Retribute

by Alicia Rades

  “No,” Ryland assured me. “We just told Sondra and Fiona this morning, but we wanted to tell everyone individually rather than in a big group.”

  “It feels easier that way,” Teagan said.

  “Well, we’re really happy for you,” I told them.

  Teagan ran a hand across her belly. “Thank you. We’re just ready for all this to be over.”

  Venn chuckled. “Believe me, we all are.”

  “So, names?” I asked excitedly.

  “We haven’t decided yet,” Teagan said. “We probably won’t until we know whether it’s a boy or a girl.”

  “How long do you have to wait?” I asked.

  “Just a few more weeks.” Teagan looked own at her belly. I hadn’t noticed before, but now that I was looking for it, I saw she had a small bump.

  “Anyway,” she said. “You should probably head back downstairs. We have a lot more preparations to do before tonight, and we still have more people to tell.”

  When Ryland and Teagan told us about their baby, it felt like maybe things would turn out okay.

  We only had a few more hours until we found out.

  25

  Venn stood at my side in the trees as I fiddled with Carla's bracelet. We'd arrived at Bryant Park over an hour ago, just before dusk, and there was still no sign of Matias.

  “Do you think he figured out this is an ambush?” I whispered.

  Venn placed his index finger to his lips to quiet me. I distinctly heard the brush of fabric as his arm moved. My senses were on high alert after the potion I drank. I could easily see through the darkness and feel the heaviness in the air, indicting further rain. I was also armed with one of Devin's cufflinks, a healing potion, a few weapons, and my trinket—a golden ring we'd gotten from Xander. I'd also drank one of those potions Clarita had said made one guy invisible, but I had yet to discover what superpower I'd drawn.

  I heard the flapping of his suit coat in the wind before I saw him. Valkas came down from the skies like an angel of death, levitating himself above the ground. He landed so softly in the grass that I didn’t hear it. He straightened a lock of hair, then glanced around. Even without the silver eyes, he still looked sinister.

  I closed my eyes and focused on my other senses, trying to get a feel for whether Matias was alone or not. He seemed to be, but I wasn’t sure I trusted Devin’s potions enough to say with certainty.

  “Oh, Genevieve?” he sang, looking deep into the trees. We had at least fifty witches and shifters on our side. Genevieve had called in more favors than I thought. I was confident we were hidden well enough that he couldn’t see anyone. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

  Sondra gestured to Venn and me, and the three of us stepped out of the trees as we'd planned if he was alone.

  Matias turned in our direction with a smirk on his face. “Well, well, well, I didn’t expect to see you here. Have you come to join the cause?”

  “We’ve come to make a deal,” I said boldly as we stopped several paces from him.

  “And Genevieve?” he asked curiously.

  “Dead,” Sondra stated flatly.

  Matias placed a hand on his chest, like he actually cared. “Oh, bless her. I really had hoped she’d join me.”

  Keep dreaming!

  He dropped his hand, and his demeanor quickly shifted. It was like he could only bear to spare a few seconds for the news. “So, what kind of offer are you proposing?”

  Matias began to circle us, like he was some sort of animal and we were his prey.

  Sondra held her head up confidently. “A trade for the Owl.”

  Matias paused his pacing and threw his head back in maniacal laughter. “What could you possibly offer me that is of more worth than the Artifact?”

  Venn shrugged. “Your life.”

  Matias’s laughter quickly died, and he continued to circle us slowly. My gaze flickered downward, and I noticed he was tapping his leg rhythmically. He was trying to put some sort of binding spell on us without us noticing! I’d read about it in one of Genevieve’s books.

  I stepped out of the circle to break the spell before he could complete it. He looked over to me in dissatisfaction, but I kept innocence plastered to my face. He didn't seem to notice that I'd caught his intention.

  “Are you threatening me?” Matias asked casually.

  “Yes,” Sondra said.

  “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” I told him. “Either way, we'll be getting that Owl.”

  Matias stopped pacing and turned to look directly at us. “No. We do this my way. I'll be keeping the Owl, and you three will either join me or die. Besides, do you really think you can take me on by yourselves? In case you haven't noticed, I've taken your magic.”

