Page 17 of The Clash of the Damned (The Titan Syndicate Saga #2)

Jude

T he force of Sloane’s spell throws me through the dining room glass window, pain exploding across my body as I am thrown into the bushes outside. Dazed and confused, memories start coming back to me.

My shoulder bumps someone as I pass through the coffee shop entrance. Turning to offer my apology, I pause. My whole body snaps to attention, as tight as a bow string. The reason for the magical hold steps forward, a woman I’ve never seen before with red hair.

“You will only remember when I activate the spell, and you will bow completely to my control. Do you understand?” I nod mechanically, following her every word, but I have no idea why.

“Good. Now put this on and don’t take it off unless I tell you to.

” I try to will one of my animal forms to break the hold as it reminds me of a Druid trying to control their shift between forms. Nothing works, and I’m stuck, forced to listen to her commands.

She offers me a braided bracelet, and I accept it, though normally, I wouldn’t be caught dead wearing something as tacky as it.

“I will be in touch; forget I was ever here.” Shaking my head clear of the fog, I have no idea why I’m standing on the sidewalk.

Shrugging my shoulders, I walk into the coffee shop to finally meet Brooklyn for our breakfast date.

I come to, laying in the bushes, cuts covering my arms. Lifting one, I touch my temple and wince as blood comes away from it.

As much as I want to sit here and recover, fully understanding that my Supernatural abilities protected me from death, the spell on me has other ideas.

My missing memory starts flashing in small fragments as the spelled humans show themselves from amongst the bushes.

“Let’s test my magic and see what I’m capable of.

” The red head I’ve come to know as Sloane, walks around a barely lit room, and I have no idea how I got here.

“Kill her,” she instructs, pointing to the woman tied up in the corner, one of Luca’s Undead.

On principle, I refuse, but her magic is stronger.

Marching forward mechanically, I shift my hand into claws, and I obey without hesitation, ripping out the Undead’s throat.

She’s dead within seconds. Turning to Sloane, I wait for my next instructions.

“Excellent! You’ve done well, Jude. You’ve really helped me solidify our plans. You can go now. I’ll be in touch.”

The practice runs in the warehouse to perfect her commands, like I was some dog she could demand to perform tricks at her beck and call.

How she made me murder Parker as he begged me for his life.

And the most recent, a Sorcerer that I had straddled and stabbed over and over again, until her chest was a mangled mess, the blood coating my hands in the abandoned warehouse.

Over and over the cycle repeats, the missing pieces of my memory returning to me .

I snap out of my reverie into the chaos of what Sloane has set in motion.

A wave of emotions hits me. First, relief that I’m not crazy; I’ve been Sloane’s puppet this whole time.

That fucking bitch! She spelled me! I try to run after her, but the magic she cast has other ideas.

I would kill her in less than ten seconds in a fair fight.

Giada screams, snot running down her perfectly made face, and she looks like a raccoon as she runs to the corner, swatting at the approaching spelled humans like a caged animal.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian shouts at her, and I have the same thought.

Cornering herself like that when she’s the only human…

well I guess that’s where the term natural selection comes from.

Sebastian beckons to her like any sudden movements will scare her, and she runs into his arms before he pushes her towards the door, where safety awaits her.

As bodies continue overwhelming the dining room in droves, mine finally lurches forward and joins the fray, aiming for our targets, the heirs.

“Dom! We need weapons!” Sebastian shouts as Luca and Amelia get into fighting position, Luca extending her claws as the guys run off to arm themselves.

Jayden catches my eye, concerned, and my only response is grabbing the table cloth from our still warm dinner, looking for anything to slow my approach.

Our half eaten meals crash to the floor as we continue surging forward.

Jayden tries to run to me, but Amelia intervenes.

“What are you doing?”

“I can’t leave her. I have to do something. Help her!” Jayden exclaims.

“I know you’re a big bad Druid, but there is nothing you can do for her. This is a magical problem, and only Dom can provide the solution. Either fight with us, or get to safety.”

Amelia turns back to the coming fight, ready to defend, and Jayden doesn’t hesitate. He stands next to them, controlling his shift to the point that his arms remain furry, but his body remains human.

My mind screams at me to stop and help my friends.

I jerk as my arm is caught on something, my bracelet hooked on a piece of wood that looks like it could have been part of a chair.

When I pull to release my arm, the bracelet stays behind.

I picture Sloane putting the bracelet on me, and I remember needing to think it wasn’t important.

I may be under her control now, but something is different.

I’ve never remembered before. Either way, when I get out of this, I’m going to fucking kill her.

