Spread out. Surround him and stop him from escaping.
Our guides moved first. I followed in Cerberus’ shadow. Que tried to snarl, but it wasn’t quite successful. The right side of his cheek and lips had been burnt, and the skin wasn’t healed enough for the facial muscles to move.
He lunged for me, but the wind which buffeted between my body and the other seven girls knocked him back. I continued to pummel him with the air element, pushing down with the power between us. I looked around for Eva, hoping she was preparing to move toward him. My eyes flicked about, but I couldn’t see the Earth half.
I’m cloaking her, Sapha said.
Sure enough, as I focused, the ripples in the air gave me a brief idea where Eva was. She was creeping forward while Que remained distracted by the cyclone. Lugi, her lycan, was holding her place within the elemental circle.
“Cerberus, hold the wind for me,” I said.
Sure enough, as the hellhound rested both heads onto me, I could feel my place in the circle shift. The energy still swirled through me, but I wasn’t actively holding a mass of wind.
I stepped into the center, crossing over to stand before Que. If he was focused on me, he would never look for Eva. He expected me to be the one to attack; he knew I was powerful.
“You chose the wrong side,” I yelled over the wind, ignoring the tendrils of my hair which whipped around me. “And you have lost any chance you had with your son.”
The former Abernath princeps was a tough old asshat. He blasted out with enough energy to push back the wind, and then he was on his feet again. His power continued to battle against the elemental push from the girls.
“I love my son. Everything I have ever done was to make him stronger. To make him a leader. The male you know today is because of me.”
Not freaking likely.
“Brace is an amazing leader and Walker, not to mention a beautiful soul. But that isn’t because of you; it’s in spite of you. You gave him strength, but he’s the one who chose to do good with it.”
He sneered, “You think such simple thoughts. Good, evil, right, wrong. These are not real concepts. There’s just power. There’s just control. There’s a reason that some of us are above others. It’s our duty to keep control.”
He’d lost his freaking mind.
Eva was right behind him then. I couldn’t see much in her expression, but I sensed her fear as she reached for the Walker.
I stepped even closer. I was just beyond his arm’s length. But if he lunged for me, I would be in trouble.
“You’re going to die today,” I said. “Your essence will be reborn, and I hope in the next life the Walkers with your energy choose to do something better. You’re a waste.”
As I let him know exactly how I felt, Eva reached out and grasped onto his neck, right in the bare skin between his coat and hair line. Time stood still for a second.
Que seemed stunned as he blinked a few times, before letting out a harsh expletive. As he started to spin, trying to dislodge the female attached to him, I lurched forward and managed to punch him once in the mouth. My fist throbbed. Dude had a jaw just like his son. Hard as brick.
Que reached up and rubbed at the trickle of blood which marred his lower lip. “You’re going to pay for that, bitch.”
Bring it. I settled in, knowing I was about to get my ass kicked. I’d fought Brace before, and was no match for him at all. Que was just as good as his son. Of course, against Brace I hadn’t used my power.
Just as Que came in for the fight, Eva still attached to his back and trying to free the souls, Cerberus was in front of me. The hellhound whipped his hind legs around and booted Que right in the gut.
I can’t free them, Abby. I feel them, but there’s no way to sever the connection. It’s like a sticky glue holding them down. Eva sounded hysterical.
I knew she felt very connected to the ghosts she saw.
Don’t worry; we’ll figure it out. Now get away from him, Eva. Hurry.
I saw the blur as her shadowed form fell away from the Walker, and scurried across the ground.
She’s clear, Delane said.
Great, time to focus on Que. Who was coming straight back at me, hands out. I could sense he was going to use his touch of death this time. An idea sprang into my head, and without considering all the consequences I severed the connection between the fourteen of us.
The howl of wind died away, the cyclonic circle disappeared, and the silence was almost deafening.
It stunned Que.
He halted his run and swiveled his head as if trying to figure out what he was missing.
I didn’t hesitate. I sent forth my tether, aiming to connect to the souls which Eva saw littering Que’s body. I willed it to connect. To find some way to tear the energy free and release it to the universe.