“Get the Creator to safety!” somebody nearby roars over the screaming. I search for the owner of the voice, but it’s too hard to find anything stable to focus onto.
Jonah’s grip on my hand turns ironclad as we attempt to wade through the mass of panic in front of us. So many people are crying, others shaking, some raging ... and all I can think is how I’ve failed them all so completely. All these plans we just drafted mean nothing. I should have killed Enlilkian when I had the chance, should have laid him bare and wished him no more, but instead I’d fallen apart like a china doll.
I can’t let that happen today. Not now, not when so much and so many are at risk. There’s no way I’m going to go hide when people are in danger. It’s time to take care of this asshole once and for all.
Flakes of plaster transition into chunks raining down upon us. Karnach, long hallowed and revered in the Magical world, is disintegrating right before our eyes. I can’t let this happen, either. Just as I stretch my hand out to rebuild and solidify the walls, an explosion rocks the building so hard nearly everyone falls to the ground, myself and Jonah included. My husband throws his body over mine as we go down, and all I can think is how I shouldn’t let him do this. I can’t let him get hurt. He cannot be hurt because of me. I should be the one on top of him.
Enlilkian wants him dead. And I will die myself before that comes to be.
Amidst the quivering dust surrounding us, fresh, hysterical shrieking fills our ears and then ... laughter.
Oh gods, I know that laughter.
“Knock, knock!” Enlilikian’s voice rises above the din of terror. “Anybody home?” And then another explosion fills our ears until they ring painfully.
A man near us breaks into noisy tears as he babbles about the end of the days, and how it’s finally reached us here in Annar. Others join in, and I’m confused, so very, very confused and angry all at the same time. Have these people forgotten that they’re the most powerful beings in the universe? Why are they cowering? They’re the Council—the most powerful of the powerful. These are our leaders, yet they’re acting like a pack of confused, scared children who don’t know their asses from their heads.
Jonah must be on the same page, same paragraph, hell, same word even, because when the two of us get up, his voice carries throughout the assembly hall, all confidence and steadiness I envy in the face of such horrors. “Everyone, you need to get up, dust yourselves off, and remember who you are. You are not helpless. For gods’ sakes, you are Magicals. Act like it.”
A Faerie whose name I don’t know whisper-shrieks, “Those things are here to kill us!”
“Our ancestors defeated them before.” I’m amazed at how unruffled he sounds, like he’s had years and years of practice leading scared people through difficult times. “Our ancestors kicked these things’ asses when they were at full strength. The Elders are no longer at full strength. So, unless you want to roll over and offer them your lives right now, I suggest you get up and do something. Fight back, godsdammit!”
Several people, now on their feet, pump their fists in rallied agreement. Maccon Lightningriver, a gash on his temple dripping blood down his handsome face, stumbles toward us. Thank goodness he’s here to back us up, and yet ... gods. Where’s a Shaman when you need them?
“Whatever you need,” he says to us, “I will back you up one hundred percent.”
A smattering of people surge forward claiming the same as Jonah and Mac knock fists against one another. There are a lot of people hurt, though, and so much blood. There are also way too many still looking at Jonah like he’s crazy to even suggest we should fight back. Too many crying about how they’re going to die. Too many suggesting we surrender.
Un-fricking-believable.
“I can’t believe this.” I slam a palm against the wall closest to me and fortify Karnach’s wall. Somewhere in the distance, an angry howl sounds, like Enlilkian knows I’m not going to simply hand him my head on a platter. Good. “We. Are. The. Council. Are you telling me that only the Guard can fight?”