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And with that, I flung the fire net around the container holding her skin and raised it high as I stepped into the clearing.
“Kill me,” I said, even as her flames began to stir and hiss. “And you will never regain possession of your flesh.”
“You die, spell dies,” she said.
I stopped halfway between Belle and the soucouyant. “Except it’s not just my magic. Look closer, spirit. You’re old enough to know the caress of wild magic.”
And hopefully didn’t know enough about it to understand that wild magic could fade just as easily as any other.
The hissing of her flames grew louder. “What you want?”
I motioned toward Monty. “I want him released and out of this clearing first.”
Her mirth was evident in the roll of the flames. “He free. Make no difference in end.”
I glanced at him. “Monty, hate to ask this, but can you move?”
“Just fucking watch me.”
And with that, he began a slow, torturous crab crawl toward the forest. His breaths were little more than pants of pain, and his sweat and determination stung the air. But inch by agonizing inch, he was getting there.
In the forest behind him, a twig snapped. My nostrils flared as Katie’s senses once again flooded mine. Aiden, attempting to get close enough to help drag him clear.
I cleared my throat, dragged the soucouyant’s attention back to me, and stepped closer. Fingers of flame reached toward me; the charm at my neck flared to life and though I could feel the heat of those fingers, none of them came within touching distance.
I kept moving toward her, the container held in front of me like an offering. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aiden grab Monty’s arms and drag him into the trees. At the same time, I caught Ashworth and Eli’s scents to the left and behind the soucouyant.
Tell them to move at my signal, Belle.
And your signal is?
You’ll know it.
You and I are going to have a serious chat when all this is over, she growled, frustration in her mental tone.
Look forward to it.
The soucouyant’s flaming fingers were now moving all around me, seeking a means to touch and burn. The pulsing in the charm at my neck grew stronger and began to match the pulsing in my head. I ignored both and continued to approach the soucouyant.
“Witch clear.” She rose from the throne and stepped toward me. “Release skin.”
I stopped and smiled. “Sure thing.”
And with that, I threw the container, with all of my might, into her fiery form and then dropped and curled into the smallest target possible. She exploded, and her fury and her flames washed over me. But she didn’t immediately attack, instead reaching within herself to pull out the container.
Belle spun the net through the air, but the soucouyant must have sensed it and, at the last moment, flamed away. The net settled over the ground and part of her form, grabbing her, pinning her, but not entirely containing her.
She screamed, the sound earsplitting, and turned on me. Fire hit me, a furnace of heat that felt like it was boiling me alive. My skin turned red and my sweat dried in an instant, but I remained alive and breathing thanks to the charm at my neck.
Screams rose, but they weren’t mine. I didn’t dare waste the breath when the air in my small bubble of protection was becoming scarcer. My heart pounded so fast it felt like it was going to tear out of my chest and fear was so thick, so strong, it closed the back of my throat.
Hurry, Belle.
Trying.
Try harder, I wanted to say, but restrained the urge. Katie was still with me, so I closed my eyes and listened instead. Heard the whoosh of flames, the grunts that were elicited every time a fireball hit. Heard Ashworth shout, then Eli, and Aiden, and finally Belle—around and around it went, each one snaring her attention as she attacked the other. Rising above all that was the scent of smoke, of desperation, of fire being quenched. The pressure sprays were slowly but surely erasing her fire.
The pulsing in the charm became more frantic and smoke began to fill my small bubble. I twisted around, saw the ends of my jacket begin to curl and light. I swore and hastily pulled it off, but the T-shirt underneath didn’t fare any better. In fact, it almost immediately began to brown. I waited until a line of red appeared in the fabric and then tore it off too. But that left me in nothing more than a bra....
