Tiago had refused to be left behind when Rosalind went to fight the extremists. He wasn’t stupid. He knew this was dangerous and that he wasn’t as powerful as most of the others, but he knew he could do something.
All that training with Aiden was paying off. Tiago dodged a spell, then another as he raced toward the witch. Her lips were drawn back in a snarl worthy of a werecreature, magic glowing around her hands as she formed another spell.
Tiago leapt, grabbing for her wrists as he used his weight to knock her to the ground. The air rushed out of her, and the spell burst into raw energy. It was like a punch connecting with his whole upper body. Grunting at the pain, he managed to hold on. Tiago swung his fist hard, hitting the woman’s temple and dazing her. Another quick punch knocked her out.
The sound of fighting had grown distant, and Tiago looked up to find he was alone. Where was Rosalind? His guardian had stuck by him when they moved to attack the extremists. Now both her and the person she’d been fighting had disappeared.
Something huge flew by a few houses away. Tiago instinctively ducked before he made out the shape of a dragon. That had to be Dylan’s mom. She disappeared over the roofs and treetops, heading toward what looked like the worst of the fighting. Different-colored spells lit the horizon like fireworks.
Tiago glanced down to make sure the witch was still unconscious before running after Bryn. She was probably looking for Dylan, and where Dylan was, Aiden would be. Tiago’s heart squeezed to think of Aiden in the middle of that. His boyfriend hated to fight, yet here he was, being forced into it again.
Tiago cut through the houses, hoping there wouldn’t be a fence or something in the way. The tornado siren kept wailing in the distance, and several car alarms were going off. All the noise hurt Tiago’s ears and scraped against his nerves.
He made it one block and another, looking at the magic flashing through the sky to make sure he was on the right track. With a quick check to make sure there wasn’t a dog behind it, Tiago jumped a chain-link fence and sprinted through a backyard. Jumping again, he made it into the alley.
The tornado siren abruptly cut off, and Tiago let out a sigh of relief. Then he heard the footsteps running toward him. He spun and his heart stopped.
His parents rushed down the alley, eyes glowing and teeth bared. Tiago tensed, ready to run, but a little voice whispered, You always run from them.
Because they’re stronger than me. But was that true anymore? He’d grown in the years since he ran away from his parents, honed his skills in Practical Senses class. Trained with Aiden and sometimes even with Dylan. Fought alongside them last year against people much more powerful than his parents.
The little boy inside him wanted to run. Or cower and beg not to be hurt. But Tiago wasn’t a little boy anymore.
With his heart pounding and his stomach quivering, Tiago stood his ground. Like he’d told Aiden, courage meant being afraid and doing it anyway.
His parents stopped a few feet away.
“You think you can fight us?” his father said.
“I think I can win.” Tiago wasn’t sure, but saying it made him feel better.
His father’s eyebrows went up slightly. “Maybe I was wrong about that fag boy turning you into a pussy.”
Rage filled him until he was almost choking on it. With a cry of anger, Tiago charged. He slashed at his father’s face. His father blocked with a hiss of pain, and Tiago raked at him with his other hand.
Claws sliced into Tiago’s back, and he spun to face his mother. These were the people who were supposed to love him unconditionally, take care of him and make him feel safe. Instead, they filled him with fear, beat him, called him names.
He dodged their attacks, lashed out at them with claws and feet, doing everything he could to return some of the pain they’d inflicted on him.
Tiago’s foot slipped on a patch of ice, and he went down hard on the concrete.
Then his father’s weight landed on him, angry yellow-green eyes staring down at him. “You’re going to pay for that, you little bastard.”
Strong hands gripped his arms, holding him down. Tiago remembered how his father had beaten him when he’d somehow guessed Tiago was gay. How much worse would it be now that he knew for sure? Now that Tiago had dared to fight back? Fear tried to swallow him up.
A hard blow landed on his cheek. The pain was familiar, throbbing through his face. Would his parents kill him? Tiago bucked, but his father was too heavy to throw off.
Another punch, and another.
“You’re strong, but not strong enough. Your old man’s got a few lessons left to teach you, huh?”
The blows rattled Tiago’s brain.
Standing above them, his mother said, “It’s for your own good. Someday you’ll understand that.”
Not planning to kill him then. Somehow that was worse. Were they going to drag him away, torture him until he agreed to do whatever they wanted?
Tiago couldn’t go back to that life. He pictured Aiden’s smiling face, and his heart lurched at the thought of never seeing him again.
