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I swore and flung the containment spell at her. She screamed and veered sharply away. I changed the direction of the spell, but she ducked and weaved, all the while continuing her dive. She was going to get me before my spell stopped her.
I got up and ran for the trees. Saw, out of the corner of my eye, a black wing and the gleam of claw. I swore and dodged left; heard the rip of material, felt the trickle of warmth down my arm.
I twisted around and ran back across the clearing. Felt the surge of Monty’s magic; saw the shimmer in the air as his spell arrowed directly at me. Waited until the very last moment and then dropped low and twisted around as the spell flew over my head.
The Manananggal spotted it and veered upward sharply. The spell followed her trajectory, quickly latching on to a bloody bit of trailing intestines. As the spell unwrapped and the threads of the containment portion crawled toward her torso, she screamed in fury and then, with one sharp claw, sliced the spell—and the section of intestine it had latched on to—away. As the bloody bits tumbled toward the ground, she did an abrupt turn, tucked in her wings, and dove.
Straight at me.
There was no time to spell. No time to run. She was so damn close I could see the gleam of victory in her blood-colored eyes.
The bitch thought she had me.
The bitch was wrong.
I flung a hand upward, and bolts of sheer energy leapt from my fingertips and arrowed toward her. Surprise flicked across her expression; she rolled to one side, her wings pumping furiously as she tried to outrun my lightning. I spread my fingers wide, breaking the bolt into five arrows of light. Every single one hit her; the first one burned into her torso while the other four melted holes in the membrane of her wings. Her flight became erratic, but she somehow continued to gain height despite the tattered state of her wings.
Five gunshots rang out in quick succession. The Manananggal’s body twitched and bled, but her frantic flight wasn’t stopped. Wasn’t even slowed.
Another surge of magic, and then Monty’s spell was again chasing her. This time, it was nothing more than a simple tracker, which was perhaps why the Manananggal didn’t appear to notice when it hit the severed edge of her torso. She just kept flying, blood dripping from her body like black rain.
I pushed up and ran over to the stranger. He was still breathing, but how long he would remain that way when he’d been gutted I couldn’t say. Death might be hovering, but she hadn’t yet stepped close to claim his soul.
There was still hope.
I swung my backpack around, then glanced up as Aiden and Monty entered the clearing. “We need an—”
“Already called. Tala’s going to meet and lead them in.” Aiden’s gaze fell on the stranger’s stomach, and his expression darkened. “They may not get here in time, though.”
“We can’t all stay here and wait for them,” Monty said. “We need to go after that bitch and stop her.”
“You two go.” I pulled the small medical kit and a bottle of holy water from my pack. “I’ll wait here for Tala and the medics.”
“Perfect plan,” Monty said. “Aiden?”
Aiden’s gaze held mine for a heartbeat; deep in the depth of his bright eyes, I could see the battle between heart and duty.
“Go,” I said softly. “I’ll be fine.”
A smile twitched his lips, then he nodded and said, “This way.”
As the two of them ran from the clearing, I carefully removed the shredded remains of the stranger’s clothes from the edges of the wound and his exposed intestines, then undid the small bottle of holy water and poured it over the sterile dressings from the medical kit. I didn’t bother trying to push everything back into his body; I’d read enough books to know that generally wasn’t a good idea. Instead, I simply covered the wound and protrusions to keep them sterile. There was nothing else I could do for him; nothing except free him from whatever spell might still remain. If death was his destiny, the last thing he deserved was for his soul’s journey to be hampered in some way by the Manananggal’s magic.
The only trouble was, the binding spell she’d placed on him wasn’t visible even though the dark caress of its energy made my skin crawl. Embedding spells in this manner wasn’t something I was familiar with, and I had no idea if dismantling it would be dangerous. Which meant I’d better call Belle in.
I sat cross-legged on the ground near his head and reached for her. You busy?
If you consider eating a great big bit of chocolate cake busy, then yes. You need help?
I’m about to break whatever magic lies on the victim of the Manananggal. I just need you to keep an eye on proceedings.
Her surprise ran through me. Said victim is still alive?
Long story, but yes, because she used him to lure me into a trap.
Confusion replaced the surprise. How?
I somehow created a connection between us when I used her blood as a tracker. She must have guessed we’d be staking out local weddings and used the stranger as bait.
