Page 21 of Ozma

“No.” His eyes shot up, scouring the area. Mombi appeared to be the only fae there.Where are you, Blossom?

Another rock.

Another answering blast of power.

He caught a flash of blue fabric dart behind a wide tree.

Stupid female—I’m never taking back what I said! Never! Foolish, impulsive—

Mombi’s power wrapped around Jack’s throat and dragged him forward. He clawed at the invisible hand, choking, his heart thumping wildly. “Jack, Jack, Jack,” she scolded. “You should’ve run when you had the chance.”

He should have. Should have run and never looked back.

And now he was as good as dead.

“Come out here or I’ll kill him!” Mombi screamed.

There was a long moment where nothing happened. Nothing but the fading of color. From the sunset?If only.Stars sparked in his vision. Air. He needed air. But he hoped Ozma wouldn’t rise to the bait. If she ran, saved herself, then he would gladly die. He had nothing to live for anyway, so if he could save Tip’s sister on the way out…

“I’m here,” Ozma called. When she stepped out from her hiding place, appearing as a blue blur with golden hair, Jack’s heart dropped.

“Ozma?” Mombi hissed in surprise, her eyes impossibly wide. “You’re not supposed to be here…”

“Let him go,” she commanded.

“I think I’ll kill him instead.” Mombi’s grip tightened. “Then I’ll shrink you to the size of a doll and keep you locked in a box.”

Jack’s hands went numb, his arms too heavy to keep clawing pointlessly at his neck. The world was fading. Fading, fading…

Mombi let out a loud squeal at the same time a deafeningboomsounded. Her magic released him and he fell to the grass, gasping desperately for air. With a quick glance, he saw the wide tree tilt. It fell in slow motion, one branch tumbling, dragging down another and another.

“Got you,” Mombi crowed.

Jack’s gaze instantly cleared at the words as the adrenaline kicked in. Mombi had Ozma by the throat, holding her three feet off the ground, while her other hand moved in a swirling motion.A spell.

Jack watched the air darken around Mombi’s fingers. His chest became so tight he was sure it would crack open against the roaring beat of his heart. Knees shaking, he climbed to his feet and threw a hand out. “Stop!”

A swirl of green, blue, and yellow burst from his palm.What the fuck is this?But there was really only one logical answer:magic.The pressure of it nearly snapped the bones in his hand, but he was too shocked to do anything other than stare.

He watched as vines curled forward from the trees and snapped around Mombi’s limbs. As grass grew higher and higher around her body. The witch screamed as a tree branch extended downward, piercing her through the shoulder. Blood immediately seeped into the fabric around the wound.

Ozma dropped to the ground in his peripheral, but he couldn’t drag his attention away from the scene before him. The witch shrieked again as the grass cocooned her. The vines went taut, pulling her arms and legs. Her cries became muffled as the grass tightened.

Jack’s breaths came in heavy pants and his weak legs buckled. He tried to pull his hand back, close it into a fist before whatever was happening killed him too. But it revolted. Forced more, more,more, from him.

Until the vines ripped each of Mombi’s limbs from her body. Blood shot out like geysers, coating the grass around her. Jack’s mind went blank at the sight. Crimson dotted the area. Pooled around the body. The grass-wrapped witch tumbled back in slow motion, rolling slightly when she finally hit the ground, and the magic retreated into his palm.

Dead.Mombi was dead.

Jack shouted in triumph. He’d killed her!Fucking yes, I did!But the excitement was short lived as his body quivered with exhaustion. A hollowness spread through him. Used up.

“Jack!” Ozma shouted.

At least, he thought she did. His hearing had followed his vision—fading and fading and fading…

Chapter Nine

Ozma

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