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I barked for Lyka’s attention, but another vampire threw itself at me.
Shit!
Sabine threw her baneful magic forward, and I couldn’t look away as it hurdled toward Lyka. It crashed into an invisible wall seconds later, a bright blue briefly appearing before fading away.
“Lyka, watch out!” Celeste yelled. She didn’t look away from Sabine as she swore under her breath.
This time, my brother bounded out of the way of the attack as he tackled another vampire to the earth. Celeste called a burst of wind, pushing Sabine back. The witch screamed, furious, but Celeste didn’t shrink. I felt a surge of pride at how powerful she was under the moon. Not only that, but she wasconfidentin her ability, and that translated into bigger spells and quicker actions. If not for the vampires and the warlock drawing them forward, I would have stopped and marveled at my mate.
“Piers, there’s a shifter on your left!” Abigail yelled.
I glanced over my shoulder to see Celeste’s friend shoulder to shoulder with Gilbert, holding her own as a vampire triedto close in. Gilbert seemed more concerned with defending her than himself.
Someone screamed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shadow move, realizing belatedly that it was a panther—a shifter.
“Get BACK!” Val screamed, more emotional than I’d ever heard her before.
Suddenly, the ocean rose up next to her, a large wave slapping the cat down as Val rushed forward. I realized the cat had been standing over a now-bloodied Walter. The witch was quickly pulling him away from the water’s edge as Morgan hurried over, finishing the spell as she pulled the panther shifter beneath the waves.
A nerve snapped inside me, and a haze of red took over my vision. I surged forward, then all I felt was the taste of copper on my tongue and the foreign howl of a man I didn’t know as I ripped the warlock limb from limb. It happened in the blink of an eye, and when I gained enough of my conscious thought to realize time had passed, only Sabine remained.
“DIE!” she screamed, looking as feral as the vampires she’d driven to madness. She seemed to have lost all sense of finesse, simply grabbing energy out of the air to hurl at me, at Lyka, at Cody. “Would you just DIE already?!”
Cody howled in defiance while his eyes flashed alpha-red. He lunged for her, but Sabine teleported and reappeared a few feet away. As soon as she was visible again, Lyka charged forward, but Sabine jumped again, leaving him to stumble forward. Celeste was only a few feet behind him, her silver eyes blazing as she tracked the witch, seeing what the rest of us couldn’t.
My mate sent a quick blade of air toward the psychic witch. Sabine screeched again, her frustration reaching a fevered pitch as she ducked sideways with only a second to spare. As she regained her feet, a few scarlet droplets rolled down her cheek.She paused to wipe her skin, as if startled by the presence of her own blood, and looked up, her gaze meeting Celeste’s.
“You fucking bitch!” she spat, calling a dark, bluish flame, then throwing it at my mate.
I howled, incensed that anyone would speak to her that way. As I charged the psychic witch, Celeste deftly sidestepped Sabine’s assault, pushing the dark bolt of magic into the sand using the same wind power she’d used moments before.
“You’re outmatched, Sabine,” Celeste called out, and as she stepped back, Morgan used the wind to kick up the sand and try to douse Sabine with it.
It distracted the witch just enough for me to get close, teeth tearing into her arm before she yanked back, throwing a blast of dark magic against my muzzle before disappearing in a clap of cold air. I snarled as pain raced through me, and I stumbled forward, my knees hitting the sand.
When Sabine reemerged this time, her sides were heaving, her pristine hair a mess. Blood ran down her arm, dripping on the sand as she turned and saw my forces now surrounding her.
I rocked my weight back on my haunches, about to spring when she suddenly screamed again, huge geysers of flame erupting all around her and shooting in every direction. Forced to shield my face, I stumbled back as Cody yelped and someone else screamed. The smell of singed fur filled my nose, masking any other scent even as the bright burst of fire fizzled and disappeared, leaving only scorch marks in their wake.
Sabine was calling up a portal.
I tried to pull myself to my feet, aware we only had seconds before the witch disappeared, likely not to be seen again before the eclipse. Celeste and Morgan were clearly thinking the same thing, each attempting to recover from the fiery blast quick enough to counter her spell.
Right then, Piers raced out of the forest, blood still dripping from his face where a shifter had clawed him. His clothing was blackened, and there were steaming burns on his hands, but he seemed oblivious to his injuries. He reached the psychic witch and grabbed her by the shoulder and hair. She screamed in wordless fury as he interrupted her spell, magic crackling between them like lightning.
She tried to force Piers back, but he wouldn’t be deterred.
Sabine raised her hands, the purple flames licking at her skin. Piers dug his nails into her scalp and wrenched her head back before lurching forward, plunging his fangs into her neck. Her furious scream became one of agony as his vampiric venom took hold. Sabine’s magic fizzled into nothing, and as she tried to claw at the vampire, it was with panic and pain rather than fury and power. Her voice became wet, her screams gurgled, and as Piers pulled back, blood dripped down his chin. He pushed her body down as Sabine took a single halting step before crumpling into a heap, not a single spark of magic bubbling out of her.
I released a ragged breath, tensing for the next attack, but nothing came.
Piers groaned and spat, as if disgusted by the taste of Sabine’s blood. His hazel eyes lingered on her motionless frame before he turned away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He gave a small smile when his eyes met mine.
“Ding dong, the witch is dead,” he sang, his eyes alight with triumph.
Chapter 19
Celeste
