Blade opened up the front of her wrap shirt. I moved, putting myself between the ruler and my friends. Instead of the weapon I’d been expecting, Blade pulled wads of cash out of her bra. She giggled as she let the bills go, watching as the wind picked them up and drew them across the sand.
One of the bills passed me. It was for $1000.
“Holy shit,” Yutika whispered.
There had to be $100,000 worth of cash flying off into the desert. And Blade didn’t care.
“Are you seriously saying you aren’t bothered by child slavery taking place on your land?” Kaira demanded.
Careful. Blade’s telepathic voice had lost the honey. It was all cyanide now. You do not want me as your enemy.
“No, Blade,” Graysen said. “You don’t want us as yours.”
“We’re asking for your help,” Kaira said. “But either way, we’re going to rescue those children and demolish the mine. It’s your choice which side you want to be on.”
“I’m bored.” Blade backed away from us, slapping her riding crop against her leg as she gave us a nasty smile. She kept going until she was halfway between us and her army. Then, she tipped her head back and howled like a wolf.
The three-hundred-or-so members of her army howled back. Then, they raised their weapons.
Yutika passed around bullet-proof vests to everyone except me. She bent down to fit Sir Zachary into his.
“And that concludes negotiations,” A.J. commented.
I raised my fists as Blade’s army surged toward us.
CHAPTER 31
Get back to the plane,” I ordered the others, to which they responded with a simultaneous and emphatic No.
Blade’s army swarmed her as they came for us.
I heard the now-familiar crack of guns being fired. I spread my arms out, trying to make myself as big as possible to intercept the bullets before they struck my friends.
A.J. pulled guns away from the front line of soldiers and turned them on their owners.
Seeing that their guns could be used against them, the Californians dropped their guns and reached for a multitude of other weapons they were carrying on their person…swords, hatchets, and other lethal-looking objects.
“There are too many of them for me to control all of their weapons,” A.J. warned.
I broke into a jog, heading toward the oncoming army. Sir Zachary and Michael kept pace beside me.
“I’ve got Blade,” I told Michael, before veering off to the side, where the territory ruler was surrounded by a mob of her people.
“Stop fighting!” Michael’s voice was a roar that I felt beneath my feet.
The Californians in front obeyed. There were too many people for Michael to Whisper to all of them at once, so he used the ones under his control to form a protective ring around him as he moved deeper into enemy ranks.
My mind cleared of everything except the fight ahead. There was no time to second-guess myself or feel regrets. There was only the enemy standing before me.
I felt the tiniest bit sorry for these guys.
I pushed off the ground and threw my full weight into the front lines of Blade’s defense.
There was a dull, metallic clang as people bashed into my titanium skin and fell limply to the ground. I had no pity for the broken noses and shattered wrists I left in my wake. These Mags were out for blood.
One of them raced toward me with his arms outstretched. His hands had turned to claws, and he was sprouting fangs.
Ew.
He raked his nails across my arm. Aside from shredding my sleeve, the claws had no effect.
“That was a mistake,” I told the Mag. “I liked this shirt.”
I launched myself into the air. I spun, delivering a backward kick to the man. I used my momentum to punch two other soldiers who were trying to get their hands on me. No reason why I couldn’t be efficient.
I barely felt the swords and knives that broke apart against my skin.
I kicked, punched, whirled, and did it all again. All around me, bursts of magic struck my titanium skin and bounced off. The Californians’ war howls turned to fearful whimpers.
“Stay away from the Steel!” I heard Blade’s soldiers cry out to each other. “She’s fuckin’ strong!”
You have no idea.
Beside me, Sir Zachary locked his teeth around a man’s pantleg. Our little dog flicked his head, and the grown man flew into the air. Two more Californians tried to kick Sir Zachary. Before their boots connected, our dog opened his mouth and barked fire.
The Californians screamed and fell all over each other as they tried to retreat. They knocked each other to the ground and trampled the injured. None of them stopped to help their fellow soldiers.
Loyal bunch, these Californians.
The only one on the battlefield the soldiers weren’t abandoning was Blade.
I had left dozens of unconscious bodies in my wake and had almost reached the California leader, when a familiar shout turned my attention back on my friends.
My blood iced over at the sight of Californians encircling all of my friends except Michael, Sir Zachary, and me. Panic had me doubling back for them before I realized that the Californians weren’t attacking my friends; they were defending them.
The question of why was cleared up when I noticed they kept their bodies and gazes angled toward Michael.
Other Californians who weren’t under Michael’s control beat their magic and weapons against their former-allies. The collision between the two was bloody and brutal. Corpses were piling up on the sand.
My friends might not have my Steel strength, but they were holding their own. Kaira was distracting our opponents by changing all of their appearances from illusions of us, to exact replicas of Blade, to hairless cats. I gagged when one of the Californians tried to take a bite out of a live cat…before realizing there was a person under the cat illusion. Then, the Californian bit the person anyway.
A.J. was controlling fifty-or-so weapons in mid-air, turning them to follow various people in the crowd and firing warning shots whenever the Californians got too close to any of the 7.5.
