Storm Gods - G. Bailey Page 0,32
chest, “where’s Ruby?”
Mum and dad exchange a terrified look before bolting in the direction of the guest room where the young girl is staying for the time being. In a panic, I wrench myself free of the guys and sprint after them, my head already filling with visions of her caught up in the blast. For a moment, none of us speaks, but then I catch the soft sound of whimpering. Before I’m even aware of it, I’m pushing between my parents and scrambling to her bed where she’s curled up and looking frantically around. Her eyes are glassy with tears, but her terror seems to diminish a little when she sees me. “Karma!” she cries out, stumbling out of bed and running into my arms.
I pull her close, murmuring soothingly to her as I stroke her hair. “It’s okay, it’s okay. I’m here, Ruby.”
“What happened?” she asks, her shoulders shaking.
“The house seems okay,” dad begins, but mum is already making a beeline for the window.
“It’s not the house,” she says, eyes narrowing as she peers out through the blinds. “It’s the barrier. Someone is attacking it.”
“You said it would hold against most gods,” protests Peyton as he and the others cluster in the doorway, each trying to get a glimpse of whatever is going on outside.
“Most gods,” mum replies, and my heart immediately sinks.
“He’s here, isn’t he?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. “Neritous is here.”
Mum gives me a slow nod. “And he has others with him.”
I creep up to look over her shoulder, catching a glimpse of several shadowy figures in the dim light of the street lamps outside. The noise will have woken up other people on the street, but that only fills me with more dread: clearly, they aren’t planning on sticking around to get caught. I can make out the forms of Kjetli and Ivar, and before my eyes, there’s another violent flash of white light as they summon an orb of magic. The orb slams into the barrier at the front of the house, the invisible wall causing the energy to dissipate in a shower of sparks…but one look makes it clear to me that it’s weakening, the wards being pushed to their limit.
“What do we do?” asks Peyton.
“Where’s Kit?” asks Killian. “Maybe he can teleport us out of here.”
“He was downstairs, last time I saw him,” mum replies. “We could—”
But we’re interrupted by the sound of another blast, this one bright purple. The other twin’s magic, no doubt. I’m still not sure what kind of gods they are, but seeing them in action tells me that, whatever they are, they’re powerful. And if they’re working against us, that’s a problem.
Storm is already backing out of the room. I grab him by the arm. “Where are you—”
“We can’t bank on them not getting in,” he replies, sounding urgent. “We’re going to have to fight them.”
“There are more of us…,” acknowledges Hugo, his voice trailing off.
“But they’re more powerful,” Seth protests. “We need to get out. This is exactly what I was afraid of.”
I take Ruby’s hand and lead her as we make our way out of the room and down the hallway. Golden sparks are already crackling between the justice twins’ fingers as they warm up their own magic, and even Mads looks ready to fight. Rolling my shoulders, I reach for my power, the now familiar green lightning glowing against my skin. I know I could try to use my new abilities, but there’s no way in hell I’m touching those again. Not after seeing what they did to the last city.
“Maybe we can reinforce the barricade,” mum suggests as we flock into the living room. “I’ve got a few extra warding charms around here somewhere…”
But a third and final explosion sounds from outside the front door, lighting up the night sky in a show of purple, red, and white. They’ve combined their powers, and that’s more than enough to take down the barrier, which seems to fragment and shatter right in front of us like glass. The sound is deafening, and I feel Killian pull me closer as we watch in horror, shielding my body with his own. The power of the blast, now unhindered by the barrier, causes the front windows to explode, showering us with bits of broken glass as the light momentarily blinds us. Storm steps in front of me, ready to charge outside, but he doesn’t even make it to the door before the doorknob flies