The Betrayed: The Hybrids, #2

By C.C. Sommerly

There are worse things than being The Slayer. 

When betrayal kicks off a war, Teagen must face foes that were once friends. Time is running out, the body count is climbing, and evil is wrecking havoc as the lines between good and evil blur in this action packed continuation of Teagen's story.

The stakes are higher than ever, as Teagen and the hybrids discover-- winning a battle may cost them everything they hold dear.

Read more in this gripping urban fantasy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: C.C. Sommerly
• Release date: Jul 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393353355

C.C. Sommerly

CC has been known to trip on a perfectly smooth surface, burn herself when cooking and has an unhealthy attachment to coffee. As with her everyday life, she likes to bring a sense of unexpected to her stories, blurring the lines between good and evil with genre bending fiction. CC is a Marine veteran, who was born and raised in Redding, California. Currently, she lives in Virginia with her kids, cats and a crazy Doberman. When CC isn't writing, she can be found doing photography, reading, being outdoors or enjoying water sports.

Book preview

1

T his is darker than those Detroit sewers, said Hunter.

She wasn’t wrong. Darkness reined in the lightless night. A sliver of a crescent moon that had played peek-a-boo with the clouds was now completely hidden. The dense trees overhead didn’t help either.

The high from the demon battle was wearing off, leaving worry, self-doubt, and fatigue in its wake. Part of me relished the darkness. It matched my mood. The pit of ice in my stomach remained and worry tugged heavily at my heart. The other hybrids’ silence wasn’t helping. It made it too easy to get lost in my thoughts.

I screwed up, again. I didn’t rescue Merritt. We didn’t recover the blue horned demon that was a high-priority target and we lost an angel. And, I was probably going to Hell for turning that angel down. Who does that? I’m sure it was somewhere in the Bible or other holy documents that denying an angel’s request is nearly the same thing as smiting God. That simple act of throwing my crucifix and dog tags at the angel was the ultimate betrayal – of my faith and fellow Marines. I quit on both to stay with the hybrids.

Although, to be fair to myself, every time I told one of the others that something was off or different about Lucian, everyone told me I was wrong. The others had convinced me that he was a demon until the very end. Then, he revealed that he was in fact an angel.

Am I making a mistake? Worry tugged at me, battling with my emotions and churning up my stomach in a frenzy of unease. Each step I took was harder than the last. We were less than an hour from the Underground. I was moving towards my future – one I never wanted and one I felt forced into. For so long the only thing that kept me going and being cordial to the freaks—a.k.a. hybrids—was knowing that this was a short-lived stint and that I could leave at some point to return to the Elite Guard.

According to The Boss, there was no hope. Not only was I no longer a member of the Elite Guard, but I was no longer a Marine. I clutched my chest as pain speared through me. No matter how I felt about staying at the Underground or even considering the angel’s offer, the only place for me was with the Guard. I refused to let that be the final decision.

As soon as possible, I would contact my lawyer Chester Maxwell. There had to be something I could do. Besides, the Marines might find a winged warrior to be a tremendous asset. I didn’t wade through sewers, battle demons, and deal with zombie raccoons—as well as the fighting with the much-despised Purple Princess—just to quit my quest to return to the Guard.

Do you hear that? asked Ginger.

The other hybrids and I carefully picked our way along the darkened forest. We strained to see in the near moonless night. My ill-fated rescue mission had ended in complete failure. We didn’t have Merritt. We didn’t have the blue horned demon and now we were without an angel — all thanks to me.

I don’t hear anything other than Teagan’s strained breathing. Don’t they keep Marines in shape? You’re carrying on over there like a broken bag pipe, said Ruthie, a.k.a., the Purple Princess.

I glared back at her; not that she saw me. She and I would never be friends. We barely tolerated each other on the good days and on the bad days it was damn near war.

If only your wings glowed more, said Ginger. They glow just enough, like a watch face, but not enough to see by unfortunately.

Someone laughed.

It’s pretty handy. But, I can see them being quite a hinderance on a stealth mission. Can you dim them down or turn the glow off? With it, you are an easy target, said Reese.

Why? We could use her as a substitute for Rudolph, said the Purple Princess.

What were they talking about? My wings didn’t glow, or I would have heard about it before now. While the Underground was lit, it wasn’t exactly bright lighting. There was only so much you could do to illuminate a cave.

But they are pretty. Teagan is gonna think we don’t like them guys, said Ginger.

I appreciated Ginger coming to my defense. My wings were a heavy burden and made me different from the rest of the hybrids. It made accepting my place with them that much harder. I had to learn to integrate with them. I didn’t want to, but that was life. You get hard choices, and sometimes the only choice you have is the one you don’t want. Part of me had been intrigued by the angel’s offer to attend their academy and meet my Mom.

Jokes are meant to be funny. And that wasn’t. Is this some kind of backwards harassment of the angel girl? I said.

I almost stopped in my tracks. It wasn’t until I said those words that I realized it was the first time that I truly acknowledged that I was part angel. An angel. I was officially weirder than weird. And, being part angel made me different from any other hybrid.

