"You have got to be kidding me!" I tried not to yell, but I wasn't sure it worked well. It didn't matter anyway, everything had gone to Hell.

Everyone had weapons at the ready, turning on one another. No one had taken a shot or attacked yet, they were trying to figure out where the first shot had come from.

Two more went off from different parts of the room and that was when everyone started firing. They shot blindly into the air, at the walls, the ceiling, wherever. It was only a matter of time before another hit me.

I jumped and tried to pull away when something touched my wrists.

"Stop struggling, you're only making this more difficult," Isaac hissed from behind me.

I let out a sigh and Isaac unlocked the restraints, pulling me under the bar and behind the curtain. He led me through the labyrinth that was The Torch hallways, running as fast as the robes would let me go.

Something grabbed at my hand and twirled, throwing a punch. My hand was grabbed, and I swung the one the person had tried to grab, landing a punch in the gut. Pain flared up in my arm around the bullet with the contact.

The man grunted and I started to run when he grabbed me. I tried to fight him off, but he grabbed my hands and pushed me against the wall, the breath rushing from my lungs with the impact. As soon as his fingers intertwined with mine, I knew who it was.

Those brown eyes burned into my own, just inches away. My breath shook as it came back in slowly.

It was five seconds that felt like an eternity; an eternity of fire raging inside. Five seconds way too long before his lips met mine and the heat engulfed me completely. His hands left mine, going to my face, and mine ran through his now-shaggy hair, ignoring the stinging pain I felt.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but if they haven't noticed you're gone yet, then they will soon."

Jared pulled back and tucked my hair behind my ear.

"Let's go." He grabbed my hand and we ran down after Isaac.

We ended up back at the locker room.

"Shouldn't we be getting out of here?" I asked as the door shut behind us.

"No. We aren't running anymore," Jared said.

"We're fighting our way out, and we aren't leaving until the last person who follows any Klarke goes down." Isaac locked the door.

"You do realize I have a bullet in my arm, right?"

"Yeah, sorry about that," a familiar voice said from around the corner. "I anticipated her hand going up. I was trying to be proactive." Durin stepped out and threw a set of clothes my way. "You're going to need to get out of those robes and into something a little more comfortable," he mocked, bringing up when I'd told him my outfit had been extremely comfortable and fit for hunting.

"You can fight with a flesh wound, right?" He winked at me.

I shook my head with a smile and went around one of the corners, changing into the new clothes.

"So what's the plan?" I asked as I changed.

"A little of this, a little of that," Jared said. I could hear the smile in his words.

"Very specific, wolf boy." I rolled my eyes and pulled the shirt down.

"We've got some friends."

Everything shook around us.

I wrapped the robes tie around my arm over the wound and tied it tight to slow and hopefully stop the bleeding, and then went back out.

"I believe that would be one of the Sisters of Wilde," Isaac said looking toward the door.

"You have got to be kidding me," I groaned.

"What can I say, she really seemed taken by you." Isaac smiled wide.

"I'm sure."

I wanted to be angry that he'd recruited the witches. Not just because of what their leader had done, but because they were dark.

"Who else do I need to expect?"

"Some friends of mine, a merry band of misfits," Jared shrugged.

"We need to get going," Isaac said after peeking his head out the door.

The sounds of fighting could be heard all the way in the locker rooms.

"Weapons?" I asked.

Isaac handed me my dagger. My hand wrapped around it for the first time in a long time. I couldn't believe I had it again. I sheathed it on a thigh holder Durin had made sure to add to the pile.

"And these are for you," Durin said.

I turned around to two guns.

"Fully loaded and ready to go." He smiled.

I wrapped my arms around him. "It's so good to see you again. Thank you for coming."

"There is no way I would leave you like that, Little Jaguar."

"Good." I smiled and took the guns.

"You might want this as well." He handed me a small box off ammunition for when I ran out.

"Let's kick some ass."

We ran back down the halls toward the sound of fighting. I flung the door open and rushed straight into the battle.

A woman just inside turned and held the gun to my head, but I shot first, taking her to the ground. I turned it on the next person and she dropped her gun, putting her hands in the air.

"P-please don't shoot," Renaldi stuttered. "I-I didn't want to do it. I h-had n-no choice! You believe me, don't you?" The poor girl shook.

"I motioned with my gun for her to leave. If she was lying and came back, I would be the one to deal with her.

Men and women flew through the air by magic. Wolves rampaged the place, tearing throats out, I even saw a couple vampires.

