Ascended (War of the Covens 3)

Blood and all sorts of nastiness oozed out of the top of his decapitated corpse. A sudden need to vomit overwhelmed Caia. She was never going to get used to the violent art of decapitation.

Jaeden meanwhile whistled as she cleaned off her ax on the vamp’s leather duster and slid it back into place on her belt. She smiled brightly at Caia and headed toward the elevator. Caia followed, glancing back at the dead vampyre in revulsion as his headless body fell forward. She hit the button on the elevator and turned to her friend. “You are way too comfortable with what you just did.”

Jaeden shrugged. “Vampyre Hunter, remember.”

“Uh, bringing up your foray into illegal activities is not reassuring.”

They stepped into the elevator and while Caia pressed the button that led to the containment center, Jae grinned. “You are too sensitive, Cy. You need to just shut down and get the job done. I thought you’d have done this stuff before.”

“Yeah, but …”

“But what?”

“You were like … really good at it. You know, quick, efficient. And you seemed to … I don’t know … like it.”

She shrugged, wiping the sweat from her forehead. “It’s kind of exciting.”

Caia snorted. “Yeah. Well, I’m sure it’ll still be exciting in ten years’ time.”

Disgust and horror crossed her friend’s features. “You think we’ll still be doing this in ten years?”

“This or something like it, according to Reuben.”

“What the hell do you mean?”

“Apparently we’ve all been naive to think I’m somehow going to end a two-thousand-year-old war in a year.”

Jaeden grunted. “When you put it like that …”

“I know, I know. He’s right. I’m an idiot.”

“We’re all idiots. Let’s just get through this and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.”

The elevator binged and the doors slowly slid open. Caia moved to step out and looked up.

Her cheeks flooded with heat; her entire body froze. Oh, holy Artemis. Now they were in for it.

Without another thought, Caia shoved Jaeden back into the corner of the elevator, jumped out of it, and hit the button to send her back up.

“CY, NO!” Jaeden screamed at her in outrage as the elevator slammed shut, leaving Caia to face Marita and the five magiks before her by herself. They had positioned themselves in the reception hall of the containment center, the center itself locked tight behind them. There was no way she was getting into it unless she went through these guys first.

Marita’s face twisted with an amalgamation of emotions. Grief, hatred, disbelief … more hatred.

Caia’s mind raced with some way to stall, counting on conversation to save her somehow. But it seemed Marita was all out of conversation. Before she could protect herself, a blast of power sent her rocketing back into the elevator doors, her head jarring off the steel with a sickening sharpness that shot all the way down her spine and into her toes.

She crumpled toward the ground and hadn’t even made it there before she felt the world spin, the air rushing through her hair and skin as she was thrown across the room, her feet brushing the ceiling before the energy released her and she dropped like a dead weight, smacking into the floor with enough force to ricochet her chin off the ground. With the impact, the air rushed out of her lungs and she clawed at the floor in panic, desperately trying to pull in oxygen. Ignoring the throbbing of her chin and the blood that trickled out of her mouth, Caia spat a tooth out and wheezed. Through a curtain of her hair, she saw the magiks approach.

“Have at her,” Marita said softly. “Make it slow.”

Fire erupted along her arms and legs, the flames licking her skin, the agonizing pain of her crackling flesh like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Caia screamed in release, tears streaking her face, the vomit-inducing smell clogging her nostrils. And then the water filled her lungs and she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t scream, could only writhe in unimaginable torture. Oh goddess, she couldn’t think. She needed to think!

“CAIA!” She heard Jaeden distantly and her heart almost stopped. No! She wouldn’t be stupid enough to come down here! She twisted in an effort to catch sight of her friend and then watched her in utter amazement. Jaeden stood like an Amazon, rage mottling her pretty features.

Before Marita and the magiks had time to blink, they were thrown back by Jaeden’s telekinesis. Their magik ceased the attack on Caia as they themselves collided with hurricane force against the containment center entry doors, buckling the metal. And before they could get to their feet, five lykans shot out of the elevator, their muzzles pulled back, some covered with blood and gore.

They looked ferocious and feral … and ready to rip Marita apart. With a howl from the leader who Caia joyously recognized as Phoebe, they tore after the magiks. Marita’s eyes widened in shock as Phoebe headed directly for her. But the lykan didn’t get within an inch of her. With one last look of determined retribution, Marita disappeared before their eyes. Three of the other magiks followed, but two of the females weren’t quick enough and the lykans converged on them as a pack.