Page 21

Marinah

Cabel met us outside the outpost walls and led us to a large group of Warriors. The tension in the air wrapped around us like a suffocating fog. Missy had told us earlier that over a thousand soldiers had joined the Federation camp just two miles away. They’d had a hundred men before the reinforcements arrived. This morning, the soldiers began collecting their belongings. They were either leaving or preparing to attack, and I doubted it was the former.

King spoke in hushed tones, his voice low enough that it wouldn’t carry in the stillness of the night. The air was chilly, with no breeze. I hated the cold. Times like this made me miss the warmth of our island even more, but I pushed the thought aside. I needed to keep my head clear, and daydreaming about home wouldn’t help.

We had nearly two hundred Warriors against more than a thousand Federation soldiers. If it weren’t for the hellhounds, it would almost feel manageable. There was no doubt in my mind that Smythe was leading this force. The question was whether he realized the Shadow Warriors had allied with the outposts.

Spying in this new world wasn’t what it used to be. Satellites were useless now. You needed eyes on the ground, and the Federation wasn’t known for their subtlety. A thousand men was nothing to them, and I suspected most of these soldiers were red stripes. Their job was simple: die first. The thought made me shudder, but I forced myself to focus on King.

“If they release the hellhounds first, we’ll send Beck’s force,” King said, nodding toward Beck. “You’ll have fifty Warriors. The humans in the outpost are ready to fight, and with Shadow Warriors coming from two sides, we should be able to take out the hounds.”

After everything with Ruth and the recent reminder about the importance of following the chain of command, I needed to learn and understand our strategy. So, I listened and absorbed every word.

King pointed to the makeshift map drawn in the dirt. “We’ll establish a line of Warriors here and here. We’ll hold our main forces back and avoid revealing our full numbers unless absolutely necessary.”

Beck stepped forward, pointing to what looked like a ridge. “With your permission, I’ll take the left flank with Cabel. It’s closest to the outpost, and we can charge in once the hellhounds attack.”

King nodded. I watched him work, the way he didn’t second-guess himself. He saw a problem, found a solution, and moved forward. That was King. His intense eyes met mine.

“I’m taking fifty men,” he said. “Your squad will take the front. Here.” He pointed to the spot he wanted me to lead.

For a moment, I couldn’t process his words. One of my claws flicked out involuntarily, pressing against my chest. “Me?”

He didn’t answer, just held my gaze, searching for something deeper. My soul, my courage, whatever he needed to see, he found it and nodded again. I straightened my spine and met his eyes. “I’ve got this,” I said.

King’s attention shifted to the men as I tried to slow my racing heart. “Double-check that every Warrior has hellhound antidote in their packs and ready to go,” he ordered. “I want everyone administering a dose now. If we’re lucky, no one will go down with a hellhound bite.”

We had discovered by accident that administering the antidote an hour before a potential bite weakened the poison, allowing Warriors to stay on their feet longer. If a human went down in this fight, it was still a death sentence.

I took a slow breath, steadying myself. I was in charge of ensuring that the Warriors under my command did as told and survived to fight again. The reality hit hard, an almost unbearable weight settling on my shoulders. Thinking everyone would walk away unscathed was ridiculous, and deep down, I wasn’t ready for this.

“Marinah,” King said, his voice cutting through the spiral of panic building inside me. “I need five minutes.”

He nodded toward a spot about fifty feet away, where scrub brush offered a bit of privacy. The meeting dispersed, and we walked side by side in silence. My thoughts were a chaotic roller coaster, and I couldn’t hold back any longer.

“What are you doing?” I demanded, breaking the quiet. “How can you possibly think I can lead Warriors?”

King turned to me and his piercing blue eyes locked onto mine. For a moment, I wanted to drown in their depth. “Why do you think I’ve pushed you so hard?” he asked. “You’re part of my guard, Marinah. Your job is to lead and I’ve never had more faith in you that I do right now.”

The pride in his eyes hit me like a punch to the gut. I loved this man more than ever in that moment.

“And if I don’t think I’m ready?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

His jaw shifted to the side, and a grin spread across his face. The kind only a Warrior could wear. “It’s a small skirmish,” he said lightly. “You’ll do fine.”

To King, one thousand U.S. Federation soldiers was a small skirmish. I couldn’t help my own grin, holding up two claws an inch apart. “It’s not small, it’s tiny.”

He pressed his teeth-filled mug against mine, pulling me into a hug. His arms were solid, a momentary shield against what was coming. He leaned back just enough to lock his eyes on mine. “Don’t do anything stupid,” he said softly.

He was my world, and the thought of losing him was unbearable. “I’ll try,” I promised, knowing full well how precarious those words were.

Our moment of quiet ended all too quickly. It was time to move. The Warriors split into four groups with the kind of precision that spoke of long-practiced drills and deep trust. The first two units peeled off toward their positions.

The outpost was nestled at the base of a large peak. It had once been a bustling college town; it was now a desolate wasteland. Anything worth scavenging had been stripped away long ago.

