by D. N. Hoxa
I held the amulet by the cord in front of me. I felt their eyes on my face, burning holes into my skin, but I ignored them. This was Sonny’s life. It all depended on this one spell. I had to get it right.
My eyes closed as the words repeated themselves in my head. Then, I began to whisper.
It was a long spell, longer than the usual ones. The legal ones. But the words that fell from my lips awoke my magic, and it began to gather in my chest like a storm. My heart beat steady and my mind emptied, my focus only on the spell. My chest tightened as my magic shifted, taking the shape of the spell before it went out into the world. My eyes opened and my knees shook. Too much power. My fingertips had begun to glow purple, and they were getting brighter with every word of the spell I spoke. It got harder and harder as my muscles locked, and my jaw wanted to remain closed. My voice came out louder as I pushed through the barriers, filling my magic, shaping it, giving it a new purpose.
“Do something!” Boyle’s voice came from seemingly far away, even though he was standing just a few feet from me. It meant it was working. They could see the light that would rob them of their senses. All I needed to do was finish it. Two more paragraphs and it was done. Two more…
I chanted the words, forcing my tongue to move, my voice rising louder and louder with every new word. Someone moved in front of me—the Spring fae—but I no longer needed Jamie to stop him. I just needed to finish the spell, and he’d forget all about using his magic on me.
I held onto the amulet with all my strength, begging my body to hold on, just a second longer. Just one more sentence.
Then, the world exploded in light.
It was blinding. I could see nothing but white for a second, before vision returned to me. Aunt Marie said the spell wouldn’t attack the caster, and she was right. I saw the people in front of me, and I began the countdown in my head.
Their eyes were wide-open, lips parted as they stared into nothing, trying to see past the light, to smell something, to hear a bit of sound. I leaned down and grabbed the black box from the ground, put the amulet in in and put it in my back pocket. A small shape ran toward us, turning into a blur before it reached Sonny’s leg, while my brother stared at nothing with his mouth wide open.
Kit, in his true hellbeast form, resembled a huge spider with eight legs, his body covered in short, grey fur, and his little mouth full of sharp teeth. He wrapped four of his legs around Sonny’s ankle, and pulled him toward Mane Street. My brother moved, holding his hands out because he couldn’t see where he was going.
Three seconds left.
I raised my hands in front of me, my fingers still glowing purple. I chanted another spell, this one much shorter than the first, and magic shot from me just as Amina blinked, and her eyes focused on me. My attack spell hit them all in the chest at the same time, and they fell back a couple of steps. I risked a glance at Kit and Sonny, to find them running toward Mane Street. The sorcerer who’d been holding onto my brother shot after them. Kit would handle it. I was going to be very busy.
Pulling my daggers from their sheaths, I jumped forward, with the intent to cut through Boyle’s neck first. Instead, the Spring fae stepped in front of me and tried to fist me in the face. I ducked and stabbed him in the stomach with one movement, but he didn’t even make a single sound. I jumped back, only to hit a body of steel. A slim hand grabbed my face from behind. Amina. Her other hand snaked on the other side of my head. She was trying to break my neck.
I leaned forward, taking her with me. She hung onto me, and I pushed my head back, hoping to break her nose, but she was fast. She moved and was suddenly in front of me, her hands aiming for my throat. I blocked them with my forearm and stepped away from her.
Just like killing hellbeasts, I said to myself, and jumped into action again. Boyle and the fae stood back, watching us dance around each other. Amina was strong. Her fist was like a freight train against my face, and it took all I had to avoid her hits. Landing one of my own was not possible. She moved too fast. But I had something she didn’t—magic.
My fingers burned with purple light and I whispered another attack spell, more powerful, more precise. I didn’t need to pinpoint her exact location to hit her with it; I only aimed it in front of me. She was coming from my side when the bright light hit her on the shoulder. It didn’t throw her on the ground like I expected it to, but she did lose her balance. I swung my arm as fast as I could, and the tip of my dagger made a clean cut on her flawless cheek.
