I wiped my brow, squinted to keep my focus on the beast as it whisked away from the junkyard. “Bring him back, safe, or I swear, I’ll shoot you out of the sky!”
The creature hovered over the trees, at least eighty feet off the ground. Hunter screamed and flailed in his grasp. I could hear the lad begging for his life.
That was when the creature laughed again and looked right at me.
Then it flung the boy toward the lance-sharp field of forest and death.
At that instant—when the beast cast Hunter to the ground and a sharp gasp swept through the crowd—the sky cracked with my second round. The cartridge blasted straight through the monster’s chest, stained the sky red with his blood.
And now the beast was tumbling to the ground too.
Then the black hurricane that had been churning overhead slowed and stopped as bits of wing and tooth began to fly off; one by one, each beast had finally found a way to break the spell.
They were all soaring down now, hungry and mad, toward the people that scattered, helpless, before them.
Despite my efforts, the feeding was about to begin.
Chapter 81
Evil for Good
Thane:
Evil for good. I had watched, helpless, when shots cracked through the night sky. When the music of a hundred Darklings had sparked around me, cutting through the incantation like knives. When my own brother, River, had broken free, wings bristling, his body straight as an arrow as he sailed to the ground, trying to steal the lad we both wanted. But then the sky had burned bright and red with his blood.
River on the ground. Dead.
And now the tumultuous, crowded sky began to break up into black splinters. I shot a quick glance to the distant earth, sprinkled with white snow, covered with humans all looking toward heaven. Soon the northern barbarians would swoop down and claim what was supposed to be mine.
Be damned, all of you.
I cast a Veil, stronger than any I’d ever woven; dome-shaped and invisible, it would open only for me. I set the shrine-like structure near the edge of the wood, then I sailed to the ground, toward the man who had just killed my blood brother.
Skin for skin.
I flew so fast that I was nothing but a rushing, screaming wind. All the humans startled as I zipped past.
Evil for good.
This night shall become good for me, though you meant it for evil.
Then, as I drew closer, I flipped end over end and landed feet first on the village sheriff’s back. I kicked that primitive weapon out of the human’s hands. Then I followed with a swift blow, using strength from my recent feeding frenzy, and I tossed the man in a wide arc, over the junkyard and away.
What’s mine is mine and ever shall be.
There was one more thing that I needed to do, before it was too late, before all the other Darklings broke free from the incantation that still frittered through the skies. With a second burst of energy, I swung wide over the junkyard and the surrounding field, all of my attention now focused on Maddie. Like the other humans, she stood staring at the heavens, an expression of horror on her face—perhaps because of what I had just done to the sheriff. With arms outstretched, I flew toward her, my movements still so fast that no one had time to react, not even the dread werebeast that growled at her side. The dog-creature sniffed the air, tried to figure out where I was, but couldn’t. Madeline was the only one who seemed able to sense my presence as I approached. She turned, frightened, and stared as if she recognized me, though I was only a blur of dark color, and in that half second she pushed her son behind her, to shield and protect him.
There, there, my love, no need to hide the child from me.
I seized them both, one under each arm, and then I shot across the field, just an arm’s length above the humans. No one saw us. Only a vague disquiet stirred their gaze in our direction after we passed overhead, as if they each sensed that danger was near enough to touch. Through the sky, toward my lair, until we reached my hidden sanctuary. There, I dropped both Maddie and Tucker inside, where no one could hear or see them.
Then I went out.
Hunting for more.
Chapter 82
Tumult of Black Wings
Elspeth:
A tumult of black wings crashed for space, churning up clouds and blocking out the moon. Pulled by invisible strings, I sailed through low clouds, unable to break away. My wings beat a frantic rhythm as I struggled to stay upright and I glanced down at the crowd of children, so far away. Jake was down there, staring up at me, an expression of fear on his face. Only a few moments ago, the sheriff had shot two Darklings from the sky. Their bodies had littered the ground, alongside the rubbish that filled the area. Then my cousin River had broken free from the spell and now both he and Hunter were dead.