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Gabby led the way past a few brushes and trees and stopped about twenty feet to their right. Andrea walked around the area in a circle a few times, her brows drawn tight in concentration. Once or twice, her hands lit up as she reached out to touch the air.
“Is it magic?” Nikolas asked.
Andrea’s brown eyes were unfocused when she looked up. “Yes. Please stand back.”
They all moved back to give her space.
The tip of Andrea’s right index finger glowed with soft white light. As she walked in a circle, a line appeared in the dirt following her footsteps.
Once the circle was complete, she sat in the middle, her legs crossed, her hands touching the ground on either side of her. A musty, earthy scent surrounded them. Gabby’s skin tingled with the magic in the air. Next to her, Ahmed rubbed his arms.
Gabby’s eyes widened when two Joshua trees moved, sliding across the ground until they stopped, one to the circle’s left and another to its right. Dirt closed over their original locations as though the trees had never existed.
The lines of the circle glowed, its light illuminating the Joshua trees and Andrea. Even though there was no wind, the witch’s braid swung in the air. The circle’s light advanced, zigzagging across the ground, following some invisible path.
It stopped at the edge of the barrier. The light retreated, paused as if thinking, then tried to go forward again.
The glow around Andrea brightened until Gabby had to turn away and watch out of the corner of her eye. Two more lines, one on each side of the original, peeled off the circle and followed the first line’s path. Like before, they halted at the same place, their path blocked.
The three rows of light retreated halfway before combining into one, its gleam intensifying. Gabby closed her eyes. Even then, a faint light shone through her eyelids.
One second. Two.
Bang!
The air shook with explosive power. A detonating wind hit her, knocking her off her feet. She would’ve fallen flat on her back if Felix hadn’t caught her. She crossed her arms over her face while rocks and dirt slashed into her.
It was over as suddenly as it had begun.
When she opened her eyes, Ahmed lay on his back. Conrad had slammed his sword into the ground and held onto it. Nikolas was crouched protectively over Andrea, his clothes and skin torn in places where rocks and pebbles had blown into him.
Interesting indeed.
Thank you,she said to Felix and straightened. Her nose twitched and nausea roiled in her stomach. “What is that smell?”
Even though she’d tuned down her sense of smell, she grimaced at the stink of decay and rot permeating the air, along with Maria’s scent and a myriad of others that hadn’t existed before.
She glanced toward the invisible barrier Andrea had destroyed. The explosion had left a hole about three feet wide and less than one foot deep at the barrier. Other than the repulsive stench emanating from that direction, nothing looked unusual in the desert landscape with its low brushes, lone rock formations here and there, and the occasional Joshua tree.
“Maria… her scent’s that way.” Ahmed would’ve run off if Nikolas hadn’t clapped a restraining hand over his shoulder.
“We go together,” Nikolas growled. “Get in the van.”
Gabby suppressed the urgency driving her as well. She still didn’t know who kidnapped the vampires or what the kidnappers had done to the ones they fought yesterday. They had to remain careful and alert.
“I’m coming with you.” Andrea stepped out of the circle, looking no worse for wear.
“No.” Nikolas’s tone could stop ten young vampires in their tracks. “It’s too dangerous.”
Andrea crossed her arms and glowered at Nikolas. “You don’t know what’s on the other side. There could be another barrier. You need me.”
“She’s right,” Felix interjected. “But so is Nikolas. The vampires we fought yesterday weren’t normal. We don’t know what’s waiting for us.”
“I can take care of myself.” An earthy glow covered Andrea and the pupils of her eyes disappeared. Something primeval and wise and formidable looked back at them. The hairs on Gabby’s neck rose, and she had to swallow the instinct to run away. Then it was gone, and Andrea surveyed their stunned looks with satisfaction. “Now can we go?”
With a growl, Nikolas stalked past them to the first van, which had suffered a few scratches from the spell. Andrea glided to the second one. Gabby and Felix joined Nikolas. She had more questions about Andrea but those could wait. It was also difficult to think past the overwhelming scent of decay and wrongness.
Maria, please be alive.A sharp pain lanced through her heart.