Amina laughed, the sound vibrating in my body. I moved, expecting her to attack me from the left, but she came for me straight ahead, one hand around my throat and the other blocking my hand. The spell left my lips in barely a whisper, but it was enough to give it strength. I stabbed her with my free hand in the stomach, once, twice. She didn’t even flinch—only squeezed my throat harder. Black dots clouded my visions. I couldn’t breathe, but I’d already spoken the spell, and when I felt the magic coming, I put my fist against her chest. The light slipped into her, throwing her back, and this time, she hit the ground. I struggled to breathe, to fill my burning lungs with fresh air, and it gave her plenty of time to recover. She pulled herself up on her hands and looked back at me, her black eyes full of rage. Her fangs extended, smeared with red lipstick that looked like blood.
She jumped at me from the ground, and I rolled back to give myself some space. I was tired, my muscles ached, but my magic was strong inside me. Maybe having touched that amulet wasn’t exactly the worst thing that had ever happened to me. When I came up on my feet and didn’t see Amina in front of me, I knew she’d landed right behind my back. I turned with my arms outstretched and cut her on the shoulder before she grabbed my arm and pulled me to her, jaw open, fangs in perfect view. She was going to bite me.
And then she wasn’t.
A cry escaped her open mouth and she fell to her knees. I didn’t think—I spun in the air and kicked her on the side of the head hard, and she fell to the ground once more. In the distance, I could see Malin on her feet on the roof of the building, her arms outstretched. Her help was greatly appreciated.
I turned to Boyle once more, calling to my magic with another attack spell, but before I could hit him, the Spring fae jumped at me, aiming his fist at my face. I spun around, barely kept my balance, and when I turned to him again, I saw the dark shapes running for us. Five of them.
Maneaters.
Boyle was standing, his eyes closed, his hands raised by his sides, his lips sealed in a tight line. He had only possessed three maneaters this time, and the other two were hellbeast monsters—huge, with claws and sharp teeth, dripping saliva that could burn through skin like a piece of paper.
The second of distraction cost me. The fae hit me again, sending me to the ground, just a few feet away from Amina, who was hissing as she tried to stand up, but whatever ritual Malin was using to keep her down was strong. It wasn’t going to hold her forever though. I jumped to my feet as the fae watched me, the weight of his magic settling on my shoulders. I gritted my teeth and tried to fight it, just as a maneater rushed at me. But before he could reach me, a man with two swords stepped in front of him and attacked. Kyle, one of Lucas’s friends.
I stood up on wobbling legs. My head grew heavier and heavier, my focus slipping from me as the fae worked his magic. I closed my eyes just for a second, and I fell back to the ground. Goddamn it, where was Jamie?
I tried to look, but it didn’t work. My lids didn’t answer. I was falling and falling, with nothing to keep me up. Fear spread on my chest like wildfire. But Sonny was okay, wasn’t he? He’d gotten away. Kit had hidden him.
But what about my friends? What about Lucas and his friends?
The fae stepped closer to me. His fingers wrapped around my bun, and he pulled my head up. I was completely powerless. My daggers slipped away from my fingers. I could replicate him, but would I have enough time? I pushed through the fog in my head and searched for his essence. It burned brightly, like a miniature sun, wr
apped around his torso. Too big. Too powerful.
I was drowning.
What had Tyar told me? His words were a white noise in my head, but I could just barely make them out.
You block Spring magic the same way you do all fae magic: you give it what it wants.
What the fae wanted was for me to sleep. For my heartbeat to slow down into an even rhythm, for my breathing to settle down. He wanted me motionless so he could do with me whatever he wanted.
I held perfectly still and searched for a memory that calmed me. They were all blurred, just out of my reach, but one of them was too fresh. Too detailed. Too powerful to fade out.
