Her eyes were otherworldly now. The power arcing off her skin. The hair on his arms stood straight up.
I got this. And stay behind me.
Give me a forty-five-second lead. I need to lay down some fire and the rest just got into position.
She nodded and he had no choice but to put her immediate safety from his mind.
Helenas heart raced and her mind reeled. Shed never brought so much power into herself, not even when she stopped that bomb. But something about her link to Faine had grounded her. She felt the power rushing through her, knew it could burn her out and leave her brain-dead. But she held the reins.
She gave him his forty-five seconds and gunfire began to fill the air. She blocked it all out except to be sure to stay out of the line of their fire. Her focus was on the two remaining trucks and the deafening percussion of the chunk, chunk, chunk of the bullets hitting the pavement and the walls of nearby buildings.
They saw her coming and she let it go. Let them see her full of magick. Let herself be the monster they were frightened enough of that theyd attack a neighborhood filled with innocents.
Theyd tried education. Theyd tried diplomacy. Theyd even fought back and used threats. But PURITY and their buddies kept coming. They would keep coming until all the Others were dead because thats the only thing PURITY wanted.
So shed be sure they understood if they wanted that, it would be their bodies at the morgue.
She raised her hands and drew more power. The city had its own sort of energy and she pulled it from the people, from the buildings and cars, from the stored energy in the roads and sidewalks. She drew from the Font as well.
And then she spoke, and turned it on them. Focused on those guns. Made it hot. Made it so hot she knew the metal was softening. She heard a scream. Heard yells to get back. But they shot at her. Before she could shift and shield herself, three bullets tore through her thigh. Her hip was shattered with a fourth.
But she kept standing. Kept sending power at them until the screams stopped. Until the bullets stopped. Until she couldnt stand anymore and her legs buckled.
The ringing in her ears lasted a while. Faine picked her up, holding her against his body. His heart beat so fast she worried. She knew he was yelling her name, but she couldnt hear. She just put her finger on his lips and shook her head.
She said, Im going to live.
He frowned and she knew he growled but she couldnt hear it. Couldnt hear the sirens. Then the police came with the FBI and they tried to arrest everyone, including the people inside the enclave.
She could sort of hear at that point as one of the enclave medics packed the wounds on her leg.
No. She shouted this from where she lay in a pool of her own blood. If you come in here with weapons drawn, we will defend ourselves.
Like you did with these humans? The cop waved at the molten metal and the mass of bodies.
Yes. We did nothing wrong. They came here, they attacked. They shot us, they tried to harm children. We told you what would happen. And you kept it up. You kept on and on until we had no other choice. You brought this on yourself. We will not let you harm our young. We will not. So you need to figure out who the enemy is here and act accordingly.
Her lips tingled.
Gil Anderson shoved his way to the front. Christ, Helena. Why is it that every time I see you, youre covered in blood? Stand down. Let the ambulances in. This is a crime scene, lets get on it.
She needs a hospital. Faine wouldnt let go of her.
Yeah, I think I do. It was harder and harder to talk.
A paramedic approached. Were going to get you loaded up and to the hospital, maam. He smiled. Im a witch too. I promise to take good care of you. Your, um, guy can ride along.
You should stay here and manage the scene. Let the clan know whats happening.
The heat of morphine traveled up her arm and through her body. Oh, thats nice.
Faine frowned. Im not leaving you. Sophie can handle this from here. Ill make calls on the way.
They loaded her into the ambulance and she was only going to let her eyes close once, but it was very hard to get them back open.
So she gave Faine orders with her eyes closed. But it seemed like once she closed her eyes it was really a lot harder to talk.
He bent down and kissed lips that were far too pale. If he didnt have the link with her and her life force hadnt been so strong, hed have been far more panicked than he was.
And it was already pretty bad. The smell of her blood and pain drove his beast so close to the surface hed had to struggle harder than he had in centuries to keep it back.
He called Gennessee and told David what was going on. David assured him theyd handle everything and to just focus on Helena. He said Rain would meet them at the hospital.
He called Lark.
Lark, its Faine. Helena . . .
His voice must have betrayed him worse than hed thought because she gasped. What? Oh my goddess, what?
Shes been shot. Four times. Shes lost a great deal of blood. Your mother will meet us at the hospital in case she needs a transfusion. Theres more. The enclave was stormed. She used her magick. Im frankly not even sure what she did, but none of them will be a threat ever again. I need to go, were arriving at the hospital now. Your dad has more details.
Im coming down. Take care of her. Lark hung up and he turned back to his female, covered in blood and drugged to the gills.
Chapter 27
SHE came to several hours later.
Faine rested, his head on her bed. Her hospital bed. She remembered then what had happened.
He looked up, a weary smile on his face. Youre awake.
I am. I guess Im alive huh?
Youre forbidden to joke about such things.
Is everyone all right? At the enclave?
One of the guards got out of surgery about twenty minutes ago. Theyre saying hes got a good chance of survival. Other guards surround this room and this wing of the hospital. You were shot four times. Your hip is shattered so theyre going to have to replace it. You lost a great deal of blood. Your mother gave you a lot of hers.
Tears ran down his face and she got worried. Is my mother all right?
Why are you worried about her? My goddess, Helena! Shes fine. Shes in another room, resting. He burst from his chair and started to pace.
Why are you mad at me?
You. Could. Have. Died. I was pinned down and you looked all right. You didnt even fall, hell, you didnt even register pain at first or Id have felt it through the link. And then you were gushing blood and I couldnt get to you fast enough and fuck fuck fuck, Helena. I cant even think about how scared I was.
Im sorry. And she was. She could only imagine if it were him whod been shot and how that would have made her feel.
