Chapter 16

Bailey

“Mommy?” Orion asked, looking up at me with his golden eyes.

I squeezed his hand as we walked from the castle toward the village. We’d just finished eating the noon meal, and I had to take him to my brother before I could resume my hunt for the human rebels. We needed to dismantle the group quickly before they caused any more trouble. The search was taking more time than expected, and I worried they’d do something else terrible before we caught them.

“Yes, sweetie?”

His expression turned serious. “You’ll find them today.”

I frowned. “Who?”

“The people you’re looking for.”

Had he overheard one of us talking? I tried to avoid the subject, but there was always a chance he caught some things with his excellent hearing. He was part dragon shifter, after all.

I gave him a gentle smile. “Let’s hope so.”

“No, Mommy.” Orion shook his head. “I mean, you’ll really catch them, and then you can get back to hunting the bad dragons.”

He seemed so certain, but he couldn’t possibly know that. Still, I didn’t want to discourage him. “I will do my best.”

He sighed and said nothing more.

We reached the village a short distance from the fortress. Sun dappled the place, glinting from the metal roofs. The buildings were constructed with dark, fire-proof wood, and each had expansive windows for plenty of light since electrical lines didn’t reach this area. At some point, gray gravel rocks had been added to the main road to help keep it even and dry.

People moved everywhere with supplies, food, and other things. I couldn’t remember it ever looking so alive and full of activity—not to mention how happy everyone seemed. War might be coming, but the human refugees from Watonga had reached a place where they could feel safe for a little while, and they didn’t have to worry about food or lack of medicine. Seeing them settling in that well after such a short time relieved me.

Orion and I had almost reached my brother’s house when Elen spotted us across the street and waved. The strong-willed matron wore jeans and a T-shirt, both showing signs of wear and tear, over her plump figure. Her brown-gray hair was plastered with sweat. Had she been cleaning or cooking? Either one could make people work up a sweat quickly with the temperature in the upper eighties.

She’d just stepped out the door of a home, though I didn’t know if it belonged to her. I hadn’t had time to figure out much about how the refugees sorted living quarters.

I waved at the human leader. “Glad to see you’re settling in well.”

“It’s good to see you.” She wagged her finger at me. “I kept waiting for you to visit after we arrived, but you never came.”

It had only been a few days, but I had hoped to see them soon. “Sorry! They’ve got me busy around here, and I haven’t had a chance.”

She didn’t need to know about our human rebel terrorists. I’d catch them soon.

Elen made a dismissive gesture. “Bah! You know what they say about excuses.”

“Hey, Sis,” Paul said, stepping from his two-bedroom home with a small wooden porch at the front. “I see you brought my favorite nephew.”

Relief swept through me at his interruption. I didn’t bother to point out that he had no other nephews and that we’d already arranged this visit. “Orion is ready to help sort out his toys with you when you’re ready.”

Paul tussled the boy’s dark hair and spoke to us in a low whisper, “It will be good to escape the village for a while. This new job is great, but some people are demanding. Hopefully, they’ll be more forgiving with Orion at my side.”

My son did have a way of softening people.

“Oh, good.” Elen moved across the street with purpose. “Just the man I want to see.”

Paul’s face tightened briefly before he managed to smooth his features. The woman glanced at me briefly with consternation as if she hadn’t finished with me yet, but then she focused her full gaze on my brother.

“We need to organize a duty roster. The streets need cleaning regularly, people are arguing over who has to clean the cow and horse manure, and the women refuse to be the only ones doing the cooking and cleaning. Don’t get me started on figuring out how we can set up some kind of school for the children.” She paused to glance at Orion. “Though that can wait until after things settle down.”

At least she was smart enough to avoid war talk. I understood about the dilemma of cooking and cleaning since there was a communal kitchen at the center of the village. Each home could heat a small meal over a campfire behind their houses, but it was easier to use the larger facility that had special cook stoves and ovens—fueled by magic in a way I didn’t understand.

Paul’s eyebrows drew together. “Can’t you set up a roster similar to what you had in your former town?”

“If only it were that easy.” She put her hands on her generous hips and huffed. “Suddenly, everyone wants to change jobs—except a few decent individuals—and no one will agree on a way to balance it out. I’m through with it and handing the job off to you.”

I patted Paul’s arm. “I have every confidence in you, brother.”

He gave me a mutinous look.

“Bailey!” a familiar Irish-lilted voice called from down the road.

I turned my gaze in that direction and caught sight of a woman in her mid-forties with brown hair tinged with gray. She had a confident stride as she walked toward us. Despite the fact she’d been helpful to me in more recent times, I still had to fight the urge to cringe whenever I saw her. She’d manipulated me more than once and messed with my mind.

