I yanked free of Mencheres’s grip to clasp my hands together in fervent prayer that this would be it for Gregor. But he avoided the next downward swipe of Bones’s blade to leap straight up into the air, calling out to Lucius for the third and final knife. Gregor’s eyes must have healed enough to see the flash of silver against the night sky as Lucius threw the blade, high enough that Gregor had to reach to catch it.
Bones met him in the air just as Gregor grabbed his blade. The knife Bones had aimed for Gregor’s chest drove into his stomach instead as Gregor’s downward blow blocked him. Bones ripped his knife sideways, spilling red gore over himself. The two of them tumbled to the ground, Bones twisting to land on his feet, Gregor falling in a heap, clutching the wide wound in his gut.
When Bones charged at Gregor, and the Dreamsnatcher did nothing to protect himself, I felt a moment of triumphant exhilaration. But even as Bones’s knife descended on Gregor’s unprotected back, right where his heart would be, Gregor’s fist shot forward, the knife it gripped stabbing Bones deeply in the stomach.
Pain blasted across my subconscious as the wall Bones had erected between us fell and his emotions came roaring through. I felt the agony of the silver inside his back and his gut. The latter wound burned much hotter, making me clutch my stomach in instinctive reaction. If this was only a shadow of what Bones was feeling, then the pain must be boiling like acid all through him.
Bones’s blade wavered and skidded across Gregor’s back instead of burying into his opponent’s heart. I watched, appalled, as Bones staggered backward, his hand going to the knife still buried in his stomach. He pulled it out even as Gregor rose to his feet, his arm and the previously disabling slash in his gut healed. Bones continued to back away, his steps wavering. I couldn’t hold back my scream as Gregor yanked the knife out of Bones’s hand and kicked him hard enough to leave Bones sprawled onto his back.
Rage and anguish washed over me, so tightly interwoven into my emotions that I didn’t know if it was mine or Bones’s. Even though the silver knife was out of his stomach, his pain there didn’t lessen. Unbelievably, I felt it grow with crippling intensity, smashing over me in waves, until only Vlad’s arm around my shoulders kept me upright.
Something was wrong. It shouldn’t be getting worse; the silver was out. Why couldn’t he move? Get up, I screamed silently. Get up!
Boom. Boom. My heart thundered in my chest as Gregor pounced on top of Bones, who was weaponless. Dimly I heard Annette sob, felt Vlad’s hand tighten on my shoulder, but everything else seemed to fade away except the two figures against the dark clay of the earth.
As if in slow motion, I watched Gregor raise the knife. Saw his knees slam into Bones’s arms, holding him down as Bones tried to throw Gregor off. Watched the knife begin its descent toward that blood-smeared chest directly underneath it. Felt Bones’s despair, bitter as poison. Saw Gregor’s glowing emerald gaze flick through the crowd until he found me. And then Gregor smiled.
It was the same smile he’d given me right after killing Rodney. Satisfied. Triumphant. Merciless. Gregor’s blade touched Bones’s chest, slicing into his skin, and his smile widened.
My vision went red and a single thought permeated through my whole body: No.
Flames shot up Gregor, so fast they covered him before the smile had time to leave his face. I had an instant to smile back—and then Gregor’s head exploded. His hands still gripped the knife in Bones’s chest, but then his body pitched to the side, nothing but flames left where his head had been.
Next to me, Vlad let out a shocked curse. That’s when I became aware that every eye was on me and my hands were engulfed in blue fire.
“She dies,” the female Law Guardian said.
THIRTY-FOUR
NO ONE TRIED TO STOP THE THREE MALE Guardians when they strode forward and seized me. To tell the truth, I didn’t try to stop them, either. I was too focused on trying to see Bones, now that there were people blocking my view of the clearing. He hadn’t moved since the last glimpse I’d had of him. Had Gregor’s knife been stopped in time? Or had it bitten too deep?
“Cat, what have you done?” Vlad rasped. He couldn’t stop staring at my hands. The flames were dying down, which I supposed the Guardian’s appreciated since they held me by the arms.
“Is Bones okay?” I asked, ignoring that. A weird sort of peace settled over me. I hadn’t consciously meant to send that deadly fireball at Gregor’s head, but I didn’t regret it. Even if I hadn’t saved Bones in time, this way, it wouldn’t be long until I joined him, and killing Gregor meant freedom for my mother. There were far less valuable things to die for.