Antebellum Awakening (The Network Series #2)(92)

“No!” I yelled. “Where are you? Your fight is with me!”

Another Clava landed in front of me, a leering grin on his half-transformed face. He held a black sword in his hand, sharp, but covered in rust and what looked like black tar.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I muttered with a surge of power, falling instantly into the fight when he advanced on me. After dodging his half sword, realizing it seemed almost like a club, I stabbed him in the thigh, yanked the blade free, and then pushed Viveet into his stomach. He staggered back with a groan, falling away from my sword. His black blood sizzled on Viveet’s burning metal.

A flash of hazel eyes caught my attention.

“Bianca!” Camille screamed, reaching for me with one arm. A streak of bright red blood dripped from her elbow, staining her beautiful ivory gown. A Clava nearby had her dress in his long claw and was pulling her toward him. “Bianca, help!”

I dodged through a tangle of witches and slammed my shoulder into the Clava, knocking him over. Viveet cut through his leathery black flesh, removing one of his arms and biting into his neck. He screamed as I pushed off the ground and cut his head off with a quick swing. Shards of glass stuck to the bottom of my feet, but I only briefly registered the pain. Brecken stood just in front of Camille, locked in combat with two of the black wraiths.

“Are you okay, Camille?”

“I-I’m fine, I think. Are we going to die?” she asked, her eyes wide with terror. “We’re locked in!”

“No!” I yelled. Viveet flared, her flames licking high into the air. “You won’t die! Come on,” I said taking her trembling hand. “Let’s get you somewhere safe.”

“Where?” she wailed. “Nowhere is safe!”

Frantic, I looked around. The Clavas concentrated most of their efforts on the Guardians and Council Members. A few of the hideous beasts plucked escaping witches off the walls, tossing them back into the crowd like rag dolls. My eyes fell on the edges of the ballroom, where several heavy couches sat against the wall.

“There,” I said, nodding with my head. “We’ll get you to hide behind those until you can get outside.”

“What about Brecken?”

A Guardian from the windows fought his way next to Brecken, who cut the leg from one Clava as his friend decapitated the other.

“He’ll be fine,” I said.

“Where’s Leda?” she cried, stopping me. “We can’t go without her.”

“I’ll find her!”

Hands locked, we plunged into the fray. I staved off a few stray swords and spears with Viveet. My bare feet seemed to find every stray piece of glass still littering the floor, but even that pain wasn’t as great as the dull thud of my headache. I gritted my teeth and pushed through both.

“Bianca!” Camille gasped. “Your feet!”

“It’s fine,” I said, refusing to look at the bloody footprints. A witch nearby let out a hollow cry. I whirled around to see him fall on his face, blood pooling out in a balloon behind him. Camille froze, her eyes riveted on his dead body.

“GO!” I yelled, shoving her behind the couch. I pushed it as far against the wall as it would go, then stuffed her inside and put the pillows on top of her head. “I’ll go find Leda.”

Leda found me. I whirled around and she was there.

“Bianca!” she cried in relief, grabbing my arms. “There’s—”

“No time!” I said, pushing her down. A bat came winging right at us, teeth bared in razor sharp fangs, aimed right at my face. I sliced it in half with Viveet and the two pieces crashed to the ground with a squish. Blood stained Leda’s pale dress. She stared at it in shock.

“You’ve got to hide!” I said. Camille let out a cry of relief and reached for Leda.

“Stay here,” I told them both.

“Wait!” Leda said. “I need your dagger!”

I stopped, grabbed the small dagger from my ankle that Merrick had given me, and handed it to her hilt first. Already hunched over, I pulled three shards of glass out of the bottom of my feet, feeling instant relief once they came out. Blood flowed over my fingers, making them sticky.

“Use the dagger if you need to,” I told Leda, who stared at my hands, looking paler than ever. “Don’t move until I come back!”

“Bianca!”

Leda’s cry died behind me as I left, only one thought on my mind: I had to find Miss Mabel. This would continue until she died.

This was between her and I.

My eyes glanced up at the clock. 11:38. Sixteen minutes left.

I tuned back into the fray as I pushed my way through. Guardians still streamed into the room from two windows. The dragons roared with fire outside. Witches in their lavish gowns and elegant suits tried crawling out the glass-strewn windows, assisted by a small contingent of Guardians. A few witches lay gasping in their death throes on the floor. One man had a fit of spasms and jerked, a foaming bite mark on his face.

“Bloody madness,” I whispered to no one.

Guardians and Protectors battled with the wraiths, which all wore the same impassioned, cold expression and attacked without rule or regard. Unable to break through the pockets of fighting to get near the top of the room, I shoved a cake off one of the dessert tables and jumped up onto its spot.