Chapter 51: Bittersweet

*****Strix’x perspective*****

Training was going well. EJ was a quick learner. He was better than I was. It was amazing how fast his reflexes were. Faster than anyone else’s here. My son was quick on his feet and it was almost as if he moved like the wind. I had been worried he would get hurt, but seeing him in training and how he moves alleviated those fears, mostly. I know he heals quickly but he is my son and a mother worries for her children.

Phoenix’s visions have been getting more frequent. He told us that I might be able to use my telepathy to bring the enemy to their knees. We have been trying to figure that out. I have not been successful yet. I knew he was leaving a lot out when he talked about his visions. I could see the pain in his eyes. It made me wonder if Taylor died in them. They were pretty close. But then we were all family now. If Taylor’s death is what triggered it in his vision, then maybe I just need to tap into that. Feel the anguish I would feel for the loss of Taylor.

I kept trying. Without knowing what it was that triggered my extra telepathic abilities in Phoenix’s vision, I tried to feel the anguish I would feel if I lost someone I loved. I knew how devastating it would be for me, but I had never felt an emotion strong enough. Not even when I killed my mother. I wasn’t sure how devastating anguish felt.

I continued with training the newbies in various martial arts styles in the early mornings. They were getting quite good at it. They trained with me for two hours everyday. Afterwards, we took a break for breakfast. Then they trained with Shawn for two hours, taking a break for lunch after. After lunch, they did combat training with Nathan for two hours.

Everyone rotated around. After breakfast, I trained the intermediate group in martial arts. They started their day with combat training. And after lunch, they would go to Shawn. In the afternoons, I got the advanced group. Each group was a mix of supernaturals: beginners, intermediates, and advanced. Everyone trained for six hours everyday. We picked different locations in the mountains to get a feel for the terrain. On the weekends we added a two hour night session for everyone.

*****Shawn’s perspective*****

Something was up with Strix. Her emotions were all over the place during training. I asked her a few times and she said she was trying to channel them so she could trigger an emotional boost to her telepathy. I didn’t buy it completely. And she wasn’t reaching a heightened emotional state which she would need to do if she’s going to trigger the ability. I tried to come up with some ideas on how to help her, but fell short every time. We only had a week before the battle started. We were running out of time.

It was the fourth of July, fireworks were going off. We headed deeper into the mountains looking for Khenzu and his army. When we found them, chaos broke loose.

I tried to stay close to Strix. It was proving to be difficult. I did hear Strix shout to Billy that it was the Martin Clan. I had not heard of them but assumed that this was significant information. I mindlinked with Strix.

Who are the Martin Clan? I asked

A small but powerful clan. Stephanie Jenkins can raise the dead. Xander De La Rosa can detach his body parts and command them from a distance. Tessa De La Rosa can transform into a swarm of biting flies. Samantha Kilian is a shield and the half sister of Michael Evers, daughter of Jason Kilian of the Fairchild Clan. Her mother was a Martin.

That’s crazy.

Yep. I guess they were working together to bring Khenzu back.

At that moment, Strix was knocked down. I ripped the head off the vamp I was fighting and rushed to her. I fought the vamp who knocked her down while she regained her footing. She looked too cute to be in a fight, even with blood in her hair. She said he was fine and rejoined the fight.

I looked around for EJ. I saw him on top of the peak with Khenzu. My son was holding his ground. I got punched in the face and had to refocus on the fight in front of me.

I caught the next punch and spun the vamp around. I grabbed the other arm and ripped it from its socket. I must have been fighting Xander because that arm then grabbed my legs and I fell to the ground with Xander on top of me. He laughed, one of those insane laughs. “I got you right where I want you now, wolf,” he said as he tried to get a good lock on my head to rip it off. I fought back. I put my thumbs through his eyes. Blood sprayed my face but it wasn’t his blood. I threw Xander off me and saw Billy had bit the head off a vamp. “That was Stephanie, can’t have her raising the dead,” he said. Just then a swarm of flies surrounded us. There were so many we couldn’t see through them. They were circling tighter and tighter until we were being squeezed to death. We felt the heat of flames lick at them. When they cleared, we saw Taylor had come to our aid. I looked for Xander. I needed to make sure he was dead or kill him if he wasn’t. I found him fighting blindly with one of Phoenix’s men. “I’ll finish what I started,” I told the fae. He kindly obliged and I ripped Xander’s head off and then ripped it in two. And just to make sure he was dead, I ripped out his heart and smashed it on the ground, smothering it with my boot. Taylor and Phoenix had finished off Tessa, the swarm of flies. Samantha was the last of the Martin Clan supers. I didn’t know what she looked like. I hoped she lay among the dead.

My hope was short-lived. I saw her shielding a group of vamps who were fighting Billy, Donnie, Karmen, and Elizabeth. I mindlinked Strix and we headed toward her. As we took her out, the Barnette group finished off the group she was shielding. The Martin Clan was dwindling.

*****Taylor’s perspective*****

As the sun came up, I saw the mountain was covered in blood and bodies. We continued to fight. I saw several vampires run up to the peak and I put a barrier around EJ. I told Phoenix we needed to take them out so EJ could focus on Khenzu. The fight was still in full swing and it took us a minute before we got to them. Mary and some other witches and fae joined us. After we killed them we set their bodies on fire for good measure. Phoenix and I stayed close to EJ, keeping vampires away from him. I wanted to watch this kid in action but I had another role to play. The Barnette kids, aside from Strix, were fighting alongside one another. Zack and Kyle were with them as well. Alpha Jacob was fighting alongside Billy, Donnie, Elizabeth, and Karmen. The more bodies that dropped, the more I wondered if Strix really needed a boost to her telepathy ability.

We fought with the Martin clan all day. When night fell, I thought we were winning. We had lost some, but the Martins had lost so many more.

It became a habit to set fire to the enemies’ corpses. The fae and witches seemed to be taking pleasure in setting their bodies on fire. Hundreds of small fires could be seen around the mountain as bodies burned. They died out quickly though as the corpses of our enemy turned to ash.

*****Strix’s perspective*****

As the sun rose on the battle again, I looked around. The Martins were almost all dead. The witches and fae were getting rid of the dead bodies by setting them on fire. I saw Taylor and Phoenix guarding the peak where EJ was fighting Khenzu. My sweet boy was doing great. Khenzu looked exhausted, but I had a feeling that it was just a trick. I mean he is a god after all. I saw the rest of my family fighting a slew of Martin vamps. As I rushed over to help, one of the Martins, a vampire I had not met before, threw out a circular saw blade. It cut the heads off of Karmen, Elizabeth, Donnie, Jacob, and my father, Billy. I collapsed on the ground next to Billy. I couldn’t believe it. My father was gone. I tried to put his head back on his body, but it didn't work. I screamed so loud I thought my head would explode.