Page 183 of House of Pain
“Good luck with that, sweetheart,” Gabe called back.
Alecto sat back on her heels, looking around the calm water. She could jump into the water and swim back to the shore, but with how much blood she had already lost and how much energy she would need for a swim, the creatures could get to her.
And in the water, Alecto wouldn’t be able to fight them off. Not when they had all the physical advantages.
She’d have to row the boat into the shore.
With a deep exhale, Alecto lifted her palms over the edges of the boat, hoping that the blood magic she would use for this to work wouldn’t set off any of the Dean’s alarms.
“Drusttelio,” Alecto whispered, her voice unsteady as she conjured an image of her hands turning into oars, slicing the water, and moving the boat forwards.
A moment later, the boat was moving slowly through the water towards the shore.
Closer and closer she was getting. And the moment she stepped foot on dry land, Matias and Gabe would learn once more what happened when you fucked with her.
One lesson was not enough, apparently.
A few feet away from the shore, the boat hit something, the bottom scraping through the obstacle, and then the boat stopped.
Matias and Gabe both laughed as Alecto’s heart sank.
She leaned over the edge of the boat to see if she could determine what it was, and immediately froze.
Three pairs of black eyes were staring her from underneath the surface of the lake, pale faces hungry and eager.
“Fuck.” Alecto reeled back and plopped on her ass. “Fuck.”
The sirens, of course, the fucking sirens. When she was so close.
The water swirled, making the boat rock slightly.
“It looks like you’ll die tonight, Black,” Matias called. He bumped a shoulder into Gabe’s. “Lucky for us.”
Witches were cruel and merciless, and if Alecto survived tonight, she’d have to work twice as hard to match them.
The boat rocked again, this time harder, and Alecto grabbed for the sides, hoping she could keep the balance enough for the boat to not tip.
When one of the sirens bashed its tail over the water, swinging it at the boat, Alecto cried out as there was now a hole in the boat, the crimson water pouring inside.
“Crahsticio!” A scream came from the shore, and the hole in the boat sealed shut.
Alecto’s gaze snapped to the top of the hill, where three familiar figures appeared. She almost cried out of happiness as Blaze, Jolene, and Andro ran down the hill towards Gabe and Matias.
They had come for her in the end.
59
If they’d showed up thirty seconds later, it would have been too late.
Blaze threw himself at Gabe. Gabe’s jaw cracked when Blaze’s fist collided with the bone.
One punch after another, Blaze swung his fists, not giving Gabe time to draw a breath, let alone counter his attacks.
He was going to kill him.
Then he was going to kill Matias.
And once both were done, Blaze was going to burn the whole House down, every member.
