Page 56 of Tragic Ink
I gave up fighting against the invisible force around my throat, and instead, I put all my energy into the magic the dark fae was sucking out ofme.
The magic resisted at first, and I felt like I’d been caught in a massive game of tug of war. I was sweating with the effort of calling my magic back to me, but a moment later, the pressure around my throat eased slightly. Rhys continued to circle and stab at the dark fae, and even though he wasn’t making much progress with his weapons, I knew he was saving me by keeping the assholedistracted.
It was exactly what I needednow.
I keptpulling.
With a groan, I yanked one final time and took back the last of my magic. The tattoos remained on the dark fae’s skin, but they no longer pulsed for him, and I knew they would answer only tome.
Using every ounce of magic I had inside me, I called out loud to the tattoos that covered the dark fae’s skin. “Answer me! I am your master. Not him.Activate!”
Like I was the pied piper of ink, the tattoos peeled away from the stranger’s skin and began to take form. I held my breath, hoping like hell my magic was capable of everything Isuspected.
Rhys cried out, and I almost lost my hold on the magic as I jerked my attention to the two men. Both of them were winded now, their chests heaving as they stood several feet apart and eyed each other. Rhys bent over, cradling his arm. The dark fae stood tall, eyeing the injury with a look oftriumph.
Fear, more real than anything I’d experienced so far, stilled me. If anything happened to Rhys... it wouldn’t matter if I won. Not if I couldn’t share the victory withhim.
“Your warrior is no match for me.” The dark fae sneered and then started forme.
Fear almost drowned me as I noticed how much the real Rhys was struggling to stay on hisfeet.
“And your magic is no match for mine,” I shotback.
“My tattoos have been inked by some of the most powerful fae in the world,” he said. “You are nothing compared to them. I took their power for my own, and I’ll do the same to you. It is time to give your magic over tome.”
The invisible hands brushed my throat again, and I scrambled back. If he was telling the truth, that meant I wasn’t the first fae he’d come across with my particular gift. If he weren’t trying to kill me for it, I might have been tempted to ask him about them, but those answers would have towait.
Rhys lunged forward, knife out, distracting the dark fae once again. But I knew this burst of energy was temporary for him. If he was wounded... I didn’t want to think about that. Or whether my preparations would beenough.
“Hang on,” I called out, and then refocused everything I had back to the magic I’d calledup.
Like ripping off a Band-Aid, all of the tattoos suddenly peeled away from the dark fae’s skin. Not just the ones I’d felt him steal from me, but all of them. Even the ancient ink, probably from the fae he’d mentioned, ripped away from his flesh at mycommand.
The dark fae screamed, and I smiled grimly insatisfaction.
One by one, the tattoos floated up into the air, and then I used my magic to snuff them out. It wasn’t nearly as hard as I’d imagined it to be. In fact, so much of their magic had already been poured out, they snapped like twigs against my will. When a particularly dark symbol lifted and vanished alongside the others, the dark fae stumbled. The glow in his creepy eyesdimmed.
“Whatever you’re doing, keep it up,” Rhysyelled.
I worked harder at snuffing out the magic of the tattoos he wore. With each one, he looked visibly weaker and slower, and I realized he stored everything in the ink. His ability to steal an appearance, the invisible hands he’d used to choke me, and finally, an intricate rune offering healing from any physical injury. Spells. They’d all been spells he’d stolen from other fae he’d hunted. One by one, I stripped them all until I could feel his magicwaning.
When I got to the healing rune, I glanced over at Rhys andnodded.
“Now, Rhys,” I yelled as I crushed the rune’s magic with myown.
It shattered and then vanished like a dust cloud above myhead.
“This is for Aelwyn,” Rhys yelled, and I shivered at the depth of feeling in hiswords.
A second later, Rhys sent his knife flying through the air and the blade sank into the dark fae’s stomach, sending the asshole to hisknees.
The tendrils of invisible pressure vanished. I scrambled to my feet and rushed over to the dark fae now lying on the ground, my Rhys standing over him, his knife dripping with the fae’sblood.
“Who are you?” Idemanded.
He remainedsilent.
I crushed two more of his magical tattoos, and he winced. It gave me a sense of satisfaction to know it hurthim.
