AllFreeNovel
Share Us
August shrugged. “Whatever.”
Crew joined us, and his relief was palpable. “Are you here for us? Can we hitch a ride home?’
August looked over Crew’s head at the people huddled by the wall, then at the ruination Simon and Lucina had wrought. He nodded. “I suppose we are. No offense, buddy, but you all look like a shit smear on the ass of a harpy.”
“Thanks,” Crew said wryly. “We feel even worse. You have no idea how happy we are to see you guys.”
August pointed a thumb over his shoulder at the helicopter. “Get your folks on there. This place isn’t safe. Honestly, we’re shocked you’re all alive. Outside is a disaster. Flames all over, smoke pouring out, and even from up there we could see a shit ton of nasty beasts milling around. Once those flames die down, this place is gonna be overrun.”
“I had to beg him to fly over the top to have a look down,” Kolton said. “Between the smoke and monsters, it looked likehell. When we saw all you huddled down here. Somehow, Iknewit was you and forced him to land.”
“Sorry about that landing, by the way,” August said. “Only had a week of training on flying this thing. Even with the controls magically enhanced, it’s not easy.”
Crew and Eli were already calling people over to get in the helicopter. People hurried by, shouting their thanks to August and Kolton as they went. Kolton nodded and waved, but August looked uncomfortable with the attention. Our small group of four moved aside, giving them room to help the injured onto the transport chopper.
August frowned at the people streaming past. “Can someone explain to me how in the blue hell there are so many people here? ThisisBloodstone Island, right? The most dangerous and inhospitable place on the planet?”
“I thought this place had nothing but the mansion and hundreds of dangerous creatures and beings,” Kolton said. “What is all this?”
“It’s a long story,” I said. “I can fill you in on the way home.”
Exhaustion was finally starting to creep into my bones. It had been alongfew days. It felt like weeks since the mansion fell, years since I’d first set foot on this island.
Then another thought occurred to me that dampened my hope. “Arewe going home, Kolton? With the war going on?”
Kolton’s face fell, and he and August exchanged a grave look.
“How are things back home?” I pressed. “Mom? Dad? The pack?”
“It’s bad,” Kolton said. “All the packs are fighting. We’ll have plenty of time on the flight back. You tell me what’s been going on here, and we’ll fill you in on the war. For now, though? I’m just glad you’re both safe. And we want to keep it that way. Let’s get out of here, okay?”
“Deal,” Wyatt said, pushing me toward the helicopter.
Eli, Crew, Chelsey, and Zoe helped all the injured survivors into jump seats lining the walls. The aircraft really was huge. I looked at all the empty seats. This thing had enough room to have gotten everyone in Haven out. Crew had lost ten or fifteen people between the two assaults on Simon’s lab and the cave-in. The senseless loss of life hurt more than anything.
“Where did this thing come from?” I asked Kolton.
“It’s a Chinook transport helicopter. It’s designed to carry up to forty men and equipment into war zones. It’s used more by humans, but our mysterious benefactor pulled strings and got this one for us.”
“I suppose you’ll tell us who that is soon?” Wyatt asked, strapping himself into a seat.
“Don’t worry. We’ll give you all the details, boss man,” August said as he walked toward the cockpit.
“I’m not the boss. Ugh.” Wyatt huffed, patting the seat next to him for me to sit.
Once buckled in, I looked at Wyatt. “Is this really happening? Are we finally going home?”
He took my hand. “Looks like it.”
The whine of the engine starting muffled the murmurs of conversation. The survivors shared looks of relief, hope, and sadness. Some of these people had lost friends and loved ones on the island, most of which had happened in the last two days. I couldn’t imagine how strange this moment was for them. Wyatt and I had only been here for a few weeks. Some of them had been stuck here for a year or more.
As the helicopter took off, wavering as it rose higher and higher, I looked out the window, stifling my horrified gasp. The flames had died down in the hallways around the open area. Now, ferals, ghosts, and other horrors flooded into the place where we’d been only ten minutes ago.
I didn’t bring this up to anyone—no reason for them to know how close we’d come to death. I thanked whatever gods there were that Kolton and August had arrived when they did.
I gazed down at the monsters covering the area like ants on candy, then we were gone, over the lip of the volcano, and heading toward the ocean. Out the window, the lush trees gave way to a strip of blond sand, then the emerald ocean beyond. A quivering sigh escaped my chest as we left the island behind.
Once we were about a hundred yards off the coast, a shadowy ripple appeared around the entire island, and was gone in the blink of an eye. One of Lucina’s new wards. A fortress spell to keep anyone from ever trying to use the island for evil again.
