The flood of creatures stopped. In the back, in front of the gate, a knot of magic formed thirty feet above the ground. Black, shot through with violent lightning, it churned, growing larger and larger. Something strained within it, stretching at its boundaries from within.
The blades mopped up the last of the beasts and hovered near it, waiting.
Magic pulsed. The invisible blast wave hit me in the chest. My heart skipped a beat. For a torturous second my lungs locked up. I staggered back and managed to draw a hoarse breath in.
The darkness tore. A colossal foot landed on the pavement, thick toes splayed wide. The armored carrier shook.
Another foot, thick purple-red, its texture rough. Thick claws, each the size of a car, dug into the pavement.
My mind refused to accept that something that large could be alive.
A giant beast landed in front of the gates. It stood on all fours, its legs spread wide like those of a charging Komodo dragon. Thick horn spikes studded its purplish hide and united into bone plates on its shoulders. Its head resembled that of a snapping turtle, but a forest of teeth filled its mouth. Angry white eyes stared at us.
The blades moved toward it and ground against the beast's side. A grinding noise lanced my ears.
The beast swatted at the blades, knocking them aside. The cylinder flew, spinning. The gargantuan creature raised its front left leg and stomped toward us.
Boom. The carrier shook.
Boom. Another step.
The blades scraped along its sides and dove under its stomach. No effect. The beast opened its mouth and bellowed, an unearthly lingering sound. The sonic blast hit us. If it wasn't for the helmet, I would've clamped my hands over my ears.
Boom.
We had no cover. The armored carrier wouldn't hold it. If the creature stomped on it, the vehicle would be a metal pancake. The wall was behind us. Everything else around us was gore.
"Fire at will!" Heart's precise voice snapped in my helmet. "Everything you have. Light it up."
Boom.
"Belay that," Rogan's voice said in my helmet.
One of the bladed cylinders fell to the ground. The other two rose, spinning so fast, the blades became a blur. The cylinders streaked to the beast and punctured its eyes, drilling their way into its skull.
The creature screamed.
In the circle, Rogan's whole body shook as if he were trying to lift a great weight. The light of the circle faded, its power exhausted.
The blades burrowed deeper.
Rogan snarled.
The blades sank in all the way and disappeared into the creature's skull.
Not enough. It was still moving. It was still-
The colossus trembled. Its head pitched back. It staggered forward and collapsed. The pavement cracked under its weight, breaking in big chunks, like ice on a frozen lake.
I let out a breath. My legs gave and I sat down on the platform.
Heart crouched by me and patted my shoulder. "You did good."
I realized something wet was on my cheek and touched it. A tear, tinted with alien creatures' blood.
"Look at it," I whispered. "It's awful. So much death. Why?"
"House warfare," Heart said, and patted my shoulder again.
I took off my helmet. Someone handed me a wet washcloth and I cleaned the blood off my face. Rivera appeared next to me, as if by magic, and I gave him back the rifle. The battle was over.
I pulled out my cell phone with shaking bloody fingers. There were two messages from Catalina and Arabella, demanding to know what was going on, one from Grandma Frida asking if I was feeling okay, and a smiley face from Bern.
I dialed Mom.
The phone rang.
She picked it up.
"Mom?"
"We're okay. Are you okay?"
I almost cried. "Yes."
"Good." She hung up.
Rogan walked out of the circle. His face was haggard. He walked like his whole body was sore. He was looking at me. I walked toward him. We met halfway among the gore. He hugged me to him, tight, hard, and kissed my hair.
We walked together to the gates. Rogan's people formed around us. We entered the dark building. There was nothing there. It was basically a cavernous hangar, reinforced steel walls and a concrete floor, empty except for the stench of ozone and signs of many animals crammed into a small space: clumps of alien fur, a few torn-off tentacles, and puddles of urine. We crossed it to a door on the far left, walked through a short hallway with the same concrete floor and reinforced walls, and through another door.
I blinked. An expensive black and red Persian rug ran over a beautiful floor of golden wood. Paintings decorated the tall walls. It was like suddenly stepping into a palace.
Rogan nodded, and the core of our force peeled off to guard the entrance, moving past us to secure other doors, leaving only Rogan, Rivera, Heart, and me.