Blood Ties

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Blood coated them like a second skin, five sets of cold eyes locking on their target – the one holding their mother like some sort of princess. Ruby and Reyna were grinning. Blaise was just glaring. Rogue glanced at her two youngest sisters, shaking her head slightly as she spotted their matching expressions. Her shoulders slumped even more when she spotted Lillian's polite smile. She was standing in the middle of a blood-soaked field, her clothes dyed red, and yet she was acting like she was at a posh tea party.

"Ruby... Reyna... be careful." The eldest warned, her eyes locking on the smirk greeting them as they strode towards the stone plinth. "He's up to something..."

The sigil beneath their mother lit up, the markings glowing a bright white, as though answering her words.

"Well, as fun as it's been, I'll be off now." The man called, watching the sister's incredibly confused expression as his legs started to fade.

Reyna swore, her instincts kicking in, her hand closing around one of her knives. Her arm snapped forwards, throwing the dagger without the slightest hesitation as she sprinted forwards, knowing they'd be gone before her short legs could reach the stone steps. She was the fastest Deryn... and yet she was still too slow.

They were only able to watch as the knife cut into his shoulder, seconds before that too disappeared, his mocking grin the final image taunting them before he completely vanished.

Reyna fell to her knees, staring at the fading white light, touching the engraved lines gingerly as the last of the light vanished. "Dammit... A waster of a dagger..."

"It's not your fault, Rey." Rogue sighed, crouching down next to her, ruffling her hair. "Besides... Now mum knows we're coming for her..."

Any other time she would've protested against the familiar action, but for once, Reyna was content to let her hairstyle be ruined. It felt right, compared to the craziness of that night.

"We were all too slow." Lillian said, peering curiously at the sigil. "Besides... how were we supposed to fight against a guy who could vanish into thin air?"

"Tch."

"See?" Lillian smiled, but it was fragile. "Even Blaise agrees."

"Shut up."

"I love you too."

"They took her." Rogue said, continuing to pet her sister's hair, smiling gently, and it would've looked genuine too had it not been for her cold stare. "Which means they want her alive." Her gaze softened, locking on Reyna's wide eyes. "So we'll have another chance."

Hope shone in her eyes. "Another chance?"

"To get mum back."

"Then I need to get faster."

"We all do." Lillian glanced over at their favourite sibling who'd been oddly quiet, and Ruby was well known for being the life of the party. "You OK, Rube?"

"I feel funny..." The temporary brunette slurred, her eyes rolling back into her head as she fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Ruby!" She stepped towards her, freezing when she spotted the small blue dart sticking out of her back. "Cover, now!" Lillian hissed, sprinting for the crumbling stone walls lining the large stone plinth, her eyes widening when she felt a small sting in the back of her leg. "Dammit..."

Rogue's reaction was instant, having already been on edge. Her hand closed around her sister's arm, yanking her behind the cover of the wall, seconds before two darts slammed into the spaces they'd been in only seconds before. "Sniper. Two O'clock." She scowled, turning so she faced the wall, her gun in hand. "I might be good, but I'm outmatched here..."

"No kidding." Reyna muttered, staring at the two shots they'd barely avoided. They'd been fired within seconds of each other, and they would've hit their marks had it not been for her older sister's remarkable sense of danger.

"The other three have been hit." She said, ignoring the snide remark. "But they're alive... so either it's a slow acting poison, or it'll knock us out cold."

"It's a sleeping drug." Reyna said, having heard Lillian's soft snores with her sharp ears.

"So, they probably don't want to kill us..."

"Are you trying to talk us into getting hit?"

"Probably being the key word here." She sighed, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end, her body warning her too late as a stinging sensation made itself known in her back, her eyes widening as she turned to glance at the small blue dart sticking out from her skin. "Rey... run..."

"Two of them?!" She mumbled, jumping out of the way, barely avoiding the second dart fired her way as she drew her knife. Her feet cleared the wall within seconds, vaulting over it, flipping herself behind the cover of the wall just as the dart from the first shooter flew over her head. She cleared the treeline in seconds, ducking behind the nearest one to catch her breath. Reyna closed her ears, concentrating as she listened to all the sounds around her. It was a trick her mother had taught her – how to listen out for enemies moving around when they were out of her sight, and it was a skill that'd saved her life on more than one occasion.

The whistle of wind greeted her ears, rustling through the leaves, branches creaking under the sudden weight, footsteps creeping up from the other direction as both snipers moved to a better location.

"Got you..." Reyna smiled, quickly scurrying up the tree, hiding amidst the darkened canopy of leaves as she waited for her prey.

"Fi, got a visual on the target?" The low feminine voice rang out, her sharp ears twitching as she caught the sound. "I can't find her."

She darted from her hiding place. "But I found you." She said, slamming her foot into the woman's stomach, sending them both crashing to the forest floor. "One down..." A smile worthy of Ruby pulled at her lips as she realised the sniper was unconscious.

"Viola..." A soft voice made her freeze, spinning around to greet the second gunman. "You brat..."

Reyna stepped towards her, pulling her knife out of its sheath, scowling as her foot found a pothole. That was what saved her life, though, the bullet that should've passed through her temple grazing past it instead. Blood trickled down from her hairline, her eyes wide as pain exploded in her shoulder, another bullet having found its mark. She was already moving; her body having switched to autopilot the instant the bullet had burrowed into her flesh. Fear made her heart pound, blood trickling down her back, but unlike before it was her own. If she hadn't stumbled, she'd have been dead.

The third shooter meant business.

They'd managed to hit her with three shots – a third bullet having caught her in the abdomen before she could duck behind cover. Her breath came in ragged gasps, panic squeezing at her lungs until a familiar face appeared in front of her.

"Breathe." Blaise whispered, brushing her hair back behind her ear, her thumb wiping the blood away from her eye. "It's OK. You're going to be OK."

"You're awake...?" Reyna stared at her, wondering whether she was hallucinating.

"Tch. What do you think dumbass?"

She smiled weakly.

"Stay here, stay calm and stay awake." She ordered, pinching her sister's cheek. "I've got a sniper to go and beat up."

"Kay..."

Reyna sat up slightly, wincing at the sudden twinges her wounds made, her grin widening when she heard the sound of punches making contact. The movement proved to be too much for her in the end. Dizziness overcame her, sending her back to slumping against the tree trunk, the world slowly fading out of view.

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