Horsemen's War (The Rebellion Chronicles #3) - Steve McHugh Page 0,48

the sorcerer and empaths. “I can get them both,” she said. “I’ll take the man; you take the woman.”

Judgement looked down the rifle. “On three.”

“One,” Piper said. “Two. Three.”

Both fired simultaneously, and Judgement fired a second time almost immediately after. Layla watched as the sorcerer stopped the first bullet from hitting the female empath, but he had to adjust his shield in an instant to stop the second from hitting him, leaving him no time to stop the third from striking the male empath in the face, killing him instantly.

Sir Lamorak was incensed and began throwing balls of flame at the residential buildings, igniting the interior of the right building. Black smoke billowed up into the night sky.

“I think we pissed him off,” Chloe said.

“Good,” Layla said and continued watching as the sorcerer and dozens of his horde sprinted down the middle of the path between the buildings, his shield stopping any bullets that went his way, before he tore apart the entrance below where Layla and her people stood.

“I’m coming for you all,” he screamed.

“I think we made a new friend,” Piper said.

Layla looked back at the lone empath, now shielded by two dozen humans. “Judgement, how do you feel about going after that last empath? If we have to fight all of these bastards, let’s even the odds a little.”

Judgement smiled, her eyes almost sparking with intent. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

Layla pointed to three civilians and told them to go with Judgement but made it clear who was in charge. “Tarron, Judgement is coming your way. You’re going to go kill that empath.”

“Good,” Tarron said.

“So what are we going to do?” the APC driver asked.

“We’re going to kill as many of those bastards as possible,” Chloe said.

“And the sorcerer?” the APC passenger asked, and Layla saw the fear in those around her.

“We’ll deal with him,” Layla said. “I’ve killed sorcerers before.”

“You think we can do it?” Chloe asked as Tego bounded onto the floor, her maw covered in blood.

“Hey,” Layla said, stroking Tego behind the ear. “Yes, we can do it. Because if we don’t, all of these people die.”

Chapter Eleven

LAYLA CASSIDY

The team reached the remains of a makeshift barricade that had been constructed in a small foyer halfway down the corridor of the third floor. Blood saturated the ground, but there were no bodies, no fighters, no enemies—nothing.

Tego walked beyond the remains of the barricade and let out a low growl. Layla flexed the fingers of her metal arm, which changed into a blade as Tego’s growl became louder.

The floor beneath them was torn apart by a blast of magical air, collapsing a large part of the structure and sending Layla and her team through to the floor below with a crash. The human gang was on them almost immediately, attacking with clubs and blades, as the sounds of gunfire broke out. Layla reached out, dismantling anything that was even vaguely gun-like as the rest of her team engaged their attackers.

Layla was concentrating on tearing apart a number of firearms and forcing any bullets into the walls around them when a man and woman attacked her with clubs. She deflected one strike, stabbing the second human in the chest with her arm, before spinning back to the first human and cutting across his throat before he had time to readjust to what was happening. Chloe and Piper had been engaged by several attackers, with Chloe using her ability to absorb and redirect kinetic energy to blast one out of a window. Piper had hardened her skin to near-unbreakable levels and was deflecting blows of blades with her bare arms before using her considerable strength to hurt her opponents.

Layla continued on, parrying and dodging attacks from the multitude of humans, taking control of their guns to turn them on their wielders with ruthless efficiency, until bodies littered the floor in her wake.

Sir Lamorak stood at the end of the corridor, the same smug expression on his face that he’d worn outside. Wave after wave of his followers pushed past him, forcing those fighting them to retreat before overcoming them and moving forward again.

“He doesn’t care if his supporters die,” Chloe said. She had a nasty cut above her eye that had soaked the side of her face in blood.

“He has enough to spare,” Piper said, rolling her shoulders.

“I think they’ve finally figured out that bringing guns to this fight isn’t going to work for them,” Layla said. She’d been hit several times—once in the ribs,