Page 52 of Of Flame and Fury
“Son of abitch.”
The midnight-black twin swerves through the crowd ofweres:bears, cheetahs, mountain lions, and wolves until only a few strides remain between Celia and me.
Celia glances behind her like she was born to ride a massive red wolf, her long hair flowing in the wind, her green eyes firing. “Where’s Shayna?”
“Coming, dudes!”
No, Shayna’s notjust coming. Very unlike my pathetic entrance into the melee, Shayna runs and twirls like a seasoned ballerina. She lands on the rump of a grizzly, pushes off him, and uses the momentum to leap between the army protecting Celia.
Shayna lands on two graceful feet, riding Koda’s haunches, but not,absolutely not, before slicing a Nyte in half that scrambles up a tree and leaps from a branch.
The Nyte falls away in two splattering pieces, the part with the head still giggling his ass off. Shayna lowers herself in a split, riding backward to guard Celia’s back as Nytes swarm us from all directions.
“Bren has Emme,” she calls before we can ask.
The tone she carries as she swings her sword alerts me that they’re in trouble.
I fix my position to a less painful one and peer behind me. Bren and Emme remain several yards away from the rest of our group, and the Nosferatus are almost upon them.
A large Nyte assumes his shadow form and jets onto Bren’s back. The impact knocks Bren forward. He tucks Emme against him, protecting her as he rolls off to the side.
The only light guiding us is from the partial moon until I take aim and fire. Blue and white lightning cut through the darkness, galvanizing the aerial Nytes and forcing parts of their physical forms to materialize.
Theweresfall back, tearing into the Nytes I strike. It gives Bren time to adjust Emme against him and stumble to his feet.
Pain scrunches his features, the limp evident in his stride no matter how hard he tries to hide it. Emme clutches his neck, pressing her face against his chest. She tells him something that twists his features. With an angry roar, Bren throws her ahead of him as the Nytes swarm him.
Emme shrieks, soaring into the air. I yell for Gemini to help her, certain she’ll fall to her death.
Except my baby sister doesn’t need any help.
Emme crosses her arms and whips them out in a “V,” tossing the cluster of Nytes fighting Bren with herforce. The Nytes are thrown like LEGOs, slamming into trees and into the next set of Nytes that appear.
Brenchanges.His large paws slide along the wet lawn when his injured leg gives. He ignores the pain, bounding forward, and charging toward Emme.
Emme uses herforceto slow her fall. The landing, while jagged and awkward, gives Bren time to reach her and allow her to smoothly land on his back.
In his beast form, Bren is fast enough to reach the outer perimeter of the group, but not much farther. The manor comes into view, and yet another all-out brawl begins.
Werescollide into the Nytes I zap. If so much as a pinky is made physical, theweresrip into them, shaking them hard and forcing them to take shape. The Nytes giggle as they’re mutilated. I can’t tell if that’s the only sound they’re capable of, or if Fate is merely laughing at us. Theweresinterpret it as the latter and answer the insult with fangs and claws.
The vampires,our vampires, burst through the section of forest closest to Lake Tahoe. Misha and his crew cling to the back of a giant leechy thing, their skin covered in cuts and blood.
“Turn it,” Misha orders. He and his vamps hurtle themselves to the side, clutching the multiple legs along the creature’s underbelly. They pull hard, using their weight to drive the leech into the fleeing Nosferatus.
A hollow tongue slithers out from deep within the thing’s throat. It sucks the Nosferatus down like a vacuum hose and spits them out just as fast until all that remains are piles of black clumps.
This is the Nyte who killed Genevieve’s guards, and there’s Misha riding it like a hobby horse.
Misha is bold and smart to use the Nyte, and while we’ve collectively taken out many, the Nosferatus remain plentiful, and their streaming shadow forms are almost impossible to catch. But just as Fate has power, so does Aric. He snatches the shadows that near Celia, solidifying them in his grip. Those he and Gemini don’t maim with their bare hands, Shayna beheads, or Koda freaking eats.
It’s a fight to reach the manor. I hang on for dear life as Gemini’s twin careens over the stone steps leading from the lake and to the building.
The force of power from the water shoves at my back. Waves surge from the lake, each strike along the sand teasing my skin and demanding my focus. I ignore it, focusing on striking the circling Nytes. It’s not until we reach the lower terrace and the festering smell from the beach lurches my stomach, that I glance behind me.
The beach is overrun with rotting pieces of sea monsters. There are sections of gutted animals, remnants of large fins and broken teeth and bone. The lake is attacking and destroying Johnny’s creations. It’s just not fast enough, as the ward remains up. Like a mirror, the celestial blue water of the lake reflects against it and casts a spotlight on the Nytes flying toward us.
Whimpers, screams, yelps, and those damn giggles resonate from all sides. Sweat soaks my skin from my fire and every bit of energy I have left to keep it going.