Page 55

CHAPTER 54

T he courtyard is silent, and my team and hunters gather behind me as we await their first move. If they expect us to hide or back down, they are wrong. My decision is made. We will see this through to the end or die trying. Shamus is right. This isn’t just about him or me. This is about our people.

It’s time to reclaim our legacy, starting now.

“Open the garage doors,” I murmur. Addeus does not question me, opening them, and trucks peel out, heading straight for the ones in the courtyard. One of our biggest trucks, practically a tank for extreme missions, rams into the front line, flipping cars into the air.

“Jarek, control them. Bring them down on the others,” I order.

He waves his hands, and those trucks change direction midair, smashing down on the others behind it. Explosions rock the courtyard as our tank carves a path through their masses. Some of the vehicles at the back notice and reverse out of Stalkers’ Rest, leaving the trucks behind as they spread across the hill, just like I wanted.

More trucks pull out of the garage, following the path the tank made, and they skid to a stop before the entrance to Stalkers’ Rest, creating a barrier with only a small gap for our army to get through. Hunters pour from the cars, taking aim over the hoods and open doors. Shots fill the air as they fire into the other trucks. I see some windscreens shatter and blood exploding within. Some tires pop, stranding them, and it creates enough of a distraction to have them climbing from their trucks and making a stand, but they are quickly picked off by the hunters hiding behind our trucks.

“Push them back!” I roar. “I want snipers up on the entrance. I want them surrounded!”

“How?” Shamus asks.

“I saw them,” I tell him, “waiting for their chance. Our hunters are smart. Trust them. Trust me.”

Hunters surge past me, making a run for the entrance to the wall of trucks. Some fall as they run, and I feel every death keenly, so I swing my rifle around, head to the closest car, and press the stand to the bonnet before I put my eye to the scope.

I fire and move, fire and move, picking them off like flies.

“Zeev, Jarek, trap them in here with us!” I shout, giving them no chance to escape. I glance over to see Shamus on the roof of a nearby truck, the scope to his eye as well. Fang is at his side. Shamus’s shots are deadly, and hers miss, but it does the trick and keeps them suppressed. Ronan floats into their masses, turning solid behind them and snapping their necks before moving on. Addeus’s eyes glow, and their cars suddenly stop working, as do their timed grenades.

Tem waits at my side as I take aim again and fire. Some flee, but Zeev and Jarek’s barrier must be working because they cannot get out to join those waiting on the hill and they cannot get in to help. Sniper fire from the wall takes care of both until there is no one left in the courtyard but our own people and the hiss of smoking trucks.

Swinging my rifle around, I climb over the hood of the truck I used for cover and make my way through the wreckage and bodies to the gate where Zeev and Jarek wait. I peer outside, seeing hundreds, maybe even thousands of hunters still gathered. “They will have some people in the trees. The one good thing about Stalkers’ Rest is that they can’t get behind us.”

“I have some traps in the forest,” Shamus says as he joins me. “Just in case.”

“Fuck, I love a prepared man.” I smirk. “Spring them. The less that can sneak up on us, the better. I don’t want to get a bullet to the skull from the trees.”

He pulls out his phone and does something, and within seconds, flames erupt within the trees and screams can be heard. He winks at me. “Just in case.”

“You have been busy.” I grin as I look to Jarek and Zeev. “Drop the barrier. Tem and Addeus, I want you in the trees. Surround them like they would us. Zeev and Jarek, spread out and pick off as many as you can. Fang, you’re with me and Shamus. Ronan, do whatever you wish. We’ll push them back, disorienting them and splitting their forces. We’ll show them just what monsters are capable of. Free rein, no holding back. Use whatever you want.” She looks us over. “If we do not make it until dawn, I want you to know it has been an honour to hunt and fight at your side. I never expected to be able to trust anyone again, never mind find a family, but I have. I’m grateful to every single one of you for following me, trusting me, and helping me. If tonight is all we have, then I need you to know these last few weeks have been the best of my life. I have a hard job, and you have made it easier. You made it fun, you brought back joy and hope, and I wouldn’t have made it here without you.” I look over each of them, hoping they take my words to heart. “I have been searching for a home for so long, and I found it here with you. If I die tonight, know that I’ll die happy.”

