Page 35 of A Bloodline Redeemed

I got a glimpse of what she had seen, and I wished I hadn’t.A car had run up onto the sidewalk before crashing into a building.But there had been people lying on the sidewalk when that happened.Those people weren’t just sleeping, like most of the others.

“Okay,” Bella said in a stern voice, drawing attention away from the disaster around us and demanding that everyone focus on the fight ahead.“Clearly, the sleeping beauty spell worked for them.If what our hostage told us is true, we should be safe.But keep an eye out for patrols.Get the lay of the land before you charge into the fight.I’ll see you again as soon as I can.”

Bella jogged past us, returning back the way we’d come.She was going to open a portal to her people.They were waiting on the outskirts of town, ready to come rushing in to help once the rebel force’s most powerful weapons were in place—us.

I gripped the edge of the backpack tighter as River continued walking, slow and deliberate, his shiny black hair was tied back to keep it out of his eyes, and it swished across the flap of the backpack as he turned his head this way and that, keeping a keen eye out for trouble.

This was so exciting.And terrifying.We were about to make history and stop the cruelty the witch supremacists supported.But I wasn’t an idiot.I could see just how dangerous it was.

I couldn’t look away from the sleeping people that littered the sidewalk, slumped over benches, or slumbering behind the wheels of stalled cars.The cult apparently had an artifact they called the “Sleeping Beauty Charm,” because it had the ability to put humans and low-to-moderate-level magic users into a deep, coma-like state for days at a time.They had used it to knock out all the locals who might have helped defend their city.

“I’d love to know the particulars of how that charm works,” I whispered.

River hummed softly in agreement.“The area of effect, and the way the curse lingers so long after the artifact is removed from the area… I’m no spellcaster, but it’s fascinating magic.”

Dyre dropped back to walk beside us, clearly overhearing River and thinking he was speaking to him.I ducked down and tried to pull every last bit of my own magical aura inside myself where the terribly powerful necromancer wouldn’t sense it.

“Sunny says dark magic,” he murmured, his deep voice soft as he pondered.He liked magical puzzles too.And learning new tricks.“If I were to guess, I’d say whoever made that artifact stole something from a creature like Sunshine.Blood.Soul essence.Maybe they even found a way to entrap the creature and harness its lifeforce….”

I wrinkled my nose.Awful.Bad witches were never just alittlebad, they wereawful.

What Dyre suggested was probably close to the magic we suspected was used to make me.I was created by taking a bunch of different animals and mashing them together, then stealing part of some human’s soul or consciousness and fusing it to the result.

It was the only way I could think of to explain how I was a little bit skunk, a little bit rat, a little bit hedgehog, and alotsentient, thinking, rational being.

But I still didn’t like to think about it.Because then, I’d have to think about how horrifying things had to happen just for me to exist.I liked being alive.I didn’t like feeling guilty about it.

The men grew silent as we crept closer to the sounds of battle.I could feel everyone around me powering up, calling their magic to the ready, preparing for a fight.I had overheard Bella, Andy, and the others when they were discussing their plans for how to go about taking down the cult—and probably the SA as well.It all sounded simple when they discussed it logically, in the comfort of our nice, safe pocket world refuge.In our nest.

But now that we were here, I realized how easily everything could fall into chaos.Plans were nice and all.And we had a bunch of intel from the spy Bella had kidnapped.But when did life ever take anyone’s nice, tidy little plans into account?

The first part of the plan was for our group to get as close as possible to the fighting without actually entering the fight.If at all possible, we were supposed to getinsidethe SA building before we revealed ourselves, and use that as a sort of fortress from where we could fight off the cultists.Andy and the rest of our family, along with the handful of powerful magic users the rebels had loaned us, were supposed to lie low and get themselves positioned so they could have maximum impact when the SA and the cult were surprised by the large force of rebels and citizens that would show up in a distracting wave.

We weren’t supposed to do any fighting until the rebels got here to take some of the attention off our group so we could stay out of the skirmish and focus on bigger goals.That way, Andy and crew could take out the leadership and end the fight with less loss of life.

It was a pretty good plan.At least as far as I could tell, with my limited knowledge of tactical strategy.No one here was well versed in war.But they were all doing the best they could.

Until we reached the site of the fighting.Then everything went right out the window.

A large force of SA agents protected the SA building.They were decked out in full gear, loaded up with every technical and magical advantage the government agency could afford, as they fought off what was probably just the first wave of the cult’s attack.They fought with deadly force, but some of them hesitated, only to get mowed down themselves.

They hesitated because their attackers weren’t what they had been expecting.The surprise caught them off guard, and made those among them who still had morals more susceptible to defeat.Because the enemy they fought was—

“Children,” Zhong breathed, from somewhere up ahead, his deep voice laced with horror.

I forgot about hiding and pulled myself up onto River’s shoulder so I could get a better view of what was happening.Because I could feel the sudden turmoil through Andy’s bond—the shock, the pain.The horror, and the furiously buildingoutrage.Now wasn’t the time to lose control of her magic.She needed me.

Bodies littered the area around the SA building, and it was hard to keep track of what was going on, to see through the smoke and the flashes of magic as the two sides battled.But I could see enough to know what had Andy’s magic suddenly flaring through her aura, lighting her up like an avenging angel from a human Bible story.There were children out there, fighting against full grown, geared-out adult SA agents.

Little bodies littered the ground beside the adults.

And I saw what I was sure the others hadn’t even registered yet.That the scattering of adults who were fighting for the cult, alongside the children, moved like robots.Like Dyre’s animated corpses.Like…

“They’re being controlled,” Aahil said evenly, his voice oddly flat and lacking its usual huskiness.“All of them.”

The cult’s first wave against the SA was made up of children and helpless slaves.

“Shock value and cannon fodder,” Niamh said between clenched teeth.

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