Book Five: Chapter 24

They rushed her, and she barely had time to line up two more shots before they closed the distance, hooting and shrieking in a mixture of fury and excitement. The bullets tore through the air, striking with precision born of desperation, and two of the creatures went down with wet thuds against the forest floor. Velvet lashed out with her legs, catching one across the chest and sending it sprawling, then grabbed another and slammed its skull into the jagged rocks beneath her. The first creature twitched but did not die immediately, while the others collapsed onto it, teeth gnashing, ripping into their fallen comrade with savage efficiency.

“Fuck this,” she muttered under her breath, teeth gritted, as she grabbed Emery, who had been knocked from her shoulder during the skirmish. The imp squealed and clutched her jacket as she swung him up securely. She leapt over the slab of rock, tumbling head over heels down the slope beyo