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I started walking.
I had no choice now. I had to follow Artie, and if there was any chance that he would let me, I would help him.
I didn't want to be a coward. I wanted to see my brother again, even if he was so angry at me that he never spoke to me again. I wanted to see Lou, I wanted to see him smile again and know that my best friend was still alive and by my side. And more than anything, I wanted to make sure that Celia and Eli were alive.
I guess now was the time to try out the whole bulletproof thing.
I gave in.
That's what it felt like, anyway. It felt like that strength inside of me was more than me. I couldn't contain anymore, so I let it have the reins. I ran, following something deep inside of me, like a compass that told me when to turn and went to jump and how fast to run.
I stopped behind a building. I watched as Bianca and Savannah spoke. I counted the dead bodies and had no doubt that Savannah was behind them. It was a strangely proud moment. I knew that she wasn't like them and I knew she was smarter than them. She had taken down so many but there were still more than a few left standing.
And Bianca.
I had never been in a fight before, not even in school, and the last time I was even this close to one, Celia had ordered me away.
I guess a trial by fire was in order.
The Ascendancy guards attacked Savannah and I froze. Maybe I was a coward, deep down inside. Maybe I wouldn't be able to help them. Maybe I would end up dead and wherever Lou was, he would end up dead too.
Then I watched Bianca spit in Savannah’s face and the anger welled up inside of me and even if I wanted to, I couldn't have stopped myself.
I roared and I watched as every single person there dropped to their knees and even Eli, who was tied to a stake behind all the Ascendancy guards, tried to cower as well.
When Bianca saw me, she pointed. There were guards still standing in trucks and they turned their automatic rifles to me. I braced myself, knowing it would hurt.
I heard the rattling of the bullets as they shot, but when they did, it felt much less painful than when I felt Artie's magic was attacking me. This was nothing. This-
This was a walk in the park.
I ran as fast as I could and leaped for the men in the back of the closest truck. They took the brunt of my weight and fell to the ground.
I didn't have to look back to know that I killed them when I landed on their chests.
There were more and more guards and still the bullets were coming.
I hadn't shifted yet, so I didn't have the teeth and claws that Eli and Celia told me that I would. Instead, I had my bare hands.
That didn't stop me.
It barely even slowed me.
I tore through them with a wave of anger and strength that scared the small, remaining rational part of my mind. There was so much blood and it was all over me. But that didn't seem to quiet the anger inside of me. Instead, it stoked the rage inside of me to an even higher level.
"Stop!" Savannah begged.
When I turned, Bianca had her little sister standing in front of her, with a gun under her chin.
I could feel the earth beneath my feet grind to a halt.
I couldn't help but remember the first time I saw Savannah. She was walking across the quad and had one hand in her long, dark hair. It was windy that day and she was trying to hold it back from her face. She was heading towards the science building and I was just behind her. I was wondering if she had started late or something and maybe she would end up in my class. I watched as her wallet fell out of her pocket and I snatched it up.
I hurried after her and when I caught up to her, she smiled at me. That was the first thing that I noticed about her. Her smile. Then her kind eyes. Even back then, I knew that a guy like me could fall in love with eyes like that.
When I handed her wallet back to her, she gasped and insisted that we go have coffee so she could properly thank me.
She wasn't in my science class but now, she was in my life.
"Dante, please stop," Savannah begged.
I did.
"So you're the one that the magic chose," Bianca said.
I held Savannah's eyes as she struggled to stay on her feet. I had no doubt that Bianca would shoot her if she fell.
"I'm one of the ones that the magic chose," I said. There was no point in trying to keep it a secret now.
"What are you?" Bianca said. Her shrewd eyes were studying me closely.
I was soaked in blood and I could still feel that anger inside of me, even though I had slowed down. I raised one hand and pushed my hair out of my face with one of my bloodsoaked hands and smiled.
“Have you ever heard of Power and Virtue?" I asked her. There was an arrogance in my voice that I had never heard before. I watched her eyes widen when she put the pieces together.
Then, the earth shifted underneath my feet.