Page 127 of Happily Ever Witch
Crap.
Esmeralda turned a blind corner, already casting a glamour. Instantly, she’d transformed herself into a yeti. As disguises went it wasn’t her favorite look, but it would do. She stood perfectly still trying to look like she belonged amid the hairy denizens of the cave. As soon as the yetis went past her, she’d casually walk the other way, right out of the cavern’s entrance. Simple.
Except where were all the yetis?
Boom!Boom!Boom!
Splat!Splat!Splat!
The weird repetitive noise kept echoing. At least ten times in a row and getting closer. Panicked yeti yowls were now accompanying theboomsandsplats.It sounded like a war.
Esmeralda’s thick fuzzy eyebrows drew together and she stuck her head around the corner. What the hell was happening? Why hadn’t the yetis already gone racing by her hiding spot, looking for her?
And why did she suddenly feel an ungodly amount of magic? She stepped out into the main corridor, her heart beginning to pound.
A yeti came tearing down the tunnel, making terrifiedrawhhhhhs! Four more of its kind followed close behind. They weren’t searching for Esmeralda. They were fleeing for their fuzzy lives.
Boom!
Splat!
One of the creatures exploded.
Fileted yeti parts sprayed all over the walls and Esmeralda jolted in surprise. The yeti’s huge body detonated, splattering blood and entrails everyplace. Okay. So that solved the mystery of the noise.
Other monsters roared out in horror, as they were coated in sticky red goo and matted bits of their buddy’s fur. Then another yeti exploded. And another. Andanother.
They were being magically picked off with ruthless precision. They tried to evade the unseen force killing them, but it was impossible. No one could escape a spell that strong.
Esmeralda didn’t even try. She didn’t have to.
She stood in the middle of the carnage, clean and safe. None of the gore touched her. None of the yetis got close. None of the deadly magic even mussed her own thick fur. All the chaos washed around her, like water around a rock. There was really only one way in the universe that could have happened.
Her attention stayed on the end of the corridor, not willing to believe it, until she saw him with her own two eyes. Then, Trevelyan walked into view, long coat swirling like a cape, and Esmeralda’s breath caught.
He’d come after her! The man was literally killing mad, but she didn’t care. He washere.
Trevelyan’s focus instantly latched onto her face. Even though she was disguised as a yeti, he knew it was her. Dragons were scent-based. Still, a girl wanted to look her best, when her True Love showed up to save her from monsters. She transformed herself back into her actual body, only this time she turned her hair green, because he’d requested it and he deserved a reward.
Something sparked in Trevelyan’s gaze.
Seeing she was all in one piece, his wrathful attention switched to the yetis who were still alive. Two of the shaggy white creatures took fearful steps back. Trevelyan rotated his wrist in a quick turn. The top half of their bodies went one way, the bottom half of their bodies went the other, like towels being wrung dry. Bones crunched. Yetis screamed. Trevelyan gave a particularly cruel smile and exploded them, too.
Esmeralda winced a bit.
Maybe she should have warned the yetis that her True Love was an evil dragon.
Another yeti dove for cover and was summarily folded in some complicated, origami-ish way that turned it inside out. How the hell did Trevelyan even know a spell like that? Wait, what was she thinking? Ofcoursehe knew a spell like that. The man’s DNA was nothing but dark magic and unbelievable hotness.
The last yeti seemed to realize it was screwed. It lunged for Esmeralda, wanting to use her as a shield against the dragon’s wrath. It made it exactly one step in her direction.
Trevelyan’s gaze flicked towards it. His hand waved out in a swift downward motion.
And the yeti… unzipped. Its body split cleanly down the center, as Trevelyan’s powers opened it up like a jacket. The two sections of muscle and fur peeled away from each other, resembling something out of a horror movie. All of the yeti’s insides splooshed out in the middle and the bisected halves fell sideways, hitting the ground in opposite directions.
Ick.
Trevelyan didn’t seem to notice the carnage. His targets eviscerated, he focused his rage on Esmeralda. Green eyes pinned her, glowing with power so vast it seemed fathomless. “I told you before: Run and I will catch you, witch.” The promise was sealed in blood and flames. “Every. Single. Time.”
