Mia shivered in my kitchen while Gram gave her the once over. I didn't have the time to coddle the Dumont leader, not while Demetrius linked his mind to me to show where we were going."A high rise?" The looming sky scraper towered over a city I didn't know. My fear of heights triggered as he swooped my view toward the base of the building, flinching as we almost impacted it only to fly upwards like some mental roller coaster, passing row after row of windows as his mind led mine all the way to the top.Where we slammed into a barrier of emptiness, bouncing back from it so hard I snapped out of the vision.Demetrius shook his head, staggering. "Oops," he said. "That's new."A fireball headache burst behind my eyes before slowly fading into a dull ache."The roof?" I pressed my hands to my temples.Demetrius bobbed a nod. "All the way to the top," he said.Of course it was. Wouldn't do to have their weapon of mass magic destruction on the ground or anything. Put it up on the pinn
I stepped out into a warm night at the entrance to a busy street. The humid air hit me immediately, moisture standing out on my skin. Jeans were too heavy, my t-shirt the only saving grace. I heard Sassafras hiss, glanced over to watch his fur puff up as Charlotte gently slid him from around her neck and cradled him against her side with one arm, shedding her leather jacket from the other."Where are we?" I turned to Demetrius, hoping he'd maintained his sanity long enough to get us through this mess. Instead, I found him hopping up and down, from foot to foot, hands pressed to his mouth as he giggled silently into them."Sunshine state," he said.Florida."Looks like Miami." Quaid pulled Mia against him, one arm around her shoulders as she slumped in the heat. "We lived here once, when I was with the Moromonds, a long time ago."I looked up, up at the building, now familiar, reached for it with my power.Came up empty. No pun intended."The whole building is warded now," I said
The tiny pop of electricity preceded me and it wasn't until I noticed the small surveillance camera on the fifth floor landing, black smoke pouring out of its casing, I realized Demetrius was keeping the Brotherhood from tracking us.I'd seen enough cop movies to swear inside my head at myself for not thinking of it first.It was a long climb, but seemed to fly by, floor after floor disappearing beneath me. I'm absolutely positive if I didn't have access to my magic I would never have made the climb. Even with the boost I was a panting, sweating mess by the time we reached the top. Charlotte looked a little ruffled, as though she'd exerted herself in a brisk run. Her breathing returned to normal as she shook herself, setting Sassafras back on the ground. Demetrius, I decided, was completely tireless, as eager as he'd been all along, now pulling on me again as I stopped to catch my wind at the top of the stairs.Mia leaned heavily on Quaid who looked about as worn out as I was, proba
It wasn't like I expected a cake walk or anything. But it would have been nice if we could have just strolled through the exit door, climbed the short staircase to the roof, sauntered up to the machine of doom and broken it into a million pieces while kindly handing Mia's power back, safe and sound.Um hum. Dream time over in three, two, one-I might have done all right against a heavy bag Sage had me working with at the gym, but taking on giant sorcerers in expensive suits was another matter altogether. The second we passed through the roof door and into the narrow stairwell to the top, three of them rushed out, one falling with a cry as Demetrius, more prepared than I was, took him out at the knees with a slash of his crystal. I didn't think the stone itself did the damage. But whatever Demetrius's power did to the big guard, he crashed forward, almost taking out Quaid as he fell, a redwood crashing in the forest. Charlotte's claws liberated another of his life, more blood spraying
Slow.Motion.I heard Charlotte howling, drawn out and garbled, as I fell back, the unexpected blow bending my knees, dropping me like a rock to the stinking rooftop. My head struck the surface, bounced from the asphalt as the burning in my shoulder grew in intensity, from flames to a raging inferno.My vampire hissed in my head, spirit magic surging even as my demon roared her rage. I struggled to sit up, hand clenching around my crystal despite the raging pain racing down my arm, my demon driving me to act, to protect myself, while the ball of fire erupted in agony, gasp worthy pain racing across my chest and down my arm, blooming in time with my heartbeat. I rolled on my side as Quaid sank to his haunches next to me, face crumpled in fear, hands reaching for me. So fast, it all happened so fast, so slow. I turned to Charlotte, in wolf form, as she leaped between me and the advancing line of dark-suited men, the one in the front pointing something at me.At her.Another crack of
The leader of the Brotherhood didn't get a chance to pull the trigger. And neither did Demetrius make it to his destination. An outward blast of power sent me flying back, Quaid and Mia next to me, Demetrius falling in my lap as I landed hard between two of the towering crystal columns.We weren't the only ones. Sorcerers went tumbling like ten pins as a giant, black hole opened in the center of the roof, gushing iridescent light around the edges. Belaisle's lips moved as though he cursed, but the sound was lost in the roar of wind as three figures stepped out of the black hole just before it crushed itself out of existence.Trill stood in the center of the gap, long hair settling around her, arms dropping to her sides as she released her power. Owen stood next to her, gaping mouth and eyes no longer endless pits of darkness. The pair clearly mastered their abilities, tied them together even, but not without help. A third form stood between them, blackness and light all wound togethe
So black, so thick, the world was gone. And then light, thin and distorted, tinted deep purple, all around me. My vampire stood beside me, her white power flaring, stained by the crystal's heart. My demon and Shaylee both stayed close, back to back with me, a four-cornered star as we all peered outward into the dark.A shining light appeared on my left, floating toward me. When he came close enough to recognize, Demetrius's smile lit my heart, blue eyes as clear as any crystal, no sign of the insanity in control of his mind, the damage to his body not visible on him here. In this place.In the center of the heart of darkness.I felt it then, the subtle hum of it, the pull of magic feeding it. Felt it try to devour me, a slow and lazy suction until I showed it the flower of sorcery at my base, the black of its petals a perfect match for the crystal. With a surge of joy it welcomed me, reversed its process, now supplying me with power, siphoning it back into my various magicks, as tho
The world fragmented around me, slicing crystals bursting with explosive force. I flowed with them, from them, slamming into my body, the force of four souls coming together rocking my physical form even as I raised my arms and threw up my shields.Liander thought bullets were efficient. Flying shards of crystal would do the job just as well.Only problem, I had terrible aim.A crystal shard whispered past my ear before freezing in place, much as Trill's bullet had, my shielding catching the flying projectiles and then releasing them all at once to tinkle harmlessly to the ground. I would have loved to let them fly, but I had no way of knowing if they would take out friend or foe and I just couldn't risk it.The building below me groaned as though in agony as the power inside the black column vanished, the entire structure suffering from the loss. The feeling of my other egos remained with me, my magic intact, the petals of the dark flower at my base sighing shut, sated for now on