  Matias held his palms up and began to levitate again. Lightning crackled out of his palms. “I am all powerful!”

  And full of it.

  “What will it be?” he challenged.

  I looked to Sondra, then to Venn. They both gave me the same look, and I knew what I had to do.

  I turned back to Matias. “It looks like we're playing this by your rules. Either way, one of us will die tonight. Time to find out who.”

  Anger built up inside of me, triggering the magic in the bracelet I wore. A blast shot out in front of me, sending Matias reeling through the air. He flipped a few times, then landed in the ground on his ass.

  “Now!” Venn shouted.

  Witches and shifters came flooding out of the trees. Carla and Adrien led the charge, letting out matching battle cries as they sprinted forward.

  I quickly slipped the dagger out of my boot, while Sondra and Venn cocked the guns they'd gotten from Genevieve’s. Gunshots rang out around me, but Matias stood with confidence, unharmed. He stuck his fingers in his mouth and let out a high-pitched whistle.

  Predictable.

  Men came out of nowhere, raining down from the sky like supervillains. They all looked like clones of Matias in their dark suits. His men went toward the witches and shifters racing out of the trees.

  All around us, the park broke out into the sounds of battle. I heard gunshots and the sound of magical weapons whizzing through the air. People screamed in agony. But I shut it all out as I focused on Matias and sprinted toward him alongside Venn and Sondra.

  I gripped a vial of explosive potion in my palm and threw it at him as soon as I was close enough. He flicked his wrist, and it went flying off its trajectory. The vial burst against the ground and sent one of Matias's men off into oblivion.

  Shit. I only had one of those potions left.

  I smelled the scent of brimstone before fire shot out of his palms. It was enough of a warning for the three of us to jump out of the way. Three fireballs shot over our heads in quick succession. He held his hands up again and muttered something under his breath. Nothing happened. He looked down at his hands like there was something wrong.

  That'd be the trinkets, jackass.

  The momentary pause was just enough time for me to jump to my feet and aim my dagger at his chest. At the flick of his wrist, it went flying out of my hand. I didn’t think. I just reacted. I drew back my arm and slammed my fist into his face. Matias stumbled back a few steps and wiped the blood from his nose. He looked at me in complete and utter shock.

  And that'd be the cufflink.

  Another gunshot sounded, but Matias remained unharmed. He must’ve been doing something to the bullets to protect himself.

  Matias threw out his hand, and I went flying backward several feet, knocking Sondra to the ground on my way down. I gasped for breath that had been stolen from me.

  Venn quickly realized his gun was no use against Matias. He raced forward so fast that he was a blur in my peripheral vision. His fist slammed into Matias's face faster than my eyes could process.

  The superpower potion, I realized. It'd given Venn superhuman speed.

  I quickly got to my feet, as did Sondra. Her face twisted in rage as we raced toward him again. Mati
as slammed his fist against the side of Venn's head, casting him aside, then thrust his palm out at me. Lightning crackled from his palm and struck my shoulder. I was starting to realize it was one of his favorite spells. I went down where I stood, my muscles twitching.

  As I tried to regain my strength, Matias shot a ball of red energy at Sondra's chest. She thrust her hands out on instinct and caught the magic in her hands, sustaining it as if she could still control magic.

  She glanced down at the glowing ball with surprise, but it quickly melted away as she realized it wasn't hurting her. Matias’s face paled as she shot the magic back in his direction. He ducked, and the magic struck one of his men beyond us. The magic continued straight through him, like the thing that had killed Devin. I shuddered to think that had almost just killed Sondra. Her superhuman potion must've given her the ability to manipulate other people's magic.

  “How did you—?” Matias started, but I’d already grabbed my knife from where it lay and gotten to my feet. I tackled him to the ground.

  I didn't know how I got up so fast after the lightning strike. It should've stopped my heart, but my extra strength must've saved me. I didn't question it. I just fought.

