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For an unemotional being, she sure did seem to be displaying a whole lot of emotion.
Malin laughed. The bitter sound echoed uneasily across the temple’s grounds. “And I suppose that little demonstration is meant to cower us?”
Azriel’s answering smile was cold. Ferocious. “It was meant as nothing more than it was—an unveiling of evil.”
“Reaper, I grow bored of you.”
And with that, she attacked. Not Azriel. Me.
I swore and dove out of the way, but the bolt was too fast, my reaction—and Amaya’s—too slow. The energy hit with all the force of a hammer. It pinned me, flayed me, ate at me, until it felt as if there were thousands upon thousands of tiny maggots boring into my skin.
I screamed, but the sound was lost to Amaya’s screech of fury—a sound that was accompanied by a more masculine roar. The energy flaying me abruptly cut off, even as energy flared from Amaya’s sides and encased me in a protective shield of lilac. I didn’t immediately move; it was all I could do to drag in air, to not scream in pain as Malin’s energy continued its munching even as it dissipated.
Up! Amaya’s screech was as painful as those fading remnants. Move must!
I forced my eyes open, saw five Raziq barreling toward me, and swore—though the words came out little more than a harsh scrape of sound. Beyond the five, in an incandescent cloud that sizzled and cracked with such force that it shook the surreal buildings and burned the air, Azriel and his reapers fought the other thirteen Raziq.
Malin was nowhere to be seen.
Runs. Amaya’s mental tones were scathing. Coward much.
Malin didn’t strike me as a coward. If she was running, then she was running to something rather than from us.
I had a bad feeling I needed to stop her from reaching whatever it was she was running for. But before I could do that, I had to deal with the Raziq coming at me.
I pushed to my feet, my breathing harsh and sweat trickling down my spine. I might not be flesh in this world, but my energy form seemed to react in the exact same way. Maybe it was simply a form of muscle memory—my being reacting in the only way it knew how.
Drop the shield, I said. We can’t risk the constant pull at our strength.
Stronger we should be, she muttered, as the purple haze of energy retreated.
Yes, we should, but to get stronger I needed time to relax and regroup—and that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Not until I dealt with the Raziq and the keys.
Even then, there was no guarantee of a long and happy life, simply because I still had to find the sorceress, and I was still left with Madeline Hunter. And she, in many ways, was the worst of the lot. She wasn’t only one of the leaders of the high vampire council and the head honcho of the Directorate, but also—quite literally—a monster wearing human flesh who apparently had a direct line of communication to the god she worshipped.
She was also, unfortunately, a monster I worked for.
But Hunter was a problem for another day. I had to survive this one before I started worrying about anything—or anyone—else.
Count to three, then move sharply left, I said, then raised Amaya and flung her hard.
The approaching Raziq scattered left and right, as I figured they might. Amaya jagged left and flames shot from her sides. They swiftly ensnared one of the Raziq, bringing him down even as they cocooned him. He writhed, screamed, fought, all to little effect. Amaya chuckled, the sound triumphant as she consumed her prey.
Bolts of energy shot toward me. I ran, swerving around to the right, the bolts nipping at my heels. Sparks spun around me, fierce and bright in the gray.
Amaya arrowed around and slapped back into my palm. I raised her above my head and leapt high, twisting in midair and slashing wildly at the nearest Aedh as I flew over him. I hit the ethereal ground, rolled to my feet, and spun around, my sword held at the ready. The Aedh I’d struck had stopped. Completely stopped. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t reacting. Wasn’t doing anything.
Then light began to gleam from the top of his head, a sliver of brightness that gradually lengthened, growing ever wider as it crept down his neck and then his spine, until he was no longer whole but two separate halves.
We’d split him asunder.
Deserved more, Amaya commented, her mental tones indignant as the two halves of the Aedh began to disintegrate. Consume should have.
Even you can’t eat them all.
Bet can.
I snorted, then jumped sideways as several more bolts of energy came at me. I threw Amaya to scatter them again, then ran like hell, my gaze sweeping across the temple’s grounds. I spotted Azriel and relief filled me. He was still standing, still fighting, though his torso bore several wounds that gleamed with ruddy fire. Others had obviously not been so lucky. The reaper numbers were down to six, but the Raziq had suffered greater losses—only eight now stood. Thou