Whatever they were talking about with my wings certainly wasn’t helping me. I couldn’t see any better since it was still dark as fuck out here in the mountains.

It still hurt knowing we’d failed to get Merritt back and had lost the blue horned demon. My whole purpose for coming out here with the angel was to find and rescue Merritt, and now we had no way to track him without the demon. The Boss was gonna be pissed and would probably set things on fire in his rage.

No, really—don’t you hear that, or at least smell that burning smell? It’s pretty distinct, said Ginger.

No, I don’t hear anything, said Reese.

A couple of the others chimed in about whatever Ginger was hearing. Apparently, she was the only one that heard it.

Oh no, said a panicked Ginger. I think The Underground’s alarm is going off.

Reese stopped, making me run into his back. He grunted at the impact but ignored me.

Ginger, if you think the alarm is going off, why don’t you shift and fly ahead. It’s dark enough that no one should notice your bulky butt up there, said the Purple Princess.

We all stopped. Kicking off her shoes and stripping down, Ginger put her clothes on top of her shoes.

Can you take those back for me?

Reese picked up the bundle. Of course, I can.

Ginger’s lack of modesty about her nudity still unnerved me. I’m not sure that I would ever be totally comfortable with people who dropped their clothes with little thought. Not that I was a prude by any means, I just wasn’t that much of an exhibitionist—preferring to keep my nudity confined to private locations.

As she transformed, a flash of light went off and all that was left was Dragon Ginger. Even in the nearly non-existent light, her red scales shined with an inner glow or maybe it was her inner fire. Whatever it was, even after having seen her transform before, it still amazed me. Part of me still hadn’t wrapped my head around being a hybrid, having my own wings, or knowing that people transformed into animals, let alone something as magical and mystical as a dragon.

Within minutes, Ginger returned. She landed in front of us and quickly changed to her human form, rushing toward us.

There’s been an attack. The Underground is burning, and people are trapped.

How could it be attacked? No one knew where it was. Well, except for the government Big Wigs, who came out for a tour of the facility and a project update. And, them attacking us seemed highly unlikely. That left no other possibilities.

Ginger, you have to go back. Help as many people as you can. We will hurry back, but before you go, take Manny with you. He can help clear the rubble, said Reese.

Ginger changed into her dragon form and lay belly down on the ground. Manny climbed onto her back and they were off into the night before he was fully seated on her back. Things must be pretty bad if Ginger was being that careless. She was always careful and considerate of people. That was even more so when she was in dragon form and was more likely to hurt or kill someone. She didn’t even check that Manny was safely on, which made it so unusual.

The rest of us started running. Concern for the people in the Underground gnawed at me. Sure, I wanted to leave and get my old life back, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t concerned for the others. A flurry of thoughts ran through my mind, ranging from who led the attack and how many of our three-hundred residents were hurt. Whoever did this was a danger to all of us and needed to be dealt with.

Once we cleared the forest’s edge, we raced through the flatlands, which was the final stretch to the Underground. We jogged at peak speed, spurred onward by worry and fear. We finished the rest of the journey in less than ten minutes instead of the thirty it should have taken.

My first sight of the Underground had me drawing in a quick breath. The outer door was completely open and dangling off its hinges. The smell of fire and thick, dark smoke wafted out of it. We were too late to come to their aid and my stomach sank. Why aren’t people evacuating. Is anyone left alive to be evacuated?

I drew my sword and the others reached for their weapons. Reese took the lead and we ducked into the doorway. Inside was a chaos that more closely resembled a war zone than the safe haven the Underground was known for. The heavy smoke choked out the light, and cries for help echoed throughout the cave.

Everyone split up and try to help as many as you can, Reese shouted above the noise.

I took off down the outer ring. There was minimal damage near the door, but further down, large sections of the buildings were reduced to rubble and my stomach flip flopped. It reminded me of the many battle scenes I had been in – the smoke, noise, and confusion, which were appropriately called the fog of war.

Where was everyone? The first person I found was Mallory, who was outside of what was left of the inn. She was desperately trying to save a man, who appeared to have a lethal injury. Her hands were soaked with blood as she put pressure on his chest wound, blood spurting despite her efforts. The injured man was bleached of color from blood loss and writhing in pain.

I knelt down to help Mallory. Without taking her eyes off the man, she quickly waved me away.

No, I’ve got him. Go find the other injured. She looked at me with sad eyes, There are more wounded and trapped.

I got up and scanned the nearest buildings looking for survivors. I didn’t have to go far to find more people to help. Next door, under the remains of the bar, an arm peaked out from the rubble. As I got closer, I saw the man’s arm and face were the only parts of him not buried under the collapsed building. His eyes were tightly closed, and small, pain-filled pants escaped his lips. He was alive for now, but he wouldn’t be for much longer if I couldn’t get him out. Adrenaline surged through me, making my hands shake and my body feel jittery.