Graysen, Smith, and Yutika were wielding baseball bats, which they were using against anyone who got near them. Every now and then, I saw a burst of fire as Sir Zachary took care of a whole swath of our enemies.
Michael and I were working our way around the sides of the army, respectively turning them against their own comrades and knocking them unconscious. Blade kept retreating deeper behind her soldiers, but everywhere I went, I heard her horrible laughter.
My friends and I were stronger than anyone else on this field, but we were outnumbered forty-to-one, and we weren’t the only ones with magic.
All around us, sinkholes were forming in the sand. We had to stay on the move to keep from being sucked underground.
A terrible, unnatural wind gusted up around only the 7.5. Sand particles sliced across our skin so ferociously that my friends’ faces were raw and bleeding.
There had to be a high-level Animalist in the group, because we were swarmed by scorpions, coyotes, turkey vultures, and tiny bats with fangs.
I abandoned my hunt for Blade, wrestling the animals that bounded toward the Seven. All the while, I heard A.J.’s voice in my head begging me not to hurt them.
Sir Zachary sprinted between and around the Californians. He barked all-consuming fire and flung full-grown men dozens of yards away.
I had just caught sight of Blade again, when a deafening sound blocked out everything else. I looked up to see four helicopters heading our way.
Someone—Kaira, I thought—screamed.
A missile shot out from the first helicopter. It was coming straight toward us.
Panic lanced through me. A.J. waved one hand in the air in a frantic motion. The missile slowed, but it didn’t change course. With all the other weapons A.J. was controlling, it was a miracle he was able to have any effect at all.
I ran toward the missile, not really having
a plan other than needing to get to it before it got to us.
Clearly, Blade didn’t care that her missile was going to kill her people along with mine. I could hear her maniacal laughter from somewhere nearby, even though I wasn’t looking at anything except the missile.
It came closer. Closer still.
Come on.
I stretched up my hands and reached the missile’s tip. Using my palms, I pushed against the missile’s nose with every ounce of my strength.
If it hit the ground, we were done for.
The force of its propulsion dragged at me. Sweat streamed into my upturned eyes as the missile fought to go downward.
My arms trembled. I was losing this battle. The missile was going to explode.
With a stuttering gasp, I did the only thing I could. I said a little prayer and put everything I had into redirecting the missile back upward.
The sky rippled as the missile exploded overhead. My ears rang.
Debris hurtled back down. Burning chunks of the missile hit the ground. Fireballs and splinters of metal exploded all around me. I covered Sir Zachary’s body with mine to protect him.
All around me, Californians were writhing in the sand. They screamed at the sight of their bloody, burnt skin.
I didn’t have time to feel sorry for them or grateful for my titanium skin. The helicopters were releasing more missiles. Four of them were heading for the ground.
I couldn’t get to all of them.
One seemed to be heading for Michael and A.J. Another was coming toward me and Sir Zachary. One was for Kaira and Graysen, and the last was targeted at Smith and Yutika.
For the first time in my life, I was paralyzed by fear during a fight. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw A.J. collapse from the effort of trying to slow them down.
I screamed his name and started for him, even as a missile rocketed straight toward me.
I hadn’t even made it a step when all of the missiles halted in mid-air. They stayed poised for several seconds, and then they shot straight up.
Tiny bursts of flames went off so high in the sky I could barely see them.
“My missiles, now,” Smith shouted.
I didn’t have time to be relieved. I raced for A.J., who was just getting to his feet.
“Now I’m annoyed,” A.J. declared as soon as I was near enough to hear him. All of the knives and guns he’d been controlling flung themselves far out of the Californians’ reach. A.J. stretched both hands up toward the sky. He closed his fists around air, and then yanked his arms down.
The helicopters squealed in protest as they followed the motion of A.J.’s fists.
The Californians on the ground screamed and tripped over each other in their haste to get away. All four of the helicopters hit the sand at the same time. The ground rocked with so much force that we were all thrown several feet.
“Back on the plane!” I shouted to my friends.
Sir Zachary continued to bark fire at the Californians as we sprinted for our ride out of there.
I was at the back of our group, so I heard Blade before I saw her. Her laughter raised the hairs on my arms.
We were almost to the plane when Yutika screamed.
We all skidded to a stop. Blade and two of her people were blocking the entrance to our plane. And each one of them held a gun to one of my friend’s heads.
CHAPTER 32
Blade had the muzzle of her gun pressed to Michael’s forehead. The giant of a man on her right was digging his gun under A.J.’s jaw. And the third had his gun pointed at the back of Graysen’s skull.
Kaira’s mouth opened to scream, but no sound came out. Yutika took a step forward. She froze when all three Californians curled their fingers around the triggers.
A.J.’s eyes were wild as he looked from one gun to another. I knew the silent calculation he was making. He wouldn’t be able to move fast enough to get full control of the weapons before the triggers were pulled. It was too risky.
The helicopter engines still rumbled, even as the metallic beasts lay crumpled in the sand. The sound was loud enough to keep Michael from Whispering or for any of us to try talking Blade down. Not that she looked like she was in the mood to negotiate.
