Sealed With a Curse(46)

As he straightened to his full height, his vehemence slowly simmered down to the demeanor of a quiet serpent waiting beneath a rock.

A small bubble popped before the horrible sense of being hunted returned. Five more bloodlusters broke through the water. Two pairs tried to take down the other boats, while the fifth landed inside our boat. I tackled Emme as Shayna’s sword whirled over our heads, severing the vamp’s neck at almost the same time her gold dagger found his heart.

“Get to shore!” I hefted Emme in my arms and leaped onto the rocky beach. No one followed. Misha and his vampires were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the bloodlusters.

I bounced back into the boat and hoisted Taran over my head. “Emme, catch!”

Taran swore and kicked her limbs wildly as she became one with the air. Emme caught her easily with her force, then Shayna, when I tossed her after Taran. I screamed for Misha, but the bloodlusters gripped the vamps by their waists, ignoring the pummels, clawing, and biting of their enraged victims.

Good thing Emme had a beach full of weapons at her disposal. Mounds and mounds of rock hurtled, skipping and splashing along the water, pounding into the bloodlusters and forcing them to drop Misha’s vampires.

Misha and his keep sprang onto land while Emme continued her onslaught. The bloodlusters swatted crudely and uselessly at the rocks, but Emme’s telekinetic strength wouldn’t be enough to kill them. And they so needed to die.

“Taran, blow up the vampires!” Taran sat on the beach, shaking her head, unable to focus. I grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. “Taran, you have to kill them. You have to kill them now!”

Taran gritted her teeth. A sparkle of blue glimmered from her hands, then nothing. I released her abruptly and looked to Misha. “Emme can’t hold them much longer; get ready to fight.”

Emme slumped onto the ground moments later, exhausted. The bloodlusters shook their heads briefly and then dove into the water with the dauntlessness of great whites on a herd of sea lions.

Shayna formed another arrow and aimed toward the lake. My skin crawled as I sensed the bloodlusters’ rapid approach. My knees bent into a crouch. My claws shot out like switchblades. Someone was going to die. But it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me.

In a tsunami-high wave, all four infected vampires pounced out of the water, their green eyes gleaming through the mist, their fangs dripping with drool and thirst. I aimed for the one at the end, only to be cloaked in a stream of nasty ash and blinded by a shaft of light.

Taran’s power ignited, surrounding her like a supernova of heat and flame, incinerating our attackers and the boats. I winced from the searing pain in my eyes until Taran slowly released her magic.

We all turned to her, momentarily stunned by the fight to the death that never came. I blinked the sting away as the white and blue flares enveloping Taran rescinded and unraveled her shaking form.

Taran always used her anger to incite her magic. This time it was triggered by fear. I took her gently by the hand, hating myself for dragging her into this abyss of unholy terror. She followed me without protest as I led her away from the slimy leftovers sticking to the rocks. As soon as our feet touched upon the grassy knoll, Taran wiped the ash from her eyes. “This is horseshit. I want to go home,” she whispered.

I looked into the dark section of woods leading to Zhahara’s compound. “Me, too,” I answered her truthfully.





CHAPTER 15


“Sit down, Taran,” I said when we reached the top of the small cliff. She sat, hugging her knees. I knelt by her side, disturbed by the major post-traumatic stress sliding across her aura. “Emme, I need you to heal her.”

Emme frowned when she failed to see any obvious wounds. “Celia, I don’t understand.”

I stroked Taran’s hair away from her shattered expression. “I need you to tend to her emotions, Emme. All the death, the blood—the fear of the unknown. It’s causing Taran to remember the night Mom and Dad died.” My voice grew hoarse. “And everything that came after that.”

“H-how do you know?”

“Because I’m reliving it, too.” Taran jerked her head in my direction. I positioned myself so I could view the forest bordering the compound, not wanting her to see my own pain. “Mom and Dad’s death was just the start of something horrible.” I kept my eyes averted. “So is this. So please, help Taran now so we can survive. Just like we did then.”

Emme rushed to Taran’s side. Her gift to heal often helped mend emotional wounds. “Oh, my goodness,” she whispered when she reached Taran’s inner turmoil. “It’s okay, Taran. I’ll make it better, sweetie.”