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He would have taken off, but she laid a hand on his arm and held him back. “Devyn, this Invictus pair seems to have more power than any I’ve seen or heard of before.” She’d only witnessed a couple of attacks herself, but she’d seen plenty of videos on the Nine Realms internet.
“I know. Stay here.”
“Not a chance. You might need me again.”
He seemed startled for a moment, then nodded. “All right, but follow behind me at a distance. Don’t let either the wraith or the vampire see you. Let me do the work.”
She didn’t understand. She’d seen what happened before. He would have died if she hadn’t been there. “Are you sure, Devyn? I called for back-up. Maybe you’d better wait. This wraith had more power than anything I’ve seen before.”
He didn’t seem at all offended that she questioned his ability. “You healed me and you fed me. I can’t explain it, but I feel stronger.” He held his hands out in front of him and flexed his arms. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I have more power. I know I can battle this wraith-pair now.”
She not only felt his confidence, but she could tell his power level had changed, though she had no idea why. “Okay, then.”
When he rose into the air, she flew after him, though she stayed back as he’d commanded.
She just hoped that whatever change he’d experienced would make a difference.
~ ~ ~
Devyn flew swiftly up the main street. Wraith-pairs wouldn’t wait around quietly and he had no idea when the Guard patrol would show up. Millerell and nearby Boylbury were in the eastern part of the realm and a long way from the centrally located Communication Center in Sandismare.
They’d start breaking in doors next.
When he heard realm-folk screaming, he flew faster. By the time he arrived, the mist the wraith had created was long gone and he now held a troll child in his arms twenty feet up in the air. The little girl was sobbing.
His vampire mate held the mother in a tight grip and was already pushing her hair away from her neck. It would be a violent feed and death would follow.
He flew fast as he pathed to Emily. Catch the child. The wraith will drop her.
I’ve got her.
To the wraith he shouted. “Is that the best you can do? Attack a troll child?”
The wraith turned in the air and grinned.
Devyn sped up. With the new power he possessed, he shot through air.
The wraith responded exactly as predicted and opened his arms wide letting the girl fall, no doubt expecting Devyn to try to save her. Instead, Emily was right there. She caught the child, then flew her in a straight line away from the wraith-pair, in the direction of the Wild Boar.
Devyn’s concern right now was for the troll mother. If the mated vampire tore at her neck, the woman would die. The Invictus bond would have long-since stripped the vampire of her conscience and replaced it with the psychopathic need to inflict pain.
Devyn was also feeling the effects of Emily’s healing. He swore he’d never felt better in his life. Or stronger.
He whipped toward the vampire then the wraith. “I’ll take you both on. What’s the fun in killing one psychopath when I can smash two into the cobbles instead?”
When the vampire didn’t drop the troll woman, but instead opened her mouth wide and bared her fangs, Devyn had only one choice. He ignored the wraith circling overhead and went for the vampire.
As soon as he started toward her, he accessed his increased speed and he knew what he could do. He moved like lightning, whipped behind the vampire, grabbed her around the throat and squeezed. As he tightened his grip, he felt her release the troll.
“Run!” he shouted. “To the Wild Boar.”
Because the wraith had been shrieking, shifters belonging to the Tannisford Brigade began pouring from the bar. Devyn recognized a few off-duty Guardsmen as well.
He held the vampire tight in his arms. He could have broken her neck easily. But ever since Mastyr Ethan of Bergisson and his blood rose, Samantha, had developed the ability to sever the Invictus bond, every Guardsman worth his salt saved as many realm-folk as possible. Most of the bonded folk were abducted and forced into the ritual that changed them from Goddess-fearing people into the hideous monsters the Invictus bond created.
Instead of killing her, Devyn dropped her hard to the pavers, stunning her to keep her incapacitated. He had a wraith to deal with and Devyn would have to take him out.
With his mate incapacitated, the wraith flew in wider circles, shrieking heavily. He had yellow eyes, dark lips and long stringy black hair. Wraiths, by nature, had elongated limbs and rarely walked. They floated and when turned Invictus, shrieked. His clothing reflected his physical nature. He wore a loose black tunic over gauze-like black pants.
