Mortal Defiance

Ignoring Ree’s father, Sophie looked at Roland and then at Melanie. “Think about it, Melanie. We know the god of war and the god of mischief have inserted themselves into this battle. I will not say his name, but the god of war would love nothing more than a battle—a world of war. And the god of mischief needs no reason to switch sides. It would be amusing to him. He needs no other reason than that.”



Ree felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Sitting down on the kitchen stool, she watched as the people in the kitchen shifted from foot to foot. Their parents were angry and confused. Ree could feel their fear like it was her own, but she had to shove it aside. The creepy sensation of cold water ran down her spine, and Ree’s heartbeat picked up. Someone was coming—a lot of someones.



“Sophie!” Ree shot to her feet and looked around the house. “They’re coming. Do we run?”



Shaking her head, Sophie walked to the living room and peered through the broken window. Weylin, Bryce, and Juliette ran into the house with weapons drawn.



“There’re Dark Ones. Tons of them.” Bryce moved next to Sophie and pointed toward a house at the end of the street that was for sale. “I think they were bunkered down in there until it was dark enough for them to come out.”



“There’s not enough time for us to get out.” Sophie looked at Ree, her expression grim. “We make our stand here.”



Chapter 32



“Here?” Ree looked at her parents, her stomach clenching. If she was just human, then her parents stood no chance. Neither of them had any power to use other than their normal strengths. Paden seemed to be thinking the same thing as he looked from Ree to his parents. He shrugged out of his jacket to reveal the dual sheaths along his back. Reaching behind, he pulled out two slim handles with blades that seemed to grow as he gave them a twirl with a practiced flick of his wrists.



“Will your barriers hold, Sophie?” Almost casually, Paden moved closer to Ree.



“I don’t know, Paden. The darklings could have gotten in because they were mostly human. Or they could have had help. From what I can tell, the power that I laid is still intact. Ree, what do you see?” Sophie had taken off her jacket as well and threw it on the back of the couch.



“I still feel what you did and what I did, but something is wrong. I can’t tell you what it is though. It’s like knowing that someone was in your room while you were gone. Everything looks right, nothing was moved that you can put your finger on, but you just know.” Taking a deep breath, Ree looked back at her parents and hoped she looked like she had everything in control. “Mom, Dad, stay near the island and do whatever we say. I swear when we get out of this, I’ll explain everything that I can.”



“I promised to take care of them and I shall.” Drake grabbed Ree’s hand and brought it to his lips. “You have my word, Alastriana.”



Blushing, Ree looked anywhere but in Drake’s eyes. “Thank you.”



Roland stepped closer to Ree, aiming a scowl at Drake. “Okay, Romeo. We get it.”



Susan raised an eyebrow, and Ree could practically hear her asking what was going on with the guys. Ree’s father, on the other hand, was frowning at Drake.



“Ree, you have your dagger?” Roland motioned toward her leg, and she nodded. Kneeling down, she pulled her jeans up and slid the knife free of its sheath. As her eyes traveled over the blade, she developed an idea after watching the kitchen lights glint off of the metal. Pulling the power in, she concentrated on wrapping the dagger with the intent of ending Dark Ones. She would have to be careful with Roland, but otherwise, it might help—even if she only got in a scratch.



When she stood back up, everyone was looking at her. Shrugging, she settled the knife into a comfortable hold. Her mother was looking at Ree as if she had never seen her before.



Sophie, on the other hand, was smiling. “Now that was a wonderful idea.”



“What did she do?” Weylin leaned forward to look at the dagger as if he might be able to decipher it out on his own.



“She wrapped the dagger in power with the intent of killing Dark Ones.” Sophie held out her own blade and did the same thing.



“Be careful where you point that thing.” Roland winked at Ree. “I’d hate to end up a shish kebab on accident.”



“Will do. Try to not get in my way.” Ree smiled at him.



“As you wish.”



Shaking her head, Ree looked at Paden and saw his jaw flex as he listened to their banter. Apparently Roland noticed too, because he cocked his head at the Guardian and smiled. “Feeling left out? Maybe she could make one that kills godlings.”



“Keep dreaming, Dark One.” Paden bared his teeth and growled. “Shall we keep score again?”



“Brilliant idea. I’d like nothing better than to prove last time was a fluke.”



