Rage of Vendetta (The Vendetta Series #2)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

My grip--and my stomach--drops in shock.

"What?" I breathe.

Cyreel moves forward, immediately taking advantage of my pause, and strikes down with his dagger. I throw myself out of range, but the cold metal still cuts down the side of my face, practically piercing bone.

My fist flies forward to stop another swing of his dagger, and with my other hand, I slap a bolt of energy onto his skin: enough to knock him out. I barely feel my stinging cheek once Cyreel collapses to the floor, all twitching limbs and frothing mouth.

"Ariel!" Jesse calls. "Move it!"

My head shoots up in surprise, bits of hair getting in my eyes. I had forgotten there were other things going on. The door has opened.

"You... can't stop... this," Cyreel gasps after me as I move towards them.

"Shut up!" I scream, twisting back at the waist. I throw a wayward energy bolt at him, flying like a wobbly frisbee before it hits his chest.

"Ariel!"

My name echoes faintly through the chaos in the room again, this time from Sasha. "Come on!"

The fire wall is beginning to dull and lower, and I'm the only one--apart from Sasha and Vee lingering by the door threshold--who's not out yet.

"This isn't over," roars Cyreel, frothing at the mouth from the electrocution. How is he still not unconsious? My fists clench, resisting the juvenile urge to raise my middle finger.

"I never said it was," I seethe under my breath.

When I reach the door, Vee releases the guns with an exhale, and they come crashing onto the floor. The Nephilum attempt to reach for them, but Sasha huffs and raises the flames higher, practically draining every trickle of her power.

"Is your shoulder okay?" I ask Sasha worriedly. The red stain is slowly spreading in the white fabric of her dress.

Sasha is more concentrated on enclosing the fire onto the weapons-practically melting them into a gooey puddle of metal-than answering me.

"Oh, it's not that bad," she says absently. She doesn't offer anything else.

"We need to get it cleaned," I suggest.

I'm not even sure she heard me.

"Sasha?"

No reply. I nudge her aside, gently but firmly: a silent warning that maybe she's burning those guns a little too excessively. Before she can retaliate, I slam the door shut with a satisfying thunk. Sasha blinks, almost coming out of a trance.

"I saw vans out back," Courtney says immediately. "Let's go before they unlock the door again."

The situation is dire, but we still have to shuffle along the thin, winding, back road until there's enough room to sprint. Sasha ignites a flame to light the way, making sure we don't trip on tree roots and jutting rocks.

That doesn't prevent Jesse from practically tripping several times. On the fifth time, he nearly collapses. I rush forward and catch his elbow, yanking him upright again. It wasn't quite a snagged branch that made him stumble.

"Do you need to throw up?" I ask seriously, taking in his green face.

The last time he used compulsion, it was on Vee so she wouldn't remember seeing us sneak out to peek at files. He ended up heaving his dinner out a window.

"I'm fine," he grumbles.

I drag him by the arm to keep up with everyone, not allowing a single pause. He tries to whack me away but I hold firm.