“Uh, guys?” Amazing as the tiger trick was, we still had a few huge problems. One of them was imminent. “I don’t think he’s going to stop.”
Zee was still lifting his arms. And humming.
There were half a dozen people near the fenced-off pond. Four civilians, arguing with two officers. Somehow I knew Zee was targeting them. But I didn’t even get the chance to say it, much less make a run for it, before all six of them broke into screaming convulsions.
Helplessly watching them explode into red mist was as painful as being shot.
CHAPTER 48
Sadie and Frost hadn’t seen this happen before. Taeral wrapped both arms around Sadie and held her back as she screamed and tried to lunge toward the stricken victims.
I guessed it fell to me to stop Frost.
She was halfway there when I grabbed her around the waist, lifting her feet clear off the ground with the momentum. “What are you doing?” she snarled at me. “Those people need help, right now.”
“They’re already gone.”
She kept struggling, punching at my arm and trying to elbow me. Her foot tromped on mine. “No, I can save them!” she shouted. “Let go of me, damn it — ”
“Frost, they’re dead,” I said firmly. “Look.”
The mist was lifting away, gathering in the air above them. Gaunt bodies, drained of blood and life, collapsed to the ground one after the other like ghastly dominoes.
Frost went completely rigid against me as she realized what she was actually seeing. “Did he just … ”
“Yeah,” I said heavily. “He did. And we have to move, all right? I really think we should stick together right now.”
She pivoted stiffly and walked with me toward the others without a single word.
Sadie had calmed to horrified rage, and Donatti looked ready to do something really stupid. “That sick son of a bitch,” he said through his teeth. “When I get to him, I’m gonna rip that skull off his belt and shove it sideways up his ass.”
Frost made an awful, choking sound and pointed up and away. If she’d meant to use words, they didn’t come out. I followed her gesture with more than a little reluctance.
Six peoples’ worth of blood, a darkly glistening bead the size of a large trash can, was floating toward us, rising higher, until it hovered five feet or so above our heads. The bottom rippled with a sickening slosh, and something small and slender darted from the bead, flashing toward Frost’s still-outstretched arm.
She gasped and cradled her arm, staring in disbelief at the six-inch dart of crystallized blood that had plunged through it.
The blood bead rippled again.
“À dionadth!”
Taeral and I shouted the spell at the same time. A sudden hail of sharpened blood darts rained down. Most of them crashed into the shield and shattered or rolled away.
But a few changed directions, flying like guided missiles and zipping beneath the shield.
“I think we should move now,” I said. Not waiting for agreement, I grabbed Frost and started across the grass. The other three followed quickly.
And the ball of blood moved with us, continually spitting out projectiles.
“New plan. More shields.” I moved to help Frost with her arm, but she was already pulling the gruesome weapon out. “I’m fine,” she said through gritted teeth. “You stop this, okay?”
“Yeah, we got it.” I glanced at Taeral, and he nodded once.
Before we could cast another shield, Donatti snarled, “Fuck this shit!” and vanished. I saw his footprints mashing the grass for a few running steps, and watched the shimmering shape of him take to the air, headed straight for Zee.
“Goddamn it!” I hurled after him, batting a blood dart away like a mosquito. Sadie was doing the same, but her accuracy was better. “I think he went to save Ian. Alone.”
Taeral stared ahead. “Then I will help him.”
He grabbed the lodestone in his normal hand and activated the glowing purple gauntlet. With a look of intense focus, he held his palm out toward the castle.
A series of metal groans echoed from somewhere inside the stone structure.
“What is that lovely toy you have, Fae?” Zee shouted from the balcony. His arms were still in the air, manipulated the floating blood. “Bring it to me, and I’ll consider killing you quickly.”
Next to him, Ian started to glow.
Zee whipped his head around. “How—”
That was all he got out before dozens of metal pipes burst through the balcony floor.