I know you are. But youd do it again.
Well, next time Id shield myself better. Obviously.
He muttered something in his language and she caught a few choice words about crazy women.
Lark burst into the room at that moment and threw herself at Helena, who screamed at the feeling of her leg and hip being jostled. Faine lifted Lark up and off and there was some snarling when Simon came in and saw this happening.
Lark barked orders at them both as a nurse rushed in and, undeterred by the two giant men and the blue-haired woman, gave them all a lecture about jostling, alarming, or disturbing Helena in any way that was detrimental to her recovery.
They attacked four enclaves. They killed kids, Hellie. Little ones.
I thought we agreed this could wait? Simon sighed.
I told you not to say anything. Faine inserted himself between the sisters.
She needs to know. Shed want to know.
Its too late anyway. I do know now. Tell me the rest.
There are riots in Seattle, Bakersfield, Miami, Cincinnati, Boston and Chicago. The Others are on the warpath and every time the humans push, we push back harder. Its a bloody damn mess. The data sticks you brought back were full of stuff. Plans to attack different cities and groups. Information about the purchase of large amounts of explosives. Biological weapons! They had this silver stuff, like from a damned movie, it exploded and sent tiny shards of silver into the air. They tried to use it on some Vampires up in Alaska. But no one ever heard from them again.
Ha. She bet. Vampires didnt mess around.
Whats going on in DC? Her tongue was thick and felt two sizes too big for her mouth. Whatever substance they had her on really did a number on her. But the horrible pain in her leg and hip when Lark had come in had settled back on a far distant shore so she was all right with that.
Those plates you sent? On the trucks that attacked the enclave? One was registered to a bigwig in PURITY. PURITY and Humans First have been tied to multiple attacks. Tosh is urging the president to finally make a stand. He and several others on Capitol Hill have demanded an investigation into what part Senator Hayes played in all this. His name is all over that data. Bastard. Thereve been some pings from the spells you laid at his office and at PURITY, but theres not a lot we can use legally. We did find the location of a few of the turned witches and a mage or two who escaped. The wolves are handling that for us. Larks smile was vicious.
Good. But whats wrong with the president? The country is on fire and she hasnt spoken yet?
Her chief of staff did about two hours ago. He announced shed be issuing a statement later today. The governors of the states involved have spoken out, urging calm. Right now it looks like humans, most of them anyway, are coming down against PURITY for this mess.
It was hard to stay awake. Faine took her hand and squeezed gently. Rest. Youre doped up, alamah.
I have stuff . . .
He smiled and kissed her. You will have stuff when you wake up again. Until then, your sister and her big mouth will have things handled.
* * *
TOSHIO had had enough with waiting. Hed been standing around in an anteroom of the Oval Office for the last hour. And before that, another hour earlier in the day. Hed left and given multiple press conferences demanding an investigation of Marlon Hayes.
Hed been kept apprised of Helenas condition as well as the status of the thousands of Others and humans whod been injured in the riots. Insanity, all of it. And the president had remained silent and unreachable behind closed doors with the attorney general and White House staff for most of the day.
But he was totally and completely done with this nonsense. When the door opened and the attorney general came out, Tosh simply swept past the secretary and into the Oval Office.
Madam President, Id like a moment of your time.
Those sharp green eyes of hers landed on him. Senator Sato, Im really quite busy.
Pardon my bluntness here, Madam President, but youve been too busy to meet with me for months as this situation has grown worse and worse. He tossed multiple newspapers and sheets of paper detailing all the riots onto her desk. How much longer will you remain silent on this? How many more children will die because youre afraid to anger PURITY? They didnt vote for you to begin with, theyll never be all right with a female leader. But millions of Americans did. You won this office. The nation is starving for leadership right now. Be a leader. Do your job.
He knew he was going too far, but someone needed to say it.
Senator Sato, Ive got this. She stood. I wanted the people of this country to work this out. I wanted them to have a national discussion on this so we could move forward without large segments of the population feeling theyd been ignored or steamrolled. I waited too long. I know that. My biggest mistake was in trusting those in the House and Senate to manage this in an appropriate way.
Senator Hayes has betrayed his office. Hes got to be dealt with.
She raised a brow his way. Youre not unbiased in this matter.
I dont need to be. I didnt truck with terrorists and aid them in attacking American citizens. He did.
She shrugged. Youre right of course. The attorney general has sent people over to have him picked up and brought in for questioning. Hell be investigated, as will others who worked with PURITY. You know, of course, that a lot of the evidence weve been given is inadmissible.
He did. Damning though it might be, the collection of the data couldnt have been legal. But there were enough people whose lives were on the line at this point. Hed been a lawyer long enough, he knew how it worked. Someone would roll first and that would lead to more people doing the same.
People will turn on one another. Well get him that way.
The attorney general agrees with that assessment. She grabbed her jacket and put it on. Ive got a statement to make to the American people. Come along if youd like to watch.
He most certainly did.
* * *
FAINE turned the television in her room on and everyone gathered to watch.
The president walked to the podium, looked into the camera and spoke.
My fellow Americans. The last six months have been revolutionary for not only our nation, but for the entire world as we thought we knew it. With the revelation of the Others, we realized our world was far more complicated than wed imagined.
And the Others, our neighbors and friends, were reeling from the unexpected and horrible deaths of those in their communities. We struggled as a nation to understand this new reality. To find a way to balance our beliefs and social rules with what we now knew.
I have held off speaking during this time because I wanted a national discussion to take place. An honest exchange of ideas. And I want to say how proud Ive been of most Americans in that department. Most of you, no matter your personal beliefs, have been able to talk about these issues without harming anyone else.