Metal clanked as the blades began to move toward them.
The tent swirled around them and then disappeared. Rock walls stood where it had been, right behind the wide, glinting blades, which looked as if they were hovering in space.
One woman screamed.
“Hold on,” Honor yelled through the howling wind. “Just concentrate.” She put all her strength into the telekinetic females, pushing them to fight the blades. She could feel their struggle as the blades sought the taste of blood.
Then she hit the witches and the Fae. Hard. Gliding into their brains, saying a silent apology, she tried to shut them down.
The wind slowed.
“No!” General Jaydon yelled.
A blade broke free.
Several women screamed, and then it halted, hovering just beyond the circle.
“Good job,” Honor yelled, closing her eyes and reaching out with every ounce of energy she possessed. She touched the ones she couldn’t identify, the minds full of secrets, and dug into them. Power erupted all around the circle, blowing the rocks into nothingness.
She reached the witches and the Fae female, this time lighting up their brains. She mentally knitted their power into the tapestry, and sparks flew through the air and landed all around them.
Fire lashed the air. A burst of flame, unnatural in this world, crawled along the floor. A wind keened. Something or someone screamed, high and loud, and the world spun around with an edge of ice.
Then they all fell.
She opened her eyes, back in the tent.
The knee shackles released.
She jumped to her feet and dragged up Kaisie. “Run! Everyone run.”
In a mass exodus, the women surged up and ran for the one exit. Honor helped several up from the floor and pushed them toward the storm raging outside, her mind shutting down with a pain beyond any migraine.
She started to fall, and the general was there, grasping her around the neck.
His eyes swirled a furious purple, and blood flowed freely from wounds in his neck. “This is going to hurt.” He lifted her by the neck, shook her like a doll, and burst out into the storm.
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Sam avoided another underwater mine and rose finally on the beach, water sliding down his body. Garrett and Bear emerged on either side of him, already striding out of the salty water. Rain poured down as if the heavens were pissed.
Females wearing flowing white robes poured out of a canvas tent, running in several directions.
A couple of Cyst guards ran after them, one with a whip.
Sam shot him between the eyes without missing a beat. “Get the women to safety. I’ll find Honor.”
Garrett and Bear began shooting Cyst soldiers as they rushed forward. There couldn’t be that many of them.
Sam raced through the throng, his heart pounding. Where was she? He tapped the ear communicator. “Nessa? Get the Realm forces here as soon as possible. We have several injured, and at least eighty or more Enhanced females who’ll need help. Maybe a hundred.” The tent? Had Jaydon attempted the ritual?
If so, he’d failed. One female attacked Sam, scratching and biting. He ducked to the side. “We’re the good guys,” he said, continuing by. “Go to the beach. We’ll get you out of here.” He pushed through the throng and finally caught sight of Jaydon carrying Honor by the neck into what looked like a hotel lodge.
Panic rose up, but he batted it away.
A knife slashed into his throat.
He pivoted, swinging out and connecting with a solid jawline. Growling, he yanked the blade out, his gaze landing on a young Kurjan soldier. It took him a second, but he recognized the kid from dossiers. Drake, the heir to the throne. A second kid, this one younger, pointed a gun at him and fired. Was it Vero, a cousin to Drake? He had the oddest blue eyes. Like human eyes.
Leaping forward, Sam knocked the kid to the ground and ripped the weapon away, sending it flying across the fresh earth. Then he backflipped, facing the two. “Get out of here. Now.” They were too young to kill.
“No.” Drake ducked into a fighting position, drawing out a double-edged blade from his back pocket. The rain flattened his black hair to his head, and his clothing molded to his fit young body. No fear showed in his eyes, and only a glittering promise of death lurked in his green orbs.
Sam settled his stance, his neck slowly mending. Too slowly. He was nowhere near ready for a fight. “Come at me, then.”
“Planning on it.” Drake let his fangs drop, and they were impressive for his age. “Sorry to kill you, but we need a new Keeper.”
“I really hate that name,” Sam said, waiting for the kid’s move.
Drake struck, dodging to the side and then coming in. He was well trained and moved fast.
Sam spun, kicked up, and nailed the kid across the cheek. Drake went down on one knee, and Sam rushed him, pulling the knife free of the Kurjan’s hand. There was nothing like stabbing a guy with his own blade. “I’ve got decades of experience and a war behind me, kid. Don’t make me kill you.” To make his point, Sam slammed the blade down through the kid’s thigh.
Drake bellowed, the sound high with pain. Blood burst out, splattering across Sam’s hand and burning him.
Vero rushed forward, his gaze on his cousin.
Sam patted Drake on the shoulder. The kid was shuddering. “Won’t kill you, but you’ll remember this.” Then he turned and ran into the lodge, looking for his mate. He’d worry later about the fact that the heir to the Kurjan throne had been more than happy to kill him. They must be ready for war.
Honor screamed, high and loud from down a long hallway.
Sam pivoted and ran as fast as he could, leaving a trail of blood the whole way. He shoved more healing cells to his neck, trying to stay cold when his heart kept heating his chest. He could taste her fear on the air, and the animal inside him lunged wide awake, ready to kill.
He let the beast take control.
They rounded a corner, and Jaydon turned to face him, his arm around Honor’s neck, dangling her easily about a foot off the ground. “Got your female, Keeper.”
“I see that.” Sam took inventory, noting blood on her neck and purpling bruises on her arm. “Guess she thwarted your big ritual?” It was a good guess. He edged to the side, trying to find a way in. The general was strong enough to rip off Honor’s entire head with his forearm.
Jaydon hissed, fury darkening his eyes to blood red. “Yes. Now I have to start all over.” His fangs dropped, and he scraped them along her neck, drawing more blood. “So will you, Keeper.”
“I really am starting to hate that name,” Sam said, straightening. “I have Drake and Vero with knives to their necks right now. If I give the word, their heads will drop.” The kids had probably made it to safety, but Jaydon didn’t know that. “You want their blood on your hands?”