“Opie?” My gaze darted to where I had left Opie and Bitzy. The counter was empty.
“Here. Fishy!” His figure darted from under the sofa, carrying Bitzy, diving into the bag, where I stuffed in the journal.
More bullets shot through the open door and window.
“Fuck!” Maddox yelled, diving next to the table below the window. “Who the hell is attacking us? Who knows we’re here?”
“I don’t know,” Ash gritted while we both scrambled up, tipping the sofa back. Using it as a barrier, we pointed our weapons, ready to shoot out into the pitch-black night.
We couldn’t see anything in the thick woods beyond the door.
“We’re sitting ducks here,” Maddox hissed as another round of fire burst into the room, tearing into the couch. “What the fuck is our plan?”
We may have cover now, but the endgame didn’t look good for us. We could close the door, but then we locked ourselves in a box for them. Had a shoot-out ever gone well for the people inside? I had one time seen it play out in real life when I was a kid to a wealthy elite not conforming to the new life after the worlds meshed. He went crazy, holding his wife and son hostage, spouting conspiracy theories. Istvan had him shot in the head by a sniper by the third hour.
Whoever was outside could have a sniper trained on us too, ready to wait us out or even try to burn us out. No matter what, they had the upper hand.
“Girl, I’m starting to think you have a tracker device installed in your ass!” Maddox pulled out a second gun, leaping up and firing out the broken kitchen window at the mystery assailants.
A moment of panic scorched my skin, wondering if Istvan had done something like that to me. I never would have believed it before, but now I wasn’t sure.
“If we get out of this, I will personally inspect your ass myself.” Ash grinned, though I felt his tension growing, his focus still out the door.
More shots shredded the couch, instantly upping the urgency in the room.
“We can’t stay here.” Maddox snapped at us, his gun blasting off. I heard a cry from right outside the house, sounding like he hit someone.
They were closing in on us.
“Why don’t you go ask them to kindly stop?” Ash volleyed.
A figure darted by the door, and my finger pulled the trigger multiple times. The person cried out, hitting the ground right outside the door, but it was too late. A device rolled over the threshold, smoke hissing out of it, spinning my head and making my throat spasm.
“Fuck!” Ash yanked up his shirt over his mouth, trying to reach for it and toss it back out, but gunfire forced him back behind the sofa.
I covered my mouth with my sweater, my eyes watering painfully, and my mind went sleepy.
These devices that dispersed gas were rare, but I knew it was something Istvan was firm on having in his arsenal, even if it meant cutting costs elsewhere. Fae had a bad response to the synthetic chemical, and though their bodies might get it out faster than humans, it still leveled them as quickly. Gave humans a chance to have the upper hand.
The device came from Ukraine and had a unique design, exactly like the one poisoning us now. I had no doubt who was outside the doors along with HDF soldiers. The only one who could have tracked me down again.
The man of death.
Kalaraja.
“Brex! Stay awake!” Ash shook me, my body slumping over. Maddox coughed and hacked, trying to drag himself closer to the chemical weapon, probably wanting to chuck it back outside, but with every move, his body slowed.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Kalaraja might take me, but he would kill Ash and Maddox. Two fewer fae in Istvan’s eyes.
“Ash...” I croaked, taking his hand.
Panic pumped the toxin faster through my bloodstream, my eyes meeting Ash’s. I could see in his eyes he had come up with the same ending. Whether we ran outside or stayed, the end result was the same.
Darkness inched into my vision. Every breath felt like daggers through my throat, and my mind was getting cloudier, detaching from reality.
“Don’t you dare close your eyes,” a fierce voice snarled, fluttering my lids to a huge outline standing over me. A dream and a nightmare. Warwick... larger than life, sexy as fuck... and pissed.
“Stay the fuck awake, princess,” he growled. “Be ready to move!”
“Wha—?”
BOOOOOOM!
Flames ignited the night, crackling and billowing up, filling the dark sky. Shouts rang through the air, the flames outlining the bodies in the woods, moving toward the explosion. Shouts turned into squeals, like people were being gutted.
With all the energy I could muster, I shoved at Ash. “Go!” My muscles were slow, like I was swimming in tar, while I pushed myself up using all the strength I had left.
Ash grabbed Maddox, helping him to his feet. We were all struggling to function, stumbling out of the cottage. The bite of fresh air hit my lungs and ripped through my throat, causing me to wheeze, my head throbbing with discomfort.
Gunfire popped off, but it was no longer directed at us, the figures scurrying between the trees away from us. They were dressed in dark fatigues with an emblem I recognized on the arm. An outfit you were issued at HDF for night missions.
Ash practically dragged Maddox toward where we left the bikes, but my feet came to a stuttering stop as my vision cleared.
Like the devil rose straight from the ground, destruction and darkness surrounded him. Warwick whirled, swinging a weapon with dual blades on the end like a crab claw, blocking bullets and hacking through the attackers without pause. I had thought I had seen him fight before—ruthless, clean, and fast. This was far more brutal with his precision.
Callous fury thrummed off him like music, his massive size dwarfing the puny humans as he wielded his weapon. The killer who thrived off death. The legend come to life with the wrath and destruction of a fae god. He was graceful in its violence, a deadly dance, soaking the forest floor with blood.
Some retreated. However, there were those last naïve HDF soldiers who still believed they could challenge the legend. Their heads tumbled off into the dirt.
I probably knew every dead body there, though I couldn’t seem to look at any of the corpses to identify them. My interest was locked on the lethal lore.
Covered with blood, Warwick lowered his cleaver, heaving out his breath. His eyes slowly lifted to mine through his lashes, shredding through me like another victim, gutting me until I was nothing but slices of a corpse lying on the ground with the rest. His fury seared and split me in half, his dark clothes glistening with the blood of his victims.
His nose flared, his shoulders rising up and down. The energy between us crackled louder than the fire consuming the branches from the explosion, scorching with vehemence, devouring me in the firestorm of his rage.
With his arm, he wiped the blood from his eyes, smearing streaks over his face. He strode for me like a bull, his energy ramming into me, stumbling me back into the wall of the cottage. His boots hit mine, and he towered over me, his body engulfing mine like it was his meal to devour. He stared down at me, his jaw twitching. Each breath skated down my neck, sparking desire, fury, and fear into my system.
I watched him back, my chin up in silent defiance.
He lifted his hand, his fingers dragging down my face, painting the blood of my fellow HDF soldiers on my cheek like a brand. Energy clamped through my muscles, shooting through my veins. Bristling and twitching with violence, he pressed me roughly into the wall, his mouth hovering over mine. I could taste his strength like a storm about to rain down on me.