Page 29 of Solar Shadows

“Fuck this,” I grumbled, going to run forward.

But I hesitated. Was I being impatient? Should I hang back? Impatience had tripped me up many times in my life. The scar on my left knee from a cycling accident was testament to that.

I missed a good old bike ride.

But hang back for what? Anger boiled inside me, an angry stew left on a high. I wasn’t built to observe. I liked to be in on the action. And this was my house,ourhouse. These trespassing fuckers required a smackdown.

“Let’s do this!” I cried, charging.

Riley and Drake followed me.

A shade leaped over the Brambles, going into a spin before I could unleash my sunshine. Rather than release shards, it unleashed a ripple of telekinetic energy, the power shooting across the gardens, knocking us off our feet. I managed to roll sidewayswhen I hit the dirt, sparing my head from slamming into the ground.

I grunted, jumping back to my feet. Riley did the same, helping Drake up.

“All good?” I asked, watching the Brambles get back up.

“Yeah,” Riley answered. “You?”

“Sunshine!” I called in warning to my friends.

I set my power free, taking down the fucker who’d just sent us onto our butts. Once it was on its knees, I dropped the sunlight, letting Riley slam it into pieces against the ground.

Oof. My little brother really knew how to throw down.

“Better for seeing this,” I answered his question, gesturing to the mess of shards.

He grinned.

“Let’s get the others,” I told him.

But I froze, my stomach somersaulting over the messed-up sight ahead of me.

A pulsating orb of light, whisps of white mist curling around its edges, floated on the road outside the gates. Beams of light curled from it, snaring all of the witchcops. They were still, their arms outstretched, their heads thrown back.

The darn thing was leeching energy from them, and it grew in size by the second.

I moved toward the siblings, power at the ready. This thing wouldn’t be lasting much longer. My bloodhummed in my veins, a rampant desire to fuck it up an inferno inside me.

“Get back in the house!” Alice cried.

“I can stop it,” I retorted.

“You—”

Before she could finish, I unleashed my power again, the whole area bathed in daylight. The Brambles covered their eyes, and I pressed on, intensifying the brightness, waiting for the big ball to break.

It didn’t. It only grew and twisted into a new shape.

Riley ran up beside me, unleashing his Tidal Pull. His power made a small dent in the thing, only for it to pop back out with no damage done.

My sunlight continued to do sweet fuck all.

Laughter in my ears, the familiar cackle of the fae woman invading my senses.

“Shit,” I whispered, dropping the sunshine.

What now?