, bloody ribbons. Louise didn’t look back as she flung herself towards the ensuing fight, Alayna following her as close as a shadow might.
Yet more creatures came pouring through the hole in the wall in a grey torrent until they were beyond counting. They no longer discriminated in their bloodlust between Vakosians and Lambentians. One launched itself at Ashley with a ferocity that didn’t give her a chance to scream before the monster silenced her the same way Sarah Hall had been silenced all those years ago. Amelia's scream, raw and desperate, sliced through the air as she witnessed Ashley fall; she turned on her heel, fleeing from the nightmare that now feasted on Ashley's still form. A sour taste of bile clawed at my throat as I watched horror unfold.
Around me, Vakosians moved with lethal precision. They worked as a team, dispatching Umbrith one at a time, while the Lambentians ran around screaming at each other in a disorganised fashion.
"Run!" My voice tore from my throat in a rasp, “There’s too many of them!”
Alayna’s group clearly had not noticed or did not care that they were vastly outnumbered. They were going to die if they did not leave soon. I pressed through the fray, intent on reaching Alayna when a beast careened toward Xander who was protecting her. As I arrived at his side, the rifle in his hands spat fury at the creature until it relented to collapse atop him. The beast’s teeth sank into Xander's shoulder, shredding through his bulletproof vest with ease as if it were mere cloth. His scream, a visceral sound, pierced through the bedlam as I fired upon the creature. Too late; its jaws clamped down again, this time finding Xander’s throat in a final, gruesome snap, crushing it. Staggering back, I could only stare as Xander lay motionless. The man who had spent the last three years holding my life together for me. My mind reeled from the shockwave of his jaw slack and eyes lifeless. But there was no time for grief; shock and rage swelled within me like a tide that threatened to spill from my eyes.
A warning growl dragged my attention to what loomed next; another Umbrith bore down upon me with blind fury. My guard all but forgotten, I barely registered its approach until Alayna’s shout pierced through the haze. It was too late. The creature sprang at me.