Page 46 of Ruthless Fae
This was the Habermanns’ master plan all along, an army of the most fearsome creatures ever created.
And at the head was Karen.
She stood on a large platform with one of those metal devices on her head. As I watched, she moved her arm left and the army of creatures turned and took six steps left. She moved her arm right, and they went right.
An army at her disposal, willing and able to do her bidding at a moment’s notice. It was horrifying.
She worked on testing her technology out, getting her mutant army ready for something. But what?
Below me, movement caught my eye. Vaughn, in his wolf form, was circling in the grass, anxious and trying to get my attention. Suddenly, I realized why. His spell had started fading. Soon, he’d be visible and here we were, the two of us, in the open with a whole army of creatures only thirty yards away.
We had to go, but I couldn’t leave now. Not without acting. I had to get that device. I had to stop Karen before it was too late.
Flying down, I buzzed close to Vaughn. “I’m going for the headset. You can go back to the cave.”
The wolf whined, shaking his large head.
“I have to. Go. It’ll be fine. No one can see me.”
Without waiting for him to argue, I flew up, darting toward the platform and Karen. If I could get the device, I could command all the poor souls into the caves and heal them in the fountain one by one. I could stop this madness and put an end to the Habermanns and Karen in one fell swoop.
Pushing my wings to the limit, I circled the tall platform, wanting to attack from behind. She couldn’t see me coming but might feel or hear me. However, she seemed too preoccupied with commanding her little army to notice as I swooped in. I could easily snatch the helmet and be gone, but then I realized it would be just as easy to swipe the sidearm she had holstered on her hip. It was unclasped and waiting.
I could end this once and for all.
Did I dare? Karen deserved to pay. After all she’d done, she should suffer for her crimes.
Whatever they’d done to me on this island to harden me, it had worked. I didn’t just want the helmet. I wanted Karen finished. The world would be a better place without her. I knew that with as much certainty as I knew I loved Vaughn. This was my shot to rid the world of her and save further pain to countless others.
With my heart pounding, I dove in and went for the gun instead of the helmet.
Just as I was about to crash into Karen’s back, I pulled up, buffeting the air with my wings to slow my descent. Karen felt the wind, but she was too late. My hand closed over the gun’s handle, and I yanked it free as she turned around.
“Who’s there?!” Her eyes searched the air as one hand began to command the army behind her.
But it was too late for that.
“You know who it is,” I said.
Then I pulled the trigger.
Chapter Nineteen
The bullet crackedfrom the handgun, the force pushing me back. I fluttered my wings to steady myself, my eyes on Karen. As I anticipated the impact and her death, time seemed to stand still.
The heartless woman’s eyes widened in horror. The reaction lasted only a split second, then her expression changed. She closed her eyes, her lips twitching in a flash of movement. Suddenly, the air around me thickened. I felt the difference in pressure and beat my wings faster as I began to drop. I glanced around frantically, confused.
What is this?
Karen still stood on the same spot, muttering. The bullet hadn’t reached her. How?! I prepared to pull the trigger again, which was when I noticed a series of strange circular ripples floating in the air right in front of me. Right in the middle, my bullet hovered like a bug stuck in amber. It trembled slightly, trapped in a pocket of air.
No, that wasn’t it. Not air.
Magic.
Karen had stopped the bullet with magic.
I shook my head, feeling the world turn on its head.
