Page 77 of Pixie Problems

But the thing that worked best was my steel sword.

I swung, not caring about anything but my rage. This asshole shouldn't be here. He didn't have the right to come at Aspen, or Hawke, or Keir, or even Torian. But when Wilder rushed in to help Hawke, I added his name to the rant in my head.

"They are mine!" I breathed. "All of them. The fae are mine, and I will not let you have them!"

The words were barely out of my mouth when explosions colored the sky above us. "Sentinels!" Torian yelled. Clearly, his fireworks were some kind of signal.

"They're leaving!" Aspen gasped.

But the Huntsman didn't agree. "I will not go without you!" His eyes were locked right on my girlfriend.

"Fuck you," I hissed. "Fuck all of you. Fuck this. Fuck that. Fuck evil!"

And with each rush of profanity, I swung with all I had. The Huntsman's blade clashed against mine, but the tone was changing, sounding more and more brittle. On impulse, I wrapped the damned thing in shadows and slashed again.

"Die!" I screamed, my voice pitched much too high.

Like a wave, the rest of the school joined us. From the edge of my vision, I could see bodies moving. Green sparks flew. Grey retreated. I was pretty sure we were winning, so I added even more shadows. I forced them all out, creating a great tidal wave with all the magic I'd been offered, and then I shoved it right at the Huntsman, hoping to hit him hard enough to push him clear out of Iowa.

He blocked one more swing, kicked Keir in the gut, knocking him onto his back, then shoved Hawke away as if we'd been no more than mere flies pestering him. But me? The man paused, lowering his blade, and looked right at me.

"You keep one. I keep one. I also know where she is." Then he turned,running in the same direction as all the rest just as my wave of shadows crashed down, swallowing them all.

"One what?" I asked.

"Fuck!" Keir breathed, stumbling back to his feet. "They had Fin!"

Oh shit. That was the guy over the hunter's shoulder. Keir's fucking roommate was who they'd caught, and I'd heard the horror stories about what they'd do to him. Horrified, I looked back at Aspen, torn between checking on her and trying to stop what I knew was to come.

"Asp?" I begged, seeing her crumpled on the frozen grass.

"Go," she said, sounding like she could barely get the words out. "Go, and if you need more, it's yours."

"It doesn't help!" I whimpered.

"But you do!" she insisted. "So go. Be the hero, Rain!"

"I got her," Torian assured me, collapsing to his knees so he could crawl the last pace towards his sister.

"And you're not a fucking fighter!" I hissed.

So Keir moved to her side. "I have her too. Hawke?"

Hawke grabbed my arm. "Let's go, Rain. Wilder, we might need magic."

"And I can use a sword too," Wilder said, giving my back a nudge. "Time to save the day, Morrigan."

So I went, but we were losing ground. Some of the hunters were still mounted on their storm-grey horses. The sound of them rolled through the air like distant thunder, but it matched the feet of the beasts. The men were drained and frail-looking, but fighting them proved it was merely a disguise. They moved faster than my friends and I could dream of.

Thankfully, Hawke and Wilder knew where we were going. The gate. I knew it was the gate, but I'd never seen the thing before. We also weren't the only ones. Dozens of us ran, swords flashing in the magically cleared sky. The colors were like fireflies, sparking for a second only to vanish just as quickly.

And yet we were all coming together. It was as if the sentinels were converging, and leading them all was Bracken on my left and the most terrifying warrior I'd ever seen on my right: Ms. Rhodes.

"No!"

The sound of the man's scream made my blood run cold and my feet run faster. I pushed with all I had, sure I'd never taste the sweet fulfillment of air again, because my lungs were burning too badly. I couldn't stop, though. I couldn't fail. I was supposed to be something important, andnow Keir's roommate's life was in danger because Aspen had been all that mattered to me.

She was safe now though, so I could help him. I would, all I had to do was figure out what hurt these fuckers! Pumping hard, I could see my breath fogging before me, and the sky darkened. Crows, but not all of them were real. Some were just shadows, an embodiment of my own power.