Page 139 of Dissection of Immortal Hearts

Amelia

They’d told her to stay in the cabin, but damn it, she was not going to sit on the sidelines again while the others fought. Not when energy was radiating from her fingertips, coursing throughher veins and quickening her heartbeat.

Her power wanted to manifest.

She tucked the watch into the pocket of her anorak and fastened it, while behind her, Viktor was scolding Alex. She stood in front of the window and surveyed the empty grass outside the cabin.

Mikhail, Callan, Presiyan, and Jasmina were downstairs, waiting for the attack. Still, so far, there was no sign of Mor, who’d been searching the area for reptilians after separating from the others more than an hour ago.

Her gaze swept the terrain again when Zacharia and Kathrine burst from the forest, racing towards the cabin. In the next moment, the hiss of hundreds of black wings and cries filled the sky.

Zacharia and Kathrine dug their heels into the dirt and looked up. Maybe they’d believed they would reach the cabin in time, but the giant birds – or whatever these creatures were – had caught up with them. They simply circled high above the cabin, as if surveying the area.

Gunshots rang out, and several figures fell to the ground. Amelia froze – the bodies were female…withwings.Just like the drawing she’d seen.

One of the birds swooped towards Zacharia. Before it could reach him, someone shot it down. Then the rest of the creatures descended with deafening shrieks.

Amelia raced down the stairs, ignoring Viktor’s shouts.

***

Zacharia

The air hung thick with the stench of gunpowder and the growing sense that something was terribly wrong. Zacharia had witnessed numerous atrocities in his life, but a winged femalecreature aiming to tear him apart with her claws… That was new. And who the hell knew how many more were circling above their heads?

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth when a pair of wings hissed past his face, and a heavy fist struck his jaw.

He could do this, too. The harpy was fast but somewhat inexperienced. He waited for an opening and snapped her neck with his bare hands. Her body crumpled to the grass beside the empty pistol, its magazine long spent.

One less. He spat blood, taking advantage of the brief lull to survey his surroundings.

The grass was strewn with shell casings and lifeless bodies, resembling fallen angels of death. They all bore the same faces: vacant eyes, sharp noses, thin black lips. They wore tight clothes with wing slits along their spines. The only way to tell them apart was by the spots on their bodies where the fatal bullets had struck.

A movement drew Zacharia’s attention, and he spun around – finding yet another surprise. Kathrine, now in her reptilian form, was far from a damsel in distress as she fought off the harpies’ assaults. Her body, lean rather than muscular, moved with remarkable agility and strength. Green-brown scales, speckled with subtle flecks, shimmered under the dim light. Between her striking violet eyes, her flattened nose lent an oddly appealing quality to her reptilian features.

“Behind you!” she shouted.

He turned in time to neutralise the harpy charging towards him. “Thanks!”

A sharp pain in his ankle made him look down. One of the fallen harpies had latched onto his ankle like a vicious dog. He shook his leg to shake it off, but this one had a pit bull’s grip.

Kathrine closed the distance in a single forceful leap and snapped the harpy’s neck.

Zacharia prepared for another attack, but no one came for him. All the harpies had converged on the cabin, surrounding the building like a black curtain. Not that they weren’t meeting resistance.

Mikhail, in his transformed form, had bitten into a harpy’s wing and was shaking her back and forth, drawing painful shrieks from her mouth. Callan, still in human shape, pierced the harpies with his curved sword, while Presiyan and Jasmina shot down the attackers, constantly reloading their weapons from large bags with ammunition. A few metres from them, Mor was taking down the harpies with a massive tree branch.

But where were the reptilians? Where was the Queen? Could the harpy attack have been merely a distraction – to exhaust them before the real danger emerged?

Zacharia decided to remain in the less energy-draining human form for now. Although he couldn’t utilise his full physical strength, it would help him endure longer.

***

Amelia

The moment Amelia stepped out of the cabin, the deafening clash of battle surrounded her. The sharp smell of blood filled her nostrils. It waseverywhere. On the field, helpless winged creatures writhed, and at least twice as many filled the space between the cabin and the forest.

Amelia tried to find the others amidst the chaos of black wings. Jasmina and Presiyan had taken positions on either side of the cabin. They were firing at the enemies, but their shots were hesitant, given the risk of hitting their own.