As she focused on the enemy spread out before her, she could also see Jagger to the right, his dark body slipping in and out of the tree cover.
She spotted Nico farther down, coming up behind the enemy, but he was too far away to be of any help. Even though Jagger would be able to sense the magicks, he wouldn’t be able to see them in time.
She needed to up their odds of winning.
Anger sat low in her belly and everything faded from her mind but the hunt.
Skye was cresting the wind, her sleek body riding the air like a kite. She dipped her left wing, set her course and flew like a rocket toward the enemy closest to Jagger.
Her long, sharp claws lay open and as she skimmed the canopy, the wind flowing over her feathers, she tapped into the power of the sun and called upon the ancient Aztec gods Quetzalcoatl and Chalchiuhtlicue to give her strength.
She slid through the air, a silent, lethal predator, and as she approached the enemy, she let loose a war cry that echoed shrilly in the quiet jungle.
The magick within her sights glanced up at the last moment, not prepared for the deadly claws that scraped through flesh and bone. They ripped into soft tissue, and Skye tugged with all the strength she could muster. She then tilted her body slightly as she sailed by, the sharp talons digging in even deeper.
She was up and away before the bastard knew what had hit him, his cries of pain and fury following in her wake.
Shouts rang out and the two remaining magicks began to shimmer as their charm faded and then died out like a candle in the wind. The man she’d attacked had obviously been the one holding the charm in place, and it had evaporated as soon as he became injured.
No doubt he was using all his juice to mend the gaping wounds she’d left on his face.
She saw Jagger pause, his green eyes following her closely. Inside she was smiling wildly as she flew over him, rushing through the air like a golden bullet. The thrill of the hunt was exhilarating and she banked to the left, her feathers ruffling as she changed direction and headed back toward the fight.
She could hear a sizzling, crackling noise in the air as the magicks began hurtling bolts of white-hot energy, but it was the accompanying sound of gunfire that struck terror into her heart. Her eyes quickly scoured the jungle below, and while she could see Nico rushing through the jungle in an effort to get back, she knew he’d be too late.
Jagger was almost upon the leader she’d injured and the magick’s curses rang out, echoing alongside the gunfire, creating a cacophony of noise that was terribly out of place, here in the jungle.
With one more pass she could immobilize the bastard but Jagger was there. He’d look after the asshole. It was the other, the one with the gun, that concerned her more.
She called out to the jaguar as she whipped by and heard his answering bark. It was loud, aggressive. Totally pissed.
Jagger would just have to learn to deal. Skye Knightly was not the kind of girl who ever ran from a fight.
She flew lower, so low that her deadly claws could have easily snatched a small wailer monkey from the trees she passed over.
Straight ahead she could still see two forms moving quickly toward their fallen comrade. They seemed confused, scared—total newbies out in the jungle. She made a clucking sound deep from within her throat.
Dumb-asses.
They weren’t her concern. There was a fourth. The one with the gun.
The sun on her back gave her a boost and she reveled in the power that rushed over her body. Searching carefully, she almost missed him, but a quick movement to her right alerted her and she barely avoided the shot that whizzed by. She banked to the left, her large wings catching a rush of air as she rode it to safety.
She circled once more, barely ahead of the barrage of bullets that were now sweeping the empty space just behind her. They glowed a deep reddish color, obviously charmed with some god-awful thing. Skye held on, determined to take the bastard down.
Her speed topped one hundred miles an hour as she shot forward, intent on circling behind her enemy. Skye then dipped below the top of the canopy, using it for cover as she continued forward, zigzagging crazily amongst the trees.
When she caught sight of him just in front of her, she called on the last bit of reserve that she had and increased her speed to such a level, Skye appeared to be nothing more than a blur.
The eagle knight called her battle cry again and extended her long, razor-sharp claws as she swooped lower, toward her target.
She whizzed by, knocking the gun from the magick’s hands as she swept upward and then banked sharply, intent on a return pass.
As Skye narrowed again on her target she quickly became aware of a couple things. The first one being the target wasn’t a man, but a female, a tall woman with flowing hair the color of midnight.
She also brandished a second weapon, a nasty-looking crossbow, aimed directly at her.
Skye didn’t hesitate. Her large wings, spanning nearly nine feet, pulled her lower and her eyes locked on the target.