“Hello, Verena,” I said as the powerful sorceress reached us.

She didn’t spare the others a glance. “You must gather a team and come quickly.”

“For what?” I asked, tensing at the note of urgency in her voice.

The sorceress cleared her throat, finally casting a quick look at Orion. “I know where the rebel group is, and they’re all together right now, but they won’t be there for long.”

“Told you, Mommy,” my son said with pleased smile. “You’ll get them today.”

“How did you know that, sweetie?” It couldn’t have been a coincidence, though I wished otherwise.

He shrugged. “I saw it in a dream last night.”

Concern filled me at the thought of Orion having dreams like that. He was too young.

“The boy has the sight,” Verena said, surprise and wonder in her gaze.

“But there’s no sorcerer blood in my family,” I argued, still reluctant to believe despite the evidence.

Her expression turned thoughtful. “But he does have shifter blood, and the gift is often random among their kind. Aidan’s uncle has it, as you well know, dear. I’m only surprised it is revealing itself at his age. That is unusual. It should have waited until he reached maturity, at the least. He is a special one—that is for sure.”

I wanted to take time and process the new revelation, but I couldn’t do it now. If we had a chance to capture all the rebels at once, I had to take it. I turned my attention to my brother.

“When Aidan comes for Orion, tell him about all of this, okay?”

He nodded. “No problem.”

Orion wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug. I squeezed him as well, wishing I never had to leave him for things like this. At least he seemed confident I would succeed, so that was something.

“Love you,” I said.

He let go and smiled at me. “Love you too, Mommy.”

Paul took Orion’s hand and started leading him toward his house, giving me some privacy with the sorceress. Elen followed them with a determined expression on her face.

I focused on Verena. “Conrad, Rayna, and Freya were already going to meet me in town. Do you think we’ll need any more people than that?”

“Always best to be safe.” She paused and tapped her chin. “Three more shifters should do the trick. The rebel group is in a large place with many entrances we must cover.”

That sounded complicated with no time to plan. “How long do we have?”

“A little over two hours before we lose our chance to get them all at once.”

I cursed. We were going to have to work fast.

***

We’d identified four possible entries into the former YMCA building. There were originally more, but they’d all been boarded or barricaded, so we didn’t have to worry about anyone escaping through those. It was a large, sprawling place constructed of beige bricks, white paneling, and high windows covered in plywood.

Our group broke down into two people each. I had Verena with me at the main entrance while the others hurried to their designated locations. We avoided the wide sidewalk and crept along the side through the waist-high grass. I peeked through the glass doors, surprisingly unbroken. The sun glinted off them, making it difficult to see inside the dim interior. I didn’t notice anyone standing inside the entrance, though.

A minute later, the sorceress let out a bird whistle.

I cringed at the sound, but it was the only thing the rest of the teams could hear from a distance that might not draw the attention of undesirable parties. It let everyone know to start making their way inside.

Pulling the door open, I stepped in first. It was dark as we crept down a decline toward the reception desk. The only natural light came from the nearby pool area windows. They hadn’t included the place when the electrical grid was restored, so lighting was limited. I trained my ears to listen for any sounds.

Voices drifted from somewhere close. I spotted a door by the pool entry marked as a bathroom/locker room. Usually, restrooms in abandoned buildings smelled terrible since dragons arrived. Too many people used them until they were overflowing, but I hardly noticed any odor. The council might not have restored power, but much of the town did have running water these days. The rebels must have cleaned it up when they took over the place.

I couldn’t make out any words, but a moment later, I heard a door shut and spotted movement in the pool area. Crouching down low, I peeked through the window. At least five rebels gathered across the room next to the diving board. The pool had no water, but it looked like they’d converted it into a sleep area. Why not a smaller, less open room?

They spoke low enough that I couldn’t hear anything they said despite the acoustics.

Verena brushed my shoulder and pointed past the rebels, where another of our teams poked their heads around the brick wall of the outside courtyard—Rayna and a shifter from the fortress. They were closer to our targets than us. I heard another team run into at least a few more rebels down the hall. Screams and shouts filtered our way as they fought. One of them was Conrad, with his unmistakable taunts as he attacked his enemy.

We were out of time.

I jerked the door open and sprinted across the pool area, staying close to the wall. Verena followed on my heels. The group across the cavernous room noticed us first and pulled weapons. I didn’t worry about swords and knives at our range, but one woman had a pistol.

She aimed it at me with a cold expression on her face. My uniform could stop a bullet, but she pointed her weapon at my head, and I had less chance of surviving that.

“Keep going,” the sorceress urged behind me when I slowed. “I’ll take care of that one.”

