“Niece, where you go, I go.”
My heart twanged a little, but I had no time to think on it, other than a fleeting thought of, ‘this was what it meant to have blood relatives stand by you’.
“Faris, get people out of here!” I yelled as Nikko leapt forward into the fog Doran created, toward the sounds of ogres roaring. The wolf pack ran at our side, their howls answering Liam’s.
My hands curled tight into Nikko’s mane as he galloped toward the fight. But his steps faltered as we came across a green ogre running toward us, Calliope in her arms.
I Tracked demons and evil spirits again, and got nothing back, and by then I could see who it was. “She’s clean! Mer, get to the house!”
Mer nodded and continued to run.
Be careful, the demons have a cursed knife. Calliope’s voice was soft, but there was no fear in her, only confidence.
Nikko picked up the pace again, catching up with the rear guard of the werewolves, the red unicorn and Erik at our heels. The wolves slammed into the first line of ogres like a wave hitting a rock wall. They were rolled back, their bodies flung by magic and weapons. But that didn’t stop them. Nor did it stop us.
“Run parallel the front line.” The two unicorns moved in tandem.
Nikko spun on his haunches and launched himself to the left. Whatever power I had as a Slayer depended on my heart. I couldn’t destroy a demon when I was afraid or angry. I had to kill them for the right reason.
I had to do this for Liam, because of my love for him.
To protect him.
I snapped my whip out, cracking a gray skinned ogre in the face. He fell back, screaming as though hot acid had been poured onto him. And the result of the whip was more than a little like that. The ogre fell, his skin bubbling and breaking in huge pustules that exploded spraying those around him. A shimmer of darkness oozed from where my whip had cracked him and then the demon was free. For a split second it stared at me, then with a screech, an opening appeared behind it, and the veil seemed to suck the demon back to where it belonged.
All of that happened in two strides of Nikko’s long legs. His horn flashed as he drove it through the thigh of an ogre who stepped in his way. Over and over again, I sent my whip out, desperate to get to Liam. I was afraid to Track him, afraid of what I’d find. I couldn’t see Erik; the red unicorn no longer carried him. The fool had dismounted. Things were going downhill fast and about to get even faster. As my fear for Liam rose, my effectiveness against the demon-possessed ogres fell.
The ogres are circling us.
Sons of bitches. By the time Nikko’s words hit my brain, he was already wrong. They weren’t circling us. We were surrounded.
“Pamela, where are you going?” Frank called to me, but I ignored him.
I wanted to see what was happening. That was the problem with being a kid. No one paid attention to you. No, that wasn’t fair—Rylee never ignored me. She depended on me to help her, and that much I could do. What would she be doing if our places were reversed? I had a feeling we were going to be making a run for it and I knew there were things we needed to take with us. Rylee would want those things, maybe even need them.
I ran into the house, bolting toward Rylee and Liam’s room. Under the mattress were the papers Milly had given Rylee before we’d come back to this side of the veil. I’d seen her stash them there, though I didn’t think Rylee had ever read them. Milly had risked her life to get the papers to Rylee, so I knew they were important. I grabbed them, and stuffed them inside my shirt. Next, I grabbed Rylee’s fire opal Doran had given her and tucked it into my pocket. It wouldn’t activate unless it was right against the skin. I searched around the room, grabbed one of Rylee’s knives and couldn’t think of anything else. I had the short sword Rylee had given me for my birthday, but I didn’t have any other weapons. I hoped I wasn’t forgetting anything.
After being kidnapped not once, but twice, I had learned to be ready for anything. No way was I was letting anyone get their hands on me again. Even though Liam and Rylee had both asked me to restrain myself from killing, I’d had enough. If I had to, I would kill to keep me and my family safe.
I ran back to the courtyard, breathing hard.
“Pamela, what are you doing?” Frank bumped up against me. Like he was fooling me into thinking it was an accident. I tucked a loose strand of hair behind one ear and stepped away from him.
“I want to help.”
Doran looked down from the fountain. “How are you at controlling wind?”
“Better than anyone else here.” Blushing, even though I was being honest, I crawled up the edge of the fountain and took the hand Doran offered me.