I didn’t want to repeat that experience.
But the fact was, it annoyed me greatly to watch someone besides myself fight her and it irritated me to see how she outmatched her teammates. I was self-aware enough to know that such emotions meant—on some level—I had entered the danger zone.
I scowled as Jade used her empty magazine to bludgeon a werewolf in the head.
I should leave Magiford. If I left now this…weakness won’t progress. I could go visit Jargal—he needs to be rattled. I’m sure ruining his life for a few months would be amusing. Tiresome, but amusing.
If I left, life would continue as it had: a dreary, never-ending march I dragged myself through because of a stupid promise.
Gisila had stopped tapping her steering wheel and was now snarling into her cellphone.
Her lovely face was twisted with her anger—which was highly amusing to witness.
It is almost as much fun to watch Jade thwart others as it is to fight her.
I lazily looked back to the fight.
Jade’s team had clustered together, the vampire and werewolf guarding the wizard so she could chuck fire at incoming wolves. Jade moved around them, shoring up any weak spots. They were starting to show signs of weariness, but they were holding out admirably.
The task force werewolf didn’t even grimace in pain when one of the mercenaries in wolf form bit his arms. He just slammed it into the ground, then flung its lax body at an incoming mercenary.
The vampire streaked forward to kick a werewolf in the side, then stabbed it with a small dagger before she jumped back retreating from claws and teeth.
Jade shot one wolf, dodged another that lunged at her, and then grabbed a dagger from her thigh bandolier and stabbed it.
Behind the wizard, one of the wolves that had remained in human form unsteadily rose to his feet.
Impressive. The wizard hit him with a hefty lightning bolt. He must be quite strong to be standing. Apparently Gisila doesn’t skimp on her soldiers—
The werewolf pulled a knife from his belt, corrected his balance, then sprinted for the oblivious wizard, his footsteps covered by all the howls of injured wolves, the bangs of Jade’s bullets, and the alternative roar of fire and thunder as the wizard wielded her magic.
The wolf drew his arm—and the dagger—back, with the obvious intention of stabbing the wizard in the back.
A bang and he jerked backwards like a puppet dragged by its strings.
Jade had shot him in his frayed vest, stopping him just long enough so that she could move in and intercept him.
She kneed him in the groin, so he folded over, then grabbed the hand that he clenched his knife in and yanked a finger back at an angle that could break it. He dropped the knife.
She did this with one hand—she still had her handgun in the other, which proved to be a mistake when the wolf slumped to the ground awkwardly turning as he went down to face up towards Jade.
He yanked his hand free with his superior werewolf strength and scooped up his knife from where it had fallen on the ground next to him, then wildly stabbed at her, slicing through the arm of Jade’s uniform.
My teeth prickled—he’d drawn her blood.
I frowned and took a step towards her before I remembered Gisila and looked back at the irate dragon shifter. She’d gotten out of her car to talk with a scruffy looking man, who I assumed was one of the leaders of the mercenaries.
I looked back at Jade just in time to see her kick the wolf, getting her toe under his jaw so his head snapped back and he collapsed on the ground. She then plucked the knife from his grasp and put it in a pouch that hung from her belt.
She’s fine. Her healing powers will close that wound fast. She’ll be fine.
I shifted back and forth, uneasy.
Jade is far stronger than any of these werewolves, and there can’t be many more reinforcements. She’ll make it out of this fight just fine.
As confident as I was, there was an unsettled feeling in my gut that I really didn’t like. It made me question if it was really that important to keep Gisila unaware of my nightly alias.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Jade
Iput the knife, red with my blood, in one of the leather pouches on my vest—bagging it so none of the wolves could use it to threaten Tetiana.
“I’ve shed blood.” I called out.
“Yeah, I got that,” Tetiana growled as she struggled with a werewolf until Brody yanked it away from her. The mercenary must have gotten her—there was a wetness on the right and left legs of her uniform that hadn’t been there the last time I checked. (The smell of blood was so heavy in the air that I couldn’t even sense all the sources anymore.) I momentarily holstered my handgun so I could use both hands to check my newly acquired wound. It wasn’t a deep cut, so it wouldn’t take too long for my healing powers to kick in and stop the bleeding, but it was long, stretching up a good portion of my forearm.
I jumped backwards to avoid a wolf—which April fried with a lightning bolt—and simultaneously pulled out a roll of vet wrap I kept for situations like this.
I hurriedly wrapped my arm, then tore the wrap free and smoothed the top down to secure it as Brody grabbed two incoming wolves by their scruffs and banged their heads together.
The vet wrap wouldn’t do anything to help the wound, but it would contain the bleeding so my blood wouldn’t be a risk to Tetiana.
Our radios crackled with static, and Sarge’s voice boomed through the speakers.
“Back up en route. What is your current location, Team Blood?”
I yanked my radio free. “We’re still in the industrial part—”
A snarling wolf made it around Brody and leaped for me. Its teeth twinkled in the low light, and I could feel its hot breath. I jumped backwards but tripped on a fallen mercenary giving the wolf enough time to race after me and lunge at my injured arm.
I had my radio in the wrong hand to pull my gun, and I wasn’t sure I could pull a dagger in time, so I followed my instincts and slammed my radio down on the wolf’s head.
The wolf yelped, my radio shattered on impact, and I ducked to the side before I pulled out my handgun and shot the wolf in the flank.
This is bad. I’m starting to get sloppy.
Rather, the mercenaries were pushing us so hard we didn’t ever get even a moment to recover.
I confirmed the wolf was down before pointing myself towards my team. While I’d been focusing on my wound, a mercenary must have reached April—there was a new tear in her uniform. Brody and Tetiana were also looking battered.
We need help. Or we need to escape.
But even as the thought registered, a cluster of four mercenaries—all in their human forms—ran at us.
I shot the first two, but they were wearing body armor, so it slowed them down but didn’t stop them.
April threw balls of fire at the back two, but one of them dodged it while the second one flung himself to the ground to roll out the flames.