“You’re not dying tonight,” Shamus snarls. “You have a long life in front of you, a life shared with all of us.”

I smile despite the situation we are in. “I hope you’re right, but I needed you to know just in case. I don’t want to die with regrets.”

“You won’t. There will be no dying tonight,” Fang snaps. “Stop being so morbid. Let’s kick some ass, and then you can tell us all in the morning over breakfast.” She laughs. “As long as Tem isn’t cooking again.”

“Deal.” I spare them all one more glance before turning away. They are right. I need to believe we will survive this or I might chicken out. I’ve never backed down from a fight before, but the thought of losing them has me second-guessing myself. I can’t afford to. I need to be strong and confident for this to work.

“Lift the barrier,” I order.

I feel the moment the magic drops. I have to trust in my team and the hunters behind me. I step out onto the field where they wait. Suddenly, something surrounds my body, and I glance down at myself, but I see nothing.

“Just in case.” Zeev winks. “Go ahead. Make them pay. Their human weapons cannot hurt you now.”

“But you’ll need your strength?—”

“I need you alive more,” he counters before he kisses me quickly. “Trust us. Go.”

Nodding, I watch him disappear into the dark and then turn back to the horde. “Let’s do this?—”

A war cry goes up behind me, and the hunters from the courtyard surge out to meet their brethren. Guns fire, bodies start to drop, and the clash of knives fills the air. Explosions rock the earth down the hill where grenades are being tossed, and sniper rifles can be heard overhead. The scents of blood and death fill my nostrils as I take a deep breath in before swinging my sword around—my father’s weapon—and without hesitation, I throw myself into their masses. Shamus and Fang follow me, but I have to trust them to hold their own.

I duck under an axe and bring my sword down on the back of the hunter’s knee. His scream tears through the air, and when I glance back, Shamus is driving a blade into his neck. I keep moving. We either need to make them retreat or kill them. It’s the only way to win.

I keep moving forward, my sword carving through blood and skin. Screams fill the air, and when I glance over, I see flames springing up from one of our hunters’ flamethrowers.

I can see Tem’s shadows in the trees, making waves. Addeus has them crawling all over him as he takes on a whole horde himself. Fang swings her gun around, firing like crazy, while Shamus moves seamlessly at my side. Jarek’s magic leaks across the ground, killing anyone it touches. Zeev’s laughter can be heard from here as he carves a bloody path through the masses. Shaking my head, I focus in front of me, my sword slicing through more men as we wade into the centre. The trucks’ lights splash over the macabre massacre, the moon high above us.

A familiar face catches my attention, and my entire focus narrows to him. Fred is a lieutenant back east. He was transferred away from here after he tried out for Black’s team two years ago. Black said he was skilled but unhinged, and I’ve only heard bad reports about him since. He needs someone to keep him in line, but he likes death and killing. I carve my way to him, and he turns when he senses me, a mocking grin on his ugly lips.

I stop before him, my sword dripping blood. “So you’re in charge.”

“Looks like it since all our commanders inside are dead. I suppose I have you to thank for that?” he retorts.

“That would be me.” I tilt my head. “You know you cannot win.”

He glances around. “It looks like we are to me. We’ll kill you and your little monsters, and then we’ll take over Stalkers’ Rest. By morning, we will send word to the other outposts. We will reclaim our guild and heritage without all these rules and laws, and you’ll be dead.”

He’s right. We are losing. There are too many of them, even with my monsters. I need time. I need to make it happen.

“We’ll see about that. Don’t worry, I’ll pike your head next to your hero—Black.” I smirk.

