Page 117 of Lunar Diamonds
Drake gently took my arm. “Blood ritual. Something big is coming.” He let my arm go.
I shuddered, drawing down more energy from the moon hidden behind heavy clouds.
A man in black-and-red robes broke away from the circle, the Kingwood symbol drawn on his bald head. “Welcome, one and all. Thank you for coming.”
The other witches continued to dance around the fire with their hands in the air, each of them wearing the same robes. All of them chanting, the words alien to my ears.
“No sign of Rhianna,” Aaron said, coming up beside Drake.
“Behold the greatness of House Kingwood,” the man declared. “You will cower. You will see. You may even change your mind.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my illusion power ready to be unleashed.
New day, new creation.
His eyes, reflecting the fire, flicked to my hands. “You will see.”
He moved quickly, clapping off a spell. The shadowy magic leaped from him into the fire. Every witch followed suit, the tips of the flames turning black, then red, spitting sparks in the air.
The fires roared, giving off immense heat.
“I don’t think so!” Isaac snapped, summoning his sunlight.
A gun went off, the bullet hitting him in the leg.
“Fuck!” he went down.
By Hecate! What about the Rubberskin? We’d both taken it this morning, holding each other accountable to make it part of our routine. Even the Brambles took it.
What the hell?
The siblings sprang into action, covering my brother, firing their weapons in retaliation.
“I told you to watch!” the bald guy yelled, a knife in his hand. Dark ripples in the air deflected the bullet. “Stand down or I’ll blow your hands off.”
He directed that last part at me.
If I moved quickly, I could lock them all in an illusion and they’d be screwed. Yeah, I’d do that.
I began to create a terrifying disaster, weaving together the lie of an incoming tsunami. But a loud crack and a sharp pain in my leg cut me off. I listed to the side, landing in Drake’s arms.
“Shit!” he hissed
“What happened?”
I looked down. Shot in the leg, too.
“I warned you,” the bald man said smugly. “Be grateful I spared your hand.”
“You prick!” Alice yelled, firing her gun. The bullet bounced off another dark ripple.
A burning sensation heated my wound. I sucked in air, bending to tear my trousers open. Had they hit me with a poisoned bullet?
Wait. There was no wound, only the burn. A little hole smoked in my trousers, but the bullet hadn’t touched my skin.
The potion did work. I’d felt the impact, but suffered no damage.
Hell to the yeah!
