Faith is Fallen (Broken Fantasies Series)

Chapter 31

Beathan waited in the tree line for his moment. This was a moment centuries in the making. His sister had finally shown herself, coming to the rescue of her final descendant, Michael McKay. He'd actually been getting rather worried, what with running out of victims and all, but he'd also felt fairly confident that once he got to the last one, she would show herself. She had to.

And it had been sheer luck that his man had managed to get away. He'd been terribly outmatched. Even mutilated, Cara was still one of the most powerful Fae in Faery. Although, from the sound of the fight, his sister had become soft from her years in the human world. After all, she should have been able to end that fight much quicker than she did. All the better for Beathan, he supposed.

With a single command, he sent his men in all directions. They spread out to their various posts, ready to initiate the plan as they'd practiced it. Today would be the day. After centuries, today would be the day his sister would die.

#

Cara jerked backward, slamming the back of her head into her brother, hopefully smashing his nose in the process. "Michael, run!"

She slammed her elbow backward, but Beathan grabbed her and slammed her back into the countertop. All around her, she could sense Fae, chaos, hostility and a psychotic glee that alarmed her in a way she hadn't felt ever.

"Michael," she gasped. Why hadn't she spent more time in battle and attack strategies over the years? She'd gotten complacent away from Faery, and now both she and Michael would suffer for it.

Not on my life!

She reached deep within as more and more men and women swarmed into the house. The sounds of their feet, the slamming of doors, began to join with the more subtle sense she had for their magic.

As she settled on a spell, the magic started to gather in her hands, feeling as if her hands had become swollen, inflamed, the skin tight and uncomfortable. The air around her started to glow, the spell gaining momentum quickly, alarmingly fast, in fact. A mischievous grin swept her face. Oh, it was coming back so easily now.

Branches started to sway outside, rattling against the outside of the house, but it didn't stop there. The air inside also started to stir, as if the A/C had just kicked on, only it wasn't cold.

Then, like a rubber band snapping, she released it. With her at the epicenter, hurricane force winds pushed outwards. Men and women flew through the air at the power of it. Some slammed into walls, annihilating the plaster, even going straight through it. Some were electrocuted when they connected with the exposed wiring inside the walls. Others flew outside as the winds doorways that burst open, through windows that shattered at the sheer force of the winds.

And just as quickly, it died. She dashed for the shattered sliding doors, stepping over glass shards. "Michael!" She looked around, but didn't see him. "Michael." She started to panic. What if she'd hurt him? Killed him? There had been so many. She couldn't think of anything else to do. She spun around, panicking, near to tears.

"Up here. And for Christ's sake, will you please call me Mike?"

She looked up, grasping her chest in her relief. Mike sat on the second floor window ledge, in the process of escaping the house. He stepped out onto the back porch room, then sat down and jumped off.

"Tada!"

She hugged him. "Oh, thank all that we hold sacred."

"Maybe we should be getting going? I don't know if you got 'em all."

She stepped back, shaking her head. "Right." She reached out her hand, and he took it. "Let's go."

He nodded, and they ran off into the woods.

#

Beathan groaned, his breathing labored. "Holy Chaos. What was that?"

"That was pure power," one of his followers said as she reached him. "And you're lucky she didn't do more. You might not have survived." She touched the shard of glass sticking through his abdomen, then yanked it out like ripping off a bandaid.

"Gah! What in Chaos are you doing? Trying to kill me?"

"Oh, you'll heal."

He held his side, not happy with the irreverent tone she gave him. "Is anyone dead?"

"A few, Your Highness."

"Are any uninjured?"

"Yes. There are a few that hadn't entered the house yet."

"Good. Have them follow them. But do not engage. I need to know where they go. Then we can come up with a better plan."

"Of course, Your Highness."

Beathan nodded and stood, looking out the battered frame of the sliding glass doors. He just barely caught the silhouette of two people disappearing into the trees. They wouldn't escape next time. He would see to it that his precious sister, Cara, wouldn't be able to use her magic, at least not without killing her precious Michael in the process.

Author's Note:  Woohoo!  Got enough votes to post an early chapter!  I'm having a fantastic day today.  I don't have work today because the servers are down, Series 8 of Doctor Who came in the mail today, and 3 of my books are currently ranked.

Faith is Fallen is ranked #271 in Paranormal

Mila's Shift is ranked #262 in SciFi

Tristan's Choice is ranked #537 in SciFi

Thanks, everyone, for making me feel like a writer.  Without you, I'd just be talking to myself.  ;-)