Ragged pipe ends burst from his chest and stomach, rammed through him from behind. More of them wrapped around him like stiff metal snakes, squeezing tighter until bones cracked. Zee let out a furious scream and started tearing at the pipes. But for every one he wrenched away, two more attacked him.
With his concentration shifted, the hovering bead burst apart and showered us with gallons of chilled blood.
Fortunately, I was beyond the ability to feel disgusted.
A new sound rose above Zee’s angry shouts — a deep-throated growl. I wiped blood from my eyes and squinted at the balcony, just in time to see Donatti mounting the giant wolf that was Ian like a horse. Zee tried to get to them, but the groaning pipes dragged him toward the floor, then out of sight behind the parapet.
The wolf leapt off and landed hard on the rocks, racing down them with impossibly long lunges. Somehow, Donatti managed to cling to him as he loped across the grass and came to a skidding halt in front of Taeral.
Donatti staggered off him with a groan, and the wolf glowed its way back into Ian.
“Thank you,” Ian said as he started to face us — then froze and blinked a few times. “You are all bleeding. Profusely.”
“It’s not our blood,” Frost said, half-gagging on the words.
“I see,” he said slowly. “Then everyone is able to continue fighting?”
Sadie frowned at him. “We are. But what about you?” she said. “I mean, we all saw what happened when Donatti … ”
“Transformation heals us.” Ian glanced at Donatti, who was still half-bent and gasping. “Are you going to live, thief?” he said.
“Probably.”
“Excellent. Perhaps we could continue, then, while the Naimura is weakened.”
Donatti glared at him. “I just saved your stubborn ass. Give me a second.”
“I’m afraid we may not have a second,” Taeral said in rough tones. “Look there.”
We all looked toward the castle.
The entire balcony where Zee stood moments before was glowing.
CHAPTER 49
A terrible low rumbling sound spiraled into the long, drawn-out yowl of a great cat, and a huge shape exploded over the parapet.
Zee’s jaguar landed on the grass with a single leap.
Much as I despised Orville, I had to agree with his assessment. It was a gorgeous animal. Sleek and muscled, red-orange fur spotted with gold and black. Wicked, massive fangs, huge black padded feet, gleaming gold claws. Its tail was easily the length of its body — half gold-spotted fur, half long black bristles that fanned out at the end.
The jaguar was still wearing Zee’s jewelry.
I wrapped a hand around the moonstone. Now that he was within reach, I’d have a chance to strike. And I wanted to make it count.
But before I could get started, there was another growl to my right, this one wolf-like.
It wasn’t Ian.
Sadie shifted rapidly, and the seven-foot, auburn-furred werewolf crouched to spring. She was grinning around her fangs. “Here, kitty,” she rumbled in low, liquid tones.
“Sadie, stop!”
If she heard Taeral, she didn’t acknowledge him. She was already a blurred streak racing across the grass. The jaguar caught sight of her and reared on his hind legs with an earsplitting roar. He was easily twice the size of her.
She sprang at him and sunk her teeth in his throat.
Zee roared again. Still balanced upright,
he raked golden claws across Sadie’s back. She hung on a few seconds longer, but a fierce swat sent her crashing into the ground. Zee came down to crouch over her with a menacing snarl.
She slashed at his face. Scrambled away and bounded up, shook herself and leapt over him to land on his back.
The jaguar screamed as her claws tore him open. A bright glow enveloped both of them — and when it faded, Zee in human form reached back and swatted Sadie like a fly.
She sailed back and crashed into the stones below the castle. Sneering, Zee raised a hand in the air and slowly closed a fist.
The sound of screams and snapping bones filled the air.
From start to finish, Zee’s tangle with Sadie had lasted less than a minute. It felt a lot longer. And once she went down, he swept an arm toward the castle and shouted, “Finish her!”
I caught the flicker of shapes climbing over the courtyard walls. “Acolytes,” I called. “He sent the rest after her.”
