by Izzy Shows
Fuck.
I had to think, but it was getting harder and harder to get thoughts flowing in my mind.
And then my skull cracked against the floor as I was slammed down, and a fist pummelled my nose. I tasted blood and felt a sticky wetness leaking across my face.
Broken bones, definitely.
I grunted, pulling my knee up to slam it into the vampire’s groin. His hold on my throat weakened, and some of my vision returned.
Gods above and below, this bloke was enormous. He wanted to kill me, and I didn’t think it would be very difficult for him to do that.
Not at all.
“I’ll gut you for that, bitch,” he said, slamming a fist into the side of my head.
I screamed in pain, uncaring that it was sign of weakness to let the sound escape my throat. I could be weak, just then.
I needed to get myself free, to find my staff, and then I’d be able to take this guy out.
My fingers twitched as I dragged my arm closer to me, but he caught the movement.
“No way, bitch. I’m not letting you get any of your tricky voodoo out,” he snarled.
He let go of my throat so he could grasp both of my hands. He pushed them over my head, then he shifted to hold them in one giant, meaty hand.
There went my chance to get hold of one of my wands or a stake.
“It’s a pity you’re one of them magic users,” he said. “Yer kind of pretty. In a stringy sort of way.”
Oh, gross. No, no, no, let’s not go there.
“Yeah, well, I’m the pretty bitch who’s going to kill you, so have fun with that. Incendium.”
The power shot out of me. I was at full strength, and I barely even had to reach for the magic to call it into my hands. Flames erupted from my palms and set fire to his skin.
He yelped and ripped his hands away from me, but I didn’t let him get very far. Hands still aflame, I reached forward and grasped his head, then hung on for dear life as he roared and stood up.
This could go very badly, but I was determined. I wasn’t going to let go of my target unless someone ripped me away.
With a cry, I cranked up the intensity of the magic, pouring fire into the man’s head and down through his body. I found his eyes with my thumbs and funnelled the fire there so it could enter his body and destroy his insides.
He collapsed to his knees, and a moment later, he was a blackened husk.
I panted, allowed myself a few precious seconds to recover, then grabbed my staff and was back on my feet.
A downed Wizard is a dead Wizard.
That was my mantra, and I was sticking to it. I wasn’t going to stay down long enough for someone to finish me off. Hell, no.
When I turned to face Weylyn, I saw that he had rolled onto his back, crushing the vampires beneath him, and then he was back on his feet, fangs flashing as he tore into one vampire after another.
I quickly picked off any vampires who threatened to get too close to him, using the butt of my staff to slam away vampires who got too close to me.
It was a tricky situation to be in, but now that I was back on my feet and breathing again--and only part of my vision was still blackened--I had faith in myself once more.
I could do this. I had to do this.
Three vampires landed in a crouch in front of me.
I bared my teeth in a savage smile. “You want some? Come get some.”
The staff whirled in my hands. More unrecognizable words poured out of my mouth, and my power slammed into them as they tried to move towards me.
They were all down within seconds of approaching.
I felt the power coursing through me like a dangerous drug high, but I couldn’t put the staff down. It was the only thing that was keeping me alive, and it left me feeling like I could get through this without having to call in reinforcements.
I probably could have fallen back on my wands if Diego had been there, but I didn’t want him to be there. I wanted these vampires to see me beat them on my own, so they’d always know I was the thing that haunted their nightmares.
I couldn’t have their respect; that was clear.
But I’d have their fear.
The fight went on, and I kept moving to avoid going down again, turning myself into a whirlwind of death and destruction. I laughed as another vampire got too close to me before I slammed him to the floor with one end of my staff, then whirled the staff to point the top down at him and send power straight into his head.
Gods, it was like this staff was an extension of myself. I could do anything as long as I had it.
The world could be conquered.
And unlike the mark Mal had given me, which had afforded me almost limitless power, the staff didn’t taint my soul. I could detect no danger from it, which allowed me to use it at will.
Even the Wizards of the Order had examined my staff and had found nothing in it that would give them pause. They’d been impressed with my creation, though in truth I couldn’t claim credit for it. I hadn’t known the words I said when I made it any more than I knew the words that flew from my mouth when I used it.
But it was so natural. As if I’d been born to wield this staff, it fit perfectly in my hands, and it responded to my slightest thought.
Suddenly, pain lanced through my head and I was dragged backwards. A blow landed in the soft flesh of my side. My breath was driven from me, and I was left panting for a moment, wasting time that could have been used to fight.
I twisted, trying to get to my attacker, but he was holding my hair practically by the roots, preventing me from moving freely.
I slammed my staff backwards into his gut, and my hair was relinquished. I spun around and smacked him upside the head with the side of my staff, then drove it into his gut again and again until he was on the floor.
“Look at my face,” I said as I stood over him. “And for the seconds you have left, remember that you never stood a chance.”