He snarls and leaps at me, but I capture his mind midair. I managed it without touch, but for what I plan, I’ll need more. It’s risky. I haven’t trained that hard. It could kill me, but I have no choice.

I press my hands to the ground, anchoring myself. Everybody is touching it in some way, so I use it like a conduit. My powers flow through it to them, capturing minds. Every now and then, I feel their minds slip away as they die from my hunters’ hands, and I let them go as my eyes shut.

I pour everything I have into the ground, trying to widen my net. I need time. I need . . . the world to freeze.

I repeat it as my body strains under the weight. My hands seem to burn as I dig my fingers deeper into the soil, and my body heats as if I’m running a fever but worse. It feels like the sun is trapped inside me and I’m pushing to let it out.

My agonised scream fills the air as I fall to my knees, power flowing from me. I connect to all the minds here belonging to those who would stand against us. Power burns me from the inside out, connected to my bloodline. I feel them standing behind me like ghosts, their hands slipping into mine as my body burns.

I embrace the pain and let it tear me to pieces as I capture our enemies’ minds and freeze them, throwing their own worst sins back at them. I use their nightmares and darkest secrets against them.

I channel everything I have.

Every failed hunt.

My father’s death.

My own betrayal.

The taste of the afterlife.

The taste of happiness.

I use it all and let it fuel me, and my ancestors offer their strength until time stands still. I open my eyes to see an army frozen in time, fighting their own nightmares in their heads.

My whole body strains, and I feel like I might pass out.

“Let go.” The whispers come from inside me. “It’s enough. You have given enough. Let go.”

I do as they say. I let go. My power flows back to me as I slump before forcing myself to my feet. I refuse to kneel as Fred’s eyes clear, tears racing down his face before his lips twist in a sneer. “I heard rumours you were just as much of a monster as them. I guess they were true.”

“That’s right. I’m a monster,” I reply. “What does that make you?”

“Is that all you have?” he scoffs. “You did nothing. We are still standing.”

“I wasn’t trying to kill you,” I mumble. Even my mouth is tired, almost too tired to talk. “I was buying time.” I nod over his shoulder. “For them.”

A horn fills the air, the same horn I saw in my vision tonight when I touched the future—one that shocked even me.

There is an almighty roar, and I cannot help but smile as the very monsters they hunt surge over the hill, coming to our aid, called by those I have saved and offered kindness to in the past.

When I had no hope left, my visions gifted me this. Monsters from every corner of our world are coming to help us. They race towards the hunters who would do them wrong . . . who have done them wrong.

Fae, vamps, wolves, trolls, and dragons . . .

You name it, I can see it.

Fred’s eyes flare before he turns back to me. “You bitch!”

Shamus suddenly stands before me, and Fred stills, blinking as he glances down at a knife in his chest, Shamus holding the other end. “You do not touch what is mine.”

Shamus pulls his blade free, and he falls to the ground as Shamus looks to me. “It looks like they were right. It was a long shot, and we didn’t want to tell you in case we couldn’t make it happen.”

“I saw it,” I whisper. “Thank you.” I look around at the monsters fighting with the hunters.

“It was not me. This was your team. You saved their lives, and now they are repaying you,” he murmurs as a familiar fae stops before me.

“Seer.” She nods.

“Zeev’s sister,” I greet. “I would offer my thanks but?—”

“No thanks needed for my brother’s bride,” she says.

“Bride? I am going to kill him.” She chuckles as she slides a golden helmet down her face.

“Besides, it has been much too long since our people were allowed to seek revenge for the crimes committed against us. My brother was right. We have stayed out of this fight for far too long. If one little human can stand up for the injustice of monsters, then so can we. We can be as brave as you are.” She lifts her sword. “For our people!”

Shaking my head, I watch her move into the crowd with the elegant grace of a dancer, even as her sword claims the lives of those who dare to stop her.

