Page 41 of The Second Sight (Wanderlust Emporium Presents, Season One)
Something dangerous flashed in Desmond’s eyes. He tightened his grip on Basirah’s arm, making her wince. “Then there is no deal at all.” He shoved Basirah roughly behind him and raised his voice to a thunderous shout. “BAMBARA ATTACK!”
Everything exploded into anarchy at once. The hunters charged toward us, weapons drawn. Tarus dragged Brooklyn back toward the SUV. Desmond retreated with Basirah stumbling beside him.
“Now!” Seven roared, the signal our hidden allies had been waiting for.
The shadows around the trainyard came alive.
Vampires moved with blinding speed, emerging from behind rusty train cars and abandoned buildings.
My yumboe kin emerged with glowing wings.
Romeca and Kyren swooped down from the night sky with golden daggers flashing in the moonlight.
The trap we’d so carefully planned was finally sprung.
Seven grabbed me and shoved me behind a concrete barrier. “Stay down,” he ordered before disappearing in a blur of movement.
I peered over the edge of my shelter, my eyes struggling to track the epic battle unfolding around me.
Lily pulled her supernatural Glock from beneath her jacket, aimed at a charging hunter, and fired with deadly aim.
The bullet specially designed with something I’d never heard of struck the man in the chest. He froze mid-stride, his eyes widening in shock before his entire body erupted in orange-tinged flames.
His screams cut through the night as he burned from the inside out, collapsing into a heap of ash and bones within seconds.
The other hunters faltered, clearly not expecting such a weapon to exist. Lily’s smile was terrifying as she aimed at another target.
Across the trainyard, Seven engaged Gideon in brutal hand-to-hand combat.
Their bodies moved faster than my half-human eyes could track.
They blurred into streaks of motion punctuated by the sickening sound of flesh striking flesh.
Seven fought with cold accuracy. Each of his brutal movements was calculated despite the fury I knew was driving him.
Gideon fought desperately, like a man who knew he was outmatched but too proud to surrender.
Romeca and Kyren danced through the air above another hunter, their wings creating gusts of wind that sent debris skittering across the concrete.
The hunter hurled some kind of spell from his hands that burst in the air like black fireworks, but Romeca deflected it with a shield of yellow light that erupted from her palm.
I ducked as something flew over my head.
It was a knife that embedded itself in the concrete wall behind me.
My heart pounded in my ears and chest. The battle around me was almost too much to process.
This wasn’t like the fight where Brooklyn was taken.
This was a war between ancient beings using powers I barely understood.
Through the confusion, I spotted Brooklyn. Tarus had left her bound beside the SUV to join the fight, and she was working frantically to free herself. Our eyes met across the distance, and I nodded encouragingly for her to do something. I just didn’t know what.
“Get the fae bitch!” Desmond shouted from somewhere near the first SUV. “She’s behind the barrier!”
I shrank lower. A shadow fell over me, and I looked up to see a Bambara hunter standing above my hiding place, a curved blade in his hand and murder in his eyes.
Before he could strike, a blur of movement slammed into him.
Felix, one of Seven’s vampires, tore into the man’s throat with savage fangs.
Another vampire joined him, the two feeding with an animalistic hunger that turned my stomach.
Blood sprayed across the concrete as they literally tore the man apart.
I crawled away from the gruesome sight, desperate to find better cover. Across the trainyard, Brooklyn had freed herself from her restraints and was limping quickly between train cars, keeping low and out of sight. Thank God. At least she was getting away from us.
A roar of pain drew my attention to Seven and Gideon.
Gideon had somehow managed to drive a blade into Seven’s thigh, but Seven barely seemed to notice the wound.
With inhuman speed, he whirled behind Gideon, wrapped his arms around the hunter’s neck, and twisted with savage force.
The crack was audible even through the battle sounds.
Seven didn’t stop there. His face contorted with a next level of rage.
He gripped Gideon’s head in a sleeper hold.
I watched as Gideon’s eyes bulged from their sockets.
Seven twisted his arms swiftly and tore Gideon’s completely from his body in one violent motion.
Blood fountained from the severed neck as the headless body collapsed down to its knees before falling forward.
Seven stood holding the severed head. His eyes wild, his fangs exposed, and his clothes soaked in crimson.
Bile rose in my throat, but I was determined to thug it out.
For a moment, the battle seemed to pause around this brutal execution.
“NO!” Desmond’s agonized scream cut through the momentary silence. “YOU KILLED! MY! SON!”
Son? The word repeated in my mind as I tried to process this new information. Gideon was Desmond’s son? Even Tarus looked shocked, freezing mid-fight to stare at his leader in confusion.
Seven’s face registered surprise for just an instant before hardening again into deadly resolve. He tossed Gideon’s head aside with contempt. “He died better than you will,” he snarled across the trainyard at the man he hated more than anyone.
Desmond’s face transformed from grief to fury in a second. The scar on his face seemed to pulse with dark energy as he raised his hands, black powder crackling between his fingers. He was preparing some kind of attack, something far more dangerous than what his hunters had used.
In the chaos of the moment, I saw Basirah.
While Desmond’s attention was focused entirely on Seven, she was slowly edging away from his side.
Her movements were weak, but her eyes seemed suddenly clear and focused where before they had appeared vacant.
She caught Seven’s gaze for just a moment.
A silent communication passed between them before she slipped behind the SUV and disappeared into the shadows.