If Tiago shifted, he’d get tangled in his clothes, but it was the only thing he could think of. Drawing on his magic, he turned into his jaguar form. His pants and shirt ripped, and his shoes squeezed painfully. One of them shredded under the pressure.
His parents exclaimed in surprise. The change in Tiago’s body shape made his father lose his grip, and Tiago thrashed as hard as he could.
His father’s weight shifted to one side, and Tiago scrambled out from under him. Tiago didn’t get far, his clothes tangling just as he’d thought, his intact shoe clamping painfully around his paw.
His mother lunged at him, and Tiago twisted. He fell, but from his awkward crouch he was able to bring one paw up, slashing deep across her face. She fell to her side, clutching her cheek.
Tiago shifted back to human form, crying out as his human feet were crushed into his shoes at awkward angles. He yanked the shredded one off and reached for the other.
His father was pulling off his shoes too.
Fingers shaking, Tiago couldn’t get his laces undone. Bringing out his claws, he slashed through them. The shoe loosened, and he stripped it off, tossing it aside. His mother grabbed for him again, and he kicked to knock her hand away.
Tiago stumbled to his feet and ran down the alley. As he did, he tore at his shirt, shredding it and tossing it aside. How close were they? Had his father shifted yet? Tiago fumbled with his belt. How was he supposed to get his pants off while running?
Awareness crawled up his spine, and Tiago dropped to his knees, almost without thinking. His father, in jaguar form, barely missed him and landed with a snarl.
Tiago shifted again, praying he’d be able to kick out of his pants before they trapped his legs. His father whipped around and lunged. Tiago met him with a fierce blow of his paw, feeling his claws catch in the flesh of his father’s shoulder.
They batted and bit at each other while Tiago struggled to get his back legs free of his jeans and boxers. He finally got them off just as a heavy weight landed on his back. Teeth sank into him, and he yowled in pain.
He managed to throw her off. His parents circled him, teeth bared and growling. Outnumbered and injured, Tiago wanted to run, but he kept repeating to himself, I have to be brave. I have to be brave.
So he went for his mother. She was smaller than him now. Although she hadn’t been his primary abuser, she’d hit him too. Taunted him while his father beat him. Tiago let his anger fuel him, and he used all the skills he’d learned in Shadow Valley.
Surprise flickered across her face as Tiago tore into her. The taste of his mother’s blood in his mouth. It made his stomach turn, but he kept on fighting. His father came at him, dividing Tiago’s attention.
Tiago fought them both, desperately looking for an advantage. They expected him to lose, to run. That gave him an idea. Tiago leapt over them and sprinted as fast as he could. Drawing on his power, he shifted as fast as he ever had. Then he turned.
His mother, the lighter and faster of the two, was just behind him. She sprang at Tiago, but he was ready for her. Blocking her teeth with one arm, he spun and slammed her as hard as he could into the wall of a garage. Her claws sank into his thigh, but he kept his grip and knocked her into the wall again.
His father had caught up to them, and Tiago threw his mother as hard as he could on top of him. It bought Tiago a few seconds. Reaching down, he snatched up a loose brick. When his mother came at him again, he swung the brick as hard as he could.
It caught her in the side of the head. The force of the blow sent her crashing into the wall a third time, and she went down heavily.
Snarling in rage, Tiago’s father came after him. Tiago dropped to his hands and knees and shifted into jaguar form again. Not fast enough—his father’s teeth latched onto his shoulder. Tiago rolled, trying to shake him off.
Both of them twisted, and in the confusion his father’s back leg came close to Tiago’s jaw. Tiago bit down as hard as he could. The sickening crunch of bone filled his ears, and Tiago’s father let out a shriek.
Tiago dropped him and took human form again, running to snatch up the brick again.
His father was back in human form too, glaring at Tiago and clutching his mangled leg. “You gonna kill me then?”
Tiago stood with the brick. He could bash his father’s brains in. Or take jaguar form and tear out his throat. But the thought made him sick.
Was it cowardice? Or not wanting to stain himself with their deaths? “If I ever see you again, I’ll kill you.” Was this a mistake? Would he have to keep worrying that his parents would come after him again?
But he saw something different in his father’s eyes: fear.
Tiago hurled the brick as far as he could. The sound of it clattering against the concrete filled the alley.
Very deliberately, Tiago turned his back on his father. Then he shifted and ran as fast as his injuries would allow.
The extremists were still attacking, and he needed to find his friends.