The next thing I knew, a whoosh of strong wind swept past me, heading in the direction I ran. As I got closer, I watched it pick up speed and track like a large wave as it struck the female. She went flying back a dozen feet and crashed into the rear wall with her pistol clattering to the floor. Blood splattered the surface where her head had struck as she slid to the ground. I doubted she’d get up again.

To the left, the other team punched through the back door.

I rounded the corner of the pool, reaching a man with a sword who looked eager to fight me. The evil glint in his eyes said he was long past saving. Perhaps the magical virus had spread faster once we began taking out their group. The Kandoran would want their minions under firmer control after they’d been discovered, and they must have known we’d have no choice except to kill them if they couldn’t be saved.

My opponent swung his blade, showing a degree of expertise in positioning his body correctly. I had to dodge the strike and retaliate with my own. He blocked it with ease. While I continued to work on getting a kill strike on him, Rayna and Titan, the shifter with her, worked on the other three rebels. Space was tight if we didn’t want to fall into the empty pool, so we had to concentrate on not running into each other as we fought.

Verena lifted her hands, magic flowing outward as she used a spell to freeze two more men running into the pool area. She must think they could be saved if she wasn't executing them. The sorceress had promised to avoid killing if she suspected anyone had a chance.

I could feel the waves of malevolent energy from my target, enough that I didn’t need to see the marks on his chest to confirm his status. Not to mention, he was far faster and stronger than a normal human. That took a lot of dark power.

We traded strikes as we maneuvered around pool equipment and the other fighters. I spent so much time battling giant dragons with plenty of body surfaces to hit that I found facing off against a human was more difficult. At least, it was among those with extensive training and superhuman strength. The infected man swung his sword low and managed to slice my thigh.

His red eyes glowed with glee.

The cut wasn’t deep, but it slowed my movements slightly as he forced me to keep moving or get struck again. Blood seeped down my leg. I sucked in a deep breath and then went on the attack.

Faint surprise flickered in his gaze as I started striking faster and harder than before. I’d been testing him until then, but I’d finally got a handle on his rhythm and movements. Whatever training he had, it was repetitive. I could predict what he’d do next. And while he was strong, I was stronger. I’d only let him think otherwise.

Aidan shared some of his power with me the night before, and I took advantage of it.

I arced my blade high and then brought it down fast and hard toward his head. He barely blocked it, but I kept going and forced him to his knees. I swept my foot out and kicked him in his side. He fell over, grip loosening on his blade’s hilt. I struck him with my boot again, at his hands this time. His weapon went flying.

Drawing my sword back, I shoved the blade tip straight into his heart. His body slumped.

I gestured at Rayna, who’d finished her opponent. “Hold his head up for me?”

“Sure.” She leaned down to grab my opponent’s scruffy blond hair, grimacing. “Always my favorite part.”

“No kidding,” I said, swinging my blade hard and true. “I hate killing humans.”

“Yeah. Even with the bad guys, it feels wrong.”

Titan snorted. “No remorse for dragons, though?”

Rayna winked at him. “I keep them alive if they’re cute and nice. See how you’re still breathing?”

He chuckled and put up his hands. “I can tolerate you more than the others, but I have my limits. Keep at least five feet apart from me at all times, remember?”

“You’re no fun,” she said, giving him a pouty look.

“And you’re a deadly woman wrapped in a pretty package.”

They must have had an interesting conversation before we attacked. The shifters feared her even more than they used to fear me, but Titan and his friend Eliam at least gave her a chance. I appreciated them for that.

I took stock of the pool room. The other three rebels were dead with their heads removed, though I didn’t ask if their deaths were necessary. In the heat of battle, one did what they had to do. I trusted Rayna and Titan’s judgment. Verena was on the other end of the pool, leaning over the two men she’d magically frozen still. Her furrowed brows and the light coming from her fingertips told me she was extracting the dark magic from them.

I gestured for the others to follow me back toward the main corridor since we still needed to check the rest of the place. We’d just made it past Verena when our other two teams arrived. Conrad guided one of the rebels, shoving her down next to the other two with Verena.

“The rest of the place is all clear, but we only found four of them. How about you?”

“There were six in here,” I replied, glancing back to point out the dead on the other end of the room. “So that makes ten total and accounted for.”

Rayna grabbed the rebel woman and started extracting the dark magic. I took that to mean the slayer still had plenty of energy remaining and hadn’t used that much during the fight. She finished about the same time as Verena did with the other two.

“Conrad, Verena, and Rayna,” I said, pointing at them. “Question these people. I’ll help the shifters go through their things in case there are any other surprises they had planned.”

Everyone nodded, and we got to work.