I shuddered. It didn't matter what I thought of the rest of the supernatural world, vampires still grossed me out. I found it incredibly difficult that a creature that fed solely off the blood of humans could in any way be good.

Jared ran straight into the thick of the fight, and all I could do was watch. He moved gracefully but fought dirty. He'd gotten the better of me in the hallway, but I hadn't thought much of it then, but watching him now, he was like an entirely different person. He knew how to fight; it was dirty, but effective. It didn't have the flare of the hunters; it was back alley scrapping.

I took a hit to my jaw. Served me right for letting myself get distracted during a fight. I was lucky it hadn't been worse. I stumbled back, working to get my feet back under me. I rubbed my jaw and looked up; it was another girl from my time at the training academy we'd had. She had been in Durin's main group.

"And here we were going to give you a dignified death. I think this suits you a bit more though," she snarled.

"Yeah," I nodded and gave her a half smile. "I'd much rather go down fighting." I tucked the guns into the waistband of my pants and pulled out the dagger.

She made the first move, coming for me. I deflected her arm, pushing it up and taking a swipe with my daggered hand. She jumped and arched her back enough to get out of the way. She brought a leg up to kick me in the stomach, but I grabbed it and flipped her backwards.

She screamed and lunged; the dagger got me across the thigh, just below the holster. I brought my leg up, kicking her chin. Her head whipped backwards and she fell to her back. She was a fighter though, she jumped to her feet and rushed again. She obviously hadn't gotten any lessons from Durin while at the headquarters in the U.S.

She went for another kick and this time I grabbed her leg and held it under my arm. I stepped on her foot on the ground, grabbed her arm, and pulled her leg up high enough that she would be off balance if I took my foot off. I then used my other foot to stomp straight down on her knee, busting it. her scream this time was one of pain, and I dropped her to the ground.

"Now, I'm going to let you stay here so you can have the choice I never did."

"I don't listen to the damned." She pulled out a gun and raised it.

I didn't even catch it until I didn't have enough time to react. All I had time to do was put my arm up. The shot rang out and I expected to feel the all too familiar tearing of flesh, but it didn't happen. I opened my eyes and lowered my arm to see blood pouring out of the side of her head. I looked to the side, and Jared put his hand down, a gun clutched tight in his palm.

I looked around at the carnage. I couldn't even tell how many were on the ground, but there weren't too many left fighting. The High Mistress of Wilde stepped up and raised her hands. Everyone left fighting stopped suddenly, their arms forced down to their sides, their bodies raising three feet in the air.

"There has been enough bloodshed!" She said.

I could hardly believe a dark witch would ever say something like that.

"Now, which of you in here believes in what the Klarkes were talking about? In raising a little hell to get rid of the vile supernatural beasts?" She looked around the silent room. "None of you? So you won't mind my Alpha friend making the rounds?"

She nodded to Layke who walked around, asking each person a question.

I looked at the woman walking around, and the man who followed behind her.

a merry band of misfits, Jared had said. Layke and her merry band of misfits.

Apparently the first person had given an answer Layke didn't like, because the man shot the person between the eyes.

I turned around. It didn't matter how many times I killed. I couldn't just stand there and watch those people gunned down. But I couldn't stop them either, because I knew if the battle had continued, it either would have been them or me and my friends.

Jared stepped over and wrapped his arms around me, putting my head against his chest.

"Why didn't you just come back that night? Everything might have been different," I whispered.

"If I would have known what was going to happen, I would have. I just couldn't do it though. It wasn't you; I had come to terms with that. You had done what you could. I needed time for me, and Layke was helping me."

"Learn to fight." I sighed.

I should have been teaching him. He should have learned from me. If he would have learned from me though, then anyone here would have expected his moves, but he would have had strength and speed on his side. Instead, that woman had taught him. He'd been ahead on every level.

Another shot rang out and I put my head further down.

"I'm so sorry about all of this. If I could change it, I would."

"I wouldn't."

I looked up then. Was he insane?

"Despite the fact that you were almost killed in a ritualistic sacrifice to cleanse your soul and that it turned into a bloodbath, we still got out of this together. Every couple has their ups and downs...our are just a bit more intense," he said with a smile.

I rolled my eyes and slapped his chest.

"No!" Durin said.

"Not them," Isaac ran over to the last two people left in the witch's hold. The Klarkes.

I walked over, standing in front of them both with my arms crossed. "I have something in mind for both of them."

*********

One more chapter to go before this book is over! Happy and sad tears all at the same time!!

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Red Assassin