“Good luck with that.”



“Luck is for those without skill.” Roland opened his jacket to reveal several knives and a long metal stake. He tucked the stake into the back of his pants and pulled some of the knives out before removing his jacket and placing it on the kitchen counter. “Thankfully, I have no need for it.” The knives spun on the palms of his hands, reflecting light onto the ceiling.



“What do you want to wager?” Paden cocked his head to the side and frowned at the Dark One.



“You know what I want.” Roland didn’t look away from Paden and Ree had the feeling they had discussed this before. After a moment, Paden gave a jerk of his head in acknowledgement.



“Save the pissing contest for the Dark Ones, boys.” Teagan pulled a hair band out of her pocket and fixed her long red locks into a messy bun at the top of her head. Ree’s mother made a sound in the back of her throat that caused Paden to smile. “I’m taking the bedroom wing.” With a swing of her hips, Teagan left the kitchen and headed for the other side of the house.



Melanie frowned at Roland and Paden before snatching one of the knives out of the Dark One’s hand. He looked at her in amusement, but didn’t say anything. “I don’t have any left. If you’re so talented, you can do without one.”



Something in Roland’s expression shifted and he gave Melanie one of his rare, genuine smiles. Ree felt the oddest twinge of something from Melanie, but didn’t have time to decipher the feeling, because she could feel the Dark Ones closing in around the house.



Juliette lifted one side of the couch in the living room and set it on its side in front of the broken window. Weylin and Bryce both started moving furniture to help block the other windows and front door. Melanie headed down the hall in the direction Teagan had gone. She mumbled something about having a lot of windows on that side of the house. Paden pointed at his parents before motioning that they should move behind the counter with Ree’s parents. He grabbed the door from the pantry and pulled it off the hinges. He wedged the door between the wall and the entrance to the garage. Ree knew these things wouldn’t keep the Dark Ones from making it inside, but hopefully it would slow them down some. Drake took a position in the doorway of the kitchen that led to the foyer. Flicking his wrists, long blades slid out from under his shirtsleeves to land in his palms.



Closing her eyes, Ree tried to pinpoint where all of the Dark Ones were congregating outside the house and to get a better count. Finding a Dark One was like sticking your hand into a lukewarm bowl of water and accidently hitting an ice cube from time to time. Only the ice cube was subzero and left her with freezer burn. They were arranged in a circle around the house. Close to thirty Dark Ones were moving from place to place, as if to keep her from being able to get an accurate estimate of their numbers. Unfortunately for them, it wasn’t really throwing her estimate off.



“There are thirty or so Dark Ones outside the house and they’re surrounding us.” Ree tightened her grip on her dagger and set her feet apart.



“So much for running out the back door.” Weylin grimly kicked a sofa cushion out of his way and moved so he could peek around the upturned couch. “Someone is coming up the driveway.”



Ree looked back at her mother and father. She had a feeling that she knew who it was and had no doubt that he was planning on upsetting her parents. The fact that he was casually strolling up to the front door was another sign that he had a point to make. Drake moved out of the way so Ree had a free shot at the front door. Bryce mimed turning a handle and raised an eyebrow. Sophie looked at Ree and Ree nodded. Bryce stepped back and moved into the shadows of the foyer. A light tap on the door made Ree’s heart pound and anger flow through her veins. Tristan was really making a show of things. After a moment the door opened slowly to reveal the silhouette of a tall young man.



“Well, isn’t this nice? The whole family back together again.” Tristan leaned against the doorframe. A few Dark Ones ranged behind him—bodyguards.



Someone gasped behind Ree, and she prayed her mother didn’t break down. This wasn’t going to be easy, but having her mother falling apart would make it much harder. Ree heard her father take a ragged breath and some of the people shifted, making small scuffing sounds on the tiles.



“Why here, Tristan? Why now?” Ree took a deep breath and readied herself to fling the power at her brother. She knew that despite his causal posture he was ready for her to make a strike and that meant he must have a plan.



“This is your fault, Ree. If you hadn’t come to the club last night, I wouldn’t have to prove anything tonight.” Tristan’s whole face changed, the words angry and clipped, dark swirling across his eyes. “This is happening because you stuck your noses into something you should have left alone.”



