Dreams of Fury: Descendants of the Fall Book IV by Hodges, Aaron (most important books to read .txt) 📗

as the five consciousnesses fought back, determined to defend the charge the Old One had given them. Sweat dripped from Adonis’s forehead as he panted, his entire being focused on his prisoners, struggling to hold them.

“Adonis?”

He flinched as Maisie’s voice intruded on his concentration. One of the Tangata leapt at the distraction, throwing his strength against Adonis and almost breaking free…

Kneel! Adonis hissed, putting all his remaining strength behind his Voice, seeking to regain control before it splintered into a thousand pieces.

A tremor shook the Tangata and he thought they would repel him. Then the moment passed, and one by one they fell to their knees.

Releasing his breath, Adonis finally risked a glance at the human. Maisie stood alongside him, her eyes as wide as the Anaheran children, though in her case it might have been something her kind did to see better in the darkness. But the way she looked at him, the lines that creased her forehead, he could sense her concern.

“Adonis, I have them,” Maisie said quickly, flashing a glance at the kneeling Tangata. “Come on, we have to reach the city before they sound the alarm.”

Adonis said nothing. He couldn’t. All he could do was stand and stare at her, hands at his sides, hoping she would understand. She had too, surely? The perimeter guard had been easily enough to influence—they had no reason to suspect. But these five? They had witnessed his treachery first-hand. And they were stronger too. No compulsion would last once the force of his presence left. Nor would Adonis kill his own kind, whatever it might cost himself. They were his people still, his brethren. It was his own fault that Maya controlled them.

Maisie stared back at him, lips pursed, fists clenched. He watched as realisation finally came to her, the truth dawn in those dark eyes. In the night, drained of their colour by the silver moon, they could have been as grey as his own. Indeed, her courage, her strength in the face of their enemies, she was as bold as any of his sisters.

“I see,” she said at last, looking from Adonis to the guards. “You knew…this was to be a one-way journey.” She swallowed. “This better…better not be some convoluted plot to see your lover again you know…” A shiver shook the human as she turned to him. “She’ll kill you, you know? After this, when she learns what you’ve done…”

Adonis inclined his head in a nod. He knew. Maya’s rage had been terrible to behold when he’d failed on the river. Now he plotted openly against her, had freed the Anahera. He could only pray to his ancestors that his death was quick.

Exhaling, Adonis looked towards the distant city, where the dark walls were shadows even to his eyes. It would take Maisie more than an hour to cross the terrain with the fledgelings. Could he hold the guards until the dawn arrived? Even as he considered the prospect, he felt them fighting again, their collective wills pressing against his own.

Quickly he made a gesture, a dismissal in the direction of that distant city. Still the human hesitated, until a whimper from the children caught her attention. She glanced quickly over her shoulder, and in that gesture, he glimpsed her own fear, the terror she struggled to conceal. A lump lodged in Adonis’s throat as he felt his regret. Everything that had happened to this woman, to these children, to his people—it was all his fault. If he had not woken Maya, had not led her back to New Nihelm, had not supported her against the old Matriarch…

…but it was too late for regrets now. With a final nod to the human, he turned to his prisoners, taking a firmer hold of their minds. Stones crunched behind him as Maisie finally led the fledgelings away. Thankfully they were positioned near the edge of the camp and he hoped they could slip away unnoticed.

If not…well, Adonis could do nothing more for the human now. All he could do was hold the Tangatan guards for as long as possible. So gritting his teeth, he stared down at his captives kneeling in the dirt.

Five pairs of eyes stared back at him, hatred burning in their grey depths.

An hour passed and the sun had touched the distant horizon when their collective strength finally broke him. By then Adonis was on his knees as well, gasping for each breath as he threw every ounce of his strength into the battle. But as the sun lit the walls of the distant city, the last of his strength slipped away and he collapsed to the dirt. Abruptly, the flow of power reversed, and the crushing strength of five Voices crashed against his mind.

The cry of five Voices echoed through the Tangatan camp, sounding the alarm, alerting his brethren to their peril.

Chaos ensued as the Tangata responded, leaping to their feet in preparation for battle. At first their response was one of confusion, their minds fixed on the humans, expecting an army to descend upon them at any moment.

It was long minutes before the Voices of the five guards cut through the chaos. Their panic turned to anger then as realisation spread through the Tangatan ranks.

That one of their own had betrayed them.

Adonis shrunk as the collective will of his people turned in his direction.

But before it could strike, another stirred, a mind beyond all others, a rage that made the thousands around him seem like candles before an inferno.

The Old One came for him.

27

The Queen

Erika had never known such rage. It burned in her veins, filling her with the need to destroy, to unleash the gauntlet against her enemies, to see them writhe and scream and beg for her mercy. How satisfying it would be, to watch the queen fall, to see her die slowly by Erika’s hand, in recompense for everything the woman had done…

…a tremor shook Erika and the image faded, replaced by one of Queen Amina standing over her,