Whoosh.
Flames appeared on the blades of my arrow. Anthony turned slightly to glance at me, exposing the entire region of Korina’s chest. My fingers loosened and released, letting the arrow fly.
The arrow sailed through the alley, disappeared into the smoke and then made its new home in Korina’s heart.
She screamed the shrillest, ear piercing scream that I’d ever heard in my life. Instinctively I dropped my bow and covered my ears. But, refused to take my eyes off of her.
Anthony did not let go of her, if anything, his grip tightened. “I am so sorry, sister.” He stared into her wide, brown eyes. “This is what is meant to be.”
She tried to speak to him and only coughed, choking on her own blood as it surfaced in her mouth. Several drops fell from her soundlessly moving lips and then, she was gone. The life disappeared from her eyes and her body sagged forward against Anthony’s strong hold.
He didn’t let her fall, he gently lowered her to the floor of the alley and lay her out. He grasped her hand momentarily and then released her. His head turned up toward me and I saw the sadness clearly written in his expression. I’m sure, if we hadn’t been soaked to the bone, that I would have seen tears glistening on his cheeks as well.
And then he pointed, his finger extended to the area behind me.
I turned, knowing in my heart that this couldn’t be good. Through the smoke, a few soldiers and one vampire were left standing. Luke shot and took out a soldier. Simultaneously, Christina sliced another across the neck with one of her knives.
Alice, Oscar and then rest of the group appeared at the entrance to the alley, they were covered in blood and dirt, telling me they had survived their own battle in the streets. Alice pulled her swords and twirled around to gain momentum and charged the vampire among them.
Sarah held her rifle and searched for any danger, spotting the last soldier, she aimed and fired. He stumbled back several paces and then fell as the bullet lodged into his forehead.
Luke shot the fallen vamp a second time, so that he would have a round of UV in him. That was when I should have sighed with relief, but instead, my gaze landed on the only thing that fell into the same category as losing my mother.
Drew lay sprawled across the broken pavement, his arm extended out as if reaching for his gun, which lay about a foot from the tips of his fingers. His black tee had ridden up, exposing his midsection, where blood still oozed from a bullet wound.
Oh my God.
Beside him, Gavin lay in almost an identical pose. His wound was almost exactly where he had been shot the last time. This couldn’t be happening … it just couldn’t.
I ran to them and fell hard on my knees, one hand going to each of them. They were both cold, but that could have been from the water. Tears were pouring from my eyes and I heard my own screams as if they were muffled.
Then Luke was there, he leaned over Drew and felt for a pulse. He tried, for what seemed like forever and then leaned back on his feet, with tears in his own eyes he shook his head.
I hadn’t noticed, but Sarah had been doing the same thing to Gavin. I heard her voice in the same distant way as I heard my own voice. “He’s gone.”
No, no, no! This couldn’t be happening. I threw myself on top of Drew, with my other hand still on Gavin because I was unwilling to let either of them go.
This was wrong. This was not the way that things were supposed to go. We were supposed to win this war and live happily ever after … well, screw the happily ever after, we were just supposed to live.
“Why!” I screamed, looking up toward the sky. “They have been nothing but good people, soldiers for the greater good! Warriors in their own right, descended from angels and gods! Why would you let this happen?”
Luke remained on his knees beside me. “Chloe, it’s over,” he whispered.
“No!” I yelled. “It’s not over, it’s not.” I choked on a vicious sob and felt vomit threaten to rise from my belly. I swallowed it down and tilted my face toward the heavens. “Help us!” I yelled with every ounce of energy I had left in me. “Please…” my voice trailed off.
Then suddenly, a furious storm of black clouds appeared in the sky above the alley. The dark clouds swirled and churned like a boiling caldron of magic.
“What the hell is that?” Sarah, like everyone else, had her face tilted to the sky.
Not a moment later, a blinding flash of light appeared within the clouds. So bright that everyone, including myself, shielded their eyes.
The light began to dissipate, slowly fading and allowing my eyes to readjust. At the center of that light, an entity formed, building itself from the very air around it.
Oh. My. God. It was my vision … my dream.