The Sacrifice (41 page)

 “Think of your mother, son,” Oz
said.

Cy
hesitated, and Oz realized he
’
d reached through the red haze of fury that had
consumed him. The comment about his mother had slowly brought him back from the
edge.

“Mother
will not be queen for long,” Cy said. “I
’
m going to accept my
kingship. Then it will be my decision alone to end your pathetic life. I will
look in your eyes, while I rip out your cold blooded heart and shove it down
your throat. I assure you, my face will be the last thing you see before you
die.” Cy slowly removed the gun from Vind
’
s chin.

Seconds
later, massive gunfire erupted outside the castle. A cruel smile crossed Vind
’s lips.
“Sounds like my army has arrived.”

Cy
turned and bashed Vind in the face with the butt of the gun. Blood splattered
as he staggered backward into Miles. “You got anything else to say?” Cy
threatened. Vind didn
’
t answer, busy trying to stop the blood pouring
from his nose.

Cy
’
s
leg buckled. Oz caught him and helped him sit back on the table.

A loud explosion rattled glass bottles
stored inside the cabinets.

“Sounds
like they
’
re inside,
” Oz said. Riana grabbed his arm, and her panicked expression broke
his heart.

“You have to take Cy and get him out
of here.”

 Cy held her face in his hands.
“How many times do I have to say this, not—without—you.” He kissed her
forehead.

“Cy,
please.” Huge tears rolled down her face. “You
’
re in no shape to
fight.”

“Maybe not, but I can still shoot.
Baby, you know I would give you anything, except this. We go out of here
together, or we die together. Those are your choices.”

Oz
’
s
phone buzzed. He put Kam on speaker.

“I
think we have everything de-activated. It
’
s been slow,
considering it
’
s a battlefield out here.

Oz
took a deep breath. “Kam, you can
’
t
think
, you have to be sure.”

“We have checked, and double-checked.
Both Iggy and I feel secure that we got them all.”

“Okay.
The three of you get up here. We have Vind, and Cy is on his feet. Grab a few
more Protectors on the way. I
’
m sure we
’
ll have to shoot our
way out of this place.”

“Oh,
that
’
s a given,
” Kam replied.

Riana spoke up, “Tell them to make
sure nothing happens to Iggy.”

Kam
snorted. “Trust me. He
’
s the safest one of us. That boy has some
serious,
mad skills.
”

Kam, Kyra, and Iggy came through the
clinic door. Riana hobbled over to Iggy and pulled him into a tight hug. “Are
you all right?”

“Yep.
I
’
m as ready to leave as an October tree. It
’
s
getting rough out there.” Iggy stiffened and pulled from Riana
’
s
arms.

He
strode over to where Vind stood. “Looks like you need some help washing that
blood off.” Iggy made a noise deep in his throat, as done when someone brings
up phlegm. When he
’
d gathered a sufficient amount, he spat it in Vind
’
s
face. “That
’
s for Lily,
” he said through clenched teeth.

Riana flashed Iggy a proud smile as he
turned to walk away.

Raw
fury flashed in Vind
’
s eyes. “Why you little—”

Before
another word left his mouth, Kyra rushed forward and planted her foot firmly in
his stomach. Vind flew across the floor on his rear. “That
’
s
also for Lily,” she added, her face a mask of disgust.

Cy
smiled through cracked lips. “Pick up my piece of shit brother. We
’
re
going to use him to shield Riana on the way out. The only way they
’
re
going to get to her, is to shoot him first.”

Miles
glanced at Cy. “Brother, they
’
ll have to go through all of us before touching
either of you.”

“The
only way that
’
s happening is for you to stand between me and
Vind,” Riana said.

Cy
’
s
eyes softened. “Of course, baby.” He brushed his hand across her cheek. “Vind
will never touch you again.”

As
sweet as his comment was, it caused a stabbing pain around Riana
’
s
heart. Vind had already destroyed her happiness with this wonderful man.

The small group left the clinic and
headed down the hall toward the back stairs. With guns drawn, the Protectors
surrounded Riana, Cy and Iggy.

Oz
shoved Vind along by the back of his neck. “Vind, this is your last chance to
deactivate that thing around Riana
’
s neck. If it blows,
you
’
ll die with the rest of us.”

A
momentary look of doubt crossed Vind
’
s face before he
spoke. “I
’
ll take my chances.”

“You
seriously think you
’
re getting out of this, don
’
t
you?” Oz said.

One
side of Vind
’
s mouth turned into an exaggerated sneer. “There
’
s
always a possibility.”

When
they reached the kitchen, Kam and Miles checked the windows to see what was
going on around the back entrance. “We have six around the door and two at each
window,” Miles reported. “Once we
’
re outside, there
’
s a couple of hundred
feet of open ground to cover before reaching the forest.”

Oz
called some Protectors on his com-link. “We are leaving through the back. Clear
the rear entrance. Once you
’
ve take them out, clear a path to the woods.”

Seconds
later, gunfire erupted outside the door. Vind
’
s soldiers shouted
curses and orders, anger and fear in their voices. As soon as the shooting
started, Kam and Miles broke the windows and started taking out targets at the
edge of the woods.

A Protector’s voice came over the
comm-link. “All clear.”

As
the fighting moved farther away, they eased out the rear door. More of Vind
’
s
soldiers came from around front. The Protectors surrounding their group
bulldozed them down immediately. Riana held her breath as a cloud of death-dust
filled the air.

