be suppressed violence.
Tristan, a kind soul but a powerful warrior, had his bow and arrow in hand. The diamond arrowhead glinted in the orange lightning that continued overhead.
When their rigid bodies were set next to me, Volod let his gaze slide over the other frozen paranorms.
“There.” He nodded in Colin’s direction. “The Dragon. I want him next.”
I caught my breath.
“Who do you choose to die first?” Volod said. “Your family, your friends, or your Dragon?”
I jerked against the cuffs. I tried to use my elemental powers again, put all my focus into my air magic to unlock the cuffs. I felt nothing. I felt naked without my powers.
And so helpless. I felt so helpless.
Colin was brought to the front and the sickness in my belly increased.
“Your Dragon will be next,” said Volod. “And I will keep them all frozen. Each will be completely aware of what is happening.”
Volod put his hands behind his back and swept his gaze again over the frozen paranorms. “I have no reason to have any of these unfrozen.”
I wanted to beg but I knew it would do no good. He’d enjoy hurting them even more.
He moved his gaze back to me. “I will kill them. All of your Trackers and your visitors from afar will die today. I already have all the Vampire paranorms and powers that I need.
“And I have no need of you except to watch you suffer through your last moments.”
One of the Vampire paranorms who had carried my father to the front said, “You told us we would feast tonight and turn many.”
“Shut up.” Volod narrowed his gaze at the one who had spoken. “You Vampire paranorms were created to serve me. There will be others. I want every one of these Trackers wiped out.”
“Don’t you understand?” I raised my voice to be heard over the wind as I spoke to the Vampire paranorms. “Volod will kill you all when he has finished using you. I have been turned, too, but I will not fight for his gain.”
“Shut up or I will have you frozen again,” Volod growled.
“Volod killed Rodán and Monique,” I shouted. “I was there when both were murdered.”
A rumble rose from the crowd.
“Freeze her!” Volod screamed to Lulu.
Lulu was wide-eyed, looking from Volod to me to the crowd.
The Vampire paranorm who had spoken up shouted, “I, too, saw Volod murder Rodán.”
Volod grabbed a sword from the Vampire Shifter next to him. He raised it and swung it at the outspoken Vampire paranorm. The being’s head flew out in front of the crowd and rolled to a stop.
Silence.
Then someone shouted, “You killed Mark.”
Another—then another—started yelling.
“You killed him!”
“You went back on your word!”
“Nyx is right.”
“Volod said they would be turned, not killed,” said another.
“Volod has tried to fool us,” a Vampire paranorm growled. “We won’t stand for this.”
“What Volod is doing is wrong.” It was Leticia, the chief of the Paranorm Council. “Volod is going to slaughter all of these paranorms. We are seeing his true intentions here. Being a part of the murder of all of these helpless paranorms—this is not what we are or who we are. They are our brothers and sisters.”
“None of that is the truth,” Volod shouted, but beings in the crowd only yelled louder.
“Freeze them,” Volod ordered Lulu. “All of the rebellious ones.”
“Don’t do it,” someone yelled. “Unfreeze our brother paranorms instead.”
“Do what I instructed you to do, Lulu.” It was clear Volod was using his mental control over Lulu. I could see her shake and tremble and try to fight him off, but she mentally wasn’t strong enough. She wasn’t meant to be a fighter. Soothsayers in general were fragile compared to Trackers.
“Yes, Master,” she whispered.
Lulu stepped forward and raised her hands.
“Do it, Lulu,” Volod shouted. “Now!”
A wooden missile flew out from the crowd.
The stake buried itself in Lulu’s heart.
Volod took a step back in shock.
The guards holding me let go.
Shouts and gasps filled the air as all of my people were set free from the spell.
Immediately Colin was at my side, using Dragon fire to melt and disintegrate my cuffs and the spreader bar and cuffs at my ankles without touching my flesh.
“Get them!” Volod was shouting to his Vampires and Vampire paranorms. “Kill them all!”
Colin jerked me back by my arm with the others. We were trapped. A hundred and twenty of us surrounded by over 250 of Volod’s Vampires and Vampire paranorms.
Through a lifetime of training and from instinct, the Trackers and Dark Elves moved in sync. We put our