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Of course, that was a fucking fantasy.
Fifteen minutes later, the harsh buzzing sound erupted through the compound again, and I could practically feel the collective assholes of everyone in the room tightening.
“First wave!” Price called, her voice booming out. “Ready!”
All around us, people linked arms as portals opened up around them. A split second later, the room became much less crowded as nearly half of its occupants blipped out of existence.
I had wanted to go in the first wave. I’d been desperate to, actually. But Price had assigned the guys, me, and Hannah to the second wave.
My hands clenched and unclenched, and I did my best to keep my breathing steady and even. In the silence that settled across the remaining occupants of the room, I heard Xero’s voice from behind me.
“We’ve got you, Piper. We’ve got your back.” His muscled arm came around my waist, and he turned my chin slightly so he could press a kiss to my lips.
The moment my lips left his, Kai was there to claim them, whispering into our kiss, “For good luck.”
Jayce was next, and I breathed in his addictive sea foam scent as my lips tasted his. Then Kingston was there, completing the circle, sealing the bond with his own kiss.
“I don’t need good luck,” I said, turning to Kai. “I have you four. That’s better than luck.”
“Wave two!” Price called. “Ready!”
As she spoke, she stepped forward, joining a group of several other Custodians. She’d be coming through in this wave with us, leaving behind a team of operators to run the mission and serve as point from here.
I linked arms with Hannah, grabbing hold of Jayce with my other hand. Turning to the petite blonde girl, I asked softly, “You gonna be okay?”
“Hell, yeah.” Her voice was fierce. “Maybe I can’t ever see my grandma and sister again, but I can at least stop them from being attacked by some kind of flesh-eating monster, or whatever the hell kind of creatures Gavriel plans to unleash. I’m doing it for them, whether they know it or not.”
“Now!” Director Price boomed.
I held on tight to Jayce and Hannah, closing my eyes briefly as I envisioned the deep, broad crater in Arizona.
A portal opened up, swirling around us until it pulled us through space.
Then it spat us out—
Into chaos.
Sounds, smells, and sights assaulted me, coming into harsh focus so quickly that I almost felt like I had whiplash.
A massive battle raged around us, Custodians going toe-to-toe with hundreds of fallen. The pentagram in the air shimmered softly as bursts of magic lit up the space beneath it. Shouts, growls, and death cries all rose up into the air in a jumbled mess of noise, and the coppery tang of blood stung my nostrils.
To my left, several massive cyclops were swiping out with their clubs, sending Custodians scattering. On my other side, two minotaurs swung their horns like angry bulls about to charge. The tips of the horns had been sharpened to a razor point, and a black, viscous fluid gleamed in the sunlight. Some kind of poison, probably.
Sand and dust had been kicked up by all of the movement, and it stung my eyes and choked my breath as I gazed at the havoc around me.
Price had sent the second wave through just in time. It looked like the Custodians who’d been sent first had been barely hanging on, but now that their numbers had doubled, the tide was already beginning to turn.
And it’ll keep turning, if I have anything to say about it.
Raising my voice in a battle cry, I charged into the fray. My men were right behind me, and Xero hurled a blast of fire as Jayce shifted into his hellhound form and Kingston turned into a massive dragon. I had a feeling he was straining the upper level of what his dragon form could sustain, but I was grateful as hell for it when he opened his mouth and unleashed a huge blast of fire, clearing a path for us as we ran.
The ground shook with the weight of his footsteps, and a second later, he leapt into the air. He would keep us covered from the sky, allowing us to fight better on earth.
Kai had shifted into full vampire mode, and he moved as quickly and silently as the deadliest of predators.
We neared a group of Custodians who were barely holding off the group of demons assaulting them, and without even hesitating, Kai leapt for one, wrapping his arms and legs around the demon’s massive, dark red body and sinking his fangs into the monster’s neck.
I did the same for a demon that was tall and lanky, with skin so pale gray it was alm