“No, Tristan. You’re here because you made a bad decision. Not because we tried to keep you from killing people.” Ree edged closer to the door, and she felt Paden’s warning thoughts as she left his side.



“Ree, this is your fault. We could have kept this between us. Not anymore.” Wind picked up outside and Ree felt the cold breeze reach into the house. “Now we take care of what I was trying to do last night.”



“Tristan?” Susan looked around Ree, her voice soft and sad. Infinitely sad.



Tristan didn’t respond. Instead, he kept his eyes locked on Ree, and for the first time since having seen him in the graveyard, Ree felt rather than saw his angry wave of emotion. And under that was guilt and fear. Looking into her brother’s black eyes, Ree had the real thought that she might be able to save him. There was still something good in his heart if he could feel guilt. Something that Ree might be able to grow back into a human, something that Della had not destroyed. How she had managed to miss it was something Ree couldn’t understand, and even more, she couldn’t figure out why she could feel anything from him right now.



“Bring me my mother.” Tristan turned his head and looked at the Dark One standing behind him.



Ree leapt backward and slid over the island to land next to her parents. Roland and Sophie had thrown themselves forward while Paden had moved closer to Ree and their parents. There were sounds of fighting from the living room, but Ree was more concerned with the sounds coming from the back of the house. The small window above the sink shattered in a spray of glass. A thin-faced female with dark eyes and long, wicked fangs looked into the room. Ree’s mother screamed and covered her head while her father grabbed a knife from the butcher block and pointed it at the pale woman.



Turning to the side, Ree flung her hand toward the window and a concentrated amount of power flew from her hand. The Dark One disappeared with an angry hiss, but was back quickly after the green glow faded. Not wasting time to curse at the fact she had missed, Ree pulled her parents down to the ground to avoid the knife the Dark One threw through the window. Paden was airborne instantly, rolling as he jumped over the counter and grabbed the knife midair. He landed on his feet next to Ree, but quickly jumped onto the counter near the window. The Dark One had ducked after throwing the knife, but when she popped back up to try and climb in the window, Paden thrust one of his shortswords into her chest. She dropped to the ground with a screech and Ree knew the Dark One’s body was crumbling into a disgusting dust.



“Oh my God.” Paden’s mother had dropped to the ground with Ree and had her arms over her head.



Reaching out, Ree grabbed the woman’s hand and squeezed. “It’s going to be okay. Just do what we tell you. We’re all going to be fine.” Ree looked at the woman and did her best to believe the words herself.



“Ree, what do we do?” Her father was looking at her with serious eyes.



“Ree!” Sophie hollered from the front of the house. “Try a shield.”



Pushing the energy away from her, Ree tried to set a shield around her and Paden’s parents. It set up quickly, but she soon felt as if something was pushing on it. Ree had the sickening suspicion that it was one of the gods that had taken sides against Earth.



“Pull from me, Ree.” Paden offered her his hand. She looked at him for a moment, not wanting to weaken him in any way. She knew he wasn’t just offering to protect her, but their parents as well. Wrapping her fingers through his, she let him pull her up to standing. Tugging her close to his body, he leaned his head down and pressed his lips to hers.



Chapter 33



Even with everything happening around them, her heart quickened. It was as if her entire body was on fire. It never failed to amaze her how she felt when Paden kissed her. After a moment, she relaxed and reached for the bright spark that glowed in his chest. Careful to avoid the swords he had clasped in his free hand and to not stab him with her dagger, she delved into him with her gift and pulled. Carefully, she fed his power into the shield around their families. His mouth stayed on hers the entire time, as if it was the connection they needed. Once she felt that their shield was as strong as it was going to get, she pulled back and looked at him with large eyes.



Grinning he leaned down and gave her another quick kiss. “See? Not so bad.”



“Not so bad.” Looking around her, Ree saw their parents watching them with knowing eyes and tried to not blush. “I still don’t know how long it will last. I can still feel someone pushing on the shield.”



“Well, we’ll take what we can get. Hopefully the others will be able to take down most of the Dark Ones.” Paden turned to look at the commotion happening around them. His eyes were tight with frustration. He wanted to be out there helping the others and Ree didn’t blame him. She didn’t like being trapped in the bubble any more than he did, but it was one of the best ways to protect their parents.