Page 43 of Wicked Ties
She turned again and thrust her sword toward Logan. I grabbed the back of his shirt and yanked him to the side. The blade swung over our heads, and we all jumped in at once, attacking in unison. Yet she seemed to have eyes in the back of her head. With each spin and parry, she fought us back. We moved like ninjas, jumping and twisting to avoid her expert moves, all the while trying to land one of our own. Sweat covered my body and adrenaline ran through me, but every move I made, she was there to block it.
Damn. I had to be faster, stronger.
“Enough.” She bellowed and a wave of magic spilled out of her, knocking us all into the air.
I flipped backward, my feet went over my head, and I twisted in the air. The wind whipped past my face, and I headed right toward the fire she’d created with her explosions. A wall of golden magic flew up and I smacked into it. It was like hitting a parachute. I spun around and began to drift down. I slid to the bottom as I watched the others do the exact same thing. Astrid snickered and stepped into the ring.
“My turn.”
Whips of her magic flew from her hands and wrapped around the Crone, holding her in place. She lifted her arms and slammed the woman back down to the ground leaving a huge dent there. The Crone coughed and staggered to her feet. She opened her arms and a dozen balls of magic flew out at us like shrapnel. Beckett threw his arm out and a wave of his blue magic hit the balls, exploding them all before they hit anyone. Fire rained down on the dry grass, setting it ablaze.
Maze opened his arms, and his cards flew from his pockets. He grabbed one and threw it at her. Long, red ribbons flew from the card and wrapped around her arms and legs, binding her for a moment. He grabbed another and another. Each one smacked into her, keeping her in place. Beckett stood on one side while Astrid stood on the other. They each launched balls of magic at her, smacking her over and over again. They all landed but looked like they barely created a dent, like she had some kind of protection around her.
The Crone threw her arms out, breaking the hold Maze had as though she could cut those ties with a pair of scissors. Astrid raised her arms and two trees from the forest surrounding us uprooted themselves like puppets. They ran into the clearing and swung their branches at the Crone like baseball bats. She got knocked backward while another tree swung again, knocking her forward like they were playing tennis and the Crone was the ball.
“You hate tennis.” I called out to her.
“I hate her more.” Astrid didn’t take her eyes off of her.
Beckett opened his hands and two portals opened—one above her and one below her. “Astrid, hit her in there.”
The tree turned and with a thick meaty branch knocked the Crone right into one of the portals. Every few seconds, she flew from one hole to the next, like a pin ball, round and round she went.
Her screams broke the night, and Beckett yelled back. “I can do this all day.”
The Crone shot from one of the holes and soared from a portal. She fell to the ground unmoving. The Crone threw her arms out. Power gathered over her body like white strings of spiderwebs. She thrashed on the ground under his power. Her back arched off the ground and an ear-shattering scream ripped up her throat. A beam of pure white light shot from her chest up toward the sky like a spotlight. It flashed bright, then went out. She slumped down and lay there, still as death.
The temperature of the air dropped, and everything went still. Maze stood with his magic wrapped around his arms and legs. The ground rumbled and a thick, black fog rolled over the fires, smothering them.
I moved closer to him. “Maze, what is this?”
“I don’t know.”
We all froze, watching the thick, black fog roll over the ground. It swirled and moved like a snake hunting its prey. Astrid took a step toward the Crone. I held my hand out, stopping her. “Stop, something doesn’t smell right.”
It was dark and pungent, like the bottom of a cave. The fog gathered around the Crone like a shallow pool. A figure rose behind her, hovering over her protectively. At first, the features were hazy and distorted, then a man began to form. He wore an old school 1940’s black suit and tie. His features were sharp, with a long, straight, pointed nose, a wide smile with shark-like teeth, and sharp cheek bones. His hair was slicked back from his head, as though he’d used too much oil. Even his skin held a gray pallor with a blueish tint that matched the dark-blue of his lips.
Maze growled low in his throat. “Who the hell are you?”
The man gave a chuckle that sounded like it echoed off a cave wall. “I’m Erebus, and you’re screwed.”
He threw his arms out and blackness rushed to my face. Everything went dark.
CHAPTER 18
MAZE
Blackness swarmed toward us, and I dove for Tilly. I hooked my arm around her waist and pulled her to the ground. We rolled over the steaming grass.
She sucked in a deep breath. “I can’t see!”
“I know. I got this.” I curled my body around hers and let my power explode out. SEE! I forced clarity into all our crew. Bright white light and whipping wind filled the area and shoved the dark fog away. Golden magic lit it up like midday. We sprang to our feet just as the Crone regained her balance next to Erebus.
She looked dead in my eyes and held both of her hands together, building a huge ball of magic. I stood there knowing it was coming my way. She fired it right at my chest, and I opened my hands, letting my magic go free.
“Maze, no!”
My body was shoved to the side and I hit the ground, my face smashing into the dirt.
