Page 95 of Sidhe (The Incubus Saga #3)

“What are your orders?” Lindsey asked Nathan. Charis stood beside him, both proud to serve Nathan directly, which he never would have believed when he first met the couple.

He looked back at them, transformed fully into their true selves—Lindsey, green and fierce like his grandfather; Charis, viciously beautiful like new copper.

It was a gamble to leave them. The group was strong, yes, with Lindsey and Charis; they had powerful fae with them as well—that salamander chick, Kaley, had created a line of fire in front of the seals which had taken down a few advancing dark fae already—but Nathan would be leaving them vulnerable.

Still, he knew he couldn’t stay. Not only because Jim and Sasha needed him, but because the lines were already falling.

“Stay and fight,” Nathan told Lindsey, told all of them, speaking loud enough for everyone to hear. “Remember the real goal. Hold the line. The Gatehouse cannot fall. I’m going on ahead.”

Nathan, while he hadn’t been given special weapons, had a gun in his hand, his ankle blade, an extra gun tucked into the back of his jeans, and the goggles from Schuester ready around his neck. He had to go.

“Walt!” Nathan called out.

Walter had been standing vigil at the very front of the seal camp, watching and feeding Nathan intel on things that were difficult for him to see so far ahead. The Spirit Guide nodded to Nathan as he approached.

“Yes, Nathan. What is it? Have you decided on our next plan of action?”

“Yeah. I’m going on ahead. I need you to stay here and watch over the seals.”

Walter’s eyes widened. “I said I would not leave your side, Nathan, and I mean to honor that promise.”

“Walt, we don’t have time to argue about this.” Nathan glanced ahead at the battle, seeing only chaos, unable to pinpoint where his loved ones were anymore. “Please, Walter,” he turned to the Spirit Guide again, “I need you to stay here. You’re still by my side if you’re doing what I ask. Please.”

The fierce loyalty in Walter would not let him refuse Nathan again. He nodded solemnly.

Nathan took off over the hill that was their last barrier against the dark fae, pulling the goggles up over his eyes as he went.

What he saw through them almost stopped him cold.

So many of the fae were revealed in their true forms already, something often painful for normal humans to witness, but here on these fields—Gehenna, Walter had called it—they could witness it all unscathed.

What the goggles showed Nathan was so much more. He could see the crisscrossing and collision of spells, pulsing auras of various color, and the presence of Solrin’s power around all those he controlled like transparent silver chains. Which included Sasha.

Nathan focused on what was around him. There were a few dark fae that had already gotten through Kaley’s fire, closing in on the waiting seals, so he picked off those he could as he ran. Solrin was up ahead, making a steady approach, with Sasha twisted against those he should be fighting alongside.

But as Nathan leapt through a hole in the fire to make his way toward them, he was caught off guard. Something slammed into him from the side out of nowhere, sprawling him to the ground and loosening the gun from his hands. When he looked up, he saw black eyes.

Alex

Alex wanted nothing more than to be on the front lines with the others, but she knew her place was at the Gatehouse.

Someone needed to coordinate getting supplies and fresh ammo out to the seals on the lawn, and so she held her ground, even though being the furthest from Jim was the worst punishment.

Nathan had left to better serve at the heart of the battle.

Walter stood magnificent in the wake of his departure, having taken up a strong stance on the hill, at the very forefront as the dark fae descended.

He picked off one after another with his crossbow as if he had been born wielding one.

It seemed to shoot bolts of light rather than normal ammo, and he pulsed with power every time it fired.

But Walter was only one being; the dark fae were many.

There was also Lindsey and Charis, who joined the fight beside the many seals with vicious accuracy in their strikes.

Kaley, as an elemental, was masterful in battle as well, able to control and mold and become fire.

But many seals fell to the dark fae in what seemed like moments. They were still losing.

Alex’s voice was constant, calling out to seals to take weapons, asking what ammo they needed, yelling for Ula’s ready aid.

When a lull hit, with many seals too caught up in battle to make it back to them to reload, Alex took up her own gifted dual-pistols and a bag of ammo, told Ula to hold steady until she returned, and leapt out of the Gatehouse doors.

