by J. L. Weil
If they realized where my true concern lay, it would only give Dmitri the leverage he needed to use against me. I would have gladly gone with the Karura if I knew it would keep them safe, including Devyn, but I couldn’t tell the Shaman that. He would never stand for it.
I had to shift.
Chapter Twelve
“Hey, jackass!” I yelled.
Dmitri jumped back as one of Devyn’s blades sliced through the air directly in front of the Karura’s chest. “I’m kind of busy, doll-face.”
“Kitten, what the hell are you doing?” Frustration pinched Devyn’s features.
Fear knotted in my belly, but I forced my voice steady. What the hell was I doing he wanted to know. All I knew was I needed to move this party somewhere far from my house. “Let’s not make this difficult. If you want me, you’re going to have to catch me.”
Dmitri laughed, advancing on Devyn. “I’m working on it. Just let me take care of your knight in shining armor.”
I snorted. “Please. I don’t need him.”
“I don’t know what grand scheme you have going, but it ends now,” Devyn snarled, his gaze slamming into mine, anger spitting from his eyes as they illuminated the darkness.
“I’m shifting. I can’t sit here and do nothing.”
“Yes! You can. I have this under control.” He ducked as Dmitri’s wing went over his head.
Devyn was constantly barking at me to shift, to run, so that was exactly what I was going to do. The one time I wanted to run he was forbidding it. The Shaman was a conundrum, to say the least.
“Is that why you’re bleeding?” I challenged.
“Karina, this isn’t how it works between us,” he groaned.
I needed less talking and more shifting, but as long as he kept arguing with me I couldn’t concentrate. “I’m doing this with or without your help, you arrogant, self-righteous, asshole.”
Whoosh. Devyn tackled me to the ground. A moment later, Dmitri pounded into the spot where I had been standing, causing the earth to tremble.
I blew the messy hair out of my face. That was a close call.
“You were saying?” There was a mile-wide smirk on his face as he hovered over me.
My gaze was directed over his head. “Devyn!” I screamed.
Dmitri was diving straight at us like a missile on steroids. Horror poured through me. Devyn rolled to the right, taking me with him, arms secured around my waist. The danger was far from over. Devyn leaped to his feet, doing things with his blades that could have been construed as art.
Kicking out, Devyn hit Dmitri in the right leg, and then spinning around jabbed one of his swords into a black wing. Dmitri bellowed, but he didn’t fall as I had hoped. The bastard was strong.
Dmitri charged, flying straight at Devyn, who spun and delivered another kick, this one to the Karura’s gut, sending him sailing backwards like a pinwheel. Using his wings, Dmitri shifted his momentum and straightened up.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, Dmitri pulled a fae, poof-be-gone act, disappearing out of thin air.
I blinked. What the—? Where did he go?
“I hate when they do that,” Devyn hissed, his jaw hardening.
Maybe this was the opening we needed to run. Or maybe we had scared him, Devyn with this dual swords and me with my… okay, maybe Devyn scared him off.
Not likely.
I didn’t even get to finish the momentary freak-out in my head when Dmitri reappeared directly behind Devyn. I screamed.
And Devyn pivoted. The Karura’s nails raked down the side of Devyn’s forearm, and fear rendered me immobile as I recalled Devyn mentioning something about never letting a Karura scratch you. The Shaman lifted his head, meeting my gaping shock.
He opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. Dumbfounded, my body went clammy as Devyn planked to the ground, his arm twitching like a downed powerline.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I started to run to Devyn’s side but Dmitri popped up behind me, his voice in my ear. “Doll-face, you’re a means to an end. I’m not leaving here without you and your soul.” A pair of strong arms wrapped around me, and before I could let out a scream my feet were off the ground.
“Devyn!” I reached out my hand, but it was useless. Dmitri was too strong. “What did you do to him?”
He laughed, a deep, demented sound. “Just a little paralysis. Don’t worry. It isn’t permanent, sadly, which means there’s no time for chitchat.”
