Page 27 of This Coven Won't Break
Sarah bursts into the room, takes one look at the scene before her, and springs into action. The air answers her call in an instant, swirling between us with the force of a cyclone. Her hands clench, and all three Hunters drop, clutching their throats.
Morgan peers over the bed. “What is she doing?”
“Stealing their breath.” I don’t even try to hide the satisfaction in my voice. Some twisted part of me delights in the fear in their eyes, in the way they scramble in the face of our power. Magic like this is a perversion of our gifts, but it’s one they forced on us.
The girl collapses to the floor last, her limbs sprawled. She stretches, like she can outmaneuver the need for air, like she can—
“Sarah, look out!”
The girl’s fingers close around her gun, and she fires. The small cylindrical dart embeds itself in Sarah’s chest.
Sarah glances down at the dart, plucks the feathered end, and lets the whole thing drop to the floor. Her pupils expand, overtaking the green of her eyes. “Run,” she says, catching herself on the edge of the bed. The air stops spinning as Sarah’s magic fades. “Run!”
I flinch at the ferocity in her tone, but I won’t make her tell us again. I drag Morgan behind me as the Hunters reload, and we barely avoid the next round of darts. We’re into the hall a second later, startling a drunk woman struggling with her keycard. I don’t know where to go, don’t know how many Hunters might be in the hotel. In the city.
We need reinforcements.
I tug Morgan toward the stairs, and now that Riley is out of her sight, she seems to come back to herself. She runs faster, gripping my hand to help me keep pace. We turn a corner, and there’s crashing in the distance. The Hunters giving chase.
We race up two flights of stairs, my feet barely brushing each step before Morgan’s hauling me up another one. The metal steps clang below us as the Hunters follow us up the stairs. Fear and adrenaline are the only things keeping my heartfrom shattering. Sarah just lost her magic. Because of me.
There isn’t time to think about that. Not now.
At Alice’s floor, we careen out of the stairwell so fast I nearly fall on my face. Morgan pulls me after her, but I can’t keep my feet under me. I’m gasping for breath, silent tears streaming down my face.
“Come on,” she urges as her magic flows through me. A fresh burst of energy pumps into my legs, and I run faster than I ever have before, so fast my body hardly feels like my own.
“Alice!” I shout when we reach her room, pounding on the door.
“Fuck off.”
“Open the door, Alice.”
“Hannah.” Morgan grabs my arm, and I turn in time to see the Hunters emerge from the stairwell. They race down the hall toward us, all three of them with tranq guns raised.
Shit, shit, shit.“I need every bit of power you can spare.” I reach for the place magic should pool in my chest. I’m not sure if this will work, if this is even athing, but I cling to hope anyway. “Now.”
Morgan does as I ask, and the power that floods my system is so strong, so intoxicating, that I can barely see. The well of magic in my chest grows so deep that I fear I’ll drown in it.
I raise my hand, and the air answers my call before I’m fully aware of what I’m asking. The wind rushes to do my bidding, tossing the three Hunters back several feet, where they crumple to the floor. Behind me, I’m vaguely aware of Morgan banging on Alice’s door as I follow the tendrils of breath back into each of the Hunter’s lungs. I squeeze until they drop one by one into unconsciousness.
A door opens and slams shut again. “Who the hell are they?” Alice creeps toward us, her suit replaced with flannel pajama bottoms and a gray T-shirt. I realize, suddenly, that she can’t be that much older than me. Nineteen, maybe twenty at most.
“Hunters,” I say, breathless. Morgan’s magic leaves me in a rush, and I sway on my feet, catching myself on the wall. The sudden loss of the elements leaves me dizzy and nauseated. I had only hoped her magic would keep mine stable. I had no idea it could make it stronger. Has anyone ever done this before? Do Blood Witches know they can have this effect on us? Do the Elders?
“Are they dead?” Morgan asks, her voice wavering on the edge of tears.
“No.” I reach for her hand. “Not dead.”
“What do we do now?” Morgan asks. “We can’t leave them in the hall.”
I look from the prone bodies to Alice’s room. Finally, I settle my gaze on the girl I’m supposed to recruit.
“Don’t look at me,” she says, backing away. “I don’t wantHuntersin my room. I’m not part of this.”
“You are now.” I walk the short distance to the unconscious Hunters, grab Riley by the ankles, and drag him down the hall. “Please tell me you have extra room in those giant trunks.”
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