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“Why do they do that?”
“So whatever is hunting them doesn’t find them, Eres, for fu?—"
“And what are you doingright now?”Her tone was harsh as she punctuated her statement, but somehow, even she was whispering.
I swallowed hard. In the stillness of the early morning hours, the blood rushing to my pounding heart echoed so loudly in my ears, I thought I’d given away our position.
No guards. No witnesses to a struggle.
This wasn’t about getting to the other side and warning Caius. It wasn’t about saving him.
This was aboutme.
I turned my head to Sin, feeling the color drain from my face. “We’re being hunted.”
A slow clapping started. It sounded like it came from everywhere and nowhere at once. Abyssian strode forth from the shadows, the early rays of the dawn casting a warm glow around him. His dark hair was braided back like Caius’s had been in my dreams.
“Smart girl,” he said, the voice coming from every direction. He wasn’t one lone figure, but one of a dozen exact replicas. Slowly, the small army of Abyssians exited the shadows. From behind the trees. From inside a building. From behind the fountain.
“I take it this is the asshole you saw in your dream?” my sister muttered.
“Yup.”
She nodded once. “Got it.”
Abyssian drifted closer and I narrowed my eyes at him in disgust.
“You were right, Reagan. You were supposed to come alone.” He tutted, shaking his head in disappointment. One hand was clenched in a fist at his side. The other hung loose. “No matter.”
I lifted the baseball bat and cracked my neck. Sin automatically moved so we were back-to-back, close enough to guard each other, not so close I would end up striking her with the bat. I positioned my weapon of choice and my sister kept her hands up, ready to use her magic.
The dozen Abyssians converged on us, effortlessly moving like wraiths. I swung the bat and went spinning as it passed completely through him. Stumbling, I quickly caught my balance, whipping around in time to see Sin throw a shot of pure death magic at another illusion.
We weren’t bad fighters, but not knowing which Abyssian was an apparition and which of them wasn’t proved to be a huge disadvantage. Logically I knew I could swing hard and keep my stance, but my brain couldn’t comprehend the message that the bat might swing through the air and miss its target. Instead of keeping steady, my mind said, “prepare for impact” and when there was no impact, my body said, “maybe you should fall down instead.”
My lack of coordination made my movements stiff and clumsy. Eres pressed against the barriers, ready to shift and take over.
“Not yet,”I warned.
“Let me?—”
“Do what, Eres? If you can tell which one is which, share with the class, dammit! If I shift, Sin can’t have your back. You’re too big. You’re a giant fucking unicorn-shaped target with blind spots that are worse than mine, and in case you haven’t noticed, we are surrounded. It’s not safe! When I find out which one is him, by all means, shift and take over because this sucks!”
Movement in my periphery caught my attention. Turning my head a fraction, I saw a small figure peering around the edge of a building. Shaggy brown hair, sweet brown eyes, with an oversized t-shirt swallowing his frame.
Jo. He’d followed us.
A new fear had unlocked inside me.
None of the Abyssians had noticed and I sent a silent thank you to the gods.
“Go get help!” I shouted, knowing he would hear me, but if they didn’t know he was there, they would assume I was talking to my sister.
“What? There’s no way I’m leaving you,” Sin replied, and I stayed silent. Jo’s little shadow disappeared, and I felt a moment of relief knowing he wasn’t seen. Maybe we could hold them off long enough for our entire family to arrive.
The relief was short-lived when all of the Abyssian’s lifted a clenched fist. Their fingers uncurled, revealing a small pile of sparkly dust. Their lips formed an “o” as they blew a puff of air.
“Hold your breath!” I shouted to my sister, reaching back blindly to feel for her.