When our two units reached the destination, the view stretched south for miles. King gave me one last firm slap on the back before splitting off with his group. His confidence in me made my chest tighten.

I stood with Forty-eight Warriors, their lives in my hands. It was a staggering responsibility. These were faces I knew and men I trusted. Panic clawed its way up my spine. If we fought, the odds said we wouldn’t all survive.

What made King think I could do this?

I drew in a long breath, then exhaled slowly, forcing my body to calm. Are you ready, Ms. Beast?

Kill .

She was ready.

King’s orders were clear: intercept stray hellhounds and Federation soldiers, keeping them from overtaking the outpost or escaping. Strike and run. Strike and run. That was the plan.

We still didn’t fully understand how the Federation’s whistles worked. Did the sound agitate the hounds, calm them, or simply keep them away from the soldiers using them?

It didn’t matter. I made it my personal mission to capture one of those infernal devices. If we could get it back to the island, we could test it on the hellhounds we’d already captured. Figure out how it worked. Make more.

Because survival meant being smarter, faster, and deadlier than the Federation. And we couldn’t afford to fail.

The sun slowly crept over the horizon, and the slight chill in the air began to dissipate, though not by much. At this elevation, I didn’t expect any real warmth. The valley below remained quiet, but then a horn blared in the distance, its echo rolling across the hills.

I reached into my pack, pulled out my field glasses, and lifted them to my eyes. Several of my men did the same. Ryan, one of the Warriors who stood guard at the citadel, was beside me. King had appointed him as my second, and it was a solid choice. Ryan was steady and level-headed, never one to overreact or let his temper get the better of him. He was everything I wasn’t.

No, that wasn’t true. I was just as deadly as he was. King wouldn’t have placed me in charge if he didn’t think I could handle it. He’d also given me the lead when I’d gone with Labyrinth to the Federation. It hadn’t been tested, but he’d trusted me then too. Unfortunately, I was completely full of myself and my newly discovered Shadow Warrior abilities. I was too stupid to understand that people could die because I made the wrong decision. It was time to prove I had what it took.

Through the glasses, I saw a large column of Federation soldiers forming in the distance, exactly as the survivors of the last attack had described. They had a rotary cannon with them. King’s force was our last line of defense. He’d be holding his men back, waiting to see if the Federation had any tricks up their sleeves. I didn’t envy him the waiting.

I swept the glasses to Beck’s position. Nothing moved, and I couldn’t see the men, but I didn’t doubt they were there. I changed my focus to Nokita and Labyrinth’s location. Same. Everything was still.

Then, in the west, I caught movement. They were bringing in the hounds. I followed the scene carefully, noting the soldiers’ formation. Six men spread out around a large group of hellhounds, easily two hundred of them. It was hard to make out the whistles in the soldiers’ mouths, but the slight movement of their cheeks gave it away. The hounds stayed in their group, avoiding the soldiers entirely as they were herded.

The larger column of soldiers in front of the outpost split down the middle, creating a path for the hellhounds to pass. Every one of them was blowing a whistle. That solved one mystery: the hounds avoided the sound, and that’s how the Federation controlled them.

I lowered the glasses and turned to Ryan. “Be sure to grab any whistles from downed soldiers,” I said.

He nodded, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the valley.

I raised the glasses again, studying the enemy’s movements. My jaw tightened. Those whistles would be ours before this was over.

I offered a quick, silent prayer that King had figured out whatever Smythe was planning.

We set out at a fast jog, picking up speed as we raced down the mountainside. Staying low to avoid attention, we kept as much cover as possible between us and the enemy. The last thing we wanted was for the rotary cannon to turn on us. This was going to be a gunfight, not me standing in a window as a sniper. I wasn’t ready. Not by a long shot.

When we were a hundred yards out from Smythe, I lifted my hand for the men to halt.

Smythe was talking to one of his men near the vehicles. I watched as he climbed onto the back of a truck and took over for the soldier manning the rotary cannon. My stomach twisted. I wasn’t sure how I knew what he had planned but I did. Smythe wasn’t just giving the orders. He planned to fire on his own men and he wanted to be the person doing it.

With the bullet spread of a rotary cannon, there was no way to choose who lived and who died. Everyone in its path would go down. Smythe didn’t care, and that cold reality hit hard.

I silently thanked King for forcing me to learn my weapons and, for once, wished I hadn’t complained so much about it.

I lifted my rifle, and the Warriors around me followed.

Ryan leaned close; his voice low. “Kamin, Elright, and Eagle have the best sniper skills.”

“Move them into position,” I ordered. “Tell them to take out the soldiers on the trucks first.”

That meant I wouldn’t hear Smythe’s last breath, but if it kept my men alive, I could live with it.

I raised my hand, signaling the team, and brought it down sharply.

I didn’t even glance at Smythe, there wasn’t time. Instead, I lined up my first shot and fired, then fired again.