Two Protectors were lying on the
ground wounded. They stopped long enough to get them to their feet. Although
neither was doing much walking. Miles and Kam dragged them toward the
tree-line.

Riana glanced over at Iggy. He was
already shielding her and Cy from the pain of their injuries. She grabbed his
hand to get his attention. “Can you block their pain enough for them to walk?”
she yelled over the sound of gunfire.

“I can try,” Iggy replied.

Cy tugged on her arm. “You two, keep
your heads down. We still have a ways to go before we can transport.”

That was
not
what Riana wanted to
hear. She just wanted this whole nightmare to be over and everyone safe.

They
continued moving, and Riana
’
s stomach did a flip-flop. She was so focused on
keeping Cy moving, she forgot about the bomb around her neck. “Cy, are any rows
of the stones lit-up on this thing?”

“No.”

“How far have we come?” she asked.

Cy glanced behind them, “About seventy
five feet.”

As
they covered the last twenty-five feet, Riana
’
s heart felt like a
volcano about to erupt inside her chest. Cy
’
s grip tightened on
her arm. She realized he expected her to jerk away from him and run, which wasn
’
t a
half-bad idea. Sure as she did, they would all take off after her. She wished
there were some way for them to stay clear of her until she crossed that final
hundred foot mark. But every one of them, except Vind of course, was determined
to die right along with her. That thought pushed her
way
past her panic
point. She
’
d been in a constant state of panic ever since she
saw Cy
’
s lifeless body on the floor of that cell.

Cy
turned around again, and then looked at her neck. Chills ran down Riana
’
s
spine as she waited for his reaction. A beautiful smile lit up his swollen
face. But she needed to hear the words. “Are we past it?”

“Yes,
baby. We
’
re beyond one hundred feet, and still in one
piece.”

“
Thank God!
” But they were still a long way from safety.

Once they reached the tree line, the
forest canopy blocked out what little light came from the moon. Even with their
enhanced night vision it was pitch black, which made it difficult to see the
enemy.

Oz pointed to a survey stake flush
with the ground. “I think this marks the property line. We should be able to
transport soon.”

A loud explosion went off directly
behind them, followed by a rain of bullets. The explosion threw Miles and Kam,
along with the two injured Protectors to the ground. Everyone else tumbled
forward into a deep trench.

As Riana was thrown forward, a hot
searing pain tore through her back and stomach. She curled into a fetal
position, her arms clutched around her abdomen. Was it the fall, or had she
been shot? Everything happened so fast. Whatever it was hurt like hell.

Kyra, and four others scrambled up the
embankment to reach the ones left behind by the explosion. Vind was face down
on the ground with Cy straddling his back, and a gun pressed against his
temple. “Move one muscle and I will send your brains into the ground.”

Iggy
’
s
pale face appeared in front of her. “Riana, are you alright?”

She
glanced at her hands clutching her stomach. The cream-colored sweater soaked up
her blood at a rapid rate. “I
’
m not sure.”

Iggy
jerked his head toward Cy. “Riana
’
s been shot!”

Cy
was off Vind
’
s back and at her side in a flash. He pulled her
head into his lap. “We have to transport her now,” Cy yelled to Oz. “She
’
s
losing a lot of blood.”

Kyra
and the others came down the embankment. “Get over here and guard Vind,” Oz
yelled to Miles. “I
’
ve got to transport Riana out of here.”

Riana
glanced up at Cy. “I
’
m not leaving without you and Iggy.”

“I
can
’t leave,
” Iggy said. “Not without avenging my brother.”

Riana
realized Iggy didn
’
t know what she
’
d done.
“Soren
’
s dead. I killed
him.”

“But…I was supposed to do it. For my
brother.”

It
meant a lot to Iggy and she
’
d robbed him of his closure. “I
’
m
sorry, but I had to kill Soren. He was trying to kill me.”

“Oh,”
Iggy said. “That
’
s different then. You couldn
’
t
let that monster hurt you. He
’
s hurt too many. I
’
m glad you stopped
him.”

“So…you
’
ll
come with us?” She asked between gasps of air.

“Yes,
I
’
ll come.
”

Cy
looked at Miles sitting on his brother
’
s back. “Vind, can we
transport out of this hell-hole from here?”

When Vind remained silent, Miles
shoved the gun against his back. “He asked you a question, asshole.”

“How should I know?” Vind said in a
sarcastic tone.

 “
We don’
t have time for this,” Oz said. “
If we can
’
t transport we
’
ll have to go further
out. Those who can transport grab the ones who can
’
t.”
As Oz stood, a bullet tore through his shoulder and drove him to the ground.

“Dad,” Riana gasped. She reached for
him. Between Cy holding her and the pain, it was a futile attempt.

 Oz hissed and held his hand over
the wound. “Damnit, another leather jacket ruined.”

“How bad are you hit?” Riana asked.

Oz
placed his large hand over hers. “I
’
ll be fine, honey. It
’
s
only a scratch.”

Cy
pulled Oz into a sitting position. “If that bullet is in you, then you can
’
t
transport.”

“Yeah,
well, I guess it
’
s a little more than a scratch,” Oz admitted.

Bullets tore through the trees above
their heads. Wood splintered and sent bark raining over them. Cy blanketed
Riana with his body.

“We
have to leave,
now
,” Oz ordered. “They
’
re almost on top of
us. If we can
’
t transport, we
’
ll have to shoot our
way out of this ditch. Kyra you take Iggy. Kam you take Riana and Cy. Miles can
transport me and Vind. The rest of you, bring the others.”