A Shield of Glass (A Shade of Vampire #49)(23)

The Destroyers were gradually closing in on them as the group huddled closer together, their weapons drawn. They needed a distraction, a short window of time for them to use the shifters against the Destroyers, like they did before.

I looked over at Jax, who nodded, as if having guessed what I was about to suggest. He’d seen the group too. He’d figured it out. He brought two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply, prompting his wards to increase their speed and ride toward the Destroyers in an arc.

They were using their mind-bending abilities, I realized, as I watched the Destroyers shaking their heads and their horses getting out of control.

“My wards can’t do too much damage with all the motion, but if they come together like this, they can confuse the enemy long enough to bring a few seconds to our tactical advantage,” Jax shouted from a couple of yards away as he went in after them, firing his crossbow at the Destroyers.

Hansa and I followed, taking aim and shooting as many arrows as we could reload over the course of twenty to thirty feet, enough to temporarily draw the monsters’ attention from Aida and the others. The Destroyers hissed at us, pulling arrows from their sizzling wounds—the poison wasn’t going to kill them, but it slowed them down.

Aida, Phoenix, and Anjani caught the opening they needed to jump onto the backs of three shifters that had already morphed into flying horses. I had to give the beasts credit—they were very observant and quick in their thinking, despite their primitive and animalistic behavior.

I focused my arrows on the Destroyers that had landed and gotten off their flying horses, going after Eva, Aura, and Almandine, before I put my crossbow away and drew my sword. My horse seemed to understand what I wanted to do next, so it ran faster. The beasts turned their attention to me once they realized I was the source of the arrows stuck in their torsos, hissing as they charged me.

Hansa yelled as her horse went ahead, her broadsword out as she jumped off, twisting in mid-air and coming down on the first Destroyer, severing his head in the process. I raced toward a second beast as he came at me. I brought my sword to the side, ready to hit, but the Destroyer dodged and brought his own blade out. I ducked and felt the cool metal rush over my back, missing me by less than an inch.

I went back for a second hit, determined to take him down this time. He grinned as he slithered toward me. Several arrows flew from somewhere behind me, piercing the Destroyer’s chest. He growled furiously, but was weakened enough for me to cut his head off with one clean strike.

I turned around and saw dozens of succubi coming out of the woods, their bows out as they shot at every Destroyer, both above and on the ground. Their aim was exceptional, hitting the beasts in painful spots that left them open to more deadly attacks.

Hansa fought a Destroyer on her own. She missed a hit, and his massive tail swept her feet from under her, throwing her backward. Jax intervened, moving like a shadow with both swords out. They teamed up, and I couldn’t help but admire their synergy. While Hansa drew Destroyer blood, Jax finished the job by beheading the creature. He then used his mind-bending ability to temporarily distract another Destroyer as Hansa’s broadsword came down with a zing, removing the head from his body.

I focused on getting Eva, Aura, and Almandine out of there, as more Destroyers came down after them. The younglings held their ground, long knives out as they slashed at their attackers. Eva held up a sword, blocking every hit aimed at her.

“Hey!” I shouted, drawing a Destroyer’s attention from her as I jumped off my horse and ran toward him.

He sneered and came forward to get me. I figured it would give Eva the window she needed to escape and get to Stonewall behind us, wondering why she hadn’t turned into a snake yet. Instead, she raised a hand and muttered something under her breath. Her palm lit up in an incandescent blue as she shot a flame at the Destroyer. The azure fire spread fast and swallowed him whole, and he lost his mind, wailing and screaming in agony as I cut off his head.

I looked at Eva, who was staring at her hands in utter shock.

“I can’t believe I did it,” she muttered. “I finally did it! On my own!”

“How’d you do that?” I managed to ask before another Destroyer came at us.

Having gotten a grip on how to throw those flames out, Eva proceeded to launch another blue fireball at the beast before I brought my sword up in a sharp diagonal hit and decapitated him.

“Lamias can perform Druid magic,” she said. “I’ve been learning for a few years, but just the small stuff. This is a fifth circle spell. I didn’t think I had it in me!”

“Turns out you do!” I smirked as we teamed up and took out two more Destroyers before they could stick their poisoned spears into Aura and Almandine.

I looked up for a brief moment and watched Phoenix, Aida, and Anjani ride their shifters as they expertly fought with and defeated one Destroyer after another, while Field flew circles around them and used a hatchet to maim the remaining beasts before they were beheaded.

The succubi from the Green Tribe had helped clear the ground of the other Destroyers, breaking up into groups of four per beast—three to distract and wound, and the fourth to finish the job with a sword.

I looked at Eva and the younglings and pointed toward Stonewall.

“Go, now! We’ve got this!” I said.

Eva nodded and ran off, followed by Aura and Almandine, while Hansa, Jax, and I got busy with three more Destroyers before we eliminated the threat on our side. I understood then that practice was everything. Though at first, I’d been horrified by these creatures, I’d since learned to treat them as just larger opponents—especially after the night they invaded the mansion.