She took off, racing into the fray, searching the camp for who needed her most. She passed Kaley as the elemental went down, the ground around her smoldering with dying embers.

But Alex couldn’t pause to mourn. She handed out as much ammo as she could to those who hadn’t been able to fall back, her bag empty around her shoulder in a matter of minutes.

Her pistols, like Walter’s crossbow, never seemed to run dry, and so she fired at as many dark fae as she could. She was good with a gun, but even so, it surprised her that each shot always seemed to be a kill shot. Still, she had every intention of heading back to the Gatehouse to man her post.

Until she saw Nathan just past the line of seals struggling in the dust.

For a moment Alex cursed her weapons and that she had not been given a sniper rifle, but then these weren’t typical pistols, and she wasn’t any typical woman.

All she needed was a clear shot. She lined up both pistols as if she’d been born ambidextrous, ready to clear the way of fae between her and Nathan with a barrage of bullets.

A wave of fire surged from around Alex’s right, shooting out like a wall of flame to take out every dark fae in her path.

She whirled around, her spirits lifted as she thought Kaley must be alive after all, but her eyes landed on nothing, no visible source.

She scanned and scanned the area behind her, back by the Gatehouse doors, and finally up…

Where she could see Wally outlined on the edge of the first overhang of roof, the last traces of fire fading from the tiny creature’s open mouth.

Alex gaped. Like a chimera out of Greek mythology.

She didn’t have time to be dumbstruck. She turned back to where Nathan was grappling on the ground.

She was too far away by normal standards to make the shot, but she had a clear path now.

She steadied her stance and it felt as if all the fighting around her stilled, slowed, the sound faded.

When she fired off two successive shots, one from each gun, she knew even before she saw the figure atop Nathan jerk forward onto him that the shots would count.

Nathan clamored out from under his attacker a moment later, seeking out his savior, and their eyes met across the battlefield as the last of Kaley’s fire barrier died with her, Wally’s flames already extinguished, and no one but Alex having witnessed the chimera’s help.

Alex raised one gun to her forehead in a quick salute.

Nathan merely grinned and nodded, before hurrying on into the battle.

He was headed for Sasha, who had been taken over by Solrin, but Nathan could do nothing against that power.

Then Alex realized who could, and she smirked to herself as she thought Nathan really didn’t know how lucky he was to have her on the team.

“Walter!” Alex called to the Spirit Guide, still expertly firing his crossbow into the hoard. “Go with Nathan!”

“He told me to guard the line here!” Walter shouted.

“Sasha’s been compromised; Nathan can’t free him from that without you! I’ll hold them back.”

Walter paused finally and turned to look at her.

Indecision played in his warm brown eyes, but he seemed to know that she spoke the truth.

Alex didn’t know if she understood her power fully, or what she could do with the opposite of ‘Famine’, but she knew that the opposite of Walter’s ‘Pestilence’ was ‘Healing’ and that was exactly what Sasha needed.

“Go!”

Walter hesitated only a moment more before he dashed ahead to follow Nathan, leaving Alex to guard the Gatehouse alone.

She glanced back at the doors, where Ula had taken over in her stead like a pro, shouting orders and passing around supplies. She looked up again to where Wally stood on the roof as if keeping vigil. Then Lindsey and Charis dropped out of the sky on either side of her, ready to guard her flanks.

Many had been lost, but many still remained. Alex was not alone.

Jim

Jim struggled to reach the twins, having just barely escaped Cam, but soon saw that Epica and Attoinette had fallen to Solrin’s control as well. All of the incubi and succubae had been turned to Malak’s side, even the great and proud Aloysha.

The members of the Council were truly awesome in appearance and power.

Jim was momentarily stunned by Irina’s deep red markings moving in a blur, Lesta’s fire orange that even without horns had a menacing stature, and Cyzarine’s inverse in color that was different from any succubus he had ever seen—black skin and silver markings and hair. They were a rainbow of carnage.

Oberon stood amidst it all, not far from Jim, emanating light that pained the dark fae. Some died upon contact with it, some turned and fled, but he was already dimming, and Aloysha and his people were only momentarily blinded and pushed back.

