by D. N. Hoxa
Pulling his lips inside his mouth, Julian looked down at the floor. That’s how I knew I wasn’t going to like what he said next.
“It seems to work perfectly in you.”
Every hair on my body stood to attention. “My Bone magic works in me,” I hissed.
“It does, and I believe that’s what’s sustaining your fairy magic. Why it’s so powerful.”
My jaw almost touched the floor when realization hit me. The asshole! “How did you know?” I was standing again, knives in my hand, my beads right in front of his face, feeling even worse than before. “If you don’t tell me right now how you knew about me, I’m going to kill you, and it won’t be quick.”
I couldn’t believe it. I’d been such a fool! Julian could have killed me that day at his apartment. He could have killed me easily. He didn’t. He just let me go. It might sound crazy, but I was willing to bet my life that he somehow knew about what I’d become. He knew it, and he spared me because he thought he was going to need me.
“Winter, you’re making a mistake,” Julian said, raising his hands up in surrender.
“I know you knew. That’s why you didn’t kill me. Tell me how.” It was the only thing that made sense. In our world, you didn’t just let people go when they knew something you were trying to keep hidden. He’d been so generous to share all his story with me, so fast! And the way he’d come back to get me before the werewolves could kill me…goddamn it.
Julian sighed loudly, then tried to move his hands.
“Don’t. I swear to you, you’ll be dead by the time you utter the first word,” I said, just in case he was thinking of chanting.
“Look, there’s a spell passed down to my family, much like those beads were passed on to you. It lets us feel the energy of Paranormals. That’s how I knew that you were different, but I didn’t know you would—”
“Bullshit!” I shouted. He was not going to fool me any longer. “You just said it yourself. You need a fairy to help you revive your dragon blood. Admit it. That’s the only reason I’m still alive.”
Tears of anger tried to gather in my eyes, but I forced them back the same second. I was not going to cry in front of him. I’d already made enough of a fool of myself.
When he didn’t talk for a long minute, I put away one of my knives and got my stolen gun instead. I still had three bullets in it, and I wasn’t afraid to use them. I aimed the silencer right between his eyes. If he didn’t talk soon, Amelia’s kitchen walls would be splattered with blood and brain.
“Okay,” Julian whispered. “Okay, I knew you had fairy magic in you. But I wasn’t counting on you to help me with that part. All I wanted from you was to help keep me alive.”
How could he expect me to believe in anything he said? He’d known what I was going to become. He used me, used my greed to lure me right back into his trap.
“You have to believe me, Winter. I lied because I had no choice. What would you have done if I told you I sensed your magic that day?”
I’d have probably killed him and spared myself this headache. “You should have told me, anyway.”
“Maybe.” When he stood up, I took a step back. He didn’t seem that concerned about the gun on his face, or my beads, but he didn’t have to. I needed him. I needed that damned dragon blood. If the reverse spell didn’t work, that was my last chance at a life. “But I didn’t and I’m sorry. Arguing about this now isn’t going to change anything. If you don’t want to help me, that’s fine.”
Laughing dryly, I put the gun down. This was crazy. He’d fooled me like I was a little girl, and now, he made it so that I’d offer my help to him willingly. Bastard.
“How else are you going to revive your dragon blood? Know any other fairy around that can do magic?”
He stepped closer to me. “I’ll find another way,” he breathed.
“And if you don’t?”
His mouth opened, but for once, Julian didn’t have anything to say. He didn’t need to, really. Everything was perfectly clear to me now. All his talk about wanting to help me by making me use my magic, it was all so he could prepare me for when he needed me. To think that I’d actually believed him when he said I still looked beautiful, even as a fairy. It had all been a game, and I couldn’t forgive myself for not seeing it sooner.
Heartbroken, I turned to walk away from him. I really, really hated betrayal. Nothing hurt worse than trusting someone, only to find out that you were being used.
“That’s not the only reason I didn’t kill you,” Julian said.
