When we were decked out, we looked ready for just about anything. Rhiannon shook her head. “I can’t believe we’re here. We’re here, in the Regent’s office, Fae Queens, wearing leather armor, ready to go fight monsters taking over the town. Two months ago, I would have laughed in your face if you told me this was all going to go down.”
“Come on, Monster Fighter! Let’s go out and whip us some Shadow Hunter ass.” Sounding braver than I felt, I sheathed my Queen’s dagger that Regina had ordered brought in—she’d had the guards bring in all our weaponry that we normally left at the gate—and turned to face Check and Grieve. Fearless and one of Rhiannon’s guards had gone to marshal the troops.
“I guess . . . we’re ready?” Not wanting to go but knowing that if we didn’t, the town would be a bloody mess by morning, I motioned to my cousin. “Let’s take the lead, at least until we hit the gates. We need to offer moral support to our soldiers. Remember, some of them fought Myst when she first ripped through the Eldburry Barrow, then worked her way over to the realm of Summer. I doubt if they will be eager to face her and her monsters again.”
“Good point.” Rhia sheathed her dagger, too, and then—with one last look at the others, who were getting ready for their own part in our private little war—we headed out the door, ready to face the monsters hiding under the bed.
Once we were out of the gates, Rhia and I moved back into a protective circle of guards. They had all been vetted through by the shamans, so we were relatively safe where we were at—at least from our own people. Grieve and Chatter took the lead, and we raced through the night toward the town, with Lannan’s people guarding our flanks. Lannan himself was up front between Grieve and Chatter, and whatever differences the men had, they pushed them aside for now. We couldn’t afford to fight among ourselves.
As we sped through the night, through the streets heading toward the center of New Forest, we began to see the signs that the Shadow Hunters had been there before us. There were blood splatters staining the ground, and here and there, cars had skidded off the road, their doors hanging open. From where we were in the middle of the street, we couldn’t see inside of them. For that I was grateful, but the scent of blood was thick in the air along the route.
Scattered houses were lit from within, so we knew that the electricity still held. Some looked barricaded, with smoke still drifting out of their chimneys, and to our thoughts, the people within them were probably still safe. At least, for now. But here and there, a house stood, lights on, but door busted open, or windows broken, and there were no sounds coming from within. And those homes—well, we knew what had happened. It was obvious.
As we were passing one house, we heard a high-pitched scream coming from inside. A girl was begging for help. Immediately, Grieve, Chatter, and Lannan veered, leading our men toward the house. Rhiannon and I were swept along, near the front but not close enough to immediately see what was going on. But we rushed inside, along with the men, and there, the carnage became evident.
The bone and gristle on the floor spoke to wholesale slaughter, and there were at least five Shadow Hunters in various stages of transformation. And then, I saw her—a little girl of about ten, crouching atop an entertainment hutch, bleeding from one arm and a gash on her forehead. How she’d gotten up there, I couldn’t tell, but one of the Shadow Hunters was trying to swing up after her.
The girl had hold of a gun and was unsteadily pointing it at the creature. A glance to the floor showed that she’d already managed to hit one of them—he was back in his Vampiric Fae form, shot through the stomach, lying on the floor growling and bleeding. But he wasn’t dead. It took one hell of a lot to kill the Shadow Hunters.
Our men swarmed the group while Check, Fearless, and Rhia’s two guards pushed us toward the back, keeping us from joining the fray. The Shadow Hunters were whirling dervishes, violent as devils. They never gave ground, never ran, but in their savage fury, rent and tore at the guards. One guard went down with a scream, and his arm disappeared into the mouth of one of the creatures.
Their terrible jaws unhinged, the Shadow Hunters were like blue lions, only they knew no fear, focused only on the fight and the potential for food. They lived to destroy, lived to feed and drink the blood of their enemies, driven on by their need and hunger, and driven on by their love for Myst, who enslaved them all. Mother of the unnatural race, she was also their tormenter.
The little girl atop the hutch caught my eye, and in her expression I saw both horror and hatred. She would carry this for the rest of her life, if she made it through. She had seen them destroy her family, and right there, I knew she’d grow up with vengeance in her heart—it would be her way of surviving. The hope that she might one day return the favor, should any of the Indigo Court survive.
Cicely—there is another. Ulean’s soft whisper hit me full-on. The slipstream let me hear things that were too quiet to overshadow the noise going on around me.
Another what?
Another child. He is upstairs, in a crib—and he will die shortly if someone doesn’t get up there and save him. There’s a Shadow Hunter nearing his room, and the boy is crying loud enough to be heard.
I tried to make myself heard over the din, but Check shook his head, indicating he couldn’t understand me. Frustrated, I shoved him aside and bolted for the stairs. Check and Fearless were on my heels then, and within seconds Check had scrambled by me to take the lead. I shoved at him, indicating that we needed to continue upstairs, and that, he understood.
We came to the hallway, and there, near a door at the end of the passage, stood one of the Shadow Hunters in his creature form. The sound of the baby was clear enough here, and we could hear his piercing cries over the shrieks of the fighting downstairs.
I pushed forward, but Fearless caught me back. Check engaged the Shadow Hunter as it lunged down the hall, and they fell to the fight. But one against one—not so good of odds, not with Myst’s warriors. And so I shoved Fearless in front of me.
“Help Check! I’m getting the baby.” I shook off his hand and raced into the room as both of my guards began to struggle with the Shadow Hunter. A toddler—possibly a year old, maybe a bit more—was standing up, clinging to the side of the crib. His screams pierced the air. I raced over and swung him into my arms.
As I turned around, I saw the Shadow Hunter dart into the room. Fearless and Check were on his ass, but he covered the space between us in one great leap, and I found myself, baby in hand, facing the ruthless monster.
Chapter 8
Oh fuck. What the hell was I going to do?
The Shadow Hunter growled, his eyes luminous black with swirling stars—the stars of the Indigo Court. I froze, mesmerized for a second, but then instinct took over, and in one swift motion, I turned to drop the child back in the crib with one hand, while with the other, I yanked out my dagger. Smoothly, I stabbed at the Shadow Hunter’s face, even as Check plunged a sword into his back, then quickly out again.