  My blade came down for his heart. He muttered a quick incantation, and my arm jerked to the side, like my blade had slammed into an invisible barrier above his chest. It sank into the grass at his side. A split-second later, it flew out of the ground and skidded across the grass, far out of reach, like Matias had used a telekinetic spell on it.

  Fine. Whatever. I could fight without my blade.

  Venn and Sondra were quickly at my side, coming to my aid. Their hands were inches from Matias when they both leapt back like they'd been shocked. I hadn't felt a thing.

  Matias shoved me off of him, and my body rose into the air. My feet hung a meter off the ground, and a tight sensation squeezed my neck as if I were hanging from the gallows. I clawed at my throat but found nothing there. My heart hammered.

  Matias chuckled as I hung there, gasping for breath. Venn and Sondra tried to reach him again, but they slammed into an invisible barrier. The sounds of fighting and death continued on around us. I couldn't look around to see who was still alive and who had fallen.

  “Why aren't you… killing me?” I asked in the loudest voice I could manage. It sounded like only a whisper.

  “Until your breath runs out, the offer's still on the table,” Matias said, looking amused. “Join me.”

  He loosened his magical hold on me just enough to give me a chance to answer.

  “I will—”

  I was cut off as the sound of a throwing knife whooshed through the air. It sank into Matias's shoulder, and I fell to the ground. Matias's face contorted in anger as he ripped the knife from his flesh and turned on Fiona, who stood fifteen yards away from him, ready to throw another.

  “Why don't you go to hell, asshole!?” she shouted.

  In his anger, he flung a ball of black-colored magic at her. I gasped, but it never reached her. One second, she was standing in the line of fire. The next, she materialized three feet away.

  Teleportation wasn't a usual witch gift. I'd only heard of two witches who were able to master it in all of history. Usually, witches avoided it because of how complicated it was. If you didn't do it right, you might leave a limb behind.

  But Fiona was still in one piece. It must've been her superhuman potion. These potions were meant to be neat party tricks, not weapons, but they were serving us well tonight.

  Matias stalked toward her. His eyebrows knitted in frustration while he shot magical energy at Fiona, only to miss every time. Venn and Sondra still hadn’t broken through the magical wall he’d thrown up between them and were now trying to fight off some of his men.

  I shot to my feet to help Fiona, but someone jumped in front of me. I caught a glimpse of his face in the moonlight, and I realized it was Ellwood—the witch from Seattle we’d seen on TV with Matias. On instinct, I slammed my heel into his chest. He stumbled back a few feet but remained on high alert as a fireball flew out of his palm. It hissed as it rushed by me, catching the end of my hair and singeing it.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” I taunted.

  Ellwood stood between me and Matias, as if protecting his master. He smirked and formed another fireball in his hand. If that was his only party trick, this was going to be easy. I threw myself forward and clipped his jaw with my fist. I didn’t give him a chance to recover before I punched him a second and third time.

  On the fourth swing, he threw his hands out and caught me by the wrist. Red-hot heat rose to his palm to burn the skin beneath the bracelet I wore.

  I let out a scream and shouted, “Jackass!”

  Using all my strength, I shoved my fingers into his eye socket and yanked down. Warm blood rushed over my fingers as he let out a pained screech. I kicked him in the abdomen, and he went down, clutching his bleeding eye socket.

  “That’s right,” I snarled. “I play dirty.”

  I quickly rushed over to where my dagger lay in the grass and dove for it. When I rolled over, Ellwood was almost on top of me. I held my dagger upright, and he landed straight on it. Shock crossed his features, and a disgusting gurgle bubbled up out of his throat. Then his body went limp.

  His blood rushed over me and soaked into my clothes, but I didn’t give myself time to think about it. He would’ve killed me if I hadn’t killed him first.

  I shoved his body off of myself and stood. I turned my gaze back toward Matias, but before I could spot him through the chaos, a heavy weight fell down on me from out of nowhere. Someone had jumped on my back and was pinning me to the ground. My dagger had flown out of my hand. Whoever it was, they were strong. He must’ve been a shifter. His hands clamped down around my throat. I tried to throw him off of me, but he just held down tighter. I didn’t recognize the man, but there was so much rage in his eyes, like he had a personal vendetta against me. The sky above me started to blur as he squeezed harder and harder.