I grabbed the man’s sweaty and blood-stained hand. Getting a good grasp proved nearly impossible and making me frustrated and increasingly stressed. I took a few calming breaths and tore strips off of the bottom of my shirt. I used them to wipe down his arm and get a good hold. I pulled hard, using my legs for leverage and leaned all my weight into pulling him out. He didn’t budge, not a single freaking inch, but he did cry out in pain. I tried again and he cried out even louder. Even my superior strength as a hybrid was not enough to free him. I swore in frustration. I couldn’t leave him and refused to quit. There had to be a way to get him free. He would die if he wasn’t free.

I need some help. We have a trapped man over here. Is anyone there? I called out, hoping that someone was close enough to hear me. Mallory was close, but she literally had a man’s life in her hands. She wasn’t visible from where I was at despite her being the next building over. How could there be no one around with a few hundred of us here? And, why aren’t the Super Soldiers here aiding the wounded. They should have been more than enough defense for our base.

I sat next to the man and carefully brushed the matted and bloody hair off his forehead. I spoke to him in soft and soothing tones. I don’t know if he heard me, or if I was comforting him or myself at this point. This was a nightmare. The Underground was supposed to be a hidden location and the only safe place for hybrids. Someone took that from them. They had nowhere else to go and now couldn’t trust in their safety here. Anger raged through me like the flames, fanning out and extinguishing any other emotion. I’d find who did this and make them pay.

The man was quiet now, which meant he was either unconscious or dead. I wanted to get him free and see if he could be saved. Why hasn’t someone come?

Something made me look over my shoulder. When I did, I saw The Boss running up with a metal crowbar. His faced was blackened from the smoke and soot. Much like my shirt, his was also torn at the bottom and or probably the same reason as mine – either for making bandages or tourniquets.

He nudged me aside and wedged the crowbar cautiously between the man and the building, tilting it like a lever. Clever. If it worked, I would be able to pull the man free while he kept the weight of the debris off him.

Grab part of the crowbar. Let’s see if we can get enough wiggle room to pull him out, said The Boss.

With our combined weight, we lifted the larger chunk of debris off him. It was knocked to the side. During our crowbar extraction, the man was silent. Not a good sign. The Boss and I pulled him out of the rubble.

Now, that he was free, I saw how the significant damage done to him was. It was even worse than the damaged and mangled body of Mason all those months ago. This man’s legs were crushed almost flat—something I wouldn’t have thought was possible until now—and there was a wet and nasty sound every time he breathed. Based on my combat-medicine training, that sound meant he had a punctured lung.

There was little I could do for the man besides make him comfortable. All thoughts of saving him fled and were replaced with a coldness that surprised me. Maybe I am in shock? He was on his way out and it was a waste of time comforting someone on death’s doorstep. Staying here with him would keep me from helping someone else who was more likely to survive. This man was already lost.

Was stopping for him pointless if he just died anyways? Did anyone else die because I helped him when he was beyond help? All of these questions ate at me.

Teagan, I’ll stay with him. Go find more survivors. The attackers struck during dinner time and you know how this place basically shuts down during mealtimes.

What he said was true. Here at the Underground, hybrids treated mealtime with an almost holy reverence. They loved their food and needed large meals to satiate their ravenous metabolisms.

I was no different. My stomach clenched in hunger. The other hybrids of the squad and I had exhausted ourselves in our rush to get back here and my stomach gave me a painful reminder. Adrenaline would have to see me through, and I desperately hoped my coldness from moments ago wasn’t the result of shock. I was ashamed that I even begrudged freeing that man. I hadn’t felt right since activation, but being a dick to the wounded was inexcusable. Shame speared through me.

I looked back one more time at the now motionless man that The Boss was praying over. I sprinted through the outer ring looking for trapped people.

What happened anyways with this attack? Who was our enemy and who deserved the blame and my wrath? But as much as I yearned to get information about what had happened, saving lives and treating the injured was more important than satisfying my curiosity. Information would come to light once everyone was stabilized and the fires were put out—and with that thought, I stopped running so suddenly that I nearly fell over. I wanted to slap myself for not realizing that I should be fighting the fire. I had ice power, which no fire could defeat – or so I hoped.

Running back to The Boss, I panted out my idea. I have ice. I can put out the fire. If you know where it started, I can kill it at the source.

The Boss locked his eyes on me.

Ice power, you say? We will discuss this development later. The fire started outside of the lab. Bring any survivors you find along the way to the dining hall. We set up a makeshift infirmary there as part of our emergency protocol, he said. Go now!

2

Ipassed by damaged buildings and some that were nothing more than a pile of stones. Very little was spared in the attack. As I got closer to the lab, the thick, inky smoke blotted out everything and made me cough. Already my lungs burned from the smoke and ached from the coughing. The smoke near the lab was far worse than it had been elsewhere in the Underground. How anyone breathes under these conditions baffles me? Does smoke inhalation kill a hybrid like it would a human? It was times like this when I wished I had cared enough to ask about what would happen to me once I was an activated hybrid. Knowing my limitations, or lack of limitations, would come in handy about now.

Now that I was close to the lab, the visibility was nearly nil. I couldn’t even see a few