Gotcha.
Calming my breathing, I focused on the rifle in his hands.
Steel bent and then snapped. The rifle fell useless to the ground. With an invisible hand, I ripped the soldier from the roof by his vest and let him plummet to the ground.
He screamed, and then the sound abruptly cut off.
No mercy.
I’d have nightmares tomorrow. The things I did, the number of deaths I’d be responsible for, they’d come back and haunt me. I wasn’t a natural-born killer, but revenge was something even I took pleasure in.
And right now, at this very moment, I was the grim reaper, coming to collect as many black souls as I could find.
I dove back into the fight.
I sliced and stabbed again and again at every opponent I faced, ducking and dodging as bullets whistled past, and blades struck out. Muscle memory kicked in and despite each hit I took, I kept going.
A bullet tore into my left shoulder and I screamed but managed to stay on my feet. Spotting a second sniper, I used my pyrokinesis and lit the roof all around him on fire, leaving him only one way out.
He had to jump.
Spotting the shifters beneath him, I decided to keep going. They’d take care of him when he got desperate enough to make the leap.
Some of the H.A.C. soldiers were armed, but guns were expensive and ammunition was near impossible to find post-Awakening. Most of the soldiers were forced to fight with blades and their fists. They were at a severe disadvantage against the shifters who fought with tooth and claw.
I pushed through the throng of people, sinking my blade into anyone who got in my way. The Pack would take care of the crowd. My job was to find my mother and to eliminate any psykers who remained loyal to her.
I stepped inside a wide dining hall. The fight was outside and the building was near empty. I cleared the room and headed for the stairs. Declan and I had gotten separated but that was to be expected. He needed to focus on the soldiers outside. When it looked like victory was a sure thing, he would find me.
Declan’s roar shook the walls. His beast was having fun.
I climbed the steps two at a time.
Reaching the landing, I cleared the first three rooms in search of my mother.
She had to be here somewhere. Knowing her, she was just biding her time until she could make a quick and clean escape.
A man jumped out of a darkened corner and I struck out with my dagger on instinct. The blade sank in between the third and fourth ribs. He punched me in the jaw and I reeled back.
Wind tore through the hallway. An aerokinetic.
“You don’t have to do this,” I said.
He ripped my dagger from his chest and flung it to the side.
Blood dripped from the wound, but he didn’t look like he had any intention of stopping.
He stalked toward me, a murderous expression on his face.
Alright, it was like that then.
I used my telekinesis to return my blade to my hand before I pulled my fire to me and coated my blades in the flames, letting them lick up my forearms.
“Come on then.”
I picked up speed, spun, and struck out at the psyker. Time slowed, each second stretching out as my vision sharpened. Wind whipped my hair.
He had no weapon in his hands, only the air he manipulated around us. A blast of frigid air slammed into me, pushing me back.
I gritted my teeth and pushed against it. Each step took effort. My flames dwindled.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Another burst of wind slammed into me, forcing the air from my lungs and leaving me gasping for breath.
Two could play at that game.
I created a bubble around myself. A blend of energy and flames that coursed around me in a protective shield.
I pushed from the wall. Air pressed against me, but my bubble held it at bay. The man’s eyes narrowed. I kept walking.
He moved his arms around himself, pulling on the currents, and then brought his hands together into a pushing motion in front of him.
A storm formed before him. He shoved the wind toward me and it slammed into my shield before slipping past, forming a V as it streamed from his palms and swept to my left and right.
I was only a few feet away now.
I charged.
Stab, slice, punch, kick. He dropped the wind and dodged each one of my attacks.
I made to stab at his left flank. He danced out of range and it was moments like this when I wished I had a sword.
I whirled with a high kick and hammered my boot into his jaw. He staggered back.
Hadn’t seen that one coming, did you?
Before he could recover fully, I lunged and sliced across his midsection. Fabric tore, but the cut was too shallow to cause much damage.
I drove him further down the hallway, striking as fast as I could. Stab. Slash. Strike.
Fire and telekinesis thrummed through my veins, vibrating through me like an electric current. I pulled both forward and stabbed at him with both energies, piercing him through the chest.
He cried out and fell to his knees.
I punched him in the jaw and watched his eyes roll into the back of his head. He crashed to the floor. I checked his pulse. Still alive.
I wasted precious seconds contemplating what to do next.
“Don’t get up,” I warned. I stepped over his body and kept moving. Jason could thank me later.
There was only one door left at the end of the hallway, and I headed straight for it.
17
I opened the door, the hinges silent, but I hadn’t needed to bother being quiet. She’d been waiting for me.
Dressed
