There was an address and phone number, followed by a lengthy, small-print essay delineating all of the awful, terrible, very bad things witches had allegedly caused—everything from unemployment and economic crashes to STDs and the brainwashing of our nation’s youth.
I didn’t have the heart to tell the woman she, too, was a witch, just like me.
She, too, was part of the alleged “problem.”
I crumpled the paper and tossed it onto a burning pile of trash, resolute.
No, this crazy disaster area wasn’t the Blackmoon Bay of memory. But it was still home.Ourhome. These aimlessly wandering people, however bespelled in the moment, were our neighbors.
And when I turned and looked back at the guys, at the witches, at all the living, breathing, passionate, loving souls who’d followed me into this hell, I knew we were all thinking the exact same thing.
We’re not giving up on our home.
I met Darius’s eyes, and he nodded once. It was time.
I brought my hands up and closed my eyes, calling up the magic of home, the magic of my birthplace, the magic of the city we loved. It was still there, pulsing beneath the burning streets with a fire all its own, ready to be channeled, ready to consume anything in its path.
I drew it up into myself, then pushed it out into my staff, where it connected instantly with the weapon’s fae magic, twining into a bright blue arc twice as powerful as anything I’d ever called upon, anything I’d ever wielded.
I pointed it at the warehouse on the corner across from us, a storage facility owned by the marina operators that was typically stocked with marine fuel and all kinds of other flammable shit.
And then I let loose my magic.
The warehouse exploded on contact, lighting up the docks and sending out a beacon bright enough to be seen from space.
The message was clear.
The Silversbane witch was here—right fuckinghere—and she’d brought an army of witches and rebels who weren’t going down without a fight.
Scratch that. We weren’t going down at all.
I tightened my grip on the staff and looked back at my guys one more time, my lips stretching into a grin as I felt the drumbeat of a hundred enemy boots hitting the docks, finally barreling toward us.
It was time to take out the trash.
Twenty-Nine
GRAY
Hunters and dark fae, hybrid shifters, rogue vampires… Every foul beast we’d ever faced now converged before us, their teeth sharp, eyes bright with menace.
Together with my rebels, my sisters, my hounds, and all the witches and supernaturals who’d come to fight at our side, we broke upon their army like a wave crashing against the shore.
All around me, the colorful explosions of different magics lit up the snowy night, including the familiar yellow-orange signature I knew belonged to Deirdre. She hadn’t traveled here with us—I hadn’t even spoken with her since I’d sent her away. But she’d shown up when it counted, and for that, I was grateful.
The fae forced the hunters to lead the charge against us. Eager for the kill, Sparkle and Sunshine cleared a path right through them, mauling their prey without a second thought. Blood ran red in the gutters as I blurred into action behind them, slicing through my enemies as though my staff were a hot blade and their bodies no more substantial than butter.
Against the deadly combination of my vampire speed and the magic, the hunters and even the hybrids were no match for me.
The fae, on the other hand, posed more of a threat, as did the vampires, and after I’d taken out almost as many hunters as my hounds had, I found myself surrounded by much more formidable opponents. All around me, I saw my rebels facing their own battles, the demons teaming up on other fae, Darius leading the RCPD shifters against the hybrids, the witches grappling with the remaining hunters.
I was on my own, but I wasn’t alone. I took strength from them, just as they took it from me.
Steeling myself as the enemy closed ranks around me, I raised my staff, infusing it with the magic that hummed inside me.
“You’re gonna die slow,” one of the vamps said, but before he could pop off another useless threat, I swung hard, sending a burst of magic into the staff just as it connected with his head.
Blue flames ignited, quickly engulfing him. It’d happened so fast he hadn’t even had time to scream.
