Page 28 of Kingdom of Chaos (Creatures of Chaos #2)

Without warning, Talon takes off sprinting in the direction of the house.

I chase after him, pumping my arms and legs as fast as I can, but Talon is impossibly fast and I can’t keep up.

He’s almost to the front steps by the time I break through the trees to get a clear view of the house.

Spotting an unfamiliar vehicle parked off to the side, my stomach jumps into my throat.

Talon takes the stairs up to the porch two at a time, stopping before going through the front door.

Instead, he presses against the side of the house, and leans over to peek in the living room window.

I can just barely see the outline of dark forms moving in the living room where our friends are sleeping.

I can’t make out any of their features, but I can tell from their builds that at least three of the four figures are large males.

The drumming of my own heartbeat fills my ears as I reach the house and carefully ascend the stairs, plastering myself against the exterior of the house next to Talon. I look over at him, my gaze asking him what we should do.

Taking my hand, he tugs me down and we crawl under the windows and around the porch to the kitchen entrance on the other side of the house. The kitchen door is actually already cracked open, possibly because this was the way the intruders got in the house.

“Stay here,” Talon whispers. “I’m going to go in and assess the situation.”

I shake my head. No way am I just sitting out here and waiting. Ensley is my best friend, and Titus has had my back more than once. I won’t go as far to say that Imogen has grown on me, but I can reluctantly admit I don’t want her to get hurt either.

Talon scowls at me, but then in the silence we hear a familiar mechanical click, just like the sharp snap of the weapon that Noah pointed at us.

That seemingly innocuous click causes my heart to jump into my throat.

I don’t know what kind of damage that human weapon can cause, but I certainly don’t want to find out tonight.

Abandoning trying to convince me to stay put, Talon silently opens the kitchen door wide enough for the both of us to squeeze through. We stay crouched low as we move through the kitchen, keeping our steps light as we rush to get behind the island for cover.

When I peek out from behind the cabinet, I make out the silhouettes and hazy features of six figures, two more than I thought there were.

Four male, and two female. I recognize Noah and Tobias right away, but I don’t see Violet.

The other four are unfamiliar, but they all have similar looking weapons to the one Noah pointed at me in their hands.

At least one of the humans stands over each of the three sleeping members of our group, pointing their weapons at them. Tobias is nearest to where Talon and I are hiding, his profile clearly visible.

“Two of them are missing,” he whisper-hisses to the large male beside him. “Take Noah and look for them outside. If you find them, neutralize them.”

Neutralize them? What does that mean?

Nothing good, that’s for sure.

The male nods, then gestures for Noah to follow him. I hold my breath as the two of them pass within feet of where Talon and I are crouched behind the kitchen island. It’s a miracle they don’t see us. Our only cover is the slight overhang of the counter.

But after they slip out through the kitchen door, I notice that without meaning to, I’ve shrouded us in deeper shadows, concealing us from view.

I turn to Talon, eyes wide, a little shaken by how easily I just used my powers.

He takes my hand, gives it a quick squeeze, and mouths, “Good job.” He doesn’t speak. Tobias and the three remaining humans are too close, but he starts gesturing with his hands. I think he’s trying to tell me he’s going after Tobias and that I should stay hidden.

This isn’t the moment to argue, so I give him a short nod to show I understand.

At least, I hope I do.

“Take out the male first,” Tobias says in a low voice. “Then we’ll question the females. I don’t want?—”

Dropping the shadows I’ve inadvertently called, Talon springs from our hidden position.

Moving like a striking snake, he twists Tobias’ wrist. I hear a snap and Tobias cries out in pain.

The weapon drops from his grip, and then Talon puts him in a chokehold, using Tobias as a shield.

It all happens so fast that the three remaining humans don’t even realize what’s happened until their leader is already incapacitated.

“Drop the weapon or I’ll break his neck,” Talon says in a voice so deadly it even gives me chills.

I peek around the island to find the humans all pointing their weapons at Talon, and fear spikes through me. But what I realize that the humans don’t because their focus is on Talon is that Titus, Ensley, and Imogen are all awake.

Imogen’s gaze locks on the female human standing above her and the girl’s jaw goes slack just before she drops her weapon.

The thud of it hitting the ground startles the other two, but it’s already too late.

Titus has leapt to his feet and is grappling with the meaty human in front of him.

Ensley begins forming a ball of faelight, but before she can throw it, the female closest to her swings her weapon toward my friend.

She takes aim?—

Then a sharp, percussive crack splits the air, making me flinch.

Ensley jerks, her eyes going wide in shock as she falls back onto her air mattress. I pop out from my hiding spot and rush toward her as the female who discharged her weapon runs toward Talon to help save Tobias.

Shadows swirl in the air around us as all hell breaks loose.

Still in Talon’s chokehold, Tobias forces out an order to his group to take us out.

Faelight explodes, lighting up the room, and the male battling Titus screams and doubles over, holding his face.

