The fire escape door opened and closed. I stepped up and pushed it open, hustling us all out and down the steps. I couldn’t hear anything happening nearby, but I didn’t have enhanced senses. My mind link with Ozzy came in handy once again.
“Do you know where Shan and Em are?”
“Yes. In an alley a hundred metres to the right.”
How the fuck had they gotten down to ground level? Last I’d seen, they’d been on a roof. Shan could fly, but Emmett had no such ability and was probably too heavy for Shan to carry. I tapped into my bond with him, finding no signs of distress. A hint of worry was present, and my heart swelled when I realized it was worry for me.
I led our group around the corner, hoping Altair and Sky were following the fight to Em and Shan too. We could always go to our meetup point, but it may be better to just portal all together from wherever the fuck we could find each other first.
Shan was fending off four vampires with his fading light magic, wings extended. The sun was descending over the mountains, leaving less abundance of power for him. Emmett was shifted, his over-sized bear form facing down another five men. They were fast, but he was so large he managed to swipe one with his claws.
I broke into a run, pointing my wand at the fight and cursing when I only immobilized one vampire. Another was going for Shan, its fangs aiming for his neck, and I was hurrying to swap my magic to stop him when his head went flying.
Altair materialized a second later, looking smugly down at the vampire’s headless body. “You’re welcome,” he said to Shan, who glared. “I can see you’re experiencing the downsides of fighting Zemterrans with light magic. When night falls they thrive and you weaken. Me, on the other hand…”
He lifted a hand, twisting his fingers into a fist. Sticky pieces of darkness clung to him, trailing up from the edges of the alley. He used it as a rope, wrapping it around the neck of one of the vampires and pulling it taut. Watching was fascinating, but I didn’t have time.
A sword stuck into Emmett’s flank and I growled. Caspian did, too.
We were on top of the fight now, and while Altair helped Shan we settled in to help Em, the invisibility cloak dropping. Nolan darted to kill the one I was holding down, and Caspian stepped in front of me, exuding sexual energy.
I hadn’t wanted him to use his compulsion, but I would have to allow it.
Clearing his throat softly, he spoke in a low and lilting tone I’d only heard when I’d first met him, back when he’d been flirting.
“Look at me, everyone.”
Four sets of vampire eyes turned to look.
Shan’s attackers were farther away, able to resist the compulsion.
“Drop to your knees. You want me so much you’d do anything, wouldn’t you?”
Nolan and I dispatched the vampires rapid-fire, running chest-to-chest into each other at the final one. He glanced down and I sank my dagger into the vampire’s heart, twisting. Then I surged forward and stole Nolan’s lips in a kiss.
It only lasted a second because it really wasnot the fucking time.
Emmett shifted back when Altair and Shan finished off the last of his guards, leaving him completely nude. He pulled on a tattered pair of pants from the sidelines, not bothering with a shirt.
Sweet Angels above, a body like that shouldn’t be allowed.He was bigger than the other guys, yet not quite as defined. His skin tone was a dark tan, hair covering his chest and leading in a V down to the hem of the tatted pants. I’d caught a glimpse of his ass, too. Smackable. It would jiggle pleasantly. My bond mark ached on my wrist.
“Get your arousal under control, for all of our sakes,”Oswald said telepathically.“And create a damn portal to get us out of here.”
Shaking my head to clear it, I pushed my silver hair back behind my ears and began to draw runes with my wand. The portal took shape slowly, until it was in front of us swirling and glowing. It would take us to the alley across the street from HQ. We couldn’t portal directly into the building because of the protections Ama and I had completed over the past few days.
“Nolan, go first,” I said.
He glanced over his shoulder at the scene, full of bodies but no more live attackers, and nodded.
So much for a covert mission, obviously. Kylan would know we had been here.
Stepping through the portal, Nolan vanished. I ushered everyone else through after him, until only Shan and I remained. He tried to gesture me through and I shook my head. “I’m going to mask the magic a bit, but I can only do it if it’s closing behind me.”
“What’s the point? They know where we’re going.”
“I don’t want them to have access to my entire magical signature.”
He sighed, grabbing my hand. “I’m not letting go of you.”
