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“We had the door locked but I can appreciate your preparedness.” Jari slapped Rand on the back, grinning. Some of the darkness Rand had woken up with dispelled as a smile tugged on the corner of his lips.
Sage scratched the top of his head as we meandered down the hall. “I feel like we should be creeping up on the commotion to make sure we’re not under attack.”
“I don’t think so,” I grabbed his and Rand’s hands. Who knew when we’d be able to steal time like this again, and I had grown to crave the physical touch. “I don’t have any strange feelings like we’re about to walk into danger. And weirdly, I could be totally wrong, but I feel like I have a stronger connection to my powers.”
“Really?” Rand stopped, and by default stopped Sage and me. “Close your eyes and picture the great hall. Tell me what you see.”
“I don’t know if it will work with being put on the spot.” I would have rubbed my hands nervously down my thighs if these two didn’t have hold on my hands.
“You can do it. We believe in you.” Jari was usually the jokester, but as he leveled his gaze on me, he was completely serious.
I sobered. Nodded. Then closed my eyes. If they could believe in me, when I’d been more of a joke and basket case, then I could believe in myself.
Since yesterday, I did feel stronger. I knew what it felt like to connect to the power source. Now, I just needed to recreate it and not sike myself out.
The darkness engulfed my mind, and I imagined the great hall.
Then my eyes popped open.
“Run!”
When we reached the hall,tons of Cherries were yelling and swinging their sex toy battle weapons. Balls of fire were being hurled, vines racing across the floor, and one person was even encased on a mound of dirt.
This was the Rusty Nail all over again.
“I’m going to help Cabbie!” Jari touched my shoulder and sprinted to the corner, where a number of people were boxing Cabbie into a corner. His kimono was ripped open and his hair in disarray. He snarled as a woman jolted forward to jab him with a blazing knife.
“Bitch!” He yelled and smacked her across the face.
“Savage,” Sage muttered as he peeled away and dove into the crowd.
“You ready?” Rand palmed the back of my neck. I glanced at him, keeping the majority of my focus on the pandemonium exploding around us.
“Who are these people?” I whispered, tensing my body, ready to follow after Sage and help the Cherries.
He gulped. “These are my mother’s people. She must have heard about Rainer’s death.”
“The Mazza is here!”
We both snapped our heads around. Lavi was suddenly standing on top of the statue that we very much needed. What the hell, man? Was it only Mazzas and mates that couldn’t handle touching it?
The fighting stopped and heads turned our way. It was really eerie.
Two beats passed, then a third of Lavi’s people raced to us.
“Oh shit,” I gasped and held up my hands. Wait, I had my knife.
I grabbed it out of the back of my pants just in time to block a dagger aimed straight at my face.
Okay, noted. Lavi didn’t place any value on me being the so-called messiah for their people. But, I mean, fair. We were the catalyst that got her husband killed.
“Behind you!” I yelled at Sage and hoped on small mercies that he could read my mind and know I was talking to him.
He did. He twirled and punched the man trying to decapitate him.
With him safe. I settled into the cadence of fighting. It was fast, energizing, and stressful all at the same time. People swung, I parried, poorly, but I parried. Where the hell were my nun chuck nipple clamps?
“Here!” A Cherry, one that looked really familiar, tossed me a pair, and for the first time in ten minutes, I took a deep breath.