The Karura had another think coming if he thought I was going to make kidnapping me easy. I took a deep breath, but there didn’t seem to be enough air getting to my lungs. Keep it together.
If only it was that easy, to simply tell myself to chill the fuck out. Something was happening to me. I was either going to have the mother of all panic attacks or someone had set off a bundle of fireworks inside me.
My skin felt as if there were tiny sparklers going off under the surface, flaring and flickering. A charge of electricity burned through my veins.
What the crap is happening to me?
As if I didn’t have enough to worry about with Devyn out of commission, and me soaring higher in the air, imprisoned by a feathered madman. There was nothing I could do to stop the feeling inside me from bursting. The need to shift was overwhelming, to the point where it felt as if I might spontaneously combust if I didn’t give in to the fox. I didn’t want to take the risk. What I wanted was to shock Dmitri stupid.
If I didn’t get away now, I would never have the chance.
A low buzzing pricked in my ears, and I threw back my head as I shifted. Nothing prepared me for the charge of liquid electricity pouring through my veins.
“You little—”
Dmitri released me unexpectedly, like his hands had been burned. The air even smelled of charred flesh, but it didn’t last more than a few seconds because I was falling.
I landed on all four paws, a whoosh of energy expelling over the ground. Okay. That was weird. I took off, the sound of wings flapping behind me, and at that moment I knew two things: I was screwed, and Devyn was hurt.
But again.
I was so screwed.
How long was I going to run? Dmitri was gaining on me, and in less than a minute he would be on top of me. My mind kept going back to Devyn. How long would Dmitri’s poison last?
“The longer you run, the more I’m going to hurt you.” Dmitri’s voice carried in the wind.
For the love of nine tails. I was on a mission here, and the Karura was going to kill my mojo with all his taunting.
My paws flew over the ground, tiny specks of yellow light glittering after each step.
Well, that’s new.
Sparing a glance over my shoulder, I watched as Dmitri tore through the sky like a man on a mission. That wasn’t all I saw. Staring at my white furry ass, my feet fumbled.
Holy shitballs.
I had another tail. I had two freaking tails.
Woo-flipping-hoo.
That explained all the weird sensations and glowy gold stuff. Each tail was supposed to give me a new ability.
It was my turn to shine.
Come and get me, dickhead.
I might have gotten cocky a little too soon.
Air exploded from my lungs as Dmitri crashed into me from behind, taking me to the ground. The impact was brain-jarring as I got a mouthful of dirt and grass. Some went up my nose, and for a few seconds I was suffocating.
Dmitri dug his fingers into the scruff of my neck, pulling my head back. Anger contorted his features into something animalistic. “Bringing you to Thornland is off the menu now, Kitsune. I’ll take your soul instead.”
A low growl rumbled deep in my throat as I showed him my canines.
His fingers were still tangled in my fur and tightened, sending fire across my scalp. Using his other hand, he brought it around my throat, landing on the stone that was lighting up like a Christmas bulb. “This is all I really need anyway. Your life i
s meaningless, but your soul—priceless.”
That was it.
I waited for something epic to happen, new powers and all.
I waited.
And waited, until time had run out.
Reacting on instinct I growled, and snapped at his hand. We were both a little surprised when my canines sank into his flesh. Dmitri made a strangled sound in the back of his throat before twisting the strands of my fur around his thick fist.
Crap.
This was going to hurt.
He yanked, lifting me off the ground so my paws dangled. I made a whimpering noise equivalent to a cry and swiped my front paws at his face, connecting and lashing his cheek.
“Karina!” Devyn roared. He was getting damn good at bellowing my name, and I doubted that was a good thing.
“This would be easier if you didn’t fight me, doll-face.”
Bastard.
He was delusional if he thought I would let him kill me.
“Now, relax and let me do all the work,” he cajoled, unfurling his massive set of wings. Warning bells went off.
