Lupi 04 - Night Season

will take my right. Sorcerer, what—”
    â€œI want a gun,” Gan said, hopping in place. “I really, really want a gun.”
    Eighty yards. Long, matted hair on their heads. None elsewhere, not even around the genitals. Some were female. That didn’t matter. He couldn’t let it matter.
    â€œDo they burn?” Cullen asked again.
    â€œYes. You throw fire? Good. Stand between Wen and Cynna Weaver. Closer. Stand closer to each other. I need room for my sword. Yes.”
    Cullen’s heart thudded against his ribs. He felt sick. He wanted to thrust Cynna into the middle of the circle. No, he told himself fiercely. No. She has a gun. She can use it. The more of them we kill, the safer she’ll be. But it was hard, damned hard, to let her take her place with the protectors instead of the protected.
    How the hell did Rule deal with this?
    Sixty yards.
    Tash said, “When in group mind, they ignore pain. Unless Wen can break them from the group mind, we must kill them to stop them.”
    Cullen could see their gaping mouths and the sharp, carnivore’s teeth lining them. “My range is about twenty yards. Steve?”
    â€œFifty yards for the maximum stopping power.” Normally Steve was a mercurial type—hot-tempered, driven, demon-ridden. He was calm now, as relaxed as Cullen had ever seen him. Nothing like the prospect of shooting monsters to settle a man down. “I’m waiting for forty yards, though, given the poor light.”
    â€œI don’t want to get killed,” Gan wailed. “I don’t have much soul yet. I might be just dead if I die.”
    Wen shoved the little not-yet-gnome into the center of their circle. “Quiet.” He turned to Cynna. “Shoot their heads, if you can. It will help me interfere with the group mind.”
    â€œI’m not good enough for head shots,” Cynna said.
    â€œI am,” Steve said happily. He brought up his right arm, supported it with his left, and started firing.
    The gun’s blast shocked Cullen’s ears, though the rest of him was prepared. Steve fired methodically. One after another, the creatures stopped, looking surprised as bullets tore out the backs of theirs skulls along with the blood and brains. Cullen stood with his right arm extended, most of his mind focused on the link between himself and the diamond in his ring. He’d draw on it, but wouldn’t use mage fire, not for this—too hard to control, too many targets. He’d drain the stone too fast.
    Part of him was amazed. He’d known Steve was supposed to be a good shot, but the little bastard didn’t miss. Not once.
    The ones Steve didn’t kill were spreading out. Were there only twenty of them? Looked more like thirty. And they were getting close—
    â€œNow, sorcerer,” Tash said.
    There, Cullen told Fire, pointing at the closest one. Burn that. Power leaped through him in a glad rush. The beast burst into flames.
    So did the next one. He heard Cynna fire her gun, heard Steve slap a new magazine in his gun, and he kept pointing. Burn. Burn.
    The second one he’d blasted wasn’t dead yet. It was crawling toward them. Flames danced along the creature’s blackened body. It had no face left, no hands, but crawled on its elbows and knees, and it was getting close. Cullen swallowed and pointed again—
    Cynna’s gun barked. The creature flopped onto its stomach and lay still, reeking of burnt flesh.
    Brooks spoke firmly, his voice clear enough in spite of interruptions by the roar of Steve’s gun. “Mr. Seabourne, concentr— (gun blast) —farther away. The others will— (gun blast) —closer.”
    Right. He needed to let Wen or Cynna kill any who got too close, or they’d have a flaming body stagger or crawl in among them. He wasn’t used to fighting as a team. He wasn’t used to trusting… Never mind. That one. Fire, go there.
    Fifteen yards away, another beast burst into flame. Cullen pointed again. Another went up. And another. But Fire answered sluggishly the next time. Cullen’s eyes stung, and he blinked sweat from them. Why was he sweating? Must have too much heat built up. Better burn another one, get rid of the heat. His diamond wasn’t depleted. He could do this. Had to do this, couldn’t let them get close to Cynna…but where was a target?
    There. He saw one. It was running away. As his arm swung