Page 52 of Witch Untold
Fear.
“What is it?” Conah asks.
For a moment I’m unable to draw breath. “Cora.”
I grab his shoulder and Elijah’s arm and make the jump to her.
We materialize in a dark, damp room where the smell of blood and the stench of death claw at the back of my throat. A huge vehicle sits in the center of the room.
She’s here.
My instincts guide me around the vehicle.
I don’t want to see.
I don’t want to know.
She’s here, lying on the cold ground. Head tipped to the side and mouth parted as if in a silent plea. Her eyes are closed, as if she’s simply fallen asleep.
“Cora!” Elijah and Conah rush past me.
Magic fizzes in the air as Elijah tries to bring her back, to find an iota of life inside her.
Conah begins CPR.
I watch them work, darkness twisting and writhing, growing like a canker inside me. Because she’s not asleep. She’s not unconscious. She’s cold and empty.
She’s gone.
* * *
BRAMBLE
The windows shatter, the lights go out, and then the flap of wings fills the room. I can’t see. I can’t fecking see.
“Lauris?” Sloane calls out. “Bramble?”
“Here!” Shadows rush past me, whizzing so fast I can’t catch a good look.
Three distinct forms barrel into the mass of ice walkers, and then a new kind of terror fills the room.
Inhuman cries cut across human screams.
What the fuck? What’s happening?
The inhuman shrieks cut off and the lights flicker back on, momentarily blinding me.
I stare at the three arresting men standing amidst a carnage of dead ice walker bodies. My attention is immediately drawn to the central figure, taller than the other two. Long, dark hair flows over his shoulders and kisses his cheeks. His eyes are like fire as they lock onto me.
“Stay inside, if you wish to live,” he says.
I know instinctively who they are. Sons of Adam.
“Where is she?” Sloane demands. “Where’s Cora.” Her voice trembles with emotion. “What have you done to her?”
Fiery Eyes glances over my shoulder, his mouth turning down slightly. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
He turns away, places a hand on each of the other vampire’s shoulders, and vanishes in a cloud of black mist.
