Page 34 of Justice
“Point made.” I took a sip of the drink in my hand, not even caring that it was some odd mix of liquids I’d never heard of before. The shit was good. “So where to from here?”
Oak shrugged. “I guess we will consult the book tonight, maybe see what Liberty thinks would be best as a whole?”
“I don’t want to stay here long,” I admitted. “I feel like a sitting duck. There are no wards here, like at home.” Home. Since when did I consider James’ mansion home?
“I agree,” Ellis chimed in.
“I could set some. I know enough magic for it,” Oak mumbled, but honestly, he missed the point. I didn’t want to be here that long. This wasn’t a comfort zone. These were Justice’s people, not mine. Not my own space. Not a single blood supply besides Liberty within two hundred miles. If we needed blood, we would have to find someone to offer it, and shifter blood wasn’t the same as humans. It didn’t hit as calmly. It was violent and turbulent. It burned as it went down, tearing through your insides in protest.
“We don’t have a blood supply here.”
“I thought of that, too,” Oak admitted, his fingers combing through his long hair. His voice lowered to a whisper. “I don’t want to fucking depend on shifter blood either. It’s like drinking shards of glass.”
“That’s generous.”
I groaned, letting my head fall back and hit the metal behind me, feeling the vibration travel up the metal. Only, the vibration didn’t stop as the ground below us began to shake subtly at first before an all-out rumble filled the air, and it rolled under our feet.
“Fuck,” we all said at once, seconds before I searched the crowd with growing panic, seeking out Liberty.
It was too late. Liberty had pushed past the group and was out of the cafeteria. She went into the hall, Justice and Horo close on her heels. I went against the group of people, franticly trying to find steady ground. I knew it wouldn’t come. This wasn’t just the earth quivering; this was a specific attack. Greta wanted Liberty; she’d made that clear time and time again, and she would stop at nothing to get what she wanted.
By the time I made it into the hallway, Liberty was already climbing the steps of the ladder, Justice right behind her. My body was jolted forward by Ellis and Oak as they tried to get to Liberty, the need to protect her surpassing all else.
When the hatch above was lifted, the sound of howling filled the bunker as wind and sand tunneled downward, spiraling into the dwelling. Everyone shielded their eyes from the sand and wind, and though I heard Justice tell her not to do it, Liberty still pushed forward until she disappeared from view. He followed, then Haro until the ladder was left empty.
There weren’t enough curse words in my vocabulary to describe what I was feeling becausefuck. Not again. I hadn’t fully recovered from all the problems we had been continuously tossed in the middle of, and now? Now we were in for another fucking fun night, and I was mentally hoping we had a day or two, or maybe a lifetime before another metaphorical shit hit the fan.
I hadn’t even blinked before Oak was already scaling his way up, his body moving faster than I thought possible, even with speeds like ours. I was right behind him with Ellis in the rear, all of us eager to get up there, protect our girl, and live another fucking day. But, the closer we got to the top, the harder it was becoming to breathe, the more sand filtered through the opening, and the stronger the wind became, trying unsuccessfully to push us back down.
When we broke the surface, we were nearly crawling from the wind pounding against us, but still we managed to stand. We lifted our feet slowly as we trudged to be closer to Liberty. The sight in front of us was unreal. A mix of wind and sand with sheets of rain in the distance, pelting downward toward earth, rushing in our direction at rapid speeds. We worked our way to Liberty’s side, realizing that standing in front of her would do nothing to protect her.
“I don’t know what’s happening,” she admitted. This time, instead of seeking out Oak for comfort, she latched onto my fingers, and despite the sight of doomsday before us, my insides warmed.
“It’s a monsoon, I think,” Horo offered. “Though it’s like nothing I’ve seen before.”
“It’s because it is nothing you’ve seen before,” Oak mumbled. “It’s unnatural.”
Within seconds of hearing that, Justice was put into gear, bellowing orders to his people. Ordering the strong to remain above ground, the women and children below. Though he knew nothing about the protection of the underground bunker they now called home, he didn’t hesitate to decide what was best based on what he did know. It was respectable; I’d give him that. He did care, and I could only hope that if need be, he put that much care into protecting Liberty as he did protecting the people he hadn’t seen in over sixty years.
The ground gave one more solid pitch under our feet, knocking us all off balance before everything around us suddenly calmed. Ellis looked from side to side, his eyes big as he accessed. “Shit, this isn’t good.”
No, sir. It most definitely was not. The calm brought my anxiety to a whole new level. Without a doubt, we knew shit was about to get real, and I know I couldn’t be the only one who was tired of it. Like could I have a vacation after this? Preferably one with just Liberty and I, on a nude beach with endless drinks and imported cookies. Unfortunately, with the claps of thunder that roared overhead, I knew with certainty that the chance of a nude vacation was well out of my reach.
Chapter 17
OAK
In most people’s lives,they crave the calm, savor it. In ours, a calm could only mean one thing. The worst was about to come, and as I stood close to the girl who somehow owned me, I wasn’t prepared for it. Each time I felt this calm, it meant there was a possibility that I might lose her, and I wasn’t ready yet. I would never be prepared to lose her.
Above me, the calm broke with sudden claps of thunder, ferociously booming in rapid concession, and though I would never admit it out loud, I feared what was coming. I felt powerless. Powerless to fully protect Liberty. Powerless to sweep her off her feet and take her to the safety she so desperately deserved. She never asked for this. She never wanted to be part of this world she was so unfairly dragged into.
Lightning flashed in front of us, each flash getting closer and closer until it broke the ground feet away, causing us to scatter. Smoke rose from where the thunder touched down, and I knew if I got close enough, I would find fulgurites where the lightning melted the sand. It was coming, there was no doubt about it, and it was coming for Liberty.
I opened my mouth, determined to speak the warnings that ran through my head, but I never got the word out. The wind picked up to fierce speeds, taking up sand and forcing a cloud that soared at least fifty feet into the air, bellowing in our direction. As the cloud of dust moved, it shifted and molded to form a giant monster of dirt and clay, held together by the wind and the rain that began to rapidly pelt down onto the beast, gluing it into its form.
His leg lifted and pounded down, causing the earth to rock, and the closer he got to us, the more afraid I became. Not of dying, I wasn’t scared of death, but there was no way I could think of to defeat a monster of such magnitude and get everyone out alive. If no one died today, that in itself would be a miracle from the fates. But, despite my will, I suspected I had no way to prevent the injuries about to be caused.
About one hundred yards away, Justice ordered his men out, and they all charged in wolf form toward the monster. I wasn’t sure they could cause any damage. Not when the closer they got, the stronger the wind blew. The weakest of the group got pushed back from the wind, skidding across the sand. The stronger of the wolves that forced their way past the wind and toward the monster showed little success. Each time one would jump up, their jaw open and poised to bite, their teeth would snap down on nothingness. The sand dispersed throughout the monster’s body when the jaw closed, leaving the wolf to bite on air. Then, before the wolf could realize what happened, the monster’s thick arm would reach down, batting the animal so hard, it flew through the air before landing with a hard thud on the sand.