“Beth, are you sure about this?” Jayden asks. “Last time you passed out. We can’t have that happening in the middle of the battlefield.”
“It will be fine. I won’t pass out. Raven has snacks.” I grin.
“Snacks… in battle. Hades, this is really what it’s come to, isn’t it?” Jayden shakes his head.
The clouds darken further and thunder rumbles. I chance a glance at Thad and the others. Thad nods to me. They’re good. They are holding their own and he’s adding his own power to my lightning storm. Good.
The first bolt of lightning strikes in the middle of the group of monsters that Adrian and Greyson are attacking with claws, teeth, and arrows. The second hits several monsters in the hoard closing in on Draven and the others.
Raven hands me another piece of jerky and I pop it in my mouth, never taking my gaze off the sky as the two closest people in the world to me keep stray demons off my back.
“Snacks were a good plan,” I say as my magic reserves refuel and I hit a group of monsters headed straight for us.
The blast takes the damn Minotaur out again and he dies with a bleating scream and turns to ash.
“See, Jayden.” Raven laughs. “The snacks are helping.”
“You two are ridiculous.” Jayden blasts solid shadows in the form of blades at several creatures.
“Fine, no snacks for you.” She sticks her tongue out at him and spins in a circle, her ax extended, and decapitates five demons who got too close.
Three bolts of lightning strike simultaneously across the battle but more monsters pop up where those fell. We’re outnumbered and even with Raven’s magic-restoring snacks, my arms shake and knees wobble.
“I need more,” I shout but Raven is too far away now.
Fog curls around my ankles and I flinch back, stumbling until hands grasp my shoulders. I turn to find Thad, eyes glowing blue as he stares at the clouds rumbling overhead.
“What are you doing?” I shout. “What about Draven?”
“He’s inside the temple. It’s all up to him now so I came to help.” He hands me a protein bar with a grin. “Raven isn’t the only one who came prepared.”
I tear open the wrapper and shove the whole thing into my mouth, instantly feeling better. I nod to Thad and glance back up at the sky.
“You wanna give them something to really be scared of?” I ask.
“I have been waiting this whole battle for you to ask that.” Thad grins and offers me a hand.
I take his hand and our magic pulses together. The thunder roars louder, rattling my bones. Remembering the cyclone we created, I picture it in my mind.
“Everyone, take cover,” Thad shouts.
Jayden shadow walks to Raven, grabbing her and pulling her with him away from the battle as the cyclone roars to life in front of us. Tree branches and debris get caught in the wind and the fog from the wraiths is sucked from the ground.
The shrieking wails of a hundred wraiths exposed to the light blasts through the clearing as the cyclone tears through monsters. Jayden grips my other hand, winking at me as he adds his shadows, turning them to solid blades that cut through anything they touch.
The blue in Jayden’s eyes fades to black the more power we use to guide the cyclone to where the most monsters are attacking. Dax and Kira are fighting off several wraiths about a hundred yards from the temple. But more are closing in. I direct the storm to their back as one monster takes a swipe at Kira, but Dax is already there, his broad sword swinging in a wide arc.
“Beth, watch out,” Raven bellows but my focus is solely on the cyclone.
A wolf charges, a snarl on his lips as he launches himself at the demon at my back before it would have slammed its claws through my back and took my heart. The demon crumbles to dust and I spin to Greyson.
“Thank you, friend.” I nod to the wolf.
His tongue hangs out of his mouth in a wolf approximation of a smile before he turns his back on me, snarling at anything that gets too close.
“We have to let go of the cyclone. We’re distracting our friends more than the monsters and they just keep coming. What’s taking Draven so long?” I ask.
The cyclone takes out several wraiths before it fizzles out and I sag into Jayden. Thad pulls something out of his pocket and hands one to me and one to Jayden, who shakes his head but eats the damn protein bar.
