Atlas glances at me again and shakes his head, more than happy for there to be secrets for only us to keep. I already know we can’t live like that.
There is no limit. Or at least, I’ve never found one.
Atlas curses under his breath again, but I move forward, taking all of the right turns towards zone six. I might be freaking horrendous at directions, but my bond is good, and it can follow the invisible strings that connect me to my Bonded easier than breathing.
It almost becomes soothing, the sounds of the bodies dropping to the freshly poured pavement. I become completely numb to the meaning of it, my bond quietly pleased as we take the energy and funnel it to our Bonded. Atlas’ skin begins to glow softly next to me, but he’s too focused on protecting me to notice it.
The moment we get to where the last of the fight is, I let my eyes flash to the voids and trust my bond to take out the last of the Resistance soldiers there. I can see the relief on half of the TacTeam there, all of them looking a little haggard and worn out.
Except, of course, for Nox, who looks up from the corpse he’s now holding in place of the man he was creatively questioning and sneers at me.
Great.
He stands up in a rush, beating Gryphon to me, and Atlas pulls me back into his arms like he’s trying to get me away from the Bond.
“Why the fuck are you risking yourself out here? Do you want the Bond Group to fucking implode just because you’re bored and don’t want to sit somewhere safely for an hour while we sort it out?” he snarls at me, shoving his gaiter down his throat so that all I see on his face is the significant rage thrumming so clearly through him.
“Because it’s my fucking fault! Do you think I’m going to let them take other people just because I escaped? They were killing children the last time.”
Nox snorts and my eyes snap up to meet his. There’s a ring of black around them, his bond sitting just below the surface, and the smirk on his face is savage and mocking. “You think this is the first time they’ve killed children? Well, I suppose usually they just grab them. Half the Resistance is made up of stolen and brainwashed kids. Davies started taking them thirty years ago. Those Gifted you killed today are those kids… they’re just old enough now that you didn’t think twice.”
My stomach drops so quickly that I think I’m going to puke all over Atlas’ shoes, my head spinning and my moral compass once again taking a hit.
Gryphon’s temper snaps and he gets right up in Nox’s face, crossing the invisible lines that they usually leave securely in place. “Don’t fucking say that shit to her! If you’re worried about what’s happening, then deal with it. She is not your fucking punching bag. North won’t save you this time.”
Atlas’ arms tighten around me, and I realize I’m shaking. I killed all of those men and women. I killed them. Without thought, I just ripped all of their souls out of their bodies. They could have been anyone.
Children and parents, siblings, every last one of them have family somewhere, and I just… didn’t fucking care.
I really am the monster they all called me.
I’m the fucking monster.
Gryphon pulls me around again and cups my chin. “Go find Gabe. We’ll finish off here and get the gates secured again. We have another Shield on the way. You go to Gabe. Ignore all of this shit, Bonded. It’s all just bullshit that doesn’t matter anyway. They came here to kill us all, you’ve done nothing wrong.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gabe
I can’t see Oli from where I am in my shifted form, but Gryphon’s reassurance filtering into my brain that he’s heard from her, that she’s alive and ripping people’s souls out left and right, is the only thing keeping me from abandoning the people here and running to her. The impulse to find and covet her is strong, but I have a job to do and I need to trust the rest of the Bond Group.
It’s a good thing too, because there’s a lot of Healers and low level Neuro types running towards me for safety that would be decimated by the gifts being thrown around.
There’s a Charge around here somewhere, blowing holes in the sides of buildings, and I’m feeling particularly shitty about it after a week of working on the damn things.
I have to shift back into human form to call out to the terrified crowd and direct them to safety. They blink at me like rabbits caught in headlights, a giant naked guy will do that to a person, but I open the doors up to the school to usher the newcomers in and they go quickly enough. I send them down to the storm cellar underneath the building with the rest of the Gifted that I’ve found and stashed under there. It’s mostly women and children and Top Tier idiots who are too scared to fight for our town and our community.