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“Do as he says,” Tia ordered, despite the fact that Lynch didn’t look in any mood to continue his battle with Valen. He might be a demon, but he was no match for a vampire. Then she tilted her chin to a proud angle. “Are you going to kill me?”
Valen smiled grimly, grasping her arm, and dragging her back to the cabin before she could regain her balance.
“Not until you break through the barrier keeping me away from Peri,” he growled, jerking her onto the porch to face the cloudy mist that blocked the doorway.
Tia’s features were clenched hard with fury at being hauled around like a sack of potatoes, but she was smart enough not to protest. And once they were face to face with the boiling mist, her anger was replaced with a shocked fear that tainted the air with the scent of scorched cloves.
She lifted her hand, holding it toward the boiling cloud, but was careful not to touch it.
“This is the miasma?”
“You wanted to gain control of it, didn’t you?” Valen demanded. “Now’s your chance.”
Tia didn’t bother to glance in his direction; she was lost in her examination of the magic. Valen gave her a few moments to study the mist, trying to ignore the strange stillness that had fallen over the bayou. It was as if the wildlife had sensed the evil that was brewing inside the cabin and gone into a protective hibernation.
“I had no idea,” Tia eventually breathed, shaking her head in disbelief.
“It’s…”
“What?”
“Hungry.” Tia abruptly stepped back and wrapped her arms around her waist in a protective motion. “It’s reaching out to drain my powers.”
“Destroy it.”
She sent him an annoyed glare. “I can’t use my magic.”
Valen parted his lips, giving her a full view of his razor-sharp fangs. “Do it, or I’ll kill you.”
She stubbornly shook her head. “If I cast a spell it will only feed the miasma.”
“Lies,” Valen hissed.
“No, I swear I’m telling the truth.”
Valen narrowed his eyes. “The mages used magic to destroy the miasma in the past.”
“They joined together to smother it with a dampening spell before it was scooped into containers to be destroyed. No mage has ever battled the miasma when it’s like this.” The mage shuddered. “My God, it’s almost as if it’s alive.”
Valen wasn’t going to waste time explaining that the miasma was not only alive, but they suspected it was capable of infecting people to spread its evil. His patience had been worn to zero. He was getting into the cabin one way or another.
He stepped toward Tia, looming over her as he allowed the temperature to drop until her breath came out in a puff of frost.
“Find a way to get me inside or—”
“How am I supposed to think when you keep threatening me?” Tia snapped.
“Call it motivation.”
“Leeches.” She started to twist her lips into a sneer only to stiffen when she seemed to be struck by a sudden thought. “Oh.”
“What?”
She glanced toward the mist, another shudder racing through her. “It will absorb my magic, but it shouldn’t be able to do the same to a potion.”
“Why not?”
He expected a sharp response. This mage had an oversize ego and a habit of assuming she was in charge. Instead, she answered his question. Or maybe she was speaking the words out loud in an effort to convince herself it would work.
