AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her use of “you” rather than “we” pricks at my nerves. Is she already pulling back from this war?
“None of the younger shadowbloods have done anything wrong,” I insist. “They’ve been tortured and experimented on for years just like we were. They deserve their freedom. We have to get them out.”
Two chairs down from me, Andreas draws himself up a little straighter. “We’re in this to save all of you from Balthazar’s plans—and the people he’s already hurting—but we always meant to save them too. If he’s pushing them into the battle, then they need our helpmore, not less.”
Fang’s lips curl in a silent snarl. “I don’t see—”
“You wouldn’t,” Sorsha says tartly, cutting him off. “You all know a lot from your long lives as shadowkind, but one thing you should remember you know nothing about is growing up. About being a kid, with all the helplessness and uncertainty that comes with it. I agree with the shadowbloods. The ones that aren’t even grown up yet—they aren’t our enemies.”
With a rasp of his chair legs, Rollick stands up. My heart skips a beat before he inclines his head toward me.
“The shadowblood children haven’t had a real choice in whether they want to be against us,” he says in his light but measured voice. “I’d say they’re victims in this scenario. We’ll keep them safe if we can.”
Crag leans forward, his stony face darkening. “How are we going to do that if they’re going to attack us, whether they want to or not?”
My hands clasp together under the table. I don’t have a real answer to that question.
I grip my entwined fingers to steady myself. “It’s going to be difficult. But we’ve pulled off lots of difficult things before. First… First I guess I need to see if I can predict another base Balthazar is likely to return to. We’ll be more ready for his protections this time—we can use earplugs, do more scouting to find his entry and exit points—”
I’m interrupted by a faint pop and the sudden materializing of a slim form. Billy gazes around at us, his faun eyes nearly round. “I—I’m sorry to burst in. I thought you’d want to know. There’s been another attack, and it’s a little… different.”
Uneasy silence grips us. We all push to our feet and hustle to the room that holds Rollick’s huge flat screen TV, which I knew a few of the shadowkind had been monitoring. Some of the beings vanish to dart through the shadows and stay there, but I can’t shake my awareness of their presence.
The TV is on, a news reporter talking in typical clipped tones as a scene of destruction that’s unnervingly familiar plays out on the screen. I barely pay attention to her voice, focusing on the distant figures ducking in and out of view. The walls of a massive building are crumbling—some fancy skyscraper in what looks like a downtown core.
Most of the fleeing locals have dark hair and light brown skin, but I can’t get a close enough look at them to determine their ethnicity beyond that. And then something appears on the screen that makes my body go rigid.
Next to me, Zian sucks in a sharp breath. Jacob’s fingers tighten where he’s gripped the top of the sofa.
Soldiers. Soldiers have marched into view at the side of the screen.
That wouldn’t be so surprising. We saw military figures at the scene in London when we tried to help with the rescue efforts.
No, what’s startling is the woven metal vests draped over their typical uniforms. Glinting pale gray… like silver and iron.
Like the protections the guardians wore in the facilities, that they hoped would ward off our shadowy powers. That didn’t work on us, but itwoulddeflect full shadowkind.
More metal flashes in their hands. They’re holding long, pointed guns like silvery bayonets.
My arms rise to hug myself instinctively. Somehow I’m going to bet that both the brutal stabbing protrusions and the bullets loaded into those things are customized to do maximum damage to beings like the ones around me.
“Fuck,” Andreas mutters. “He actually convinced someone to go along with his crazy instructions.”
Dominic lets out a strained chuckle. “They probably don’t sound so crazy when people with impossible abilities keep bashing up cities all over the world.”
Billy bobs nervously on his feet, his gaze skittering between us. “It doesn’t really make sense, though, does it? I thought those metals didn’t have any effect on shadowbloods. And it’s shadowbloods carrying out the attacks.”
Rollick’s lips have flattened into a tight line. “It isn’t what the soldiers do there that matters. It’s what they do later, now that they’re on board.”
“Exactly.” I hug myself tighter. “Balthazar doesn’t want the other armies fighting his army of shadowbloods. He’s prepping them so that they’ll be totally equipped when he talks their governments into hunting down actual shadowkind.”
And if he’s managed to start convincing the world’s leaders to take this much of his advice in just one week… how much longer do we have before he’s directing squads of shadowkind-killers all across the planet?
Ten
Andreas
The room looks as if it’s empty. You’d assume it is… as long as you don’t try to walk too far into it, anyway.
