Read Online Chaos (Book 4) (The Omega Group) by Andrea Domanski - Free Book Online Page A

from one group
of attackers to the next. So far, she’d been unhurt. Orano intended to keep it
that way.
    “They’re on their way,” Phoenix said.
    “Tell them to hurry,” Orano retorted after kicking the switchblade-wielding
amateur in the gut when he tried to get up and rejoin the fight.
    Before the words left his mouth, the rumble of hundreds of
beating wings filled the air. Orano glanced upward expecting to see stars but
was instead greeted by an undulating blanket of little feather-covered bodies,
each weaving an intertwining pattern with the others. His partner had used his
connection with the bird to call in the rest of its flock.
    “We’re concealed,” Phoenix said.
    “Get behind me.” Orano turned to Gracey. “Cover your eyes,”
he commanded.
    “What? Why?” she asked.
    “Just do it!” He put as much authority into his voice as he
could.
    When she complied, Orano shot his hands outward. The
darkness was immediately replaced by a spreading flash of blinding light, as
Orano pushed a halo of electrical energy in an ever-growing arc around them.
The ring of current slammed into the nearest assailants, igniting their central
nervous systems until they collapsed, before continuing on its way to the next
victims. When the radius of energy reached the far corners of the alley, Orano
closed his hands into tight fists, cutting off the stream at its source.
    Darkness immediately enveloped them, this time even more
complete, as their pupils had yet to dilate in compensation for the sudden lack
of light. The raucous beating of wings slowly receded as their living
camouflage dispersed into the night sky.
    “Is everyone all right?” Orano asked.
    “We’re good,” Phoenix answered. “I can’t say the same for
our clothes, though.”
    Orano looked down and found not blood spattering his shirt
and pants, but dozens of oily white bird droppings. “Really?”
    Phoenix shrugged his shoulders innocently. “It’s a
trade-off.”
    “What the hell was that?” Gracey took in the scene around
them.
    As his eyes began to adjust, Orano understood the fear in
her voice. Bodies littered the small alleyway, most still twitching from the
jolt of electricity.
    “Don’t worry, they’re not dead. We just hit them with
Tasers,” Phoenix said with his usual calm confidence, conveniently forgetting
to mention the ones that probably were dead.
    Orano reached around her and pulled on the restaurant’s
door. As he’d expected, it opened easily. “You still want to leave?” he asked
Phoenix.
    “Hell no. This just got fun.”
     
    ********
     
    Tori stared in disbelief as the image once again appeared in
the mirror. Just when things were getting interesting, a flock of birds obscured
her view. They were there mere moments, but apparently that was long enough.
Every gang member had been incapacitated by … what? A flash bang grenade? Her
only hint was an explosion of light originating below the throng of birds.
    “What the hell happened?” Liza, her second in command, asked.
“I felt that energy when it hit our barrier. We all did.”
    The other women nodded their agreement before looking to
Tori for answers.
    “They must have brought some sort of weapon. A flash bang
grenade, maybe,” Tori said.
    “Who brings a flash bang grenade to dinner?” Liza asked
incredulously.
    “I don’t know.” Tori’s disappointment quickly turned to
anger, and she lashed out by hurling one of the gang member’s totems against
the wall, almost knocking her Hans Baldung print to the floor. “You saw the
same thing I did. Do you have any better ideas?”
    Liza slowly shook her head. “No, I …” Her voice trailed off
as though she’d lost the thought. “What if it wasn’t a weapon at all? What if
they’re like us?”
    “You think they’re warlocks?” Tori laughed in disbelief.
“No. Your imagination is working overtime. Remember, when you hear hoof beats,
think horses not zebras.”
    “That’s what I’m doing, Tori.