I growled over his screams. “Keep your goddamn hands off her!”
My claws had connected with an artery. Petro’s blood spilled out with the force of a busted fire hydrant. The severely infected vampires went insane upon seeing the hot spring of red. They tackled him at full speed, breaking through the witch’s hold, feasting on him like piranha. Petro’s family attacked in an attempt to defend their howling master. The witch shrieked her incantations, sending her power out through her hands. But that only garnered the attention of a very thirsty bloodluster.
My nails sliced through my binds and tore out my captor’s heart before I yanked free of the whip. I cut Shayna and Emme free, careful to avoid Taran’s building power. Blue and white flames encased her form as her magic synthesized into a small inferno. The entirety of her eyes went white as she surrendered to a deep trance. I dove on Misha, yanking the daggers from his thighs so fast he doubled over in agony. “Hang in there, fairy godfather. I’m gonna need you real soon.”
He hissed low and deep. “That’s guardian angel, my dear.”
My fingers ached from how hard I yanked off the first chain fastening him to the chair. I threw it to Shayna. She willed the chains to separate and transformed them into two deadly gold swords, slicing into the first bloodluster who approached her.
Shayna cut off the infected vampire’s arm as he reached for her, but despite her skill and speed, she couldn’t fight him by herself.
Emme made sure she wasn’t alone.
Glass shattered as Emme sent the two knights charging after the infected vampire. The “WTF” brain pause distracted the vampire enough for Shayna to launch Petro’s cursed gold dagger into the vamp’s chest, erupting his heart like a volcano.
The knights and Shayna forged after another loose vamp. Emme didn’t know how to fight. But her metal soldiers felt no pain and held sharp and deadly weapons within their grasps.
The witch screamed with rage, regaining control of the infected vampires and ordering them to attack—us. Emme launched three into the wall. Except she didn’t stop there. With her ears covered tight to muffle the vampires’ agonized bellows, she yanked their lolling heads away from their bodies. Flesh strained and tore like fabric as Emme ripped their skulls from their torsos. She collapsed with tears of angst and fury leaking from her eyes, but then quickly crawled to my side to help me unravel Misha’s binds with her force.
Two more chains left. Taran’s surging magic made my hair stand on end. Blood and ash rained as Shayna sliced and diced through anyone attempting to reach us. “Hurry, Celia. There’s too many!”
One chain left.
Taran released her power with a guttural roar.
“Cover your eyes!” I screamed over the chaos.
Even with my eyes closed, the explosion of light was blinding. I blinked the spots away as the light receded like a slow-dimming bulb. Clumps of ash spread like sand around the foyer amid the destroyed antechamber. The witch held Petro’s still, bleeding body against hers as she sobbed. Though more vampires spread throughout the grounds, Taran’s magic-borne sunlight had obliterated the majority of Petro’s vampires.
Shots fired outside followed by the familiar sounds of the naughty Catholic schoolgirls wailing in triumph. Yes! They’d taken the guns out of their enemies’ hands and now they planned on using them.
Emme raced to Taran, who collapsed to her knees, all magicked out.
The black irises of Petro’s witch expanded, encasing the scleras. She released Petro and pounded toward us, generating a giant yellow-and-black fireball in her hands. She aimed the blaze at me. I abandoned Misha, diving behind a wooden pillar. Chunks of wood pelted me like hail as the pillar exploded. Shayna launched one of her swords. The shimmering gold blade disintegrated into powder from the heat of the witch’s protective shields, inches from her chest.
I swore, not knowing how to fight magic without magic.
Misha screamed, his body straining beneath the sickening effect of the cursed gold chains. I thought the poison rushing through his body had burned him, until the force of Tahoe’s magic shattered the windows and jetted inside in a ray of blue sparkles. Through his pain, Misha had called upon the power of the lake. Except instead of accepting it into his failing body, he shot it right into Taran’s core.
Taran’s body arched from the crash of energy. She rose in a single motion, her irises clear and focused on her target.
The witch’s fury beat against my body like a drum. “No!” she screamed.
“Oh, yes,” Taran hissed back.
CHAPTER 34
Blue and white fire clashed with yellow and black as both women went for the kill.