Risk rolled his eyes at her comment. He was definitely not a fan of Cheryl’s. With a snap of his fingers, he made a chair appear for her to sit on and shut up.
Cheryl wrinkled her nose. “Mm, it’s nice...I guess,” she murmured before sitting down and crossing her legs.
“Nice?” Risk sighed while shaking his head. “What in the hellfire is wrong with it?”
“It’s just...black leather? That is so dated.”
I grabbed Risk’s arm to stop him from throwing a fireball at her head. He sighed like he was disappointed, and shook out his smoking hands.
I looked over at Russell who was currently perched on my shoulder again. Ever since he’d gotten separated from me when I was taken by the guards, he’d been particularly clingy. Crow said the bird evaporated and appeared at his side the moment I was taken. It was how the guys knew something was wrong. And although his beady red eyes were a bit unnerving, and his claws dug into my skin somewhat painfully at times, he had grown on me.
When I reached up to pet him, he nipped my finger playfully, and a small smile slipped over my lips. Across the room, I saw that Crow was watching the exchange with a sexy smirk on his face. He liked that his bird and I had gotten close. It felt like our own special thing. And when Crow looked at me the way he was now, it filled me with warmth.
“I miss Stiles,” Cheryl sniffed, bringing my attention back to her. Worry clung to her eyes. “He said he would be back right after the demonstration, but I haven’t seen or heard from him.”
I gently rubbed her shoulder in comfort while sucking in a steadying breath. “He’ll be okay. He has to be careful, but I’m sure you’ll hear from him soon.”
I didn’t let my own worry show, but I was really hoping we’d hear from him. Stiles was an intricate part of our plan. It wasn’t enough to fight Spector and their guards. We had to show the world what hybrids were capable of and what Spector planned to do with us.
Once Risk transported most of the hybrids, I took in my peers with trepidation. He’d managed to bring in about a hundred of us, and he’d already explained what we were doing and how time worked in the Between. And although time wouldn’t pass, having this many people in the emptiness was making the edges of this space vibrate with energy. It was like ripping fabric that couldn’t hold onto reality. We needed to work fast.
“So why are we here?” a shifter girl asked. “Is this another Spector test?” she was rocking back and forth on her feet and pinching her flesh with dull nails.
“No, we’re—”
My words were cut off as an unhinged elemental hybrid with wild eyes started backing up from the group. “No! I’m not doing any more tests!” he yelled. “You can’t make me!”
The mental health of everyone had been deeply warped with all of Spector’s tests and trainings. I was lucky enough to have my mates teach me to accept the two warring sides of myself, but I wasn’t sure everyone else was gifted with the same relief. One necromancer was breaking his finger over and over and over, just to watch the bone mend. I could hear the continuous crunch of his skeleton echo in the empty air.
“We’re here to bring down Spector,” I announced loudly, hoping to cut through everyone’s questioning worry.
Some stared at me with hopeful eyes, some scoffed. A few of them looked distrustful of me, like they couldn’t believe that this wasn’t a trick.
The worst ones, though, were the ones that had vacant stares. They were too lost in their own minds to comprehend what was going on around them. I realized that it was unfair to expect everyone to participate, but we needed all the help we could get.
“Spector has gone too far,” I began. I wasn’t one for making speeches; I’d spent so long in the shadows at Thibault that having everyone’s eyes glued to me made me nervous. But, just like at the demonstration, they were all looking to me for direction. “They want to commercialize these demon possessions. Make more of us and force more demons out of hell. You know where that will lead. They’ll use us for whatever schemes they come up with. I know none of us are naive enough to think that Spector will ever let us go. And I for one don’t want to be a Spector pawn for the rest of my life. I don’t want to be a member in their hybrid army,” I said, holding more conviction with each word I spoke. “They use our loved ones against us, lock us in cells, force us to train, and study us like animals.”
A shifter huffed, likely offended by my metaphor.
“Which is why we need to fight back.”
“Fuck yes!” the shifter girl from the demonstration called out, fist raised in the air. I’d learned her name was Tara. “That’s what I’m talking about!”
An elemental cleared her throat. “I don’t know...I tried to leave, but they threatened my baby sister,” she said. “I hate them, but how can we fight back? They have too much power, and I don’t want them to hurt my family.”
A few voices murmured in agreement.
My chest constricted with pain, and my spider surged forward to protect me from the onslaught of emotions coursing through me. Aunt Marie. “They killed my aunt,” I admitted out loud with a shaky voice. Russell ruffled his feathers and tipped his beak into my neck. Webs began to pool from my fingers and wrap around my trembling body, like my spider wanted to safely cocoon me, keeping me away from the fresh waves of