Taeral immediately started that way. But Frost scrambled in front of him, a gun in her hand. “You take him,” she said. “I’ve got her. Gideon, could you …?”
I nodded. “Nochtaan.”
The acolytes fizzled into sight, and Frost sprinted off to kill them.
I tensed, ready to fail at stopping Zee from exploding her. But he only watched her and laughed. “Her death can wait,” he said, facing the four of us with flashing eyes. “It is your turn now.”
Ian pushed Donatti back firmly and stepped up next to Taeral. Gunfire exploded in the distance, and he nearly smiled as Zee looked back sharply at the sound. “Unseelie,” he said. “Your wounding spell.”
“Now?”
Ian nodded. “Now.”
Both of them spoke at the same time.
“Míilé brihs!”
“Rohii lo’ainstahz!”
Zee’s head whipped around. His mouth formed an offended O.
He gagged sharply and doubled over as ink-black liquid splashed from his mouth. Cuts opened themselves on every inch of skin, bleeding the same black substance he was vomiting. Rapidly draining his soul from a thousand and one places at once.
Ian and Taeral stood side-by-side with their arms out, shivering with the effort to hold the spells. Taeral’s glamour flickered as his spark drained. Soon it faded completely, leaving his natural state of blue skin, long limbs and pointed ears. But he still held his ground. Gagging and twitching, Zee stumbled back blindly and waved an arm in the air. Nothing happened, and he lowered it and clutched his stomach.
My heart stopped. I glanced at Donatti and saw the same desperate hope on his face. If they could keep this up, it might actually work.
Suddenly, Zee straightened and screamed a word I couldn’t make out.
Taeral and Ian flew back like a bomb had gone off beneath them. They landed ten feet back in separate, crumpled heaps.
Neither one moved.
CHAPTER 50
If you’re dead, Taeral, I’m going to kill you.
The pointless thought raced through my head as Zee shook himself and glared at the two of us remaining. “Now I’m truly angry,” he said. The black stuff was still dripping from his mouth, and none of the cuts had healed. But he’d definitely slowed things down. “And once I have changed, I will tear you both into many, very small pieces. Slowly.”
He started to glow.
“Gideon,” Donatti rasped. “Heal me.”
“Okay…”
“And don’t stop.” He held an arm out, and his feet sunk completely into the ground. “Rohii lo’ainstahz!”
Zee’s glow vanished. His roar ended in a strangled gasp as black stuff shot from his mouth in a thick and violent jet, and poured like water from every wound.
At once, I understood Donatti’s request. He was using earth magic to power the spell. And he could keep it up as long as his body could handle it.
All I had to do was heal him long enough to finish Zee off.
I grabbed his shoulders and pushed energy into him. He was hot to the touch, his skin practically burning through his jacket. But I held on, alarmed at the speed my spark was draining and Donatti’s rising temperature. We wouldn’t be able to keep this up long.
Zee fell to his knees, making cawing sounds as he grabbed at his throat. The black jet kept coming. His skin wrinkled and sagged. The hair beneath his headdress turned white and began falling out in wisps and clumps.
Donatti gritted his teeth. I felt him sink lower into the ground and pushed harder for the magic, pouring in everything I could. The moonstone flared bright and began to fade.
Zee gave an abrupt jerk. Black liquid bubbled from his lips as he collapsed and rolled onto his back.
“Your sword,” Donatti gasped. “Now!”
I tore the pendant off. No idea whether I had enough left to power this thing, but if I didn’t, I’d die trying. “Calhaoim’nae solaas geahlí!”
Light sputtered in the center of the stone. It wasn’t going to work. I focused every ounce of strength I had left into the pendant, willing it to give me this one last gasp.
Incredible pain lanced my gut as my dying spark responded.
The stone glowed and lengthened. Gripping the moon-stone with both hands, I stumbled to the fallen Zee and plunged it through his chest, where his heart should have been. If he had one.