Suddenly, I found myself in Damian’s arms. He held me against his naked chest, his strong arms around me, giving me a sense of security I’d never had before in my life, like nothing in this world could hurt me as long as he was there. He’d taken away my defenses in a matter of days, and that night, I had been powerless against him. And that was all right—I didn’t want power. I just wanted to rest my head against his shoulder and hear him laugh.
It was the perfect memory, one I’d take with me to my grave. Most importantly, it calmed me like lullaby.
My heart beat steady. My breathing was even. My body was still.
And my mind opened up to me once more. The blur disappeared, and everything came back into focus. My scalp was on fire as the fae dragged me by my hair. I tried to open my eyes and it worked. I could see him walking toward Boyle, never looking back at me as he dragged me, so sure that I wouldn’t wake up. My mouth was completely dry, but my voice worked. I didn’t care if he could hear me or if I was silent enough. I called to my magic with a simple spell, just to get him away from me for a second, so I could gather my strength.
The fae heard me. He turned and looked down at me, shock marring his beautiful features. My hand rose, my fingers glowing purple, and a ball of light hit him on the side of his waist. He let go of my hair, and I fell to the ground as he lost his own balance. I dragged myself up on all fours, blinking away the blur, and I moved back to where I’d first fallen to search for my daggers. Around me, Lucas and his friends fought the maneaters and the hellbeasts—only four of them left. Boyle had his eyes open again. He looked at the fae who had fallen and then raised his hand at me, his lips moving fast as he chanted his spell. There was no time to call a shield, so I rolled on the ground, as far away as I could before a ball of navy-colored light took the night air and disappeared just inches away from me. I jumped to my feet, feeling better by the second as the Spring magic left my body and mind. But Amina was feeling better, too. She rose to her feet with a cry as she broke through the magic that had kept her down.
I’d run out of time.
Before I knew it, Amina was in front of me, her hand around my throat, her fingers seemingly made of steel. I raised my daggers, aiming for her neck, when she slapped me. I fell on the ground, rolling. Air rushed into my lungs, and I pulled my body up again. She came at me from all sides at once, hitting me, slapping me, throwing me to the ground. All I saw was a blur as I tried to swing my arms blind, hoping to at least wound her. It didn’t work. One second she kicked me from behind, and the next she was in front of me, slamming her open palm on my chest. I flew back for the hundredth time and hit the ground hard.
My ribs felt broken. I could barely breathe.
“Get up, bitch,” Amina said as she came for me, walking slowly, as if she had all the time in the world. She’d thrown me a good distance. Now she was going to come to finish the job.
Worse yet, I could see Malin and Jamie, inside the square, their hands raised, fighting the fae, while Boyle still stood, controlling the maneaters that had made Lucas and his friends bleed badly.
I couldn’t let them die.
I dropped my daggers, not bothering to stand. I raised my hands and the words of the second spell Aunt Marie had taught me rushed out of my lips in barely a whisper. Magic ignited my chest, rushing to my fingers. Light burned under my skin, setting them ablaze.
“Oh, how pathetic,” Amina said. Five feet away from me now. “No magic trick is going to save you from me now.”
The words of the spell tied on my tongue. I pushed through with everything I had. Just a foot away from me now. Amina leaned down to grab me. Something suddenly fell on her head. With a cry, she stepped back, trying to get Kit away from her. He’d wrapped all eight legs around her head and was pulling her hair out as fast as he could while she screamed and tried to throw him off her.
The last word fell from my lips. My body wanted to collapse. Magic rushed to my fingers, and blinding white light swelled into a circle around my glowing fingers. Purple smoke spread around me, cocooning me inside it before it spread forward, on all sides, hitting everything around me.
The Shade groaned as magic swept everything on the cobbles and pushed them back, away from me. My chest felt like it was torn open, and raw, foreign magic clashed with my own inside me, fighting for supremacy. My heart stopped beating as the ground underneath me shook. A scream tore from my lips. It hurt so much. It was too much magic, too much power, ripping me apart, and if I didn’t control it now, I was going to die.
