He nodded.
Following the rats, we continued on. The air grew colder and damper. Water dripped somewhere far below. The corridor widened, opening into a large, circular chamber.
The rodents froze mid step, their tiny bodies rigid. Then they erupted into high-pitched, rapid-fire squeaking. The sound bounced off the walls.
“What have we found?” Fiorella Bernard stepped from the shadows, her predatory smile sharp in the dim light. Her four devotees fanned out—two to the left, two to the right—boxing us in.
“Well, well,” she purred. “I was hoping I’d run into you, Ilyana.”
Holding my blade before me, I moved sideways to position myself toward the chamber’s center. “How did you find your Devotion so quickly?”
Finn shifted with me, his gaze darting to each threat.
She smiled, trailing a finger down the arm of a blonde devotee on her right. “You know my mates, do you not? Magically enhanced speed is a valuable asset.” A flick of her hand. “Strength.” The brute beside her cracked his knuckles. “Ice.” A pale devotee exhaled mist. “Compulsion.” The lean devotee’s gaze locked on to mine. “But this isn’t a social call.”
Finn and I would have to fight through them. My stomach dropped. It was my nightmare scenario, the kind of fight I had no answer for.
“Kill them both!” Fiorella ordered.
The speedster blurred forward, crossing the chamber in a heartbeat.
I flung my nullification over him. Momentum carried him into a stumble. My blade caught his thigh, slicing through fabric and flesh.
He straightened, eyes narrowing. He cut himself off with a scream as rats surged from the shadows, swarming up his legs in a screeching mass. They clung on, teeth sinking through cloth and skin. He snarled, flinging one hard against the wall. Then he faltered, and his hand jerked as the rupture took hold. His blade dropped, clattering against the stone.
He stared at his fingers, brow furrowed. I thrust my dagger into his chest while he was distracted. It took every ounce of force I could muster before the blade finally found his heart beneath the resistance.
Across the chamber, Fiorella stiffened, eyes wide, breath catching as if the same weapon had pierced her.
My dagger needed more rupture.No time for that now.
The brute and the compulsion vampire moved in from my left, trying to flank me. The ice devotee circled right toward Finn. Fiorella stayed back, fifteen feet away, watching.
I had to keep Finn alive, whatever the cost. I had a strategic choice: Using my mental shield would only protect me and leave Finn exposed. Nullification would give us a chance, but I could only maintain it on one vampire at a time.
After I analyzed the situation for a moment too long, my hand reached for my belt without my permission, moving like it was attached to a puppeteer’s string.
I slammed my null over Compulsion. His magic fractured, and my body jerked back under my control.
“Interesting,” Fiorella murmured, raising an eyebrow. She gestured, and her Devotion pressed in. The air chilled around me as I switched my magic to the ice devotee. “You freed yourself. Have you gained a new ability?”
Keep switching. Keep them guessing.
Compulsion snarled, and Finn’s movements stuttered. I shifted my null to block the coercive magic again. As it broke, Finn gasped and spun, swinging his weapon at the vampire, who retreated with a hiss.
Next came Brute with fists like sledgehammers. As Boris tugged at the hem of his pants, I ducked his first swing but was too slow for the second. His punch crashed into me. Though my leathers provided some protection, I staggered to the left from the blow.
Finn darted in, grabbing Speedster’s discarded dagger. His snake coiled around Ice’s leg and struck, fangs sinkingdeep just as Finn aimed a stab toward the vampire’s heart. The devotee twisted, and steel bit into his shoulder. He sent ice shards exploding outward in all directions.
The snake's body went rigid, frozen solid, before the vampire grabbed it and shattered the poor creature into crystalline fragments.
A dull ache built behind my eyes as I kept Compulsion under my null.
After knocking off Boris, Brute roared and swung again. At the last second, I shifted my magic onto him. His bolstered strength ebbed just enough. I rotated with the blow instead of crumpling beneath it. Still, pain screamed through my body. My dagger slipped from my grip, my fingers numb.
Behind me, Finn cried out. Ignoring the rats, Compulsion approached him, weapon raised. I switched my null onto him, stopping him from causing Finn to hurt himself with his own hammer.
Brute lunged for me, and I caught my dropped blade with my off-hand. I slashed his arm, drawing blood.