“It will not last! They will attack again!” Oberon called in a voice that was not a voice to untrained ears, but more like the rush of wind and water.

Jim raised one hand toward the twin succubae ahead of him and summoned red light runic traps to hold them still.

He struggled to take control back from Solrin and free them.

Somehow he managed, and the twins were soon shaking their heads like coming out of a deep sleep.

Jim spun around to Cam who was hot on his heels, to all of the turned incubi and succubae advancing again as Oberon’s light faded.

Again Jim was successful, pulling Cam back to them; and once free, Cam, Epica, and Attoinette all quickly rejoined their side of the fight.

Jim tried to bring more back to their side, but it was too much, Solrin’s pull too strong, even on those of the Council. Oberon told him to stop, to save his strength. His powers would otherwise be needed.

Jim turned his attention to Sasha so far away among the light fae, fighting against them, fighting Gwen who was doing everything she could to not harm the incubus as she fended him off. For a moment Jim’s resolve wavered.

Then from over the hills and rocky terrain, he caught sight of Nathan, Walter close behind him, the pair rushing through the fighting to reach Sasha and somehow bring him back from Malak’s grasp.

Nathan had been upset when he first heard Walter call out behind him, but he was grateful after his Spirit Guide explained what Alex had figured out so easily. Sasha needed Healing, and Walter could provide.

Walter was suspiciously good with his horseman crossbow, Nathan thought, and he had to wonder if that was divine intervention or previous experience like Alex had with her guns.

She had certainly been remarkable when she saved Nathan from that Shadow Immortal.

Nathan had forgotten that Malak’s army would include those creatures as well.

Together they raced the final distance to reach Sasha, ridding the area of enemies easily and tossing light fae aside with warning glares to get out of their way.

There was no way to know how much damage Sasha had caused while fighting on the wrong side, but it didn’t matter; nothing mattered but fixing this.

Solrin was too intent on reaching the Gatehouse to notice that Nathan had slipped past him.

Nathan and Walter flanked Sasha, Walter dropping his crossbow as he grabbed for the incubus.

Sasha was fierce and unforgiving as he fought them off, a frenzied animal reveling in the fight, his sword long forgotten.

He slashed Walter across the chest before the Spirit Guide could even begin to heal him, and when Walter finally had a hold of him, gripping him by the forearms and pulling him in close, Sasha tried to lunge forward and bite at the tendons of his neck.

“Nathan!” Walter cried out.

As soon as Sasha pulled up for another lunge, Nathan was there, grabbing Sasha’s face and looking into his eyes, as Walter’s hands began to glow. It was Nathan’s gaze Sasha met, but Walter’s voice, whispering, “Be healed, Sasha Kelly. You are free from Solrin’s pestilence.”

The harsh light in Sasha’s eyes dulled, his struggling against Walter ceasing as he went limp and fell like dead weight.

Through the goggles Nathan saw how the silver chains of Solrin’s power dissipated, and all three of them went down together.

Sasha started shaking, gulping for air and looking around him like he had no idea where he was.

“Sasha,” Nathan embraced his incubus as best he could with Sasha still mostly in Walter’s arms, “it’s okay. It’s okay. He won’t be able to take control of you again.”

“The others.” Sasha coughed, looking to Nathan, to Walter. “Jim can’t handle all of them. There are too many.” He stared beyond them at the other camp where Jim and those with him were nearly overrun.

Walter turned, looked over at the distant chaos, seeing only a handful in their right minds fighting alongside Jim and Oberon. Walter could not use his power again; he could not Heal the struggle for control in all of them.

“We must assist them directly,” he said.

Sasha shook his head. “No. We can’t help them by fighting.

I was stupid to go at Solrin alone. But I get it now.

You were right, Nate,” Sasha said as he gripped Nathan’s arm as loosely as he could with his claws.

“We can save him. I can. I’m War—Peace. I didn’t realize until Walter healed me, but…

I think Peace is the only thing Solrin has ever wanted. ”

Nathan brightened with a growing shimmer of pride. “Baby,” he said, tenderly touching Sasha’s face, “I think you just figured out how we’re going to win this war.”