I stopped in my tracks. Was he going to keep up with the lying? I turned around, ready to send him to a thousand hells, but instead, I found him right in front of me.
“I don’t like this any more than you do, but I swear to you, I didn’t do any of this just to use you.”
“Then why did you?”
As if he was surprised by my question, his metallic eyes grew wide, and suddenly, the tips of his fingers touched my cheek. “I don’t know.”
Really fucking funny. “Then what do you know?”
Before I knew it, his hand wrapped around my cheek. For the life of me, I couldn’t move away. I didn’t want to, as messed up as that sounds.
“I know that you’re stripping me of my defenses too fast. If you don’t keep your distance, I won’t be able to help myself.”
Holy cow. “I didn’t…” do anything, I wanted to say, but I had. By not moving away, I was telling him to keep going. My heart hammered against my rib cage when both his hands reached for my face, and he smoothed my hair behind my head. Why the hell wasn’t I moving away?
When he leaned even closer to me, my eyes closed all by themselves. I forgot to even breathe. Sparks flew all around me, especially to the sides of my cheeks where his warm hands touched me. My lips parted, waiting to meet his as if that was the only thing that mattered in the whole universe.
Something was very wrong with me—besides the obvious. Minutes ago, I had my gun pointed at this guy’s head, and now I was waiting for him to kiss me.
But Julian didn’t kiss me. He touched his cheek to mine, gently, and sighed against my ear.
“They’re here,” he whispered.
My eyes popped open.
“What?”
Julian stepped away from me, his face pale as a sheet. “Get your aunt and go to the basement, now.”
Before I realized what the hell he meant, the front door blew to pieces. Everything stopped for a long second.
With my gun and knife in hand, I ran to the hallway. My aunt was with Jeb in the living room. If something happened to her, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
Unfortunately for me, the doorway to the living room was blocked by werewolves. Heart in my throat, I tried to make sense of my surroundings. Everything was moving so fast. More than ten werewolves were in front of me, dressed in all black, guns pointed at my head. I didn’t have time to conjure my shield or even take in a deep breath before they fired. My blood froze in my veins. It had all been for nothing. Death was right across from me once again.
When the rain of bullets fired at me stopped in front of my face, a strange feeling spread through my chest. I’d completely forgotten about Julian. For once in my life, I wasn’t alone.
Conjuring my shield, I went down to my knees and send my beads flying forward. Bullets and sparks all over the hallway. My magic was alive and vibrating inside me, and I focused it all on my shield. If those bullets came through, we were as good as dead. Too many bullets to dodge.
I let go of my knife just for a second and raised my hand up. Right now, the only thing I could use were my beads. If I had enough time to plan my actions, we might even make it out of there alive.
Opening my fingers wide, I hit three people at the same time. My beads, as if stringed to my fingers, moved exactly the way I moved them. The werewolves kept multiplying until the first three were right in front of my shield. I sent my beads at their faces as fast as my fingers would move. Anything at a
ll that would make them let go of their guns would do.
“Drop your shield and fire the spell,” Julian called from behind me.
“I can’t do spells!” I hissed, keeping my shield together with all my strength. But it was fading. I could feel it. We didn’t have long.
“Yes, you can. You did it to me,” Julian called.
The image of him lying on the floor, breathless, came rushing to my mind. He was right. I’d done Ashes just hours ago. What if I could do it again? And this time, I wouldn’t need to even worry about ending the spell. I wanted those werewolves as dead as they could get.
“Go!” Julian shouted.
Without another thought, I dropped my shield. Picking up my knife again, I stood up and fired my three bullets. Two werewolves hit the ground. Crouching down, I kicked the next one right in the arm, while the other right next to him flew back. Julian was right behind me, working on his spells.
Reaching out to my magic and fighting three werewolves at a time wasn’t that easy, but I managed. Conjuring Ashes had been hard the first time. It wasn’t the second.
