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“Um, ladies, we need to stop.” And stop Jazz did. Right in front of me. I almost toppled over her and squished her and the two babies we carried beneath me.
“What is it?” Grace took Jazz’s warning to heart. What could Jazz do that I didn’t know about.
“The trees. They’re whispering that danger is coming. Some sort of creature they’ve never seen before. Like wolves mixed with bear and evil. Whatever they are, everything flees from them.” Jazz looked up and around. No sounds from animals reached our ears.
“Okay.” Grace remained calm as she turned to us. “Let’s go over everyone’s strengths and abilities so we’re on the same page. I control temperature and create air where there is none. The only strength I have against these beasts is my fight training. Otherwise, I’m more useful in the Ridge.”
Sylee cleared her throat. “I have fight training and I wield water. I also breathe underwater and can warm water up.”
Well, that was cool.
“I can throw a really good punch and grow things.” Jazz hopped up and down on the balls of her feet. “You’ll actually want me to run this show, and you’ll want to stay back.”
Grace crossed her arms over her chest. “And why’s that?”
Jazz had already begun removing Tanner from her chest and handed him to Tessa.
“Once upon a time, I destroyed a very large group of Vampires using the trees. This is where I excel. This is my time to shine.” Jazz stepped to the front of the group. “Just stay put so the trees don’t kill you too.”
“You’re sure you can handle this?” The worry and concern in Grace’s voice was clear.
“Grace,” Sylee called to our commanding officer, “the man pretending to be the Vampire Overlord, the man who vowed to have Jazz’s head, was one of the people she killed. She went up against them without fear and destroyed a small Vampire army. Jazz hits hard, yes, but that was an extra power given to her by Marcus. Her own powers are amazing.”
Grace held up her hands. “Okay. Jazz, take it away. Just don’t die.”
The small woman smiled. “I’m not going to die. Oh, and the trees and grass will guide us to the Ridge and take us the fastest way there.”
“She talks to the trees and grass?” I whispered the question to Tessa because I didn’t want to make a fool of myself.
“I guess so?” Tessa looked as uncertain as I felt. “To be honest, I don’t know her well. She was laid up in bed pregnant when we met.”
Well, I didn’t feel so bad anymore for not knowing everything. I wasn’t the only one who was new to this gig.
We waited for what seemed like hours but was only minutes. Grace and Sylee stood in front of Tessa, Sophie, and me while we held Jazz’s children. The small redhead didn’t seem fazed when yellow eyes began to glow out of the woods in front of us.
“I’m not going to run. I’m not going to run.” Sophie sounded like she definitely wanted to run and was on the verge of tears. “I shock people hard enough to paralyze them and throw them through heavy wooden doors. I can shock one of those beasts if I need to.”
She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than us. Heck, I had absolutely no experience fighting, and I had no helpful power right now because Adam wasn’t here to stop me from lighting the entire forest on fire. That would be less than helpful for us at the moment.
Snaps and groans echoed around the forest. The glowing eyes stopped their advance and looked around just like we girls did. Everyone appeared confused except for the short, petite redhead. She bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet again like she had no cares in the world while the sounds in the forest grew louder and closer.
Moonlight broke through the clouds and illuminated the scene before us. The trees had done a fairly accurate job explaining the creatures opposite us. They had drool dripping from wolf-like muzzles with a huge body like a bear and a tail like a wolf as well. Their bodies were black as night, which was why we could only see their glowing eyes.
The baby Tessa held began to squawk, and the heads of the beasts looked beyond Jazz to us. As one, they began to move forward.
“Oh, I think not.” Jazz did not sound like Jazz but like a woman who, in her anger, was about to lay down the law.
From out of nowhere, a root leaped from the ground and plunged itself into a still-advancing creature. I wasn’t the only one who shrieked in surprise, and the creatures halted their steps.
“Move on and leave us alone.” Jazz wouldn’t have been intimidating had she not just skewered an animal with a tree root. Now, the little thing terrified me.
The animals must not have felt the same way about her, because they rushed forward without sign or warning. Not that it mattered. Jazz didn’t even move or retreat as branches whipped out and grabbed a monster rushing past. More creatures were stabbed like the first, and some even became buried in the earth.
When the job was done, the forest stilled once more. My chilled breath left me in puffs filled with scared adrenaline.
“Remind me not to make her mad.” Sophie’s attempt at light humor broke the dark mood over us, and we moved forward again.
This time, we followed Jazz, who seemed to have an open line of communication going with the trees. Having a cool gift like hers would have been more helpful than my gift. If what I knew was true of the Ridge, adding more heat would be a bad thing. Grace, who could bring temperature up and down, would be more useful than me as she had a decent power and actual fighting skills.