I placed the butt of my staff on his chest and sent the power coursing through me into the staff. It spread into his body as I destroyed him from the inside out.
This was what being a Wizard was supposed to feel like.
I lost myself in the fight, tearing down vampire after vampire, enjoying every moment of it. I’d always lived for the fight, for the feeling of my blood beating in my ears, telling me that this was what living was. It wasn’t idle moments spent with friends; it was the feeling that at any moment, something could just go horrendously wrong and all I could do was claw my way out, tooth and nail.
This was what got my blood pumping.
Malphas understood that.
I didn’t know where that treacherous thought had come from, but it slowed me enough that a very large vampire was able to get up close and personal with me.
It took me a moment, but then I recognized him.
Karl.
“You’ve chosen the wrong side of this battle, Hunter.”
“You know, somehow, I don’t think so,” I said, though I didn’t want to waste my breath trading quips with him. Everything inside me urged me to take his life and end this now.
Without their leader, the vampires would fall apart. They’d submit to Dudley’s rule, and the trouble would be over.
I was glad he’d chosen to face me on the field of battle, because it meant I could end this before it went too far.
“You might want to take a look around, Karl.” I gestured to the battle at large, which was very much going in our favour. Weylyn, Dudley, and Dudley’s supporters were tearing into everyone who got in their way, and they were doing a damned good job of it. Some of Dudley’s vampires were falling, but at nowhere near the rate that the rebels were.
It might have been a close call if Weylyn and I hadn’t been there, but because we were fighting alongside them, the tide was with us.
Karl snarled at me, baring his fangs. “I’ll enjoy draining the blood from your body.”
“Good luck with that.” I crouched and whirled
the staff so it was pointing right at him.
He charged me, and before I could rattle off a spell, he’d smacked the staff from my hand.
Fuck. OK. I didn’t need the staff, although it could have ended things then and there. I was still a mage. I had the magic that coursed within me, and I had two wands and a stake at my disposal. I just had to get to them, which was the tricky part right now.
He knocked me to the floor by slamming his head into my chest, and the air was once again driven from my lungs.
Gods, I was spending more time not breathing than breathing in this bloody battle. I wouldn’t be surprised if I was just one giant bruise when all was said and done.
“You aren’t such a threat without that stick in your hands, girl. I’m going to enjoy ending you.”
I slammed my head into his, but he caught my hand and slammed my arm down to the floor. My wrist was caged in his fingers, and he quickly secured my other hand.
All right, so I wasn’t going to be getting to my gear. That much was clear. That was OK, though.
I still had my magic.
I parted my lips to begin a spell, but he lifted his hand long enough to grasp my hair and yank my head to the side, leaving me gasping and unable to get out whatever words I’d intended to use.
He lowered his head, and it was as if everything was happening in slow motion.
This couldn’t be it. This couldn’t be the end.
I couldn’t go out like this.
His teeth scraped against my skin, and the sound he let out sent shivers of disgust skittering through my body.
No!
I refused to let this be the end.
I screamed as his fangs slid into me, and I felt the world tilting around me. My body was on fire, but there wasn’t anything I could do. He was draining the very essence of life from me, and I was powerless in his grasp.
My lips parted as if I intended to say something, but I could barely drag air into my lungs. My breathing was ragged now.
Get out of this, get out of this, get out of this. Come on, Blair. You can do this. Just try!
I kept urging myself on, but I couldn’t think of what to do.
The world was turning black.
And then it was as if a fire had been lit inside of me again.
No. I wouldn’t let this be the end.
“Courvra!” I shrieked, and he was blown off of me. He landed several feet away, and I forced myself to my feet.
I didn’t bother with the bleeding wound on my neck--the skin had been punctured by his teeth, then torn open by the force I’d sent through him. I strode toward him.
My staff lay abandoned on the floor, but I didn’t want it.
This was personal. He was going to feel me as he died.
He was watching me with wide and horrified eyes as I stalked closer to him. He tried to move, but my hand rose as if of its own accord, and the word leapt from my lips again.
He was slammed back to the floor.
I took a knee beside him, my eyes never leaving his.
He would know pain, however short-lived it might be.
“Mercy,” he gasped, panic in his eyes.
“Mercy? I’m not a saint, Karl. I’m the Hunter.”
Closing my eyes, I lifted my hand high. “Vis.” I brought my hand down swiftly, burying it in his chest. My fingers wrapped around his heart, and I squeezed it tight.
“Do you feel that, Karl?” I stabbed a fingernail into his heart, and he let out a shriek of pain.
“Mercy!”
“That’s your life ending. Incendium.”
Fire poured from my fingers into his heart, incinerating the organ that had kept him alive far longer than it ever should have.
His screams echoed throughout the suddenly quiet room until he was no more. I slowly extracted my hand from his chest cavity and stood once more, surveying the room around me.