My eyes squeezed shut and I searched my own essence, the light that burned in my chest, the source of my magic. It shone weakly now, as the foreign magic spread on it, as if it wanted to suck it whole. I focused every ounce of power I had left and directed it to me, to my chest. For a second, I thought I was going to lose. It wasn’t enough.
But then my essence vibrated, and its light brightened, spreading bigger, faster, pushing the foreign magic away, under it, until it covered it completely. I didn’t know how much time had passed or if I was even still alive, but when the foreign magic settled, my body let go of me and I fell on the ground, face first.
Silence. I couldn’t hear a single thing. Where was everyone?
What had I done?
I knew the spell was powerful, but according to Aunt Marie’s books, it was supposed to be a powerful blast of magic. That’s all.
So why couldn’t I hear anything?
I needed to get up. My body refused to move, and I had to force my lids open. Darkness all around me. Somehow, I managed to pull my hands up and put them against the ground. I leaned up, just a little, to see.
I wished I hadn’t. The square was completely quiet, and several bodies were on the ground, motionless. I pulled myself up, ignoring my body’s complaints. My hands were glowing purple. My entire arms were glowing purple. A moan came from my right, and I saw Malin’s curly head rise up. I wanted to run to her, but my body only allowed me to hop. I fell on my knees next to her body, and relief covered me when I saw her eyes were open. I grabbed her hand and pulled her to sit up, when something moved to our right. Jamie. She sat up, blinking her eyes, looking around the square. I did the same, searching for Kit, for Lucas and his friends.
But before I saw any of them, I felt the movement behind me. I jumped to my feet, almost losing my balance in the process.
Amina, the fae, and Boyle were on their feet on the other side of the square, looking at me. Half of Amina’s face was covered in blood, her skin completely torn. Her dress was ruined, and she no longer wore shoes. Boyle looked even worse—his pelt was gone, and blood glistened on his coat. His face was pale, and he was holding onto the fae to keep from falling. And the fae was wounded, too. His right arm was torn open, and blood slid down his fingers, dripping on the ground. I pulled my hands into glowing fists. I was going to fall any second now. If they attacked us again, I wasn’t going to be able to stop them.
The others were standing, too. Malin and Jamie were behind me, and Lucas and his friends were a few feet away on the other side. Kit slipped from between my legs and walked on his spider legs halfway to Amina, Boyle and the fae.
They didn’t attack us. They turned around and rushed to the edges of the Shade, toward Manhattan.
I wanted to go after them. I wanted to kill them with my bare hands, but I was barely standin
g. And just as she slipped out of the Shade, Amina turned her head and smiled at me, her torn face committing itself to my memory forever. I waited until I could no longer see them before I let go and fell to the ground.
Kit was in front of me, climbing up my torso to get to my shoulder, wrapping his thin legs around my neck.
“Oh, my goddess,” Malin said as she sat down next to me. Jamie walked to where Amina and the others had been as if to make sure they were really gone. “Sin, are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” I said, my voice a scratchy whisper. She looked fine, too. Splatters of blood coated her right cheek, but her eyes were alert and she didn’t seem to have any trouble moving. And Jamie seemed to be okay, too.
“Well, that was something,” Lucas said. He was standing with his friends a few feet away from me, his sword coated in blood, his clothes torn almost completely.
God, I was so glad they hadn’t died.
“Thanks for your help, guys,” I said with a weak smile.
Malin stood and grabbed my arm to pull me up. My legs wobbled, but I managed to keep my balance.
“Yeah, no problem,” said Lucas, staring at my hands. They were still glowing, though the glow only went up to my wrists now. “I don’t suppose I could take these things off your hands and cash their heads in?” He waved his sword to the right, where a huge hellbeast monster lay completely still, his dark skin already melting.
I shook my head. “You know the deal. You got the money.” It’s what we’d agreed on. I paid him a very high sum up front, but he wouldn’t be taking these hellbeast heads back to Hellbeast Affairs. The Guild couldn’t know about what happened here. “Remember what we talked about, Lucas. Nobody hears a word about this, ever.”