I didn’t aim the spell at anyone in particular. I just chanted the words as I kicked and cut and blinded werewolves with my beads, and when the spell clicked, it left my skin with a whoosh. The werewolf who had been fighting me dropped to the ground.
No time to enjoy the small victory. The moment of distraction cost me a fist to my face. I fell back and spun around the same second, and I threw my knife blindly. It landed on a chest of a werewolf, and another stepped right in front of me, gun aiming. I went down just as he pulled the trigger, and with my free hand, I pulled one of my two remaining bomb stones from the holster. I threw it forward, between werewolf feet, and I charged it with magic.
I didn’t calculate the time correctly, though. The bomb blew off way too fast, and when it did, it sent me flying back as well. I fell hard on the hardwood floor, my breath knocked out of me. For whole seconds, there were no gunshots.
I jumped to my feet, ignoring the pain in my bones, and tried to find a way to the living room. Werewolves were getting up to their feet again and blocking my way.
Cursing under my breath, I sent my beads to the ones closest to me, and conjured another spell. This one was an easy one, though I was never able to do it before. The spell gathered electricity and charged it forward, and if it was strong enough, it could stop a witch’s heart. I didn’t know about werewolves, though, but it was worth a try.
Whatever spells Julian was using, they were working perfectly. He put up his shield and threw out his spells at the same time. I would’ve taken a second to admire the way he moved if I’d had the time, but as it was, I focused on my own conjuring and my beads.
My magic was warm and sparkly, easily accessible now. I wondered if I’d ever ended the Ashes spell, but I didn’t stop to check. Electricity hit two of the werewolves that were fighting me with their guns and their fists, and they crashed onto another that was behind them. Holy shit, my magic really worked!
“Throw the bomb at the door,” Julian called from behind me. It didn’t occur to me in those seconds that I was supposed to be defending him. He should have been down in the basement while I fought, but he was right there, fighting by my side.
I didn’t question his request. Going down on my knees, I threw my last bomb spell at the destroyed doorway.
This time, when the spell activated, werewolves flew forward, right to our faces. I was pushed back a bit, but I regained my balance quickly, and with my knife in hand, I cut right through a werewolf throat. Another grabbed my by the hair while he was still on his knees, and my beads were there before I could blink, attacking his arms until they drew blood and he let go.
Free from his grip, I jumped to the side and buried my knife in the side of his throat.
Someone grabbed me from behind and landed a large fist right in my waist. Air left my lungs in a rush, and black dots clouded my vision. Instinctively, I conjured my shield, even though it would do nothing against punches and kicks because the werewolf was already touching me. I was looking for a gun that had belonged to one of the dead werewolves because I wasn’t used to relying on my magic. But when a werewolf to my right caught fire—no doubt Julian’s doing—I remembered perfectly.
Holding my breath as the werewolf hit me like I was a sack of potatoes he used for training, I conjured the spell. It hit him right in the chest, but not before he landed a fist on my face. My nose broke. Goddamn the pain. Blood spilled from my nostrils and got into my mouth. I hated the taste of it.
No time to even spit it out before the next wave of pain hit my right side. A knife was buried in my back, and a giant foot hit me right between my shoulder blades. I fell forward, then rolled on the ground, so I could make it to my feet again. Though I couldn’t see the werewolf who had attacked me, I sent my beads after him.
Julian was fighting two werewolves all by himself. He must have been exhausted because he was no longer chanting. He was using his fists.
Three werewolves came at me, knives and guns in hand, while the fourth was trying to fight off my beads. They’d made a bloody mess out of his face already. Before I could think of a way to attack, they began to shoot at me, so I had to conjure my shield.
This time, they didn’t hesitate. They threw spell stones at me.
They all went off at the same time. My shield broke into pieces.
