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“Kill the sorcerer first!” someone shouts, and that sets the crowd off.
Several people aim magical and physical attacks at Oliver, and in the moment of distraction, the group of mercenaries finally charges. Chaos erupts. Terrance roars, pulling an iron blade out of his shoulder, and then he grabs the man who stabbed him. I look away before I have to see what comes next. Trolls have a tendency to literally rip their enemies apart with their bare hands. It’s messy.
The shouts and clanking of swords makes me feel like I’m in some medieval war. How in the world did this become my life?
I have my hands on my waist, ready to grab whatever weapons I might need, but so far, no one has managed to get close enough to me. Terrance is causing all kinds of trouble in the middle of the crowd, and the wolves are holding the line in front of me quite nicely. Nick, in his half-shifted form, is standing guard in front of Kat and me.
Suddenly there’s an explosion, and glass rains down on the room as several smaller faeries fly through the windows near the ceiling. They start firing arrows down at us. “Look out!” I shout. “Above you!”
An arrow hits Ren in the leg, and he goes down with a hiss. Enzo is at his side in an instant, but the pixie who shot him is now aiming at the shaman. “Enzo!” I screech, feeling utterly helpless.
Beside me, Kat bursts into a ball of magical flame and emerges from it in the form of a big, beautiful firebird. She unleashes a deafening screech and heads straight for the flying pixies. I watch in awe as she spits fire at them. I’ve never seen anything like her. She’s fierce, deadly, and absolutely beautiful. She’s as breathtaking as Nick is in his dragon form.
She has no problem taking down the pixies, but then a large, nasty demonic bird/woman creature streaks through the air right for Kat. It takes me a moment to recognize the nightmarish thing as a harpy. It’s got the head and wings of a crow but the body of a naked woman, and a nasty set of clawed bird’s feet to finish out the grotesque picture. She dives for Kat, claws first, with an ear-piercing screech. The harpy is four times larger than Kat.
Kat doesn’t have time to get out of the way and takes a nasty swipe to her side. She squawks in pain but flips around and dives at the harpy, spitting fire as she does. The beast goes up in smoke but gets in one last hit that sends Kat careening through the air. She crashes into a wall clear on the far side of the club, and as soon as she tumbles to the ground, someone casts a golden net over her. Her cries of pain tell me that the net isn’t just colored gold, it’s made of—or at least coated in—real gold.
“Shit!” Nick shouts. He starts to run for her but stops and glances my way. A quick look around us has him torn with indecision. It’s pandemonium. Every person on our side of this fight is engaged in their own battles. Nick is my guard. He doesn’t want to leave me, but he can’t let the collector get Kat, either.
“Go!” I shout. “I’m right behind you!”
He glares at me. “Donotlose me!”
We take off through the fighting for the far back corner of the club. As we pass, several men try to grab me, but I manage to hold them off with my daggers. The further we get, the more crowded the fighting. Henry’s vampires are fighting fiercely, and when they see Nick and me, they form a protective circle around us. Henry makes his way to my side. “What are you doing?” He shouts at me like I’m crazy for jumping into the fray.
A man comes at me then, and I barely get my dagger up before he gets his hands on me. I shove my iron blade into his chest with all my strength, and the fairy goes down. Henry blinks at me, surprised, and then his lips twitch like he’s impressed. We don’t have time for this.
Down the back hallway, we can hear Kat’s anguished cries. Her captors have the back door open. They’re going to take her. “Go!” I shout at Nick. “Don’t wait for me! Go get her!”
His gaze flicks back and forth between Kat and me, then he glares at Henry. “Get her upstairs to Terrance’s office. It’s a panic room,” he shouts, clearly unhappy about having to trust Henry.
“I’ve got her,” Henry promises, gripping my shoulder tightly. For once, it’s almost reassuring. “Go save the phoenix.”
“Be safe,” Nick orders me.
I see the double cross seconds too late. When Nick whirls around and dashes for the back door, Henry’s vampires have somehow all gathered around him. They throw fistfuls of gold dust at him, and he roars as he falls to the ground, writhing and coughing. “Now!” Henry shouts, and his men cast another gold net over Nick.
“Nick!” I dash for him, but Henry’s still holding my shoulder. I reach for my stake and jab him with it, but I’m not quite fast enough, and my aim isn’t true. He roars but is able to pull the stake from his side. He grabs my face, and his eyes glow red as he hisses one word at me. “Sleep.”
Damn that bastard! I feel the compulsion settle in my head just as the world around me goes dark.
