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"I was wondering when you would show up," Cooper said. "Seems like you've been busy since you've been back. "
Salina smiled - that same cold, calm, serene smile she'd given me at the Pork Pit. "You might say that. You should have known better than to force me to leave Ashland in the first place. I always told you that I'd come back and kill you for it. "
"And I always told you that I'd be right here to stop you. I only wish you'd come here first so I could have put you in your rightful place to start with. But instead, you decided on sneak attacks, just like always. Just like your father always did when he was alive. That's why he couldn't kill Mab, you know. Because his sneak attack to stab her in the back failed, and he just didn't have the raw magic to defeat her. "
"Don't you dare talk about my father, you miserable little toad!" Salina screamed. "His plan would have worked! He would have killed Mab, if one of his giant guards hadn't gotten greedy and sold him out and told her what he was planning. "
I winced at her screeching. Looked like daddy's death was indeed a sore spot, just like I'd thought. I wondered if that was another old score she planned to settle while she was in town, although I had no idea who she'd target, since Mab was already dead.
Salina made a visible effort to unclench her jaw and fists. A moment later, her stiff posture relaxed, and her features were smooth and serene once more. "But enough talk," she purred. "I've waited a long time for this moment, and I plan to savor every second of it. "
She brought her hand up, curling her fingers into a loose fist. Then her fist seemed to almost . . . liquefy. Her skin became pale and glassy like, well, water. It almost seemed like I could hear her skin sloshing as she fully embraced her water magic. I could feel the cool, soothing wetness of her power all the way across the clearing.
But Cooper wasn't to be outdone, and the dwarf reached for his own Air magic. The wind seemed to gather around him, like he was standing in the center of a miniature tornado. Around and around the wind whirled, stirring up leaves, twigs, and rocks underfoot and making the trees creak and groan and the metal sculptures sway back and forth, despite their sturdy bases and heavy frames.
While the two elementals gathered their power for that initial strike, I turned my attention to the others, the five additional giants Salina had brought along. Three were about twenty feet behind Salina. They'd already grabbed the last fountain from its perch in the woods and were carrying it through the trees as fast as they could. I'd deal with them later. The other two stood behind Cooper, probably in case he tried to retreat from Salina and her magic. The dwarf didn't seem like the kind to turn and run, even when he knew he was on the losing side - like he was right now.
Oh, the dwarf was strong in his magic, but Salina was stronger. She was fully embracing her power now, and I could tell that she was almost as strong as Mab had been. That made her dangerous enough, but the wild card here was the type of magic she had. Like Cooper had said, Salina's water power was a tricky thing, hard to get a fix on, hard to defend against. It wasn't like any magic I'd ever felt - or fought - before.
But what most people forgot, even elementals, was that all the water magic in the world couldn't save someone from a knife in the heart - and I planned on driving mine into Salina's black one the second I got the chance. But first, I had to deal with the giants. Together, I knew that Cooper and I could beat Salina at her own game, but I wanted to level the playing field as much as possible. Besides, if I went after Salina first, there was too much risk of one of the giants pulling out a gun and trying to end things that way, with Cooper getting caught in the crossfire. No, I'd take out Salina's backup first, then go in for the kill on her.
I slithere
d through the underbrush, heading toward the first giant. He was focused on Salina and Cooper, instead of watching his own back, like he should have been. I reached the tree closest to him, then drew in a breath and rocked back on my heels, ready to surge forward at just the right moment.
"And now, Cooper, it's time for you to die," Salina said. "I'm going to enjoy marking you off my to-do list. Don't worry. You're not the only one I came back to Ashland to teach a lesson to. In fact, many people are finally going to get what they deserve. Very, very soon. "
I frowned, wondering what she was talking about. With Cooper dead, the only people she would have left to go after would be Phillip again and perhaps Eva - and me, of course. So who else could Salina possibly be targeting? I didn't have time to puzzle it out, as a translucent, watery ball of magic appeared in her right hand.
"Good-bye, Cooper," Salina hissed, rearing her hand back to throw her magic at the dwarf.
Cooper didn't bother responding. Instead, he reached for even more of his Air power, ready to block her attack for as long as he could.
And that's when I pounced on my prey.
Just before Salina let loose with her magic, I erupted out of the underbrush and plowed into the giant closest to me. One, two, three quick cuts across his chest and stomach, and he was down for the count, without even really realizing what had happened in the first place.
But the giant's brain took over, causing him to scream and scream as he fell and bled out. I let him yell, because it had the desired effect of ruining Salina's concentration. The ball of magic she'd been about to toss at Cooper slipped through her hands and hit the ground, exploding like a water balloon someone had dropped from a high window. She cursed and reached for her power again, but Cooper was quicker. He snapped his hands up and in front of him. The wind that had been whistling around him coalesced into a shimmering blast of magic that zoomed through the air - hitting Salina in the stomach and throwing her back into a tree. If I was lucky, she would have a broken neck and be dead by the time I got around to dealing with her, but I wasn't holding my breath. My luck was never that good.
That left one giant standing in the clearing. I tightened my grip on my bloody knife and headed in his direction. But the giant was faster than I was, and he managed to get his gun out from underneath his suit jacket before I reached him. I grabbed hold of my Stone magic and used it to harden my skin the second before he pulled the trigger.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The giant's bullets pinged off my body and rattled away into the woods, burying themselves in the leafy foliage. He frowned, wondering why I hadn't gone down when he'd just put three bullets in my chest, but I didn't give him a chance to get off more shots.
Slice-slice-slice.
Three quick passes of my knife, and the giant was down on the ground - never to get up again. Still, I cut his throat, just to be sure.
Then I hurried over to Cooper. "Are you okay?"
Instead of answering me, the dwarf lurched forward and shoved me out of the way. A second later, a ball of water magic slammed into the spot where I'd been standing - and hit him square in the chest. Cooper flew back through the air just like Salina had a moment before. My head snapped around. I'd foolishly assumed it would take her some time to recover from being tossed across the clearing, but the water elemental had already gotten back up on her feet and was forming another ball of magic in her hands.
"Cooper!" Kincaid shouted.
I turned and spotted him and Owen at the edge of the sculpture garden. Kincaid broke free of Owen's grip on his arm and raced over to the dwarf. I reached Cooper the same time Kincaid did, being sure to put my body in front of theirs to protect them from Salina.
I shouldn't have worried. Salina was too busy staring across the clearing at Owen - and he right back at her. Shock filled Owen's face - absolute shock that Salina had just tried to kill Cooper. Despite everything he'd learned about her, he'd finally seen her in action, finally seen Salina for her true self. I just hoped it was enough to break whatever hold she still had on his heart.
