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"You'l be careful?"
I smiled a little. "Would you alow otherwise?"
"No."
I couldn't help it. The conviction in those two simple letters made me laugh aloud.
Ethan leaned in, his lips at my ear. "Unstoppable force," he said. "Immovable object. Choose the one you want to be, and do it. You are a vampire of great power, Merit. Prove it to us, to the city of Chicago, to the Houses. Prove it now."
I swalowed down fear and let the rush of adrenaline fil me with something closer to courage. Not quite bravery, but something that would suffice.
I looked back at him with silvered eyes.
"Wel," he said, a bit amused. "That was even more effective than I thought it would be."
I humphed, and folowed his glance to Malory and Catcher, who stood chatting quietly a few feet away.
"You can do your part, as wel," I said.
"I know I can. It's her I wonder about."
I looked back at Ethan. "She's asked for a chance to redeem herself. She only gets one. If this goes bad, if there's any threat to you at al, I wil take her out."
Neither the words nor the sentiment scared me. I'd given Malory chances she hadn't earned; Ethan had earned chances to spare.
"God wiling that it won't come to that," he muttered.
"But be prepared if it does," I said. "That's a lesson I learned from a certain Master vampire."
Their conversation apparently done, Malory and Catcher walked toward us. Her hands were baled into fists, and I wondered if they were shaking.
"Are you ready?"
Ethan nodded warily. "As ready as I'l ever be to turn control over my body to someone else."
"It wil only last a few minutes," Malory said. "And then he'll be Merit's problem."
"How does this work?"
"I'l establish a ful connection with you. Once he appears in the sigil, you only need to touch him. It doesn't matter where.
Hand. Shoulder. Wing."
"How long do I have to maintain my grip?"
"Until you feel the magic recede. You'l know it when you feel it. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds."
"He's probably going to realize what's happening during those few seconds," I pointed out.
"You have your sword," Catcher said. "I have magic. Our job is to distract him. Ethan's job is to hang on."
"And, hey," Malory said, with a little too much cheerfulness.
"There is an upside to this."
"What's that?" Ethan asked.
"I'm going to pul Dominic's magic through you, and with it, my own connection. You should come out the other side with no connection to me at al."
I squeezed Ethan's hand and hoped to God she was right.
"As long as you can stay out of Dominic's grasp while we're triggering the spel, you'l be fine."
Ethan nodded.
I walked a few feet away, unsheathed my sword, and tossed the scabbard away. The steel rang like a clear bel through the darkness as it freed the scabbard, and I gripped my hands around the ray skin and felt it bite comfortably into my skin. I
held the sword; it held me.
"I'm ready for the last sigil," Seth announced.
I looked at Ethan and smiled a little.
"I love you," he mouthed.
It was the first time he'd spoken those words to me, and I wished I had time to scream out my excitement and share the news with my girlfriends. But this was neither the time nor the place, so I gave him the only response I could.
"I love you, too," I mouthed back.
"And I'm nauseous," Catcher grumbled. "Let's get on with this. I am seriously in need of a beer and a Lifetime movie."
"Drinks on me if we survive this," I said, then winked at Ethan, blew out a breath, and let my eyes silver again.
Catcher, Jeff, and Paige backed away from the circle. I took point in front of it, body bladed, sword at the ready. Ethan and Malory stood at my right.
"I'm starting now," she said, then extended a hand toward him.
Ethan clutched his head, then screamed out and went down to his knees.
"Ethan!"
"Hold your position, Merit!" Seth caled out. "Do not move!"
"What did you do?" I screamed at her.
Eyes wide, she shook her head. "Nothing. I'm just trying to get it to work. I can stop."
Weakly, Ethan put his weight on one foot, then the other, and struggled to his feet. "Do not stop. This ends tonight. Now. Finish it."
Malory looked, in a panic, between me and Ethan. "But I - "
"Finish it!" he demanded.
She didn't stop to think about it. With the kind of determination I'd seen on her face before only when she was trying to hurt me and mine, she closed her eyes and chanted something to herself. Her body began to shake, and the ground began to rumble beneath us.
"Jesus," Jeff said, arms out to keep his balance.
Sweat popped across Ethan's forehead, even in the chil. His teeth were gritted together against the pain, but he wouldn't let her stop. "We are nearly there; I can feel it. Keep going, Malory."
Her lips curled wickedly. "As if you could stop me."
"Oh, crap," Paige muttered, no doubt seeing the same thing in her eyes that I did.
The enjoyment of this bit of dark magic.
"Malory, hold it together!" I caled out, nearly yeling over the suddenly rising wind. A light rain began to fal, clouds suddenly swirling overhead.
The four elements reacting to this disturbance in the balance between good and evil.
"Almost there," Ethan said.
"The sigil is nearly drawn," Seth caled out.
I regripped my fingers around the sword.
Malory wet her lips, her nails cutting into her palm, trails of blood beginning to trickle down her forearm.
"One bit left," Seth warned. "Finishing it...now!"
Chapter Twenty-three
SOLDIERS WISELY LED
The sigil burst into blue flames, pushing al of us backward except Ethan and Malory, who maintained their positions at the edge of it.
Jeff and Paige hit the ground a few feet away. Fals like that were going to take time to recover from.
"Malory!" Catcher caled out. "Stay strong!"
If she heard him, she didn't react. Malory stil looked oblivious to everything but the connection between her and Ethan...and the pain it was putting her through. She hit her knees, too, tears streaming down her face as she held open the connection.
With the sigil alight, Seth looked at me. I nodded, and it began.
"Dominic!" he caled out. "I wil and summon you to appear!"
