Chapter 462
“I don’t know why Dr. Stewart wouldn’t want to go into the portal.” So even Christian can be sarcastic. “I’m sure he’ll figure out a way to free himself before the demons come for his soul.” He laughed like a villain in a really bad B movie.
Stewart was restrained with the special kind of handcuffs Vampires can’t break. He also wore shackles and a whole mess of duct tape. He was trying to break free but was getting nowhere. “Why don’t you just let me float him in?” I looked at Christian when I said it, like maybe I meant him. Maybe I did.
“I would,” my sister said, “but I’m probably going to need a shield from you. Holland’s going to give this everything she’s got. And I don’t want any shifting or super strong Vampires if we can help it.”
“Heather can do it.”
Cadence looked past me to our new friend, who was between Brandon and Dax on my other side. Tara was back at the SUV with Amanda because she wasn’t authorized to be on this kind of a hunt yet. There were a few Guardians there with them, just in case.
“I’m sure she’ll help. If you see me struggling with Stewart, you can lend a hand, but I think I can do it.” Her eyes went up and down him like she was trying to decide how much he weighed. That wouldn’t matter. She could definitely lift him and throw him. It was a matter of getting a good grip and the perfect aim. I’d help her even if she didn’t want me to.
“I think we’ll find out whether you can do it or not soon enough.” Christian headed off to his position, on the other side of the portal, and I was glad to see him go. On the way here, my sister had told us all where she wanted us. Hannah was going all the way to the other side, and Kaycia and her peeps were on the north side of the field. Margie and Grant were down near Christian and Aurora. Cadence was keeping me, Brandon, Dax, and Heather with her on this side. A couple dozen other people I didn’t know were waiting for us. They’d be there to cover us so Cadence could get Stewart in and I could throw the shield. Cale was with us, too, though I wasn’t sure why.
There were over a hundred LIGHTS members on the field, maybe more. I didn’t think I’d ever seen this many of us in one place before. Kaycia had spoken to the people who take care of the historical site and convinced them that we would be doing some sort of a reenactment out here tonight, and it might get loud. They went right along with it, so we wouldn’t have to worry about authorities, even once things got loud. That was going to happen soon. I could feel an electricity in the air.
We weren’t alone. Across the field, the Vampires started to come into view. There were a lot of them, too, more than I imagined still existed. I jumped into a few heads and found out a lot of these bloodsuckers had recently been turned just to be here.
Holland stuck out against the backdrop of night. Wearing a red dress, with her hair flowing all around her, she looked like a demonic angel, floating in the air. I could see her eyes glowing even from here. Two red embers, full of hate.
In front of her, a creature scampered on all fours. At first, I thought she’d brought a dog or something, but then I noticed the red skin and realized it was her baby! Who brings a baby to a battlefield? The creature was running free, frolicking almost, out for blood. It definitely looked more like a demon than a Vampire. I didn’t know if I could kill a baby, even if it was huge and belonged to Holland. But then, if it came for me, I guess I’d do whatever I needed to.
Hines was hanging back, like he was petrified. I hoped my sister assigned some of the toughest LIGHTS team members to go after him because he needed to pay for all he’d done. I thought about all of the torture he’d inflicted on my cousin, Paul. Hines needed to end his horrendous reign as mad doctor to the queen on this field.
“All right, then. Let’s get this show on the road,” Cadence said to all of us at once, and Kaycia’s team opened fire. I threw my shield, and waited to see if it was working.
It wasn’t. The first spray of bullets did nothing, and soon enough, our first line was in hand-to-hand combat with the Vampires. This is not what I had in mind.
“What’s happening?” Cadence asked me.
I remembered the energy I’d felt when we arrived here. “I don’t know for sure, but I think Holland’s drawing some sort of power from the stones.” If that was the case, she’d have an unending source of energy. “I’m not sure there’s much I can do about that.”
“Can you tap into it?”
I hadn’t thought about it. My eyes widened at the idea. But I could feel it, so surely I could use it. All I said was, “Yeah,” and closed my eyes, noticing Brandon had stepped between me and the Vampires just as I began to concentrate.
I visualized the energy flowing through the ground and into my body and then saw myself shooting it out in front of me, like a beacon, into my shield. I could feel it pulsating inside of me, and then when it broke free, it was like it was streaming out of the top of my head. It was an amazing feeling, but it left me basically incapable of doing anything else. I hoped my sister didn’t need my help getting Hamish, who I’d had to drop, into the portal, and Brandon could keep me safe.
