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Becca grinned and the three ghosts vanished.
As Vaughn let the last of the healing process take him over, he thought of Dagen and the warlocks waiting for him. Vaughn knew he couldn’t defeat them with only his fully-restored physical strength.
He needed another advantage.
He needed Emma’s other gift, the one that had led them to reach the center of the labyrinth in the first place. She could see snapshots of the future which meant there was a strong possibility he’d be able to access similar images as well. In order to make it back to Emma in one piece, he’d have to know what his opponents would do in the immediate future, how each would attack him.
He heard voices moving in his direction. They weren’t far away.
His vampire hearing picked up the words. “He’s just sitting there.”
“Then let’s cut him up. I’d like to see the vampire bastard bleed.”
Vaughn focused on Emma and the future. The snapshots appeared quickly and began to flow in a steady stream.
Fully healed, he leaped to his feet. The snapshots showed him what he needed to do moment-by-moment.
He levitated to the ceiling and drew his knees up tight to his chest. A warlock flew hard across the space below Vaughn. He would have knocked Vaughn to the ground otherwise, or worse, since the warlock carried a sword.
Instead, he landed square against the stone wall where Vaughn had been sitting.
The sound of a bone snapping, confirmed the next set of images that showed the warlock face down on the ground, his neck broken.
As Vaughn lowered himself to the dirt, he kept the future snapshots moving swiftly. The second attacker would arrive within seconds. Vaughn shifted to a horizontal position at the same time that a sword flew through the air sliding well above his body. The sword clattered against the wall, but if Vaughn hadn’t moved, it would have caught his upper torso.
Vaughn glanced at the next few snapshots, dove for the sword, grabbed it by the handle, then levitated toward the far right pathway at the same time that the second warlock shouted and lunged toward him. But Vaughn was faster because of the vision. He sliced upward in a diagonal thrust, caught the warlock in the abdomen and stabbed him through to the spine.
The man screamed and fell, then writhed in the dirt.
Vaughn caught the next set of images and darted down the same pathway from which the warlock had emerged. Because of the vision, he knew where he was headed. He levitated swiftly.
The snapshots showed the third warlock, sword in hand, at the next intersection. When Vaughn arrived, he pulled his knees up, then kicked out hard. He caught the warlock in the back, shoved with all his might and slammed the man against the stone wall. He slumped to the dirt, his head bashed in, blood everywhere.
Vaughn held tight to the snapshots, keeping them flowing so that he could follow the path back to Emma. Three warlocks down, two to go, plus a psychopathic shifter.
He was getting closer to the center of the labyrinth, but would he find Emma alive?
CHAPTER SEVEN
Emma’s breathing was shallow as Beth continued to savage her neck. Though held in a thrall and unable to move, tears dripped down the sides of Emma’s face and into her hair. The nearness of her death was almost unbearable.
Her thoughts were all for Vaughn and how much she loved him. She couldn’t believe this miracle had happened. She’d never thought to know love after Max died, but she didn’t want Vaughn to die, and she really didn’t want Beth to remain imprisoned in Loghry’s underground labyrinth.
But what could she do? A demented vampire held her in thrall and was steadily draining her to death.
What’s your name? The voice was female and it took Emma a moment to realize Beth had contacted her telepathically.
My name is Emma. Is that you, Beth?
Yes. You taste so good. I can’t stop. It’s the amethyst drug forcing me to keep going. I’m sorry.
Yet you can communicate with me. Is your mind clearing?
Yes, but I still can’t stop. When I drink from Loghry, he has his servants beat me until I release his neck.
For the first time since Dagen had thrown her in Beth’s cell, Emma began to hope. If her blood was helping Beth, then maybe something else could be done for the vampire.
She thought about her time with Vaughn, how much her witch powers had increased, especially her ability to heal. Maybe she could send a kind of healing to Beth that would break the addiction’s hold on her.
