Changeling (Book 1) Rated R

Chapter 25

When all seemed lost, here came two forms swooping from the sky.

One I immediately recognized as Brandon. The other, maybe due to the shock of seeing him, took me a moment longer to register.

But without a doubt, it was him.

It was Christian, swooping down onto the rooftop like an avenging angel.

A strip of gleaming metal was clutched in his hand.

A sword.

Shocked back into a sense of consciousness, I watched and cheered as Christian rounded on a guard, lifting him into the sky and letting him drop from an incredible height to his doom.

He seemed all powerful.

This time, no one could stop him.

Beside him, Brandon attacked the remaining guards head on as they scrambled to fight back, clearly taken by surprise.

"Rodrigo, whatever you do, do not let them through. It's almost complete."

A jolt went through me that shoved me back several steps deeper into the darkness.

I kept my metaphorical feet rooted in the dark ground, every fiber of my being fighting to stay awake and not succumb to the darkness.

Carlos chanted louder now, voice ringing with authority and power.

My soul poured out of me in giant streamers of light and color -as if there were a never ending supply of it- and into Elizabeth.

But there was no unlimited supply.

And soon I'd be dead.

Christian and Brandon's battle cries sang out, drowning the sound of Carlos' voice momentarily.

For a fraction of a second I lost sight of Rodrigo as he disappeared through the balcony doors. He came back out mere moments later, carrying an intricately carved bow and a quiver, fully loaded with arrows strapped to his back and began shooting quickly and efficiently toward the stars.

Horrified I slammed a thought at Christian as fast as I could manage but it only came out as a distorted.

Arrows! Behind you.

Why I was helping him, after what I knew about him, I didn't know.

He turned and twisted his body in the air, each arrow narrowly missing its target.

Rodrigo growled as Christian swept over him and caught Christian with an arrow in the shoulder.

Christian snarled in response and broke the arrow without so much as a grimace.

Get back into your body, girl! Come on, you can do this.

It was exhausting, like trying to walk through a storm.

My feet drifted away from the fog and I began to float up into the nighttime sky. My hands grasped at the air, not catching onto anything.

This was not the end.

It couldn't be.

This couldn't be all that life had in store for me.

With an ear splitting shriek, and a great deal of effort on my spiritual part, my soul snapped back into my body.

There was a sense of being home.

Of everything being right with the world for a millisecond before the pain settled into every fiber of my being.