Page 68 of Desecrated Saints

It’s my job to keep her safe.

It… was my job.

There’s nothing left to protect now.

“Phoenix!”

Brooklyn screams like a banshee, pointing at the person heading straight for me. In the riot of warring bodies, a spindly figure slices and stabs at random. She parts the sea of blood with a knife in each hand, cutting countless throats. Her bald head and hollow cheeks are exposed by her lack of balaclava.

She’s closing in on me.

I don’t run.

There’s nothing left in me to feel fear.

My family is stolen away across the street. Tossed over several hulking shoulders, they’re packed into the helicopter. I watch the huge guy from before jam a needle into Brooklyn’s neck. He drags her away as she bucks and fights, eventually going limp.

The last thing I see is Kade’s floppy body being lifted and carried, disappearing with the rest of them. Pain tears through my left thigh as a dart pierces my skin. The approaching woman tucks a tranquilliser gun back in her holster.

Paralysing fear takes over. The world blurs fast, disintegrating at the seams as drugs attack my mind. I can still see Charlie’s body staring back at me with accusations in her eyes. All I want is to wrap my arms around her and take the last five minutes back, no matter what price I must pay.

Incendia’s foot soldiers circle like vultures.

Then… nothing.

CHAPTER 14

BROOKLYN

BIRDCAGE - HOLDING ABSENCE

Time to wake up, Brooke.

We’re going to go for a little drive.

Far, far away from here.

With a scream lodged in my throat, I shoot upright. A wave of dizziness washes over me. My surroundings are blurred as I blink to clear my vision. Are we back at the cottage? Or… no, we were in London. That’s when it hits me.

The nightclub.

Phoenix’s Nana.

Helicopters.

Bullets.

Screaming.

As shadows settle around me, I slap a hand to my neck. It’s throbbing and tender from the needle stuck in my flesh. All I can remember is seeing Phoenix trapped on the wrong side of the street, covered in his sister’s blood, with enemies advancing on all sides.

“Phoenix!” I scream and flail.

Losing my balance, I fall from the soft mattress beneath me and smack into the floor with a groan. It doesn’t matter. I need to find Phoenix. Splayed out and gasping for air, fragments of reality begin to filter in, like piecing together smashed glass.

Plain white walls.

Smooth, polished floor.