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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“P lease help us,” the young girl asked clearly, despite her trembling lips.

I stared at her—at the girl too small to fight back, too young to understand why her world had become a cage.

I couldn’t leave her.

I wouldn’t .

A hand took mine, and when the buzz shot between us, I had no doubt who it was. Ryker linked, We’ve got to go. You said you’re feeling the vampires.

I shook my head slowly while my heart hammered. “We can’t leave them. Any of them.” Something inside me screamed for justice for all these women.

He blinked. “We got her. She was the one—”

“No,” I snapped, louder than I meant to. My voice echoed. “What does it say about us if we only save the ones who are useful? If we pick and choose who gets freedom, like the vampires do?” My throat closed. “Then we’re no better than them.”

Ryker froze. A beat passed. “We don’t have time.”

“She’s right.” Sun’s determined voice cut through the thick, rancid air.

Of everyone who might back me, I hadn’t expected it to be her.

Sun stood near the cage of an older woman who had her fingers curled around the bars. Sun turned in my direction and nodded. “We don’t leave them. Not if we can help it.”

“Fuck,” Bruce muttered. “They’re right. Let’s do this fast.”

Ryker met my gaze, frustration warring with urgency in his eyes.

I hated that he didn’t understand my need, but it wasn’t right for us to leave all these women to be mistreated like this. We may never get another chance to help them, and they can be used against us . The last part was true, but that wasn’t the real reason I wanted to save them. Besides, isn’t the enemy of our enemy a good friend to us?

He softened and pushed love toward me. We do it your way, lil rebel, but we do it fast.”

Ryker, Bruce, and Sun started shooting open the locks, moving down the hall in a coordinated rhythm. I followed them, yanking open each door the moment the chain fell, helping each stunned witch out and ushering her toward the exit.

Some collapsed. Some crawled. Some sobbed with disbelief.

The cold pressure was not upon us yet, but I had no doubt the vampires would be waiting outside the magical entrance. It would’ve been that way even if we hadn’t taken a few minutes to free these ladies. I couldn’t swear that each would make it out alive, but at least now they had a chance.

Ryker shot the girl’s cage last, and she didn’t flinch when I opened it—just blinked up at me with hollow eyes.

“Can you walk?” I asked gently.

She nodded slowly. I helped her out, my hand firm on her elbow, and we shuffled back into the corridor.

The entire group now waited by the exit, with Cassi and Xander up front. Cassi held the handle of a door I hadn’t noticed when we’d arrived. It must be the real entrance unaffected by the outer spell. She nodded once Ryker, the girl, and I reached everyone else.

“Is everyone ready?” she asked.

I removed one gun from my hip and held the young girl close to my side. I wasn’t sure what the hell we were walking into, but we had tried our best.

Ryker placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “Once we leave, all witches should disburse and get away from here as best you can. The rest of us will fight off the vampires as we all escape.”

Several witches nodded, the stench of all of them huddled together somehow worse than when they’d been in cages.

“Everyone else, get your guns ready. We need to move fast and hard,” Ryker continued, commanding us all.

Sun and Bruce readied their weapons as requested, and we glanced at one another. We were ready to fight like hell.

“Let’s move,” Bruce added from the end.

Cassi opened the door, and when the sunlight burst through, I couldn’t see.

My eyes burned, stung, and watered as the sunlight hit. After the darkness of the prison, it was like someone had stabbed glass into my pupils.

I squinted hard, shielding the girl’s face with my arm as she clung to my side. Ryker moved in front of us, blocking us from whatever threat might be ahead.

Shapes blurred into focus. At least fifteen vampires stood in front of us uncloaked. They had guns at their sides and wore the black vampire-guard uniforms. One picked up a mic and said, “They’ve let all the witches out.”

Our group launched into action without hesitating. Sun and Bruce began firing as Xander leapt at the closest guard to us.

We managed to kill five vampires in the first minute because the vampires hadn’t been prepared, not knowing exactly when we’d emerge.

Several vampires returned fire, but some of the witches charged right at them.

I glanced in the direction of the vampire mansion and saw dozens more barreling toward us, cloaked in shadows, like a wave of ink smearing across the tree line.

“More are coming,” I rasped. “And they’re cloaked.”

Get Cassi and the witch who spelled me to the vehicle now, Ryker linked to Xander, Gage, Kendric, and me. Take Ember with you so she can watch for shadows.

My blood heated. I’m not leaving you alone to die when a horde of shadows are heading this way. A shadow separated from the woods, and I fired and saw it fall to the ground. The shadows are here, and I’m the only one who can see them.

Another shadow tore from the tree line. I fired again.

It crumpled mid-step. Ryker exhaled, his displeasure and fear swirling into me, but he didn’t argue. He knew it was pointless—my ass would remain here.

