Page 92 of Hellish Witch

“This is our world, Hell scum. Come with us quietly, or we can drag you off in pieces. Our scientists will have to pick over whatever’s left,” he snarled, violent anticipation in his tone.

“Silly human.” Killian chuckled. “None of you are leaving.”

He didn’t wait for a response.

Killian leaped onto the hunter who’d spoken, blade slashing the man’s throat before he’d fully drawn his pistol. The hunter dropped to his knees, scrabbling at his neck as blood gushed down his front.

Gunshots boomed across the flat landscape as the others freed their pistols. It was the middle of the day. There was no way other humans hadn’t heard it too.

I could hardly move as violence unfolded. Terrorised memories locked me in place.

Spelled bullets rained down on Killian. One slammed into his thigh, buckling his knee. He snarled, a whirlwind of pain as he sliced each hunter before they could even think to turn their weapons on me instead.

But it was still eight against one.

Killian was putting his life on the line for me.

Shot. Cut. Bleeding.

He was always the first to take the damage. His whole life was drenched in pain and sacrifice.

Rage consumed me.

My poisoned blades were palmed before I knew it. I launched one at a hunter firing wildly. His pistol buzzed with telltale traces of magic. My knife slammed into the human’s chest with enough force to knock him flat on his back. The poison would kill him quicker than the hole in his heart.

And thenitstarted.

That creeping, vilething. It filled my veins with dark hunger. The need for blood and pain. I snarled, overcome with the desperate call of my wicked magic. My hands glowed red.

Power lashed my insides and burst free, shooting outwards in a wave of viciousness. It ripped into the hunters, tearing flesh and breaking bones.

The men screamed.

And so did Killian.

The horrifyingly familiar sight of his skin splitting open filled my vision. He grunted, stumbling for a brief second before he continued to hack away at the hunters, firing manically as they tried to process injuries from phantom claws.

“Killian,” I whimpered, choking back a sob. “I’m so sorry!”

I fled.

My feet pounded the heather as I tried to put as much distance between myself and Killian as possible.

I knew I was going to get him killed.

But I’d selfishly wanted him to stay by my side anyway.

I should have pushed harder.

I stumbled, my ankle twinging painfully as it rolled in an unseen dip. But I didn’t dare stop, limping towards the next patch of trees looming steadily closer.

The magic flooding me swelled, and my ankle crunched painfully as something in it was righted. I gulped down air as I sped up, blurring past the first trees and into the forest’s embrace.

Chapter 32

“Over here!” a masculine voice boomed, and a lanky male barrelled through the woods, gesturing at me wildly.

I slid to a stop, panting hard after running flat out for almost half an hour since I’d abandoned Killian to save him.

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