I jerk back as something pops into existence in front of me. It’s Ronan, and he has ghosts on either side of him. “I called some friends, hope you don’t mind.” He winks at me. “Ghost army, attack!” I watch him go before something makes me turn. In the distance, I see familiar wolves.

Simon stands with Althea at his side. She nods to me as ancient creatures pour from the forest.

I stand in a field surrounded by the bodies of my peers, their blood covering every inch of me, and yet I have never felt so relieved.

Monsters cover the hillside and Stalkers’ Rest, working alongside hunters to finish off those who would try to lay claim to this organisation. Two worlds come together, knowing that if the true hunters fall here, there will be nothing to stop them.

I scan the masses to see they are losing, being driven back into the arms of beasts in the trees and my team. None will escape. Death is plentiful, but we all know the cost if we do not eradicate them. They made their choice, and we made ours. Besides, this is about more than me and the hunters—this is for the monsters who have been hunted for generations, their families stolen and innocence tainted by evil.

This is their war, and I am simply the conduit.

Shamus and I share a look before we dive into the fight with our own war cries. My sword cuts through them as I fight alongside monsters and men alike, killing anyone who would dare harm us or our people.

Centuries of anger, oppression, and pain cover the hillside.

I slam my hilt into an enemy’s face, and as he falls back, Fang cuts his throat before dancing away.

All of my men draw closer, unleashing their wrath alongside the strongest beings in this world.

I continue on until my body and blade are covered in blood and no more foes stand before me.

“You did this.” Shamus pants at my side, blood splattered across his face as I kick a rogue hunter into the open jaws of a wolf. I scan the area and see barely any of our assailants remaining, and those who do are quickly dealt with. It’s done. It’s over. “You brought us all together.”

“To end it,” I say as my eyes rove across our people, checking on them and my men. My heart still hammers like a war drum, my body swaying with exhaustion.

“No, Tate. It might have begun with bloodshed, but I have a feeling when you are through, it will end with hope.” He looks out at the crowd as all eyes seem to turn to me. “Your work is not done. Not yet, angel.”

“He is right.” We both turn as a chill goes through me at the calm words. A man picks his way through the dead, looking far too calm and perfect in the middle of so much death and pain. He’s beautiful, dark, and deadly, but something about him makes terror clench my chest. A beautiful woman walks behind him, with glowing eyes and hair the colour of the sun.

“Ignore his creepy introduction. I’m working on his people skills. We have been watching. Gods can’t interfere really, but we have both been rooting for you. Haven’t we, Mors?” She smacks his side.

“Yes, dear.” He nods obediently before looking at me. “You have caused much death today. I will be busy indeed.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“You know what I mean. You sense it.” He smiles, and I swear my heart stops for a moment. “Come on, Avea. Let’s begin our work.” He glances around before looking back to me. “Oh, and Tate Havelock? It is not our time to meet yet, but know when we do, I will be honoured to help you cross. You have the heart of a warrior—one I have not seen in a very long time. You have a purpose, or so I am told. Stay true to who you are and you will never go astray.” His words echo that of my ancestors’, and he winks like he knows it before he sighs, whirling around.

“Phrixius, I can feel your little heathen playing with my dead. Tell her to stop!” He stomps off as the woman waves at me and skips after him, beasts from the forest walking at her side. Simon waves at me from the forest and slips back into the trees with the wolves and Althea.

“Was that the god of death?” I turn to Shamus in shock.

“I think so.” He shakes his head. “Far above my pay grade.”

“And mine,” I scoff. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a fucking shower and some sleep.”

“Maybe a stiff drink.” He holds out his hand. “Let’s leave the monsters to their duties. It’s time to reclaim Stalkers’ Rest. Tomorrow, we’ll deal with everything else.”

“Tomorrow.” I nod as I look around at those we lost, those we will need to honour.

It won’t be easy to clean up after this, but it’s what we do as hunters.

Tonight, we made a stand, and we won.

Tomorrow, we’ll set our future on the right path.

For now, though, I want my team, and I want my bed.

Everything else can wait.