“I need you to say it.”
“My memories are intact,Darius,” I said.
“Good. Now take cover and stay out of sight.” He was gone in a blink, charging after the third beast. The moment the creature’s hooves touched the ground, Darius was on him again, tearing out his throat.
Another shadow darkened the sun, and when I looked up into the sky, I saw half-a-dozen more memory eaters circling.
“Guys!” I shouted. “We’ve got a problem!”
The three of us regrouped in the valley, keeping our backs together, our eyes on the sky.
“We can’t take them all at once,” Darius said. “Not by force.”
“What about influence?” Ronan asked him. “Maybe you can convince them to move on.”
“I’ve tried. They’re too big. I doubt they even felt my presence. If I could amplify—”
“Guys! You’re brilliant.” The idea came to me in a rush, half-formed and completely crazy, but worth a shot. I handed Darius Sophie’s dagger. “I need your blood. Please don’t ask questions.”
He held my gaze for a second, but then nodded, slicing his wrist and pressing it to my mouth.
I began to suck, feeling the warm liquid fill my mouth, then sink into me as it had in the cabin. Magic stirred to life inside me.
I pulled away from him, closing my eyes and calling the magic forth, trusting the blood bond Darius and I shared. This would work. Ithadto work.
I raised my hands, blue orbs igniting, then turning into flames that blasted out into the sky just as the creatures descended. I hit them with the full brunt of the magic, lighting them up in a fiery, bright blue beam that trapped them mid-air, suspending them above us.
My blood is his and his is mine
Grant me his power, just for a time
Lend me his strength, his control over minds
Channeled through me, these creatures we’ll bind
I said the words, then reached out for their minds, searching for a way in.
You don’t want this,I thought.You’ve already fed. It’s time to move on.
The winged horses hovered before me, flapping their great wings.
I felt them resisting, trying to slip into my mind again. Warm, gentle, tendrils crept inside, curling around my memories, tugging gently.
You don’t need this, sweet girl. Let us unburden you…
I hesitated, and two of the creatures broke free from my fiery hold, torpedoing toward us.
Ronan and Darius met them head on, wrestling them to the ground, attacking with vicious fury.
Again, I felt them slipping into my mind, prying.
Just relax. Let go. We shall ease your passage…
“No!” I shouted, slamming a mental wall into place and focusing the very last of my energy on one final pulse of magic.
Leave us,I thought, sending it up through my hands, out into the sky. Into them.You are not needed here. You are needed elsewhere. You must go. You must leave us.
I repeated the thoughts, again and again and again, my energy rapidly draining.
