Page 116 of Magic Claimed
Waiting to pick up the pieces? Or waiting simply to make their indictments? I could only hope and pray that someonewould be willing to listen to the truth when all this was over—that we had done everything we could to stop the slaughter.
Our original plan had included funneling the protesters down Sheridan Avenue and into the Bricktown Ballpark, where we could take advantage of the high brick walls and limited entry points to protect them.
But Blake’s portal had opened up at the top of The Assemblage. They would have left the building, emerged onto Sheridan, and his troops would have hit the protesters broadside, leaving no avenue of escape. And yet somehow…
Shane and I turned left and darted off down the middle of the debris-choked street—towards the cacophony of battle. Towards the place where our allies had planned to make their final stand.
There was no way to see past the billowing clouds of smoke—no way to know if they’d made it to shelter—but it was all too easy to follow the sounds of screams. We pressed ourselves to the limit, racing down Sheridan, then turning right on Mickey Mantle Drive. I was trying so hard to see through the smoke that I stumbled on the uneven brick surface, sprawling to my hands and knees before picking myself back up again.
Until finally, we were close enough that the smoke began to clear and the battlefield came into view—a scene of carnage that sprawled across the streets and sidewalks surrounding the baseball stadium.
There were bodies on the ground—human, shapeshifter, wildkin, and fae—some groaning in pain, some lying still and covered in blood. Fires flickered and smoldered in the burnt-out frames of a handful of cars, upended dumpsters lay askew, andwater rushed towards the drain from the gush of a broken fire hydrant. Tree roots had erupted in several places, cracking the sidewalks, tearing up the brick streets and blocking the way. Some had bodies trapped within their tangled coils—alive or dead, it was impossible to tell.
This—this was what Blake wanted. This was what he still hoped to exploit. This unimaginable hellscape of destruction and death had come about solely because of his thirst for power, and it sickened me that I’d once sat in solidarity with this man. We’d shared our fears. Comforted each other. Survived together.
A rush of nausea had me retching in the gutter, believing the worst, but then Shane called out, “Look!”
He was pointing overhead, where for the briefest moment the smoke parted, granting us a glimpse of the skies above the ballpark…
And the pair of red dragons circling in the air overhead. A golden gryphon perched on the top of the walls like a vengeful guardian, and my fist punched the air as I nearly gasped with exultation and relief.
It was Ryker, Deverin, and Angelica. Patrolling the airspace, ready to defend the crowds of refugees huddled below.
Somehow, in spite of everything, Faris had held the city’s defenses and put our plan into action. He’d managed to protect the human protesters, holding off their attackers long enough to lead them to safety.
Now it was simply a matter of defending the perimeter until we could whittle down Blake’s numbers. But we couldn’t count on human support. Faris had warned them of the dangers, sosomewhere in the distance, a lone helicopter hovered, watching. Waiting for the outcome of a battle the humans could do nothing to stop.
Thankfully, most of the entrances to the ballpark had been barricaded by a combination of tree roots and concrete—courtesy of the dryads and earth elementals among our allies. But on the ground in front of the main gates, the battle still raged, and for a moment it appeared that my initial fears had been justified. There were far more of the enemy—far more combatants pressing forward than there were defending the walls.
And with no more reinforcements coming…
It was up to us.
Without any need for words, Shane and I charged forward together. I somehow matched him stride for stride as we cut through the smoke, hurdled the cracks, and threw ourselves at the enemy’s flank—Shane with daggers that he produced as if by some strange new magic, and I with the tiny trickle of fae power that answered my call.
It wasn’t enough for a sword or a shield, not enough to overwhelm or crush, but enough for the long, slender lash of a whip that snapped and curled around its targets, leaving cuts and burns behind.
And as we fought our way through, I began to recognize the stadium’s defenders. Not just members of the Shadow Court, but members of every court, standing shoulder to shoulder in defiance of Blake’s army and their arsenal of stolen magic.
Faris had made calls to every delegate who’d attended the Symposium—everyone who’d witnessed Blake’s ruinous ambitions firsthand and might be willing to stand againsthim.
Yolande, the bear shifter who’d helped us take him down the first time, fought side by side with the troll delegate—an older woman wearing armor and swinging a hammer with unnerving agility as she dodged shots of air magic.
Jasper and Isis—earth and water elementals—stood back to back, Isis holding a spinning shield of water in front of the gate, while Jasper trapped an attacker by sinking him into the concrete up to his knees.
As I watched, an enormous gray lion leaped from the upper windows over the stadium gates. He landed on the shoulders of an enemy wielding fire magic, taking him to the ground with a snarl and…
I didn’t watch the next part. I was too busy dodging a barrage of glowing blue fae darts shot at me by a human wearing a dark uniform. One of the darts clipped my arm, and I staggered, leaving me open to attack by a gargoyle, who swooped towards me, claws reaching, eyes burning a fiery red…
Only to be smacked right out of the air by a softball-sized chunk of ice.
A hand reached for mine, and I looked up into the face of a woman over seven feet tall, with brown skin, wild dark hair, and glowing blue eyes…
Talia—elemental queen and once my enemy. Her expression was fierce and feral as she pulled me to my feet, still gazing over my shoulder, never taking her eyes off our attackers.
“Thanks.”
She inclined her head regally. “We’re even now, Raine Kendrick.”
