His body convulsed.
A scream tore from him as the storm exploded outward.
Wind and force threw rogues into walls. Skulls broke against brick, limbs twisted, and bodies scattered across the flooded street. Rain drove sideways through the Quarter while the pavement fractured beneath their feet.
The pressure released Rhen.
He tore free and surged toward the heretic.
The male remained untouched at the center of the storm, his coat moving in the violent wind while Cole destroyed himself to buy his brothers a few seconds.
“You cannot stop me,” the heretic said. “You are pieces in a game you do not understand.”
Malakai caught Rhen’s gaze through the chaos and pointed toward their enemy.
Stop him.
Rhen lunged.
The heretic lifted one hand almost lazily.
The remaining rogues moved together and struck Rhen in another wall of bodies, forcing him back.
Cole continued channeling the storm.
Blood appeared beneath his nose and then at his ears, darkening his rain-soaked skin. His scream became ragged beneath the strain, but he did not release the power.
The heretic smiled.
“Let him fall. Let him burn himself empty, and another one of you will belong to me.”
The street turned white.
Cole released one final surge of power, sending it through the Quarter with enough force to destroy everything in its path. Rogues combusted into ash and torn flesh. Brickwork collapsed, windows shattered, and the air filled with dust, rain, and blood.
Rhen struck the ground.
The impact forced an unnecessary breath from his lungs. His muscles burned, his flesh hung open in several places, and regeneration had already begun drawing the wounds together.
The storm weakened.
Wind became a whisper, and thunder retreated across the city.
Silence followed.
It offered no peace.
It was the silence left behind by mass death.
Chapter 38
Rhen forced himself upright and staggered toward the center of the destruction, scanning through smoke, rain, and debris.
“Cole.”
The name emerged as a rasp.
Cole lay crumpled among the wreckage, motionless except for the faint rise of his chest. Residual power smoked from his body, and rain steamed when it struck his skin.
