Silhouette stepped aside, allowing Specter a clean shot.
Hawkins glanced down. The shotgun was at his feet. If he was lucky, he’d have enough time to duck, grab the weapon and pull the trigger. If he was really lucky, the shot would strike the man’s legs. But after that, no amount of luck would change his fate.
Specter took aim.
Outside, a shrill scream grew louder. Everyone looked toward the front of the house, from where the sound had come. The scream wasn’t getting louder, though. It was getting closer. A thunk above marked the man’s impact with the ceiling. He rolled down the slanted roof and fell past one of the shattered windows, hitting the ground outside with a thud.
Silhouette toggled his throat mic. “All teams report.”
The man was quiet for a moment, then turned his attention back to Hawkins. “Who’s out there?”
Before Hawkins could reply, several more screams filled the air. One by one, men slammed into the house. The first struck the outside wall, his shout cut short by a loud crack. The second man struck the roof and rolled off. The third man also struck the roof, but then toppled through one of the broken skylights and fell to the floor.
“Looks like there’s something worse than the BlackGuard out tonight,” Hawkins said and immediately regretted it.
Silhouette lifted his own weapon at Hawkins’s head, finger on the trigger. But he never got a chance to pull it. A shotgun blast struck the man, throwing him across the room.
“Now, Mark!” Joliet shouted from the second floor balcony. She pumped the shotgun and fired a second time, striking one of the less armored regular soldiers, killing him instantly. Hawkins crouched, looped his finger around the shotgun trigger and yanked it back. The weapon fired, shredding furniture and striking the largest of the BlackGuard in the legs. The shot was intended for Specter, but the lithe man had already dived away. The shot still had the desired effect, though. While the big man fell, Hawkins dove away, hiding behind the large, stone, fireplace chimney.
Joliet got off one more shot before the counter attack began. The BlackGuard didn’t just fire at her, they shot up through the floor, their KRISS rifles making short work of the wood. Joliet was forced back, diving into a bedroom.
The chimney burst into a cloud of chipped stone, as bullets tore around Hawkins. He ducked back, waiting for a break in the fire. The break came a moment later when two more men fell through the skylights.
What the hell is happening out there?
He got his answer a moment later when the front door was kicked off its hinges, and Maigo entered. Not only had he never seen the girl look angry before, he’d never seen anyone this angry in his life. She looked possessed. She looked...like Nemesis in human form.
“Stop!” Maigo shouted. Her voice was so loud and commanding that everyone obeyed. But that didn’t stop everyone in the room—including the recovered Silhouette, whose armor had protected him—from aiming their weapons at the girl.
“Maigo,” Hawkins yelled. “Get out of here!”
“Maigo?” someone asked, sounding surprised, but Hawkins couldn’t see who had said it. Instead he heard the staccato roar of a KRISS rifle, followed by Silhouette bellowing, “What the fuck!” and the chaos of returning fire, none of which was directed at Hawkins.
Hawkins stepped out from hiding, shotgun brought to bear, and took in the scene. One of the BlackGuard laid on the floor, blood oozing from his head. The rest of them were firing across the living room at Specter, who had just dived into the kitchen, sliding behind the island.
Maigo took hold of the nearest man, one of the regular soldiers, with surprising speed. She lifted him by his arms and threw him into the ceiling two stories above. He fell back down, limp.
More men poured into the cabin through the back, ready to join the fight, but several were cut down by Specter, hiding in the kitchen.
Joliet opened fire from the second floor, striking one of the newcomers, but drawing heavy fire. She fell back with a shout of pain, clutching her side.
Lilly stirred on the floor, her eyes snapping open, taking in the scene. She let out a screeching cry, but she was still too weak to move. Maigo crouched beside her, eyes wary for danger. But the BlackGuard and their support were focused on people with guns, which Hawkins remembered, included him. He fired the shotgun at the men, striking two of the regular soldiers.
Silhouette returned fire, but missed as Hawkins ducked back behind the chimney.
Over the roar of gunfire from both sides of the battle, high pitched screams tore through the air from the back of the house. Men retreated from the back door, pursued by three large black cats. Lilly had called in reinforcements. The tide of this encounter had shifted dramatically, and everyone knew it, including Silhouette.
The BlackGuard leader slapped something against the kitchen’s outer wall, ducked and covered his ears.