His eyes flew open with a guttural scream. Bright red blood pulsed around the blade and sizzled black as the flesh beneath it burned.
At last, he stilled.
I didn’t even have enough strength left to pull the sword out.
Dimly, I was aware of Donatti extracting himself from the ground. He staggered toward me and stared down at the withered body. “Please tell me he’s dead,” he panted.
“Looks dead.” I couldn’t get more than a wheeze out myself.
“Well, make sure.”
I would’ve asked how, but Donatti was already lurching off toward Ian.
“Right,” I muttered.
With both hands and a foot planted for leverage, I managed to wrench the glowing sword free. I was pretty sure I couldn’t return it to pendant form without magic, so I stood there holding it loosely and trying to catch my breath — until I heard uneven footsteps behind me. I whirled, lifting a sword that now weighed a thousand pounds.
It was Frost, supporting Sadie. Who was broken and barely conscious … but alive.
“He’s dead, right?” Frost said.
“So far.”
“See, I don’t like that.” She shivered a bit and lowered Sadie gently to the ground. “You’re supposed to say, ‘yes, he’s dead’.”
“Yes.” I tried to smile, but it hurt. “He’s dead.”
“What about everyone else?”
I looked back. Donatti was hauling a groaning Ian off the ground, and Taeral had managed to sit halfway up. “I guess they’re not dead,” I said. “So far.”
I was still too stunned to accept that it was over. But I was going to try.
Eventually we managed to gather into a loose, exhausted huddle on the ground, far back from Zee. Who still looked dead. I wouldn’t bother asking whether everyone was all right. Instead I laid the moon-sword across my lap and turned to Frost. “The rest of them are dead too, right?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I took all four of them down.”
My breath caught sharply. “Four?”
There were five left.
With a growing sense of dread, I used the sword to push to my feet and stumbled in a half-circle toward Zee’s body.
The jaguar priest stood silently over him. His glare was death.
“Motherfu—”
“I will return!” The priest’s mouth opened, but Zee’s voice boomed out. “You will all die, and I WILL create my paradise.”
I sensed the others trying to stand as the tattooed priest threw his arms out.
“Return from this, you bastard,” Frost snarled beside me.
Three shots thundered in rapid succession. The priest staggered a
nd thumped over.
“Okay,” I said shakily. “Now he’s dead.”
CHAPTER 51
I still preferred the moon, but this particular sunrise was a close second for best celestial displays of my life. Mostly because we were all alive to see it.
It was strange being in Central Park with absolutely no one else around. The police must’ve stuck to the commissioner’s orders to keep the park clear. A good thing, since none of us had been able to move for almost an hour.
I’d been able to steal enough charge from the last glimmer of moonlight to change the pendant back, but I wasn’t going to heal any time soon. Donatti was still tapped, Ian unable to transform yet. Taeral had just managed to restore his glamour but couldn’t manage anything else. Sadie was badly hurt, but awake and functional. And Frost was bruised, bleeding, and exhausted.
But at least everyone was conscious.
Either Frost or I would have to make the call soon. For now we all enjoyed the silence, and the sunrise that painted the horizon a brilliant pink against a pale, glittering winter backdrop. The world would keep turning. And we were grateful beyond words.
HALFLING.
The voice exploded in my head, and I almost sobbed with the pain. I couldn’t even speak.
This was not happening.
HAVE YOU KILLED ME?
My nose started to bleed.
“Goddamn it!” I shouted. I scrambled to my feet, ignoring the gasps and shouts from the rest of them. The bodies of Zee and his priest still lay where they’d fallen, and I shoved him from my head as hard as I could, aiming for either one of them.
Taeral was already at my side. “What’s happened?” he said.
I didn’t have to answer. Zee’s corpse appeared to rise from the ground, as if the priest wasn’t even there. I felt the others gathering silently around me as I stared him down.
Ian’s voice rang out. “How is this possible?”
City of Secrets (The DeathSpeaker Codex Book 5) Page 18