Page 58 of Wicked Fate

She dodged a vampire leaping toward her.

I spun and fired at the next one closing in.

Two more witches went down, their magic spent, their bodies too weak to remain upright.

But the rest—those still standing—channeled everything they had toward the vampires. Fire flared from trembling palms. Earth cracked beneath vampire feet. One witch conjured ice sharp as daggers and sent it flying.

It was working.

The tide was shifting.

The vampires—what was left of them—staggered. Some hissed and turned toward the trees.

They were retreating.

The girl in my arms whispered, “They’re scared.”

“Damn right they are,” I said, standing taller as Ryker ran to my side, blood dripping from his jaw.

“We may not have the advantage for long,” he said, breathless. “We need to hurry.”

I nodded, holding the girl tighter, tension still buzzing like electricity in the air.

Xander trotted up beside us, his wolf form splattered with blood. Bruce was slumped across his back, unconscious, blood soaking through his shirt.

Shit.

I swear if you don’t make it back to me,Briar linked,I will kill Ryker myself.

“Let’s go!” Ryker barked. “Move out now!”

The witches didn’t need more prompting. They lurched in the direction we were leading them, helping one another, limping, dragging along those too weak to stand. Gage stayed near Cassi and the witch who’d spelled Ryker, his coat matted, his posture protective.

I ran beside Ryker, the girl’s arms looped tightly around my neck. Her cheek pressed against mine as I clutched her with one arm and kept the gun raised with the other.

The tree line broke.

The road came into view. And with it—Reid.

He limped forward from where the cars were parked, Briar right on his heels, her face pale and panicked.

“What the hell happened?” Briar’s voice was hoarse.

“We were ambushed,” Ryker growled. “There were more witches locked inside than we expected, and we didn’t want to leave any behind.”

“Damn.” Reid looked past us as the witches poured from the woods. “How many?”

“Like, forty of them,” I answered.

Briar’s gaze landed on me and the girl in my arms, and her forehead lined with worry. She linked,You brought a child?

She was in one of the cages. I just couldn’t…My heart sank, and tears blurred my eyes.

She hugged me on my free side.You did the right thing. I’m so proud of you. And now we have so many more people to help us take down the vampire queen. That’s amazing.

Reid hobbled forward and opened the back of the first car. “We need to move. We can’t carry all of you back, so if you go across the street and head to the playground area of the park, which should have people around by now, we can pick you up—”

“No,” one of the witches said, stepping up beside me. She looked to be in her mid-thirties, her jaw bruised, one of her eyes swollen shut. “We’re not going with you.”

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