I went wild in his grasp, bucking, scratching, biting, doing everything I could think of, and yet all I managed to do was waste energy. Both hands had moved to encompass my neck, and he was choking the crap out of me.
Where the hell was Devyn?
If only I could figure out how to use this new ability, but I was on the verge of passing out. Black dots formed behind my eyes, my strength waning.
Dmitri was going to kill me. He was going to get the very thing nearly everyone from the Second Moon wanted—my soul star.
Tingles exploded from the center of my chest, and a crackle of electricity burned.
“Let her go, you sack of shit!” Devyn roared.
Dmitri was suddenly ripped off me, breaking his death grip around my neck. My brain was telling me to move, run away, but I couldn’t seem to get my feet to obey.
Devyn?
Was he—?
No, he couldn’t be.
Could he?
He was okay, and saving my ass as always. In the darkness, his green eyes were bright and filled with fury. But victory was short-lived, as I was coming to expect. Two fae dropped out of the sky on either side of Devyn. His eyes were luminous, hidden behind thick black lashes. A smile pulled at his lips, and when he spoke his voice was powerful. “You know I can’t let you kill her.”
Dmitri laughed. “Do you really think you can stop me?”
Devyn shrugged. “Guess we’ll find out.” The two Silvermysts advanced, occupying the Shaman, and once again it was just Dmitri and me, exactly as he’d planned.
The large black wings were tucked behind Dmitri as he dusted off his pants, a leer on his face. My heart had never stopped pounding out of my chest, and that tickling burn radiating from my chest bloomed. This time, he wasn’t going to get his dirty paws on me.
Dmitri lifted a hand in the air, flexing his fingers. “I should have scratched you first. A mistake I won’t make a second time.”
I growled.
Not being able to spew all the hateful things running rampant in my head sucked.
His soulless eyes shifted left toward Jesse’s house, something catching his attention. “Maybe you’ll be more inclined to cooperate with a bit of incentive. You seem to have some kind of attachment to the boy next door. How cliché.”
Something snapped within me, radiating a magnetic charge that had the hairs on my body standing up, including the strands framing my face. A ring of current floated around me, encompassing my frame in a purplish light. I felt cracked out on speed, my adrenaline racing to new heights.
The air around me started to shimmer, thickening with a magnetic energy. Indeed, that was sort of how I felt, buzzed and full of pent-up energy, like a storm about to unleash an epic magnetic shower.
I didn’t think. Reacting on pure fury and the natural instinct to protect those I loved, I launched myself at him. No plan intact, I wasn’t sure what would happen. All or nothing.
One second I was running, and the next I was sailing through the air. Dmitri had slapped me, catching me on the side of the face. I landed in a curled-up heap on the ground, pain exploding in every point of my little furry body. Whimpering, I lay there, unsure I could make myself move.
“Karina! Get up,” Devyn ordered.
I lifted my head to see him tear through one of the Silvermyst. This had to end, and not with me in a body bag.
Red-hot anger flooded my senses, giving me renewed strength. A burn of pain shot down my hip as I stood on all fours, but I shoved it aside.
Dmitri gave me a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You won’t win, but I applaud your efforts.”
We’ll see about that.
Behind the Karura Devyn sliced both blades into the last Silverymyst, and I saw our opening. Alone, I might not be able to take down the winged man, but with Devyn, Wrath, and Fury my odds improved.
It only took a split-second to catch the Shaman’s eye, but the message had been conveyed. A surge of magnetic energy from the earth rushed to me in tumultuous waves, creating an electric current that made the skin on my fur heat up.
This time, I wasn’t going to be smacked around.
I jumped, lightning reflecting in my eyes as a charge of electricity ribboned throughout me, like a million tiny electrons pumping in my veins. My front paws landed on Dmitri’s shoulders, taking us both to the ground. For a moment I was in stunned city, but not as flabbergasted as Dmitri. The look on his pompous face was priceless—a Kodak moment. Too bad I didn’t have a camera. I wanted to remember this day—the moment I kicked ass.