Sun unloaded several shots into the chest of a guard trying to drag a fleeing witch back.

Just stay close to me, please, Ryker linked, firing at another guard. The witches created more chaos, adding an advantage to our side. All fifteen vampires died, and Bruce yelled, “Let’s move. Follow the two wolves carrying the injured.”

Our group moved, and I saw that one of the witches who’d been crawling away lay dead.

Tears burned my eyes, knowing that I was partly responsible for that loss of life. However, letting them stay caged like animals didn’t seem any better.

I glanced behind us. The cloaked vampires were getting close. I wanted to scream in frustration.

“What’s wrong?” the little girl asked, tugging on my hand. “You seem extra upset.”

I bent and picked her up, knowing we needed to move as quickly as possible. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and her gaze never left my face.

She expected an answer. Our group moved, but we were a lot slower with the newly freed witches. They stumbled along with us as best they could, but the cloaked vampires would be on us in seconds, and I didn’t want the little girl to be afraid.

Ryker stayed at my side. We started in the middle of the group, but each time I glanced back to gauge distance between us and the cloaked vampires, I moved closer to the back.

Xander was protecting the rear and would be one of the first they targeted, and I couldn’t lose another person.

“Fire,” the girl whispered. “You’re Fire. Are you scared?”

“Some vampires will be here soon to attack us, and you might not be able to see them.” She seemed odd. I didn’t want to scare her further, but I couldn’t shield her from what was happening.

“Oh.” The little girl pouted. “And you don’t like that?”

“It’s hard to fight an enemy you can’t see.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but they were now upon us. I linked, They’re here. Xander, get out of the way.

Before he could respond, a cloaked vampire darted forward and had its claws in a witch’s back, lifting her from the ground like she weighed nothing.

I aimed and fired, but I was too late.

She slumped in its grip, lifeless.

My stomach twisted, bile rising as rage roared through me. I tried to fire again, but I was out of ammo. I needed to reload, but I couldn’t with the girl in my arms.

“Here, I can help,” the little girl said and lifted her hands. White tendrils exploded from her body and soared toward the vampires.

“What are you—” I started, but my words died as the white tendrils hit the guards. All of a sudden, the vampires came into view.

A collective gasp broke out from the witches behind us as the shadows peeled away like smoke from fire. Vampires staggered, no doubt unsure what was going on.

Then everything exploded into chaos.

Gunfire. Screaming. Growls.

Vampires lunged, claws slashing, fangs bared. Ryker shot one point-blank in the face, and its head snapped back with a violent crack before it collapsed.

Sun fired from behind a tree, killing one vampire as another barreled toward her behind her back. Bruce grabbed Sun’s attacker and slammed him into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.

Three witches joined hands near the edge of the woods and began muttering under their breath. Wind swirled, ripping through the clearing with a roar.

A vampire launched toward them then froze in midair, suspended by a shimmering wall of magic before bursting into flames.

The others hesitated.

The vampires hadn’t expected this. They’d thought we were weak. That these women were broken.

They were wrong.

I ducked behind a boulder with the girl still in my arms, shielding her as I reloaded my gun. “You okay?”

She nodded quickly, eyes wide, the glow in her fingertips still sparking.

Ember, what the hell is going on? Briar linked. Are you okay?

Another witch screamed.

Ember, watch out! Ryker linked with fear surging to me.

I looked up in time to see a vampire blur toward us. His eyes homed in on me, making his intent clear. I raised the now loaded gun, still not liking how the metal felt in my hand, and fired at him.

The vampires are on us, but we’re fighting. I didn’t have time for a conversation with Briar now.

Two more vampires approached from opposite sides. I shot one, and Ryker took down the other.

Dammit, I’m out. He grabbed the nearest vampire by the throat, drove him to the ground, and twisted until bone snapped. Blood sprayed, soaking his shirt.

A familiar male scream pierced through the noise.

Bruce was down on one knee, blood pouring from a gash in his thigh, a vampire dragging claws across his side. Sun shot it, but not before it ripped into Bruce again.

She dodged a vampire leaping toward her.

I spun and fired at the next one closing in.

Two more witches went down, their magic spent, their bodies too weak to remain upright.

But the rest—those still standing—channeled everything they had toward the vampires. Fire flared from trembling palms. Earth cracked beneath vampire feet. One witch conjured ice sharp as daggers and sent it flying.

It was working.

The tide was shifting.

The vampires—what was left of them—staggered. Some hissed and turned toward the trees.

They were retreating.

The girl in my arms whispered, “They’re scared.”

“Damn right they are,” I said, standing taller as Ryker ran to my side, blood dripping from his jaw.