  “How does it feel?” he growled.

  I gasped for breath, but couldn’t answer.

  “Huh?” he demanded, lifting me by the neck and slamming my head down into the grass again. “You’re about to die, raven shifter. Say hi to Valkas for me in the afterlife.”

  A Soulless, I realized.

  I tried to reach for my dagger, but it was inches out of reach.

  Come on, I begged. I wasn’t about to let this asshole kill me. Not after everything I’d faced. The dagger wiggled in the grass, like it heard my command. It was like Matias’s focus was waning, like we were gaining back some of our powers.

  Come on! I shouted in my mind, willing the dagger to come to me.

  But it didn’t move before the man above me grunted and I felt his hands leave my neck. Air entered my lungs again, and I sucked in greedy breaths.

  When I looked up, Zoey was standing over him, and a knife stuck out of his back. She ripped it out of his flesh as he fell to the ground in a lifeless heap. She stuck a hand out to me and helped me to my feet.

  “Thank you!” I cried. I’d definitely been wrong about Zoey.

  “Thank me later,” she said as she grabbed my shoulders and forced me to duck. An orange stream of magic flew over our heads and continued into the trees.

  The sounds of fighting around me seemed to quiet as I focused on a figure in the trees. He ducked out of the way as the magic whizzed by him. The magic was bright enough to illuminate his features.

  Cavanaugh? What was he doing here?

  The answer was obvious. He was waiting to see if I’d fulfill my end of the bargain—a bargain I hadn’t even taken yet.

  Get your ass in here and fight if you want it so badly, I thought to myself.

  “Down!” Zoey shouted.

  Another stream of orange magic shot over us. This time, Cavanaugh didn’t have time to jump out of the way. I threw my hands over my mouth as the magic slammed into his face. All I saw was burnt, bloody skin before his bod
y crumpled to the ground. My guts ached as I witnessed him seizing in the trees.

  It hit me that Cavanaugh was completely unprotected. I couldn’t just let him perish this way. I abandoned Zoey and raced toward the trees.

  “You idiot!” I shouted as I leaned down beside him.

  He stared up at the canopy with glossed-over eyes as his body shook violently. His face was so distorted from whatever curse had hit him that it was barely recognizable. White foam had begun forming around his lips. I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out the healing potion I had with me. I poured it into his open mouth. The potion was one of Devin's, so it would take a while to kick in. I hoped it was enough.

  “You shouldn’t have come! What were you thinking?” I demanded. I could hardly hear myself over the sounds of battle all around me.

  Cavanaugh continued shaking, but he found control over his hand and reached out toward me. I took his hand in mine and squeezed tightly.

  “I… had to… know…” He could barely get the words out.

  Damn him and his curiosity.

  I shook him as his eyes began to close. “No! You didn’t come here just to die.”

  Idiot, idiot, idiot! I wanted to scream, but I didn’t.

  “Stay with me,” I demanded.

  Cavanaugh moaned something, but I couldn’t make it out.

  “What?” I asked desperately. “What is it?”

  He reached into his pocket with trembling fingers, then pulled out his phone. I was completely baffled. Now was not the time to make a phone call.

  “Maggie… Grover,” he managed to choke out.

  I had no idea what he meant. Did he want me to call her, whoever she was? He pressed a button on his phone, then his whole body went limp.

  “Cavanaugh?” I shook him, but there was no response. “Cavanaugh!”

  It was no use. He was already gone.

  Pushing past the bile rising to my throat, I reached down for his phone to see what was so important that he wanted to tell me. But I didn’t touch it before a rogue stunning spell slammed into me.

  It felt like someone had smashed a brick into the side of my head. I fell to the ground on my side, unable to move. The world swam around me, and all I could do was take it in. All around the park were unmoving bodies. Some were covered in blood. Others had been ripped apart by magic. Some looked unharmed but were clearly dead. They mostly seemed to be from our side, too.