My eyes were watering, and my throat was burning from the thick smoke. Loki was softly crying in Mason’s arms as he stumbled forward. My brother’s eyes were red, and he was stopped at the bottom of the stairs by a violent coughing fit.
I grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him in the direction away from the fire. Regardless of how he was struggling, he never loosened his grip on Loki. Flames licked toward us as we burst out of the front door, breathing in fresh air.
James and Caleb were waiting for us, worried looks on their faces.
“I didn’t have time for their leashes,” Caleb said anxiously. “I thought they would follow me like they always do.” He shook his head and hugged Thor close. “I picked up this little guy but couldn’t catch his brother.”
“We got him,” I assured Caleb.
“If you weren’t there…” Caleb said with a horrified look on his face. “I would have tried to get out too late, and I would have been chasing them around in a burning building.”
James huffed in irritation.
“Get your shit together,” he growled. “Everyone’s out of the house, but we need to stop the spread to the other buildings.”
I stood up straighter, determination stiffening my spine. The fire department wouldn’t be coming to save us; it was every man for himself in this new world.
“Are you guys okay?” Lori cried out as she ran up to us.
Mason pushed Loki into her arms.
“Watch him,” Mason told her. “We need to get this fire under control.”
“Gray and Corey are trying to get a reverse pump going with the pool,” she said with wide eyes. “A bunch of other guys are putting all the hoses together and figuring out ways to hook them up to the water supply.”
“Go,” James ordered the two of us. “I’m going after Anna.”
“Stay safe,” I told Lori.
I heard her cooing to the pups as Mason and I ran for the back of the house, where the fire was raging. It was probably already a lost cause, but we had to save what we could. I pushed away my despair and went back into battle mode. I wouldn’t let fear stop me, not when so much was on the line.
Chapter 21
Cody
My heart thudded in my chest as I smelled smoke in the distance. Austin was crouched next to me, where we both had taken cover behind a storage shed. The humans had been pressing forward, gradually forcing us to retreat.
They were armed with explosives, rifles, and handguns, which shouldn’t be enough to overwhelm us. However, they were willing to indiscriminately kill, whereas we were hesitant to do the same. More than a few of our attackers were in military issued gear. It wasn’t easy to fire on the same men who had been our brothers-in-arms when we’d served in the military.
I didn’t know why they were attacking us, but it had to be a mistake or a misunderstanding. We were on the same side.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of gold and white. My jaw dropped when I realized who it was.
“Anna?” I asked in a whisper.
Austin’s head snapped in the direction I was looking.
“Shit,” he cursed.
I felt Austin reach for her through our bond, but she didn’t respond. She moved through the center of the battlefield without any concern for her safety at all.
“Cover me,” I hissed at Austin. “I’ll get her.”
Anna had been asleep for days, and clearly wasn’t in her right mind.
Silence echoed all around me, and my ears rang from the sudden loss of gunfire. Anna was facing the enemy’s gunline, her hand raised toward them. I stood and ran toward her, desperate to get her out of harm’s way. My only hope was that these guys wouldn’t gun down an unarmed woman in her nightgown.
A pulse of magic flew out from her in every direction, making me stumble in my tracks. I gasped at the sheer amount of power contained in her blast. Anna had always been strong, but not like this.
“Come to me,” she said in a musical voice.
Men stepped out from behind cover, rose from their firing stances, and walked toward her - myself included.
Anna was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. She was glowing with otherworldly light, and her call was impossible to resist.
More humans came from further away, everyone crowding around Anna, but leaving a three-meter diameter of clear space around her. Everyone had a dazed and confused look on their face, unsure of