There was actual blood splattered across Blade’s face in addition to her blood droplet-tattoos, and her tongue kept darting out to taste it. She leaned closer to Michael like she might kiss him. Instead, she licked a line of blood across his scalp.
Kaira shouted something inaudible, but none of us moved for fear of what the Californians would do. As fast as I was, I couldn’t get to any of my friends faster than the bullets just waiting to be released.
Blade was laughing. I couldn’t hear the sound over the whine of the helicopter rotors that were still trying to turn, but I saw her body shaking from the force of her amusement. She was laughing so hard her gun shook against Michael’s skin.
What was left of Blade’s army had surrounded us, but I barely noticed. Three of my friends were about to die.
Puffs of smoke came from Sir Zachary’s nostrils, but he seemed to understand he couldn’t breathe fire without killing our people, too. We were utterly helpless.
The helicopters whirred their last and went still. The piercing whine of the blades cut off.
So fast I almost missed it, Michael thrust his head to the side. The violent motion knocked Blade’s gun off-target a second before Michael bashed his skull against Blade’s.
Blade stumbled back, clutching at her face and cursing.
Michael didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed the weapon she’d dropped. The gun in his hand cracked twice. It happened so fast, I didn’t even see where he’d aimed.
A.J. and Graysen’s captors released them and doubled over. That was when I saw the bloody circles in each of the men’s right kneecaps.
Before I could marvel at Michael’s incredible aim, he raised the gun again. Two more cracks, and the screaming men collapsed onto the sand.
Blood seeped out of holes in their foreheads as their lifeless eyes stared at the sky.
“Michael, what are you doing?!” Yutika started toward him, but Kaira gripped her shoulder, keeping her back.
A.J. staggered against me. His face was white as a sheet.
Blade howled and reached for another gun in her belt. The ragged remains of her army surged forward.
I was too stunned to do anything except watch as Michael’s trigger finger twitched again.
Blade shrieked. She dropped the gun and clamped her hand over the bloody hole in her wrist.
Michael’s face was completely, eerily blank. He aimed the gun at the Californians surrounding us, who seemed as stunned by the turn of events as us. They were mostly weaponless thanks to A.J., but they still had their magic. None of them attacked, though, thanks to the fact that we had their leader surrounded.
“Michael, stop,” Kaira said in a hoarse voice.
Michael didn’t stop. He didn’t even seem to hear her.
“Don’t move,” Michael ordered the Californians.
Their eyes glazed over and their muscles slackened. Some of them even had slight smiles on their faces as Michael aimed at them.
Michael held the gun steady as, one by one, the Californians fell.
“Enough, Michael,” Yutika said, flinching as the gun in his hand went off again. And again.
The Californians scrambled back as Michael dropped the ones closest to us. I was too shocked to do anything but watch as every one of Michael’s shots hit its target. Horror mixed into the numbness.
“Michael, stop,” Kaira said again, her eyes wide with panic.
“Please, Michael,” Yutika begged, as Michael emptied a second gun. Tears were streaming down her face. Her voice warbled when she said, “This isn’t you.”
Michael didn’t even look at her. He held out his hand.
One of the Californians stepped forward and, with chattering teeth, pulled out a gun that had been hidden beneath her fur cloak. Wordlessly, she h
anded it over to Michael.
Michael did something complicated with the gun without even needing to look at it. Bullets popped out of the back and fell harmlessly to the sand. Then, he passed the gun to Blade.
“What are you doing?” Graysen shouted.
Blade took the gun from Michael’s outstretched hand. Their gazes connected for a long moment. Sweat broke out on both of their brows, and I knew there was some kind of mental battle raging between them.
When Michael spoke, I couldn’t hear the words over Blade’s whimpers and the roaring of my own pulse. But I could read his lips.
“Kill yourself.”
She gripped the weapon and then put the barrel in her open mouth. She pulled the trigger.
I jumped. Kaira and Yutika screamed. Graysen looked like he was trying not to be sick.
Snapping himself into action, A.J. lifted his hand. Every gun in the vicinity shot into the air. The metal barrels winked in the sunlight as they arced through the sky and then disappeared from view.
Michael didn’t react at all. His gaze was unfocused as he stared down at Blade’s corpse.
“Time to go,” he said, his voice as even and calm as ever. He stepped over one of the men he’d shot and headed for the plane.
The rest of us exchanged horrified looks. With no other choice, we hurried after him.
No one spoke once we were onboard the plane. I did a quick head count, making sure all 7.5 of us were present and accounted for. I stayed in my titanium form because I knew if I didn’t, I would be shaking like everyone else on the plane. Except Michael.
He sat on the edge of the couch, straight-backed and unmoving. He stared at the floor without seeming to see anything at all.
“Buckle up, everyone,” Smith called from the cockpit. His voice sounded too loud in the silent plane. “A.J. and I are fried, so this shit is going to get bumpy.”
The plane lurched, and then we were leaving the ground and all those bloody corpses behind.
CHAPTER 33
As our plane carried us back to Boston, my mind kept replaying what had happened down on the ground.
Mags & Nats 3-Book Box Set Page 92
