The Warehouse pt2

 

I knew they would come in the middle of the night. They would wait for most of the kids to be asleep. Long enough that they'd feel safe. I wanted to be on the roof, but James convinced me it would be a bad idea. I would be too much of a target, and no one would be able to guide the kids. I didn’t like asking them to fight, but we needed this building. There wasn’t a better place. The other neighborhoods would be too dangerous all the time to leave some of the kids there.

I kept pacing around on the catwalk. I didn’t want to wake any of the kids, but I couldn’t hold still. Most of the kids were piled together in a small office that hovered over the middle of the room. They would be safe there. When I felt the wards shimmer, I sent James to wake up the kids that would stand with me, even as the guilt tore through me. It was my job to protect them, and I was leading them into a fight. They were sleeping beneath the catwalk, alert within moments of James shaking them. I should’ve found a way to make the smaller building work. This was reckless.

The first fire trap activated, and someone screamed. Amy led the Weres in shifting. They prowled the warehouse walls, watching for any sign they would break through.

They blew a hole in the wall. It was wide enough for six people to walk in at the same time. The traps were obliterated in the blast. Our fairies lined up in front of our witches. They couldn’t lose line of sight. I stayed on the catwalk and waited for James to join me.

Weres poured through the gap. Seven of them. Our four lunged as soon as they saw them. My heart twisted as they made contact. Most of my kids were younger than theirs, but I made them all train with me. We needed to be stronger. I knew we were a target. The only way to protect them was to make them strong.

Some of their wolves froze as our fairies flung their magic at them. It wasn’t a precise strike, but it held long enough for our wolves to drive the rest of them back. I fired ice lances when I saw the openings and used the wind to lessen their blows. We were holding.

The front door blew open.

The blast of air the leader sent out knocked all my kids off their feet. I barely managed to brace for it as James got to my side, bow slung over his shoulder.

“You can do this, V,” he said.

He notched an arrow as I nodded. I threw my hands up. He fired when I did. He was getting faster. He let arrow after arrow fly as a stream of fire left my fingertips. I didn’t have the control to wield it as a true whip, but it kept them occupied.

Then I felt magic joining mine.

Two different kinds. While I kept the fire a solid mass to be used, someone added intensity to it, and someone else started steering it. Grace. She was the oldest and most skilled. She had to be guiding it.

My magic was fading. I could hear our wolves still keeping theirs back. I leaned into the railing so I wouldn’t collapse and felt James’s arm come around my waist.

“Don’t worry about me,” I forced out. “Keep focus on them.”

“I’m not going to let you fall.”

“I’m fine.”

He sighed but drew his bow. He fired a few more arrows as my vision blurred. I was going to lose the magic. I gritted my teeth and pushed harder. Our wolves howled triumphantly, and I saw them run toward the front door.

The leader stepped up to meet them. I would not let him take aim at our wolves. I fired an ice lance. My aim was off. It shot straight through his left shoulder. One of our wolves leapt and ripped his throat out. It had to be Amy.

I stumbled. James dropped his bow and reached for me. He barely managed to keep me upright.

“Let go, Vanessa,” someone yelled from below. “We’ve got it.”

I didn’t want to. I needed to help them.

“V,” James said softly as he helped me sit down. “Let go.”

A sob was torn from my throat as I let go of my magic. The whip flickered but then took up its form again. I blinked stars out of my eyes as our wolves howled again. Cheers rang out from underneath me.

“They are retreating,” I heard someone yell. “We held it!”

Then I blacked out.