“No. They can watch me do it,” my bond says, and I shake my head a little to clear it, my eyes shifting back so I can speak for myself.
“Sorry, I’m not going to wait around here while people die. If there’s one thing you should know for sure about me by now, Atlas, it’s that I’m not going to sit around and wait to be rescued.”
He doesn’t like that answer one bit, but he walks over to the bags that he’d brought out with us and pulls out the same guns that he’d been assigned when we were on the supply run. I have absolutely no interest or use for a gun, so when he tries to talk me into one, I just scowl at him and lift my hand up as though he can see the soul-sucking gift writhing under my skin at the prospect of the carnage we’re about to walk into. He nods without another word and climbs into the ATV, buckling me into it before he takes off.
“Can you do the net thing you do? Just to be sure they haven’t started scouting for us yet? My dad was the one who called this morning, there’s a good chance he’s here looking for me.”
Shit. Is now the time to talk about the fact that I might have agreed to keep his sister breathing… but his dad? Dead and gone the second I can get within gift usage distance, which is relatively far away these days.
When I mention this to him, he rolls his eyes and snaps, “Well, obviously, Bonded. Anyone who came here today is fair game, even my mom if she tagged along to work her diversion bullshit.”
With that shit out of the way, we get to work, him driving like a maniac and me scouting. North feels it the second I cast it out, thanks to his creatures and shadows already being spread out throughout the town, taking down Resistance soldiers like the good babies they are.
Tell Bassinger I will make his death a painful and messy affair.
I press my lips together to keep the giggle in. He can hear you. Also, he’s just doing what my bond told him to, can’t blame the man. It’s persuasive.
He doesn’t find that funny at all. When we get within a mile of the town’s edge, I motion for Atlas to park. Good thing I’ve been training with Gryphon for all of these months, because I can run an eight minute mile without completely dying, so we’re going to get into this town and deal with anyone and everyone we come across.
Stay with me, Oli. We’re doing this, but we’re doing it together.
I turn to look at him and hold out my pinkie finger, something stupid to break the tension out of the air. I feel calm about this for once. I’m not a liability or the one doing the harm here.
I’m going to save people.
He scoffs at me but links his pinkie with mine all the same, using it to tug me into his body to kiss me one last possessive time, and my body has a little flashback to the earth shattering orgasm from last night.
I was hoping for at least two more this morning, and that disappointment is enough to kill a whole army of Resistance soldiers.
Atlas keeps pace with me, and we make it three minutes into the run before we come across the first soldier. My gift net is still out and even without it, my bond flags the guy wearing black with blood on both of his arms as the enemy.
He moves to lift his hand, but before my bond can deal with him, a black mass the size of a bear appears suddenly out of the shrub and devours him, its jaws opening to the size of a small car and just swallowing the guy whole.
Atlas gets an arm around my waist and yanks me behind him, lifting me clean off of my feet, but I’m too busy trying to fight off a nervous giggle to be really worried.
The black mass turns to look at us, the form shimmering and folding in on itself until August is left standing there, his tail wagging behind him and a mysterious green liquid dripping from his jaws.
“Baby!” I whisper as I drop down to greet him, Brutus coming down from behind my ear to sniff at his brother while I give them both pets and scratches. Atlas pokes around the area like he’s expecting to find pieces of the guy left behind.
I already know there’s not anything to find.
Not there, anyway. But the group of four more soldiers coming our way need to be dealt with.
I straighten back up and step over to his side, murmuring quietly, “There’s more coming. I’m just going to deal with them and anyone else that comes our way.”
He straightens up and comes over to stand with me, just a little in front of me before he nods. “Do it. Leave no one behind, but let me know when you’re starting to tap out.”
I swallow roughly, his words rattling me, but not for the reasons that he would guess.
I don’t tap out. My gift never taps out.