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Mikalis glanced at Raiden’s back and a strange lopsided smile tilted his lips, a smile Raiden didn’t see. One of cruelty, and something else. Something like victory. Mikalishadbeen working a ruse, but Octavius wasn’t sure if the lie was in their favor. Or just Mikalis’s.
The Brotherhood leader spread his arms, tilted his head back, and every shadow in the warehouse rushed to him, pouring like water into his being, like a black hole swallowing all light. Behind him, great arched wings rose, and the shadows beat in waves.
The nyks’ chanting grew louder, and their swaying quickened. Octavius hadn’t expected it, and by the time he’d realized he was the only one not chanting and rocking, Mikalis’s dark-flooded gaze picked him out of the crowd. His wings snapped together and vanished in a cloud of static.
“You,” Mikalis said.
“Oh fuck,” came Zaine’s reply, and then a gunshot boomed.
The bullet whizzed past Octavius, zipped over the heads of the gathered nyks, and slammed into Raiden’s forehead, throwing him back against a scaffold pole, rattling the entire frame around Mikalis and Saint.
Octavius bolted between the waking nyks, leaped onto the first platform, and grabbed the ropes holding Saint’s right wrist.
The blow came out of nowhere, striking him in the middle and then tossing him across the warehouse. He had less than a second to brace before he barreled into the nyks, toppling them under and over him.
He skidded along the floor, chest burning from the blow, then rolled to a halt, rattled and burning.
Mikalis had struck him.
“Take this as your one and only warning,” the Brotherhood leader warned. “Come for me again, Octavius, and I will kill you.”
Octavius spluttered around a few broken ribs and climbed to his feet. The nyks were turning toward him, waking from their collective trance. Zaine stood several nyks to his right, eyes wide with shock, and near the platform, Raiden staggered back to his feet. The bullet wound in his forehead stitched itself closed as Raiden stretched his neck, popping muscles and rolling his shoulders.
“Mikalis, what is this?” Zaine asked. “You’re here to stop these nyks, right?”
“Stop them?” Mikalis’s eyes shone their inky gleam. “And why would I want to do that?”
“Idiots.” Raiden snorted. “Catch up, boys. You’re on the wrong side of this war.”
Zaine aimed a gun at Raiden again. “The next one goes in your heart.”
Raiden spread his arms. “Your bullets can’t hurt me.”
“Oh really?” Zaine jerked an eyebrow. “Let’s test that theory, science guy.” He fired, and just like the previous shot, the bullet raced ahead and slammed into Raiden’s chest. And just like before, Raiden slammed back, hitting the scaffold.
Saint’s limp head lifted. Octavius caught the movement in the corner of his yes.Yes, wake up.
Raiden choked on a laugh, stumbled forward, and grinned, baring his fangs. “You were always the dumb one.”
Zaine shrugged. “I mostly lean into the blond himbo act. You’d be surprised what it gets you. Like access to your experiments because you think I’m too young to be a threat.”
What was Zaine playing at. Wasting bullets, buying time? Distracting them all so that Saint might regain consciousness?
Raiden’s smile faltered. He coughed, then reached for his head. “What… the…”
“Encapsulated-venom rounds,” Zaine said smugly. “Nice upgrade, except I made a few modifications of my own. That tightness in your chest, that buzzing in your veins. That’s my venom racing through your nervous system. Hurts like a bitch, doesn’t it.”
Raiden lifted his head, bared his fangs, and flung out his arms, this time throwing his ancient wings open with them. His human guise vanished, and the true nyktelios took over.
“Get to Saint,” Zaine said to Octavius, cocking his guns. “I’ve got this.”
“Enough!” Mikalis snapped his fingers with a resoundingclick, and the crowd of nyks burst to life. Octavius threw off his own human visage and clashed with the surging wall of nyks. It didn’t matter how many came at him, he’d kill them all.“Back,”he sent the demand into the first, like an arrow to the brain.“Yield,”to another.“Stop.”And each one he punched his fangs into and delivered a lethal shot of venom.
But there were many, and even as he killed them, more swarmed in, getting closer and closer, crowding him, crushing him.“Stop-yield-surrender.”
Then Mikalis appeared in a blink. He clamped his cold hand around Octavius’s throat and hauled him off his feet. “I warned you.” And he struck, sinking ice-cold fangs into Octavius’s neck.
“No!” Saint screamed, and all the world went dark.
