AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The man tilted his head, pale green eyes perusing her. His fingers fluttered and tightened the ball further until she bit back a gasp.
“I didn’t know witches went and offered guarding services to outsiders. Or are you a defector too?”
There was another gasp, this time from the fancy-clothed man. The mild interest from earlier disappeared to give way to a greedy look, one she didn’t like at all.
“She’s a witch?” he demanded. “Truly, Harold?”
Harold ignored him. She did the same and kept her focus on the warlock.
“Things have changed,” she declared. “We have more freedom. Meanwhile, you seem to have stooped so low.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll make you stoop lower. I sense you would make it easy for me too.”
As if to prove his point, his prison ball poked and prodded, feeling her out. The knowledge that she couldn’t push enough magic out to defeat his had trepidation fluttering in her stomach, solidifying what she knew all her life: that she just wasn’t powerful enough, not without the help of her siblings or…
Vial!Her mind screamed.
“What? No comeback? I’m right, aren’t I?” Harold mused.
Her chin lifted. “I bet you wish that. Unfortunately, I don’t grant wishes.”
Outwardly, she was still perfectly calm. Inwardly, she tried to move the hand in her pocket and felt the first thrum of panic when his magic wouldn’t let her budge. Sapphire bit back a curse. She gulped down the panic, heaved a deep breath, and gave him a look of challenge.
“This is boring. How about you let me go and we can see the outcome of a fair fight?”
“Take her,” Mr. Fancy hissed. “Do that binding shit and let’s just take her. She’s a valuable asset. She’ll be more valuable than those runaway fools.”
Harold still didn’t listen, considering her. She braced her fingers, ready to grab her vial at his first loosening of magic.
“Harold, you little shit—”
Wind gushed. Her heart dropped when a figure broke through the trees, much like he had before. Instead of loosening, the prison ball tightened to a painful degree, cutting off her breath for a few seconds. She gasped when it loosened again, but her hands still couldn’t move. Then—
“Friends of yours?”
“What do you think?” she snapped, gaze landing on Klaus’s human form while he held all four figures under his wing. The three humans thrashed while Harold was unmoving…except for his fingers and mouth. “Watch out!”
But the cocky man hadn’t thought the warlock was a threat—and the warlock had already finished his chant before Klaus could move away. In the blink of an eye, something invisible wrapped around Klaus, taking away his wing and squeezing him into rigidity. Stupefaction spread over his features. She concluded it was the same prison ball as his muscles strained but he couldn’t seem to shift.
The four men shot up to their feet. Mr. Fancy sneered. “Stupid vampires and their stupid meddling. Harold, get rid of him. We don’t need his kind in our ship and our business.”
Her eyes widened, realizing they were about to do something stupid. Her mouth opened.
“You have just trespassed onto Oslo.”
Silence met her statement, but the reactions came in varying degrees: Klaus glowering at her, Harold pursing his lips, and the three humans coming to their senses and displaying all kinds of awe and terror. For the first time, Mr. Fancy looked ready to run. Another pirate took out his sword and swung it around, one close enough to her face. Harold reined him back while Klaus looked ready for murder, his expression stunning her.
“Please let us go. We promise not to come back,” Mr. Fancy began. “I—”
“You almost killed my witch.”
There was that soft tone again, promising terrible things. She shuddered.
“We don’t mean harm! We don’t—Harold, don’t! He’s a—”
More light came out of Harold’s hands as he chanted once more. The ball around Klaus became visible as it glowed, expanding another layer, then more. When Klaus’s muscles strained again, cracking through the first layer, Harold punched the air until more energy gushed out—and the one around her loosened enough for her fingers to flutter.
She gripped a vial, then gritted her teeth and crushed it with all her might. Pain sliced her hand at the broken shards, but the magic that coursed through her skin was strong. Sapphire ducked when Harold sensed it, already flinging another shot at her. This time, she was ready.