Energy hummed and traveled inside me, bouncing around in the air as it gathered in a circle. I didn’t entirely understand what I was doing, not until I noticed the Karura couldn’t move. Rings of magnetic energy clamped his hands and feet, restraining him to the ground under my maelstrom.
His eyes widened.
Hmm. I guess that’s what the new tail does.
No matter what Dmitri did, he wasn’t able to move under the pressure of the magnetic storm I had created. A shadow fell over us; the hissing of two vipers in eager anticipation resounded over the eerie night. I stepped back, keeping the storm center over Dmitri.
“I’m going to enjoy this far more than you’ll ever know,” Devyn said with the promise of pain, and then he slammed his sword into the Karura’s heart.
A light burst, causing me to wince. The crack of lightning that came down from the sky was deafening, drowning out Dmitri’s bellow. Wrath and Fury, like two starved vipers, devoured Dmitri’s soul, eating the sins of the Shaman’s victim.
It was over.
For today.
My fight had barely begun; I had not only earned a tail tonight, but I had learned I was stronger than I thought.
Shifting out of the fox, I stepped into my human skin and stood over the scorched ground where Dmitri had been. “Holy shit,” I whispered. “I can’t believe we did that.”
“You’re okay.” Devyn’s fingers framed my face, his eyes seeking mine. “When I saw him strike you, I couldn’t sense our bond; I thought—”
“I’m okay. I’m better than okay,” I assured, grinning, feeling triumphant.
He shook his head, fingers pressing into my arms. “Don’t you ever pull a stunt like that again, do you hear me?”
“Do you want me to lie to you?” When it came to the people I loved, there was no risk I wasn’t willing to take.
He shoved a hand into his hair. “For now, I’ll just take a kiss.”
The grin on my lips spread. “What are you waiting for?”
Devyn was wicked fast. He lowered his mouth to mine and kissed me. “You did it. You gained a new power—storm.”
“Fabulous,” I said dryly, looping my arms around his neck. I should have been happy, but there was something about the gaining of more power that left a taste of foreboding in my mouth. “Two tails down. Seven to go.”
He bru
shed his cheek against mine. “No sweat. You’ve got this.”
Did I, though? The Second Moon was still perishing, and taking my mom with it. The sands of time were slipping away.
Chapter Thirteen
Devyn and I emerged from around the side of the house and onto my driveway just as Jesse was walking Hannah to her car. The four of us stared at each other awkwardly, and I shot Jesse a bland look. Everything had changed between us, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I wasn’t even sure what it really meant.
The streetlight hit my face as I cast my eyes sideways at Devyn.
“What the—” Jesse strutted across the lawn in long, angry strides. “K, what happened to you?” He grabbed my chin, scrutinizing the cut on my cheek. Jesse’s eyes went dark, a violent stormy purple with gray clouds swirling. He swung that glare to Devyn. “You hit her, you bastard,” he hurled at the Shaman. “I’ll kill you.”
“If you don’t take your hand off her, I’ll cut it off,” Devyn replied in a low, intense voice.
“What the hell?” Hannah squeaked.
I quickly jumped in the middle before World War III broke out in my front yard. “Guys. Knock it off. Devyn did not hit me.”
It was as if Jesse hadn’t heard a word I said, his eyes fixed on Devyn.
“You want a piece of me? Fine. Take a shot, jock strap.” Devyn cracked his neck.
He was making the situation worse. I flattened my palms on Jesse’s chest and pushed. “Devyn would never hurt me.”
The muscles under Jesse’s shirt tightened and bunched. “Don’t protect this fool. You’re not that girl.”
“And you’re not an asshole, and yet you’re acting like one,” I said.
Jesse stared down at me, searching my face. A hard, grim line pulled at his lips. “Whatever.” He released my chin.
I didn’t want to leave things tense between us. “Look, we were walking in the field, it was dark, and I ran into a tree branch. That’s it.”