The stones contained a spell I’d never come across before. Air blew from all seven of them on the ground, and every wall of the house shook violently from their power. Stuck against the wall with no way to move until the spell ended, I was beginning to lose faith that we might make it. My aunt and Jeb were still in the living room, and I had no idea if they were even still breathing, or if they could feel the effects of the spell like Julian and I could. He was crouched on the floor, thrown against the garden door, as motionless as I was. The six remaining werewolves had skipped outside the hole where the main door used to be, but I could see their silhouettes. They had their guns ready. As soon as the spells ended, they were going to fire. Nothing would stand in their way. We would all be dead.
Heart pounding in my chest, I made a desperate attempt to reach out for my magic, but no spell I knew was fast enough to do anything in the situation I was in. Time was ticking, and when the spells ended, it would all be over. I needed to do something before that happened, and stuck against the wall, unable to move, wasn’t exactly the best time to conjure a spell. My shield might work, but Julian was too far away. If we died, there would be no point to any of this.
My magic was alive and vibrating within me. It was hard as fuck to concentrate on the strings of it, just waiting for the words to be said. Impossible. I couldn’t move my jaw, and the spell stones were still blowing. So I did the only thing I could do: I thought the spell. It wasn’t unheard of to conjure a spell without voice, but it was very difficult.
A blinding spell was the first thing that came to my mind. I knew the words. I didn’t have time to think of anything else, so why not try it? The words spun fast around my mind, and I begged my magic to react to them. If I could get those werewolves blind for just a split second, there were guns on the floor right next to dead bodies I could use.
The magic from the spell stones was beginning to fade. It was a matter of seconds now. I was yearning to close my eyes, but a second was all I was going to have.
The spell ended abruptly, and I fell to the floor. Gunshots everywhere. I dragged myself forward with my elbows until I reached the closest gun. Then I turned to the side and shot, shot, shot.
Two werewolves went down. The others were shooting just like I had—without aim. Their eyes moved fast from one side to another, not reacting to anything. That could only mean one thing: my spell had worked.
I rose to my knees, searching for the second gun I’d seen. I didn’t allow myself to even breathe before I shot at the werewolves—again without aim.
Gunshots rang in my ears long after the house fe
ll silent. No more werewolves left alive.
I let go of my body, and my head fell on someone’s back. Breathing heavily, I looked at the ceiling and tried to regain my balance. Julian’s face filled my vision as he loomed over me.
“We have to go.” His eyes moved from my face, to the blown out door and back. He was right. More werewolves would be coming. “I’ll go get my things.”
I didn’t watch him run to the basement. I barely made it to my feet and ran to the living room. My knees shook at the sight in front of me: Jeb standing over my aunt.
She was lying on the floor, her cream-colored blouse red on her right shoulder. I found myself on my knees over her head, fingers shaking as I tried to convince myself to touch her.
“She’s alive,” Jeb breathed. “But she needs that wound closed. I don’t know how to conjure, and I have no time to stir.”
This time, when he looked at me, there was no disgust in his eyes. There was only desperation.
“Please.”
But I’d already started to chant the only healing spell I knew. It wasn’t focused to one part of the body, but it was the best I had. With my hands on her stomach, I allowed myself to close my eyes this time, and I chanted the seconds away. My magic rushed in my veins. I was terrified that it wasn’t going to work, but for once, I trusted it.
It had proven true every other time I’d tried a spell. I owed it that much. It was going to work, simply because Amelia couldn’t die. My only family couldn’t die.
Laced around the words of the spell, my magic broke free from my mind. I didn’t feel it, just like I never did, but it didn’t matter. I trusted it completely.
“Winter, we have to go.” Julian’s voice made me open my eyes. Jeb had already torn Amelia’s blouse and was using his shirt to wipe off the blood. The wound where the bullet had been was nasty, much bigger than I’d thought.
It was also beginning to close.
“Help me carry her,” I said to Jeb because I wasn’t sure my legs would hold me. He put his arms under Amelia and held her tightly. “Let’s go.”