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I didn’t know what the goddess of friendship was going to do. She wasn’t a hunter and warrior like Artemis, but someone with magic looking out for Lorraine was better than nothing. I hoped to the gods that it would work out and Philotes could help protect her.
Finally, I managed to grab a hold of one of the men’s heads and snapped his neck. He fell to the ground and looked up at me with lifeless eyes. The magic already lessened, and the guy’s friends froze, staring at their fallen friend.
The shock lasted only a second, but it was long enough for me to realize each of them only had a certain amount of magic. Collectively, it was a problem, but with one down, the ones who were left weren’t nearly as strong.
I grabbed one of the two men, wrapping a thick arm around his neck until he kicked and squirmed. He was much shorter than me, and with my arm around his neck, his feet barely touched the ground. The other tried to attack, hitting me with that spiked ball, but I jerked his friend into the path of the weapon, and the man I held onto took the blow instead. He howled in pain.
“You fucking asshole!” he bit out in a hoarse voice. “You hit me!”
The last man standing hesitated. He looked at his friend, then looked at me, unsure of what to do.
“Who gave you magic?” I demanded.
The guy with the spiked ball hesitated.
“I’ll kill him,” I threatened, tightening my grip on his friend.
“Tell him,” the guy choked out, but the one with the spiked ball shook his head.
“Do it,” he said. “I’m not telling you shit.”
I shook my head, squeezing the guy’s neck so hard, I was sure his head was going to pop off.
“What the fuck, man?” he gasped, his face turning red. “Tell him.”
The guy with the spiked ball shook his head and took out a gun. I hadn’t realized he had one, too. He aimed the gun at me and shot his friend.
When I dropped the dead body, I stared at his buddy, the only one still on his feet aside from the one who’d gone after Lorraine.
“A gun won’t kill me,” I said.
“No, it won’t. It will slow you down, though. By the time you get to her, it will be too late.”
He shot me in the chest. I jerked back, and he shot me again, planting five bullets in my chest. I gasped for breath as blood blossomed on my shirt in various places. He planted more bullets in my legs.
I let out a roar of pain and fury, and took a step closer. Two more bullets jerked me back before I reached him.
When I grabbed the gun, the last shot backfired, and the man screamed. I cut his scream short when I ripped out his throat.
The dead body crumpled to the ground, and I shook my hand off, splattering blood everywhere.
A scream sounded from the orchard, and I spun around.
The bullets in my chest were already headed toward the surface, my body rejecting them as it healed itself. I took one step toward the orchard, wincing in pain as my muscles rippled around the bullets still buried in my thighs. I dug in my chest, looking for the bullets, digging them out as they came closer to the surface.
I took another step and another, ignoring the pain, the burning. The bullets worked their way out as I started running, and as my body healed up, I could move faster and faster.
When I got to the orchard, Philotes stood before Lorraine, blocking her with her body. She glowed brightly, her skin on fire, and her eyes were like a fiery bottomless pit. The man with the gun was terrified. I could smell it in the air, an acrid stench that always reminded me of how weak humans really were.
I let out a roar and ran toward the guy. He spun around and fired a shot at me.
“No!” Lorraine shouted and jumped out from behind Philotes to come to me—she thought I would be injured or killed.
“Lorraine!” Philotes and I cried out at the same time when the gun turned back to her and a shot fired.
The bullet hit Lorraine. She fell backward, her blond hair streaming behind her in a cloud before she fell to the ground.
I let out a deadly war cry before approaching the man. I grabbed him and ripped his head clean off his body, tossing it to the side as the headless body fell to the ground.