“We may not have the advantage for long,” he said, breathless. “We need to hurry.”

I nodded, holding the girl tighter, tension still buzzing like electricity in the air.

Xander trotted up beside us, his wolf form splattered with blood. Bruce was slumped across his back, unconscious, blood soaking through his shirt.

Shit.

I swear if you don’t make it back to me, Briar linked, I will kill Ryker myself.

“Let’s go!” Ryker barked. “Move out now!”

The witches didn’t need more prompting. They lurched in the direction we were leading them, helping one another, limping, dragging along those too weak to stand. Gage stayed near Cassi and the witch who’d spelled Ryker, his coat matted, his posture protective.

I ran beside Ryker, the girl’s arms looped tightly around my neck. Her cheek pressed against mine as I clutched her with one arm and kept the gun raised with the other.

The tree line broke.

The road came into view. And with it—Reid.

He limped forward from where the cars were parked, Briar right on his heels, her face pale and panicked.

“What the hell happened?” Briar’s voice was hoarse.

“We were ambushed,” Ryker growled. “There were more witches locked inside than we expected, and we didn’t want to leave any behind.”

“Damn.” Reid looked past us as the witches poured from the woods. “How many?”

“Like, forty of them,” I answered.

Briar’s gaze landed on me and the girl in my arms, and her forehead lined with worry. She linked, You brought a child?

She was in one of the cages. I just couldn’t… My heart sank, and tears blurred my eyes.

She hugged me on my free side. You did the right thing. I’m so proud of you. And now we have so many more people to help us take down the vampire queen. That’s amazing.

Reid hobbled forward and opened the back of the first car. “We need to move. We can’t carry all of you back, so if you go across the street and head to the playground area of the park, which should have people around by now, we can pick you up—”

“No,” one of the witches said, stepping up beside me. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, her jaw bruised, one of her eyes swollen shut. “We’re not going with you.”

“What?” I blinked. “You all need rest and care.”

“We want to form a coven together and stay off the radar.” Her voice didn’t shake. “We don’t want to be a part of this at all anymore.”

Another witch stepped beside her. Then another.

“We know the land around here. We’ve been held in it long enough. And we have magic.”

“You don’t have enough strength—” Reid tried.

“We have enough hate,” the woman cut in. “And that’ll do for now.”

Cassi slid off Gage’s back. “She’s right. Their power’s returning faster than I expected. It’s like the land’s feeding them again.”

Ryker stared at the group then turned to me. His eyes weren’t angry now—just… understanding.

“They just want to live in peace,” he murmured.

I nodded slowly. I couldn’t judge them. I wanted the same.

Sun exhaled hard. “We could really use your help.”

Another witch stepped forward. “We’ll head east into Hollow Pines. There's an old warded ruin there—we can hide and rebuild.”

Another witch, younger than the others with burn scars down one arm, looked up from where she’d been helping one of the older women to her feet. “We were taken because we trusted too easily. Look where it got us.”

Her words weren’t bitter—they were bone-deep tired. The kind of exhaustion that didn’t fade with sleep.

“We fought once,” she added. “We lost everything.”

“But you didn’t lose your lives,” I said quietly, glancing between them. “You could’ve died down there.”

The witch with the swollen eye stepped closer, her gaze locked on mine. “That would’ve been mercy. What they did to us… what we saw…” She shook her head. “We’re not warriors anymore. We’re survivors. That’s all we want to be.”

Silence fell.

Ryker’s hand brushed mine again, grounding me.

Cassi looked like she wanted to argue but didn’t. Her mouth opened. Closed. Then she just nodded and folded her arms across her chest like she was holding herself together.

Reid paced a few steps. “So that’s it? You’ll just hide while the rest of us fight to keep the world from burning?”

“We’re not the ones who lit the fire,” another witch said from the back. “We’re tired of getting scorched.”

It wasn’t said cruelly. Just the truth.

“Then at least let us help you get settled,” I offered. “Supplies. Medical aid. A way to contact us.”

“No contact,” the lead witch said. “Please.”

“But—”

“No contact,” she repeated, softer this time. “We’ve seen what happens when witches get involved in pack wars. Vampire courts. Shadow politics. We’re done for now. We need time to heal.”

My throat tightened.

“We need to go.” Briar gestured to the cars. “The vampires could come back any second.”

She was right. Xander and Gage placed their passengers on the ground. Bruce stirred, and his eyes opened. Sun helped the witch stand and join the others, while Briar helped Bruce get to the car.

The witches began to talk together, and I hugged the little girl tight in my arms. At least I had her.

But then she suddenly moved and whispered, “Fire, I—” Her voice was full of apprehension. “I have to go with them,” she whispered. “They’re my coven now.”