Jayden, Luca, and Amelia do their best to keep the humans at bay without getting overwhelmed.

Jayden and Amelia resort to breaking necks and punching humans while they wait for weapons as Luca rips out the throat of anyone who gets too close.

Druids, she’s lethal when she doesn’t hold back.

Blood drips down her chin and coats her hands.

“You’re going to help me, Jude. You’re the most susceptible to influence.

You’re worn out and emotional, which makes you easier to control.

Your psyche is mine, and if you’re not careful, I’ll break it permanently.

Using you to do our dirty work is poetic justice, really.

No one will ever see it coming, and it gives my people a better chance of surviving this. ”

Mentally, I scream in frustration as I trip over more humans crowding the room.

I pick my wolf form and try to shift, but nothing happens.

“This is like the warehouse!” Sebastian shouts at Amelia as he and Dom run back into the room.

He throws Amelia a gun, and makes to throw one at Luca.

She glares at him and holds up her bloodied hands in reminder.

“My bad,” Sebastian says as he turns and fires at the approaching humans .

“While they may be human, they’re being controlled so you can’t reason with them,” Amelia explains in between shots from Luca and Dom.

“Even if you kill them, they’ll keep coming.

” She ducks before she continues firing and reloads a clip.

“Since I imagine blowing up your house is not an option, Dom,” she shoots another human, “we need to cut the magic off at the source.” She looks around wildly, trying to come up with something and pauses for a moment too long.

One of the humans grabs her arm, tearing into her skin.

She screams in agony as Luca throws herself into the fray to defend her, ripping out the assailant’s throat in seconds.

“I would like to see them recover from a missing throat,” she says after spitting out the remains.

Luca helps Amelia up while Sebastian and Jayden cover them.

Amelia tries her best to staunch the blood flow while reloading another clip.

She turns to Dom. “They’re all wearing necklaces.

I would bet my life that it’s what controls their movements.

Find a spell to get rid of the necklaces!

We will cover you!” Everyone moves to defend Dom, but they’re not quick enough as two humans get through the fray and tackle him.

“Dom!” Sebastian shouts, trying to get to him.

We also underestimated Dom as he starts swinging fists, defending himself just fine.

Throwing the last human off him through the window, Dom switches to magic.

Waving his hands through the air, he creates multiple colors, shimmering in the air as bodies drop around us.

Finally, I’m close enough to my friends, and I lurch for Luca, but my movements lack their normal grace, the spell making my moves sluggish.

I begin to understand the differences between Sloane’s and Dom’s magic.

Because I’m no longer wearing her bracelet, her Siphoner magic is running out, which means the spell will too, whereas her spells on me before were impossible to resist.

Luca hesitates in front of me. Normally, neither of us would fight each other, and this situation is something we’re unsure of how to handle.

But the magic decides for me, and I lunge for her neck, but she dodges at the last moment.

Giving up, I change tactics and set my sights on Amelia.

“Bring it on, bitch. I’ve been waiting for this.

” She holds her gun up and points it at my head.

Sebastian pushes her out of the way and stands in my line of vision.

The magic of the spell controlling me changes course for him.

He holsters his gun and lifts his hands.

The dead humans rise and come at us again, soundless, unstoppable.

Screaming in my head, I beg for him to fight, anything.

But he doesn’t. I have some control back, but not enough.

Sloane set us to kill, and I can do nothing to stop it.

Instinctively, Sebastian seems to know this, and wants to embrace the death he’s been able to avoid until now.

“No!” Amelia screams. “What are you doing? Fight, you bastard!” Luca grabs Amelia around her waist and pulls her away from us, but she keeps kicking and screaming, trying to get to us.

Staring into Sebastian’s eyes, I don’t see the pain he’s caused me.

I only see the love we shared, the love that made me feel invincible, untouchable, like there was nothing I couldn’t do with him by my side.

I know he won’t fight me. A tear escapes, seemingly of my own choice, and my hands shift to claws, lining up with his heart against his chest. “I love you, Jude. I never got the chance to tell you that. I understand why Kyla embraced death for those she loves now. Loving you has been the best part of my life, and I will never stop.” He stops talking as my claws cut through his muscle, into the chest cavity that protects his still beating heart.

I imagine that getting his heart ripped out of his chest is excruciating, and his face is a grimace of pain.

The only sign of pain as he doesn’t shout.

I ignore everyone and see Sebastian’s face in front of me, the only thing in my world.

He mouths ‘I love you’ one last time before my world goes dark.