“Yeah, you got it, man,” Alex says and whistles low. Ki-Ki cracks several branches as she appears out of the bushes near the clearing.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Phoebe?”
“Yeah, and she went silent super quick. I don’t know what she is feeling, and Ana is likely the only one who can get through to her. Look, we have some time until take off, make sure those two don’t go anywhere. Mason and Hugh will be back in a minute,” he explains to me. “Stay safe and take off if anything goes wrong.”
“Good luck,” I pat his shoulder, and Alex walks up to Ki-Ki. Not giving a shit about the many people looking out of the helicopter windows, he uses his powers to change her into a black wolf who looks like Shadow, reminding me of Ana. He jumps on Ki-Ki’s back, and they both run off into the trees to do their run. Sensing Silver nearby, I turn in her direction as she gracefully jumps off a nearby rock. Huffing, she eyes the little girl on my chest with confusion.
“Babies are cute, not scary, Silver. Come here, girl,” I say, placing my hand on her head. I push my power into her, turning her into a silver hawk with a whoosh of purple energy. She spreads her wings and runs a few steps around me before taking off into the sky, getting ready to follow us. Thankfully, our animals can travel through the human world and make their way to us, no matter how far, no matter if they can shift or not. Even the bears will swim through the sea to get to their owners and make sure humans don’t see them. Our animals are nothing like normal animals in the world; they are far more intelligent, possibly more than we could ever be. Rubbing the baby’s back, I head back to the helicopter, just as I feel a sense of dread smack right into my chest. I run to the helicopter, knowing there is only one reason I would feel this way: Silver is telling me something dangerous is coming. The baby cries in my arms, and I try to comfort her as I climb onto the helicopter and hand her to Estelle, who is climbing up on the other side. Her wide eyes meet mine in confusion.
“Something is coming. Everyone strap up. Now!” I urgently shout, pulling the one door behind me shut. “Estelle, make sure the girls are strapped in.”
“Ok-kay!” she replies, fear in her voice mixing with the cries of the poor little baby girl. I jump into the front seat, flicking the switches on as the feeling of dread only gets worse. I shove my headphones on, hoping the girls have done the same so it doesn’t hurt their ears. Alarm bells blast from the centre of town, meaning the walls have been breached, and there is only one person who would do that. Bethany. Fuck. All the other helicopters, with their drivers who came with the helicopters Clive sent, immediately start their engines and take off.
My hand hovers on the lever to take the helicopter up as I search the clearing. Where the fuck are Mason, Alex and Hugh? Alex and Mason could fly on their familiars, but Hugh needs to be on this fucking helicopter.
“Take us up, Liam!” Estelle shouts at me through the headphone speaker system, and I look back to see her holding the baby to her chest, the tiny headphones stuck over her ears. I check the girls behind me, seeing they are strapped in and headphones are on.
“One minute!” I say back in the attached microphone by my lips. I desperately search the clearing. What the fuck do I do?
I have to get the girls and my people to safety, even if it means leaving some behind. Shit. Shit. Shit.
“There!” Skye cries out, and I look left to see Mason and Alex carrying Hugh between them. They run fast to the helicopter, and the second they are on board, I send us to the skies.
“Hold on, everyone!” I shout as I get higher, seeing a dark cloud of familiar birds not too far away. Turning the helicopter around, I floor it as fast as I can away from them, knowing there is no fucking way we can get caught in that. I look back to see Silver, Ki-Ki and Hex make a line behind us. The swarm of birds just stops. Just stop in the air and turn around.
And with our life, that isn’t the fucking weirdest thing I have ever seen. We fly for a good twenty minutes before I flip the autopilot on and climb out of my seat. Alex and Mason are covered in blood, and on the floor is a body covered up with stray coats. Raine’s cries mix with the babies’ and the sobs of so many on this helicopter.
Hugh is dead.
“Who killed him?” I ask.
“Bethany. I came to his cabin to see where he was, and she had him dead, under her foot as she sat in his chair,” Alex says, swearing under his breath. “She told me to take the body to her sister and tell her she will be seeing her soon. She let us go.”
“Fuck,” I say, rubbing my cheek. Hugh didn’t deserve this, and how do we tell Ana that her sister has killed another person? I look to the back of the helicopter, and the animals we could get on board all together have their heads bowed almost mourning with us. Raine’s phoenix catches my eye, and I wonder if there is a chance like a phoenix that we will burn and rise again stronger after all of this.
But how can you pull someone so lost in their own darkness out if they don’t want saving? By doing this, it’s clear Bethany does not want help. She wants