They returned fire immediately, though we had the high ground. Soldiers scrambled for cover behind the trucks, but there weren’t enough to cover them, and they were practically ours.

“Take out the tires on the trucks!” I yelled.

I didn’t want them driving out of here. If we could disable the vehicles without destroying them, the outpost could salvage the trucks and hopefully some tires would survive. With most vehicles sitting idle for years, tires were often dried out and useless. I’d rather lose a piece of rubber than a single man.

My breath came fast, adrenaline coursing through me as I prepared for the next move. Smythe had to go down, but first, we had to hold our ground.

Ryan’s snipers did their job, and soldiers without cover dropped one after the other. I caught a slight movement near one of the intact tires and waited. When it happened again, I fired, and the man went down.

Lifting my field glasses, I scanned below. Hellhounds tore through the fray, and red stripe soldiers were breaking formation. A shot zipped over my head, but I stayed focused.

“We need to go in hard,” I said, lowering the glasses. “Can your men lay down fire and get us closer?”

Ryan gave a subtle nod. “Yes. Who do you want on the team?”

“I’ll rush with twenty Warriors,” I told him raising the field glasses again. “We’ll run full out and fire as we go if you can keep shooting over our heads.”

A claw pressed into my arm, and I turned, startled that Ryan had actually touched me.

His expression was serious. “You’re our leader,” he said firmly. “We need you here, calling the shots. I’ll take the men in, with your permission.”

He was right. Charging in myself would be rash, and I knew it. I thought of King, how badly he must want to fight but held back to lead his men. I needed to do the same.

“Stay safe,” I told him. “We’ll shoot on your command and give you cover.”

For a moment, he stared into my eyes, and I could see his surprise at my easy concession.

“King made a good choice,” he said solemnly.

I managed a small grimace. “I hope so.”

He blinked, still holding my gaze, and it took me a moment to understand.

“King made a good choice,” I repeated, the words heavier now.

Ryan gave me a quick nod before collecting the men he wanted. The rest of us held position, waiting for his command. As soon as he signaled, we began shooting, providing cover as they sprinted forward. That’s when I spotted Smythe’s bulbous head, peeking out from behind the third truck.

We kept firing, and Ryan’s team advanced steadily. Return gunfire forced me low. A heavy thump landed beside me, and I turned to see the Warrior on my right go down. My chest tightened, but there was no time to react. I had to hope he wasn’t dead. I lifted my head just enough to fire another shot, but my gut clenched as Federation soldiers started running toward Ryan and his men.

“We’re moving forward!” I shouted, already up and running, my men close behind. I dropped a soldier in my sights as his rifle aimed at one of the Shadow Warriors, and I kept pushing ahead.

Ryan went down and my heart dropped into my stomach but there was no time to speculate. Adrenaline surged as I closed the distance on the third truck. Sliding in low, I pulled my legs up to avoid snagging the ground and used the momentum to get halfway under the vehicle. My brain must have short-circuited. It was the dumbest move I could’ve made. There was barely enough room to wiggle, let alone maneuver.

Pandemonium continued around me and I didn’t know if we were successfully stopping the general’s force. I saw another Warrior collapse, and rage fueled my next decision. King was going to kill me for this.

I shifted to my human form and yanked the knife from my chest straps, turning myself around until my head faced the front of the truck. Digging my heels against the tire, I kicked off with every ounce of strength I had, propelling myself forward. The leather straps on my back shielded me from the worst of the scraping rock, but I could still feel burning raw skin.

The second I cleared the truck, I powered upward, twisting mid-motion to face the soldiers behind it.

Smythe’s shocked face locked in my vision, and triumph surged through me.

I dropped the knife as I lunged, shifting mid-leap. It was incredible, a shift like none I’d ever had. The unbelievable power raging inside my body blurred my vision, but it didn’t stop me from seeing Smythe through a red haze. He lifted a handgun, and I knocked it away with ease. Then, I smiled with teeth that felt even larger. His terrified scream was music to my ears. My claws tore through clothes, skin, and muscle on his chest. His eyes grew wider because he knew the damage was already too much to survive, but I wasn’t finished. I moved to his throat. Once, then twice. Blood sprayed in hot arcs. My final blow took his head, and it settled on the ledge of the rotary cannon.

A low, primal sound split the air, and it took me a moment to realize it was me.

The men surrounded me, firing at other soldiers. The Federation dropped quickly, and the barrage of gunfire forced the remaining soldiers back toward the main fight.

Even without his head attached, I continued driving my claws into Smythe’s chest and stomach over and over. No one stopped me. His warm blood soaked into my clothes, and in some twisted way, it felt good. Too good.

When my vision cleared, I dropped his body and looked at Smythe’s ruined face, completely unrecognizable. He was staring blankly up at the sky, or at least one eye was. The other was gone. His features were unrecognizable, shredded beyond anything human. I had no idea how long I’d been tearing into him.

He was more than dead. I took a step and picked up the head, holding it around the throat because he had no hair.

“One down,” I whispered to the one staring eye. “President Barnes is next.”