Rage of Vendetta (The Vendetta Series #2)

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

“Move!” 

I practically fling Sasha to the ground as an octopus goes sailing overhead. Its weird poison spout/mouth misses her forehead by inches. I toss a ball of energy after it, just in case it reverses and jumps again. 

Sasha pops back up, pissed.

“Have sea creatures adapted flying abilities while I was unaware?” Asil yells. He swings his sword, cutting the octopus leaping into his path right in half. 

“They’re being controlled to go beyond what their brain naturally allows,” Eric explains from behind Courtney, who is flinging a tree into the incoming wave from our left. “That’s why they’re functioning without water for so long. ”
“That’s very nice to know,” Kane shouts, digging a handgun out with one hand while swinging a sword with his other. “Now how do we get them to piss off?”

“We can’t,” Vee says grimly. She dives for the floor, taking shelter behind Sasha, her telekinetic efforts exhausted. 

“Are these two always this useless?” Leigh asks, nodding at Jesse and Eric before slaughtering a family of leaping octopi. 

“Hey!” Jesse shouts in protest. He and Eric are huddled for safety behind Courtney, doing nothing but shouting every time something comes too close. “I’m far from useless, thanks. This, just, isn’t my forté.”

Leigh wrinkles her nose, and swinging her sword, says, “It’s his.”

Eric frowns at the accusation. “Yeah, well, you try overtaking the brain of an animal already controlled. It’s hard, okay?”

There’s a shout from Narkus as the energy I toss backwards nearly hits him. 

“Oops!” I call in apology, already switching to telekinesis, pushing back from the ones coming in at the north-west. My abilities are coming in shorter spurts. It’ll take seven times as long before I exhaust myself completely like Vee currently has, but this isn’t looking good. 

“I can’t keep this up much longer,” Sasha shouts from beside me. 

“Me too,” Courtney calls. She moves her arms in sync with two vines she has in control, grabbing the creatures when they’re within distance and squeezing them to death.

It’s a gruesome sight, but since they’re one of the deadliest marine animals in the world, I convince myself it’s for a good cause.

I hope we’re not endangering them.

“This is how she’s weaponizing the animal communicators she’s turned,” I hear Eric say. “She must have fished all these out of the ocean and kept them with her until her mindless needed them for the first wave of defense.”

“She must have cleared the entire Pacific population,” Courtney spits. She stomps her foot, and with a jolt, the ground splits open a large crack the octopi begin to pour into. At least the rain has lessened, so the ditch doesn’t fill with water first. Within seconds, the crack is already a full grave. “They’re just going to keep coming.”

“I hate to keep repeating this,” Leigh pants, “but we need to leave now, or locate the mindless demon-bloods responsible for these creatures. Kill them, and these drop too.”

“That’s impossible,” Vee argues. She’s clenching and unclenching her fists rhythmically, trying to get a grip on her ability again. “On an island of this size, they could be anywhere here, or still be on the coast of the real one.”