The female who had been standing above Imogen is now crumpled on the ground and twitching. Imogen grabs a handful of her hair and yanks her head back, raising her other hand to punch her in the face.

I’ve almost reached Ensley when a series of loud whip cracks ring out, hot and sudden, cutting through the chaos like a blade through the night.

The explosive bursts remind me of fireworks on steroids, and I instinctually duck, throwing myself over my best friend to protect her.

I brace for some sort of impact, but after a few seconds and nothing explodes, I move off of her to check for injuries.

Ensley’s unconscious, but I can’t find an injury anywhere. I try to shake her awake, but nothing happens. Her chest is moving up and down, so at least she’s still alive.

She needs help. We need to get her out of here.

I look up just as Titus knees the male he’s been fighting with in the jaw. The large human goes down, hitting the ground hard. Titus stands over him, panting as he wipes blood from his lip with the back of his hand.

I yell for him and his head snaps up, his gaze passing over me to connect with Ensley. He’s over to us in an instant.

“Get her out of here,” I tell him, and he immediately scoops her up and starts for the door right as Noah and the other human who Tobias sent to look for Talon and me burst through the front door.

Pointing a hand at them, Titus sends a ball of faelight in their direction and they both dive out of the way, clearing the path for him to rush out the front door with Ensley.

The shadows in the room go berserk, racing erratically back and forth, making the chaotic situation worse. I know I’m doing it, but I don’t know how to control them.

I try to focus like Talon instructed, but I can’t quiet my mind enough to feel the power flowing through me like I should.

Oh, screw it . I’ve managed without magic my whole life. I’m not defenseless without it.

Noah is just getting to his feet when I catch him by surprise with a jump punch square to the middle of his face. He reels backward, blood spraying from his nose.

His hands fly up to cover his face, but I don’t give him time to recover. I deliver a roundhouse kick to his gut, knocking the air from his lungs.

I’m about to finish him off with a punch to the temple when someone grabs my hair and yanks me back. Hard. My footing slips, and I crash to the ground.

Before I can roll and get back up, the huge male who left with Noah drops on top of me, slamming his forearm across my throat and cutting off my air.

I claw at his arm, panic setting in, but he doesn’t budge. He’s an immovable force.

“You filthy creatures all had to do this the hard way, didn’t you?” he spits in my face.

I try to buck him off by twisting and lifting my body, but he’s too heavy and he actually laughs in my face.

I can’t breathe and my vision starts to go blotchy, sending a bolt of panic through me. A tornado of shadows swirls around us, and beefy guy looks up, fear widening his eyes.

All of a sudden, his face goes slack and his forearm disappears from my neck.

I cough as the male slides off me, collapsing face down on the floor, twitching. The swirling shadows dissolve, revealing Imogen standing above me, her intense gaze still locked on the male who had been choking me.

“Thanks,” I croak, pushing to my feet.

I barely have time to survey the room before Talon lands a brutal punch to Tobias’ jaw, dropping him unconscious and then turning toward us, panting, one hand pressed to his side.

The attackers are all down. He starts making his way over.

Imogen steps closer, fury burning in her eyes as she glares at the human still caught in her compulsion. Under different circumstances, I might feel bad for him, but I can still feel the phantom pressure of his forearm crushing my windpipe.

I swallow and wince at the soreness. Talon catches the movement.

When he reaches me, he lowers his head to inspect my throat.

His brows draw together in concern as he lifts a hand, brushing his fingers lightly over the bruised skin.

His touch is featherlight, and despite everything, a shiver runs through me.

Suddenly, the man at our feet begins shouting, startling me. I jerk back from Talon and glance down. The human thrashes wildly, batting at the air and at himself, tears streaming down his face as he screams for help.

“Imogen, stop that,” Talon orders.

There’s a wicked gleam in Imogen’s eye that makes my skin crawl.

“Imogen!” Talon snaps at his cousin when she doesn’t listen, and she sighs.

She tilts her head and the male slumps to the floor, unmoving. Unconscious, I think.

“You are no fun,” she says, turning to Talon with her hands on her hips.

Talon shakes his head in annoyance. “Let’s just get?—”

“Nobody move!”

My muscles lock and I look over to see Noah standing in the shadows, his face and the upper part of his chest covered in blood from his broken nose. He points his weapon in our direction. “If I see anyone so much as twitch a muscle, I’ll pump you full of lead.”

Lead?

“Put your hands where I can see them,” Noah orders.

I’m in the process of putting my hands up when Imogen mutters, “I’ve had enough of this,” and takes a step toward him.

“Stop!” he shouts.

Imogen smirks. “No, I don’t think I will.”

I know the exact moment she reaches out with her compulsion and touches Noah’s mind, because he twitches, and then fear transforms his face.

“Imogen, don’t!” Talon yells and starts for his cousin, but it’s too late because Noah squeezes his weapon and a loud bang comes from it.