Chapter 463
A loud explosion almost brought me out of my trance, but then I remembered Christian’s grenades and figured that must’ve been what I’d heard. Hopefully, he didn’t just blow up Stonehenge. We’d probably be in a lot of trouble if we wrecked this place. I didn’t want to find out.
The next sound I heard that didn’t fit with the battle was a popping, fizzing sound, and then a whoosh of air. I already knew what it was before Brandon said, “It’s opening.”
I wished I could open my eyes to see what was going on, but I hadn’t figured out how to do that and keep the energy flowing yet. When I heard a snarl, I decided I’d have to see what was happening. If that demon baby was headed our way, I wanted to know.
I cracked open one eye just in time to see the thing launching itself at my sister. “Cadence—be careful!”
It was too late. The creature had its claws in my sister’s neck. I was about to let the shield go completely and rush over to help her, but then she pulled it off and twisted it around so its own arms were holding it captive. It started to shriek and wiggle, trying to break free, but Cadence is strong. Across the field, Holland screamed, “Cadence Findley! Let go of my child!”
She was out of luck. Maybe she shouldn’t have let her child run through a battlefield. My sister was basically balling the thing up now. “A little help, Cass?” she called, and before I even knew what she had in mind, she flung the baby toward where the portal opening was beginning to form in the middle of the stones.
I grabbed it with my mind and centered it so that as soon as there was a hole, it was sucked in, writhing, clawing, and screaming but getting nowhere. I needed to do the same thing with Stewart because Holland’s baby was likely a demon, and that wouldn’t count for the one left behind rule. It had to be something else.
Holland’s scream was so loud and furious, the ground beneath our feet shook. If she wasn’t outraged before, she certainly was now. I had a feeling she’d be coming for us herself now.
I saw a flash to my right, where the portal opening was and then two familiar forms falling to the ground. I didn’t have time to be too excited to see Jamie and Elliott, though, because Holland was coming, and the portal was starting to close.
“We need to hurry!” Cadence yelled, running the few steps she’d been knocked away from me to get Stewart. Her neck was bleeding. She had almost made it to Stewart, who was about five feet from me on the ground, when a flash of fire lit the space between us ablaze.
I sputtered on the smoke for a second until it dissipated. When it cleared, Hamish Stewart was a pile of ash on the grass.
Now, my sister was screaming at Holland across the battlefield, calling her all kinds of names. I couldn’t blame her for being angry, but there were other Vampires to toss in there. She just needed to hurry and pick one. It concerned me more at the moment that Holland could throw balls of fire.
She was throwing more of them now—at everyone. Thankfully, Jamie was up and putting them out as quickly as she lit our teammates on fire. It was great to see him. I needed to concentrate....
Heather threw a shield. I think she’d been trying to this whole time but hadn’t been able to until now. Holland’s fireballs were no longer reaching their targets. She’d have to draw on more power if she was going to get them through.
We still needed someone to toss into the portal before it closed.
Hines. I saw him near the stones. He would make a lovely trade for Aaron. I was just about to scream the information to my sister, but she was already moving that direction.
She wasn’t going to make it. He was too far away. I might be able to pick him up and toss him in before the portal closed, but it would be hard. I was just about to try when out of nowhere, something plowed into him, picking him up off of his feet. I didn’t see who it was, only a flash of black, before the portal closed.
Cadence was standing near where Hines had last been, staring at the spot where he’d disappeared. Maybe I let down my shield a little because I was also confused, or maybe Heather did. But the next thing I knew, my sister’s arm was on fire.
It was out almost as quickly as it had caught, but it was obvious while it had been burning it hurt. I could hear her sputtering and choking on the smoke for that split second of agony. Holland had messed with the wrong Hunters. Not only was Aaron not coming out this time, Cadence’s favorite jacket was ruined. She was headed straight for Holland now.
I wanted to help, to charge with her, but she didn’t need me to do that. She needed a shield, the best shield I could give her. So I concentrated on that again, keeping my eyes open this time. Elliott fell into step on one side of her, Margie on the other, and they met the monster head on.
My powers were not working against Holland herself, but I was managing to keep her from strengthening the rest of the Vampires. Everywhere else, our team was winning. Holland was more vicious than the rest of them put together, and her fireballs were dangerously close to hitting the trio as they charged toward her. Jamie was nearby, but as Cadence had just found out, it would still hurt for a few seconds if Holland managed to hit them.
We were faster than Holland anticipated. I don’t think she’d seen any of us since we got that second dose of serum. Cadence was prepared to take her out, but her plans got messed up when the ground around Holland started to shake.
It was disturbing, to say the least. It felt like an earthquake, and nothing I tried could counteract it. Then, Holland began to morph, growing taller, wider, scalier. Before my very eyes, the Vampire Queen changed herself into a freaking dragon.
