Page 50 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness
The wolf shifter lay motionless in a pool of blood between us and the born. One of the born suffered a nasty gash in his chest, I assumed from the wolf.
A turned woman screamed as a rod of conjured ice impaled her through the shoulder.
“You’re all a bunch of worthless, bratty children who don’t live long enough to learn,” the born woman rattled on. “Look beneath this city overrun with vermin. There’s where your choices lead. Piles and piles of skeletons, meaningless and forgotten.”
As soon as her eyes turned black and she lifted a palm, Kylo and I wielded shadows at the same time. I cut off the woman’s hand. Kylo lifted her off the ground and crushed all of her bones and organs.
The man with explosive magick turned the entirety of his attention on us. He raised a palm.
Kylo erected a shield of shadow, but for some reason, I knew it wouldn’t be strong enough. So, I conjured wind. Bright, fiery light shattered Kylo’s shield and stopped when it met my air-based magick.
I yelled, shoving my hands out as if I were moving the weight of an entire planet. The ball of fire shot back toward the vampire with such speed that he had no means of counteracting it.
I grinned as a loud crack shook the earth, and all that was left of the born vampire was the scorched ground where he had stood.
Kylo took his chance to move toward his comrades. He threw his favorite dagger straight into a born man’s neck. The man gurgled and choked on his own blood.
I wanted to help, but I knew my slow movements were too much of a liability. We didn’t want anyone to know I was a witch,let alone a shadow-wielding chaos witch. I couldn’t showcase too much magick out here in the open. Not yet. If a born vampire had witnessed this battle, they would have assumed I was merely a turned woman gifted in air magick. It wasn’t entirely unheard of, as each turned was blessed with different powers.
Manipulating the weather or conjuring a natural disaster, on the other hand, was out of the question.
I moved to the human woman, who stood her ground as her fists shook with fury, staring at the born with seething hatred for killing her daughter.
“It’s not safe,” I said gently. “We’re going to take care of them. You should go back inside.”
Her haunted eyes were slow to meet mine. “I don’t care if I live or die. They drained all the light from my world.”
The words were simple, poetic, a sharp jab to the heart. Hearing a mother speak this way about her daughter hit somewhere deep, and for a moment, I wanted to escape.
I stayed put instead.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “She was lucky to be so loved.”
The woman gritted her teeth, her eyes puffy and cheeks damp. “Get them out of here.” Her voice was gritty and raw. “You hear me? You get these demons out of our city!”
“Angel!” Kylo yelled.
I turned just in time to see an inky, indiscernible creature leap toward me.
What the ever-loving fuck?—
Thethingtackled me to the earth. Time slowed down as I struggled to breathe, an impossible weight crushing my ribs. Just before a full mouth of jagged, razor-sharp teeth ripped into my face, the beast halted.
Its bright red eyes stared down at me. The long slits below audibly sniffed the air.
The repulsive black flesh smelled of hellfire and death, and visions of The Tower overcame me. My shadows heaved, wrapping around the four-legged, mysterious animal’s neck. A snap rang through the air. Strong hands shoved the creature to the side.
I gasped for oxygen.
Kylo stood over me. He bled onyx, his face twisted in confusion.
“You okay?” he asked quickly, tearing his eyes from the motionless beast next to me.
I nodded. “Whatwasthat thing?” I rasped, still fighting to replenish my lungs.
Kylo only shook his head, eyes wide.
He helped me up, and we surveyed the area around us as everything stilled and quieted.
