As Alec defended Josh, Ethan paused throwing fireballs. Instead, he lifted his arms over his head and sent wave after wave of bright golden fire in every direction: the signal for our own backup to come charging in. From every back room, storage area, and hidden location, our people burst out to join the fight.
The Lighthunters—being impervious to Variant abilities, highly trained in combat, and as yet unknown to the rest of the world—were the biggest secret weapon. With deadly proficiency, they incapacitated the confused Variants, who couldn’t figure out why their abilities had suddenly stopped working.
My heart skipped a beat when I caught sight of Dot and Charlie, walking slowly hand in hand at the edge of the fighting. I ducked as all manner of winged creatures came flying through the now wide-open space where the glass used to be. Several wings clipped my head and shoulders as pigeons, woodpeckers, kites, hawks, and eagles swooped down on our enemies.
Even Olivia and Henry were there, not that I should’ve been surprised—they’d both worked for Melior Group at one time. They stuck close to Dot and Charlie, shooting anyone who came close with lethal accuracy.
Lucian had stayed behind, even though doing so had probably pissed him off. But we needed him on the outside. He was managing communications and organizing all he could between the different groups that had come together.
Ed and his brother were there too. Ed was keeping one hand on his brother’s shoulder, transferring Light to him, as the bigger man used his strength ability to barrel through assailants, knock people unconscious with a single punch, and throw tables as if they weighed no more than a sheet of paper.
Kyo, Marcus, and Jamie were leading the Melior Group agents who had gone rogue to join this fight. They were in their element, working perfectly as a team, almost every gunshot meeting its target.
Mr. Takata’s people were at the same level—highly efficient, deadly, precise. Mr. Takata himself was in a room in the basement, near where they sorted the luggage, with his wife and Vital. His sole focus was on keeping everyone shielded from another potential threat like Sarah, the Variant whose ability could cause unconsciousness on a large scale. We couldn’t risk something like that happening again. Mr. Takata couldn’t isolate this many specific people to shield—there were simply too many of us to keep track of—but he could, with the help of his Vital, throw a large shield over the whole area to defend against any such remote attacks.
My eyes darted about the room. I wasn’t a fighter; I still struggled in the sparring sessions, and I hated guns, so I’d only learned the basics at Tyler’s insistence. But I was a survivor, and I wasn’t completely helpless.
I let my glowing Light surge through me and tipped my head back. Replicating what I’d done on the night Alec nearly died, I drew Light from those meaning to do us harm and pushed it to those fighting on our side. But I couldn’t keep that up too long. Davis still hadn’t shown himself, and I had to conserve my energy.
As prepared and well armed as we were, we still weren’t fighting children. We were up against trained killers and people with formidable, dangerous abilities.
A man with a water ability was throwing massive sprays at Dot’s birds, making it difficult for them to fly and attack. Another person with a speed ability was blurring about the room so fast it was impossible to distinguish their appearance, but every once in a while one of our people dropped, blood gushing from a slit throat, after the person whizzed past.
Both cool water and warm blood splashed me, making me wince as if I’d been slapped. I wiped the mess off my cheek but refused to look at my palm as I rubbed it against a dry spot on my shorts.
A middle-aged woman took slow, careful steps through the chaos, her hands clasped in front of her. Every time someone went for her, she cocked her head to the side, and her attacker dropped to their knees, whimpering in terror. I wasn’t entirely sure what her ability was, but I didn’t want to find out.
Both sides were taking heavy losses.
We couldn’t keep going like this.
“Alec!” I yelled, even though he was standing only a few feet away.
“I know!” he growled as he reloaded his weapon.
“We got you covered.” Tyler stepped to the side, and Ethan and Josh shifted to cover the gap