Page 55 of Maiming
It isn’t enough.
A gasp tears from my throat the moment her magic bursts through. It cuts against me. It slices along my skin like a knife ripping up my arm, aiming for my heart.
“No!” Ellise’s shriek of horror is almost a match for my scream of agony.
White spots blot my vision. Sinister morphs, black smoke billow up around the massive beast. A howling bark echoes, and all I see are the shining white stars kissing the darkening sky. Pain like I’ve never felt burns into my very bones. My head turns against the brick ground and my body trembles involuntarily.
I see him. I see my sweet hellhound snapping sharp teeth and burning fire from his jaws.
And that vow to protect them swirls alone through my thoughts.
The mage storms closer to the hellhound without fear. Her hand rises. Green embers of magic highlight her striking palm.
But I’m quicker.
With a frail burst of energy, white colors stream from my fingertips. They hit with impact blooming against her body.
It’s a perfect hit.
The white colors fade. My eyes drift, nearly closing.
The last thing I see is Sinister there, confused and alone. The mage is gone.
Because disappearing spells were always my specialty.
Eighteen
Home
The deepest sleep envelops me.Too many faces flash through my mind. But her image overshadows all of them.
My offer still stands, friend. Mistakes were made, but you and I are sparrows of a feather.
A beat passes and my eyes flutter open just as her words echo into my thoughts.
Attika awaits.
The deepest green eyes shift over my features. Steady fingers trail along my jaw before he pushes my hair back from my eyes. In an almost familiar, dark room, two shifters and a demon sleep on cots along the wall. A single window allows soft moonlight to shine into the shadows. It’s an attic and for a second, I wonder if we’re back at Prince Linden’s castle.
I can’t tell if hours or days have passed. Everything in me hurts and I won’t say it, but there’s an alarming numbness that’s settled into my right hand. I focus there and no matter how hard I try I can’t lift my fingers.
Fear crawls into me but I force myself not to show it. I stare up at Kain as he waits patiently for me to speak.
“Where are we?” The whispered words grate along my throat as my tongue slides across my dry lips.
His gentle palm stays in place against my jaw, and for a moment I wonder if he actually heard me.
“You tell me. After you vanished Ellise, your fingers sparked and then all five of us were here. You disappeared.Again. And this time you took us with you, Arlow.”
My heart skips a beat at the sound of his words and his thumb slowly drifts back and forth against my skin.
I took them with me.
My instinct—as always—was to run. Except this time, I couldn’t leave without them.
Am I really powerful enough to vanish four shifters—excuse me—three shifters and a … cursed hellhound?
The blanket is heavy against my chest. I sit up and he never takes his hands off of me. Kain steadies me as I walk past Sinister’s cot and on unsteady legs I make it to the small window. White dirt streaks down the glass, hazing the scene before me. My hand hangs weighted at my side, refusing to lift no matter how many times I try. The gashing scar that’s healed there runs from the back of my knuckles all the way up to collar bone.