To my great surprise, all of the vampires were kneeling.
Those who had been loyal to Dudley as well as the rebels. They were all kneeling, facing me, and their necks were bared. That might not mean much to others, but in the vampire world, it was the ultimate sign of submission.
Dudley was staring at me with a look of shock and horror on his face. No control for his emotions this time, I thought with a smirk.
And then the reality of the situation sank in.
The vampires were submitting. The fight was over. More astonishing was the fact that they were submitting to me, not to Dudley.
I extended the hand that wasn’t bloodied towards Dudley, and he walked through the crowd as slowly as was possible. I could see anxiety on his face now, and I felt a little bad for him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. The whole point had been to restore order for him.
It had never been my intention to have the vampires revere me in such a way.
At last he reached me, and he grasped the hand I’d held out to him.
I swallowed, staring at the crowd, trying to find the words I was supposed to say. I was supposed to say something, wasn’t I? That was what people did in these kinds of circumstances.
The situation was just begging for a speech, but I wasn’t all that good at speeches.
“All right,” I said, and though I only raised my voice a bit, the room was quiet enough that everyone could hear me. “I should think it’s very clear now: your rebellion will not be tolerated. So long as you serve Dudley and don’t cross me, there will be no problems.”
The vampires lowered their heads till their chins touched their chests, the only indication that they agreed with me that I was likely to get.
Chills ran down my spine.
What had I done?
Thirty Eight
I was sitting in Dudley’s office, gauze wrapped tightly around my neck, my hands clean, a glass of brandy cradled against my chest. It hadn’t been difficult to get myself cleaned up after the war had been won, and Dudley had invited me up to celebrate our victory.
His words might have been a little sour. But he’d said them in front of the vampires, and that had made it impossible for me to refuse the invitation. He wanted to show that we were equals, and it was the least I could do to make that effort for him.
But I knew the truth. The vampires would always be more afraid of me than they were of him. It was the threat of me that would keep them in line. They’d never truly understood what it meant to cross me until today.
Hopefully, this would mean that there’d be no further killings in the streets of London.
A girl could dream, right?
Dudley watched me as he took a sip of his brandy. He’d been quiet so far, and I hadn’t bothered to try to start a conversation. I knew he wanted to say something to me, otherwise he wouldn’t have invited me here. I’d let him get around to it whenever it was comfortable for him.
Minutes ticked by, and I sipped my brandy and ruminated on the fact that there was a tentative peace now, one that I might be able to rely on.
I’d needed a win, after everything that had happened of late. It had been very much on my mind that I could fail at this just like I’d failed Kailan, but it seemed that at last, the fates were on my side.
“You’re quite impressive in a fight, Ms. Sheach,” he said at last.
I quirked an eyebrow. Was that really all he wanted to say? I doubted it. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself. I was pleasantly surprised.”
“I did warn you, did I not, that I’ve been in more than one scrape in my day?”
“You did. But I wasn’t sure how long it had been since your last battle. Even the best sword can rust in its sheath.”
“Mmm. Well, I’m glad that the battle is won. Even if...”
The brandy in my mouth burned on its way down. I’d swallowed it a little awkwardly.
Here it comes. He’s going to pout about the way it ended.
“Even if it would seem that my hold on my vampires is now tied to the peace I have with you.”
Ah, yeah. He would
n’t like that one bit. He was a power guy. He wanted to have total control of anything that happened, no matter what.
“As long as you keep your rules enforced--as long as no one kills in my town--there’s no reason for me to bother you.”
“I’m not sure that’s true.” He stared down at the glass in his hand.
“What do you mean?”
“To be frank, you saved my arse, Ms. Sheach. I can’t forget that, and I am forever in your debt. But it may be that there will be a time when you’ll need to speak to the vampires again. It’s quite the inconvenience, I know, for me to need such a favour from you when it’s I who owes you.”
“Hey, if you need me to snarl at some people again, I can do that. Just...let’s not make a habit of everything that’s happened this week, eh?”
He smiled. “No, I should think it will be quite some time before their memories will need to be refreshed about this night. Stories will be told for years to come, and all the new vampires will know you. You will forever be engraved into their memories.”
I grinned. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”
He sobered. “I did mean what I said, Ms. Sheach. If you are ever in need, you have but to call on me. I owe you a life debt.”
Now, that was a shock. I’d never expected that kind of a reaction from Dudley. He owed me a life debt? Gods above, what did that even mean?
A warm feeling filled my stomach.
A favour from Herne, a favour from Dudley.
Things could be a lot worse.
Book seven is coming soon!
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Also by Izzy Shows
The Codex Blair Series
Grave Mistake
Blood Hunt
Dark Descent
Wild Game
Grim Fate
High Stakes
In The Codex Blair Universe
The Fallen’s Crime
The Fallen Hunter