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I tried to get to them, tried to get close enough to cut just one of them with my knives, but every time I managed to stagger forward a few feet, another wave of Fire magic would send me sliding back. But I kept struggling, kept fighting, kept churning forward, even though all I was really doing was digging my heels into the burning grass underfoot. All I needed was to separate them, to stop them from sharing their magic and throwing the combined force of it at me, and then I could kill them.
At least, that's what I told myself, even if I knew that it wasn't true.
Because I'd already used up a fair amount of my magic fighting Hazel, and I didn't have enough left in the tank to stop them both. Even with the power I'd put back into my spider-rune ring over the past two days and what was in the knives in my hands, I was still going to run out of magic before they did. Then their elemental Fire would wash over me and reduce me to soot and smoldering ashes on the spot.
And there wasn't a damn thing that I could do about it.
"Gin!" I thought I heard Owen yell. "Hang on! I'm coming!"
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
My friends fired still more shots, but what was left of Grimes's men returned their fire, holding them at bay.
They wouldn't reach me in time, and we all knew it. Still, I was going to hold on for as long as I could. Because if I couldn't kill Grimes and Hazel, then maybe they could.
Because, magic or not, if Finn and the others pumped them full of enough bullets, then their magic would wane, and Finn could step up and finish the job - Through the smoke and flames, I saw a figure slam
into Grimes and Hazel, and I realized that it was Owen.
He threw himself at the brother and sister, and all three of them went down like pins knocked over by a bowling ball. Even though he had shattered their concentration, Grimes and Hazel were still holding on to their magic, and the flames washed over Owen, as though he were the wick in the center of a burning candle. His hoarse screams echoed all the way around the ridge.
"Owen!" I screamed, staggering toward him. "Owen!"
The three of them were still rolling around on the grass, but they finally came to a stop. Grimes's head snapped against the ground, stunning him, but Hazel positioned herself on top of Owen. She snapped her hand back and reached for her Fire magic once again.
I reached through the flames, dug my fingers into her hair, and yanked her off him. I tossed her aside as hard as I could, tearing clumps of black hair out by the roots.
Hazel shrieked with pain, but I didn't give her time to recover. She hit the ground, and a second later, I was on top of her. Hazel reached for her Fire, throwing it into my face.
I ignored the flames searing my skin, raised my knife high, and buried it to the hilt in the bitch's black, burning heart.
Hazel arched her back and let out a bloodcurdling scream. I ripped the knife out and drove it right back into her chest, twisting and twisting and twisting it in. Muscles ripped, tendons snapped, and one of her ribs cracked under my brutal assault. Hazel slapped at me, her blows getting weaker and weaker with every passing moment, the Fire
on her fingers giving way to smoking red and orange sparks. I tore the knife out of her chest once again.
And this time, I slit her throat with the blade.
Blood gushed out of the wound, spattering onto me, as hot as the flames still licking at my skin. Hazel's screams died down to gurgling wails, then were choked off altogether. She stared at me, the bright, shimmering Fire in her eyes slowly, stubbornly dimming and dulling as death crept up on her. Her head lolled to the side, and the last of the flames dancing on her fingertips vanished into smoke. After a moment, even that drifted up into the evening sky and dissipated.
When I was sure that she was dead, I crawled over to where Owen lay on his back on the grass. Deep, dark, ugly red burns and blisters covered every part of him that I could see - his chest, hands, arms, and face. His eyebrows had been singed off, and his scalp gleamed a baby pink in places where his black hair had been burned way.
Bile rose in my throat at his devastating injuries.
"Gin . . . " he rasped.
"It's okay," I whispered, trying not to let him see how worried I was. "You're going to be okay - "
A shadow fell over me, blotting out the evening sun.
I looked up. Harley Grimes had shaken off his daze and now stood over me, more Fire pooling in the palm of his hand. He reared back his arm, ready to throw it at me, ready to end me. I reached for what little magic I had and hovered over Owen, determined to protect him as much as I could - A dark figure dressed all in black slammed into Grimes from behind. Sophia.
Sophia? What the hell was she doing there?
I blinked and blinked, wondering if my eyes and the clouds of smoke that filled the yard were playing tricks on me, but it was her. Sophia was there, and she was fighting Grimes.
With one hand, Sophia ground Grimes's face into the dirt. With the other, she unleashed a series of sharp, brutal blows to his kidneys.
Grimes managed to raise his head and let out a delighted laugh. "Oh, Sophia," he purred. "Still trying to kill me after all these years. When will you ever learn?"
