Page 38 of A Bloodline Redeemed

Sky groaned and plopped down beside Moon and the creature.“I’msoooohungry,” he complained, putting his hands on his tummy.“I hope it’s something besides moldy bread.”

The little creature made a huffing sound and started kicking its hind legs.“Have you really been eating moldy bread?Put me down.”

Moon supposed it was probably rude to hold a rodent person up by his armpits.She sat him down and he ran back over to the backpack and started rooting around.When he emerged, he backed out, dragging something along with his mouth.Moon clapped a hand over her mouth to keep from making a loud sound when she realized what it was.

“Cookies,” Sky whispered excitedly.“You’ve got cookies?”

The little rodent thing had prickles on his back, but Moon petted them carefully and they didn’t hurt her.“Can we have some cookies, please, Mr.Creature?”

The little thing snorted.“My name is Hibiscus.And yep.Eat all the cookies you want.They taste like chocolate chip, but they’re special.My witch made them to help restore physical and magical energy, and fortify you for battle.”His little voice was very proud.

“Battle?”Moon asked, while Sky took a big bite out of a cookie and moaned.

The little Hibiscus creature looked at them both and waggled its face fur in a way that reminded Moon of a person raising their eyebrows.“Yes.The war.Isn’t that where your ‘goddess’ saved you from?”

Sky stopped eating.Moon stared down at the little creature person as her eyes got all watery for some reason.

The other little kids all went away.And they were carrying weapons.They were scared really bad…

Hibiscus seemed to realize that Moon and Sky were upset.He peeped and hopped back onto Moon’s lap, then stood up on his back legs and put his little front paws on her chest, reaching out one paw to pat her cheek.“It’s okay,” he said in a tone of voice that big people used.Just like the goddess.“I’m here now.I’ll protect you.”

Chapter 21

Andy

Mymagicroiledthroughme in angry waves as I took in the chaos around me.We were supposed to wait for backup.We were supposed to find good positions where we could work our magic from a distance when needed, and let the rebels handle all the hand-to-hand stuff.While some of our group were more bloodthirsty than others, none of us were trained soldiers.

But there werekidsout there.Children ranging in size from barely out of toddler years to teens on the cusp of adulthood.There was no way they were there voluntarily.And on top of that, there were adult slaves scattered in among them, people I would have eventually marked as being controlled, even if I didn’t already have Aahil’s confirmation.How were we supposed to stop the cult, when their soldiers wereinnocents?

Babies were out there, killing and dying, caught up in the battle of greed and heartless power-lust between the fucking cult and the SA.

And all along the sidelines—lying defenseless on the sidewalks or sleeping in their stalled cars—were citizens who couldn’t defend themselves from the collateral damage caused by flying spells, stray bullets, or debris.I watched, frozen, as a cultist stomped on a woman rather than step over her.He seemed to take great delight in the action.

It was all so pointless.So callous and senseless.I knew evil existed in the world, had barely dodged being raised by it and fully indoctrinated into it by my family.But this…

I wondered if there was really anything good left in the world, or if every last person in both realms was nothing but this dark, empty greed, covered by a thin, fake veneer of civility.Was this really all the world was?

I glanced at the others around me and saw my rage and despair reflected in their eyes.Was there really even any point in trying to stop this?People would only find some new reason to hate and destroy each other when this conflict was over.It was never-ending.

Somewhere the sharp, keening cry of a scared child carried over the noise and horror before me.I shook myself, and the rage that had been slowly dying out under the suffocating weight of despair flared back to life.

It was only then that I recognized the feeling of emotional manipulation.Something like Hasumi’s magic…but bitter, dark.Evil spells, or more fucking artifacts that never should have been created.Whatever the hell it was, I shook it off, pushed it back with my own force of will.I didn’t care if the world was worth saving or not.There werechildrenout there, for fuck’s sake.Why was I just standing here?

I grabbed hold of my magic, opened myself up to it much faster and more recklessly than I ever had before.I had always been afraid the power inside me would corrupt me or fry my brain if I dug too deep.But right now, I didn’t care.I just wanted this all to end.

“Give me the artifacts,” I bit out, not turning my eyes away from the disaster before me.The disasterIhad let happen by dragging my feet and refusing to get involved.Dyre and Aahil took the nullifier and amplifier from their warded carrying cases and placed the artifacts into my hands.I poured my restless magic into the donut spell I had developed.No one said anything about my disobeying Bella’s instructions to wait for the rebels.They all had eyes in their heads and warm, beating hearts in their chests.

“Keep close,” I ordered.Then I moved, my circle of lovers and friends following along in the zone of protection.

The rebels who were with us dispersed at their leader’s order, fanning out and following our lead, prepared to fight.I let them do their thing, since they probably had way more training than I did.My focus was solely on my own team.

Rather than finding a good place to lie low, like good little minions of the cause, we surged forward as a group, out of our hiding spot, across the sidewalk and into the center of the paved square in front of the SA building, where the worst of the fighting was taking place.

Spells turned on us in an instant, fizzling out harmlessly when they hit the null zone.Bullets bounced harmlessly off the shield Dyre had cast inside the amplified zone.We were untouchable.But… everywhere I looked there were either children or unconscious citizens.There was no safe place to cast spells with any sort of big impact.We couldn’t really attack.Not without killing more innocents.

Niamh, Zong, and River guarded us from anyone who might make it into our circle of protection, taking them down with good old-fashioned fists and knives.Dyre and Aahil cast offensive spells at cultists and SA goons whenever they could get in as clean shot.And Ambrose darted in and out of the donut, leaving victims convulsing with terror.

It was something, but it wasn’tenough.We could end this all in an instant, I knew we could—if only there weren’t so many innocents in the way.A blast of jinn fire, a wave of black nightmare energy, a few big concussive witch spells… It would be easy.But there was no way to keep from hitting the kids and the slaves being controlled by the cult.

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