Blade Bound (Chicagoland Vampires 13)

Her smile was thin. “You think it will be that easy? Especially with a field full of cut-rate sorcerers out there waiting for me? At least you’ve got a little pizzazz.”

“And what do you want?” I asked.

“You two begging for mercy would be a good start. You embarrassed me. I had a plan, which I’ve now had to change!”

Sorcha had the emotional development of a teenager. Which made her that much more unpredictable.

She took a step forward in sandals that gleamed gold beneath the hem of her jumpsuit. “Do you have any idea how long I worked on that alchemy? Months. And you ruined it in one single night.” She smiled her catlike smile, the one that said she was gearing up for the bad news.

“But that’s fine,” she said. “I have a new plan. I just need a little more power.” She leveled her gaze at Mallory, her eyes intense and seeking. “You’ll do very nicely.”

She wants Mallory to finish whatever she’s started, I told Ethan.

Acknowledged. The sorcerers have begun their magic. She’s been using her.

Mallory’s gaze narrowed. “You’re the reason I’ve been so tired! You’ve been using me. Draining me, just like a . . .”

“Vampire,” Sorcha finished, sliding her gaze to me. “A little something I whipped up. Because I’m just that good.”

“It didn’t trip the ward.”

Her smile was thin. “Because it was already there.”

Part of the Trojan horse, I thought. Part of the magic already at Towerline when the wards were created.

“But it’s not enough,” Mallory said, glancing back at the clouds that loomed above Towerline, visible even as far away as we were. “That’s why I’m here. Because long distance wasn’t doing it. You need me here, now. Why?”

“Because there’s work to be done.”

“On the Egregore? On manifesting it?”

Sorcha’s smile faltered. She hadn’t expected us to get that far.

“Yeah,” Mallory said. “We got to the Danzig and your little plan. Creative, as things go, if not entirely elegant. Too many steps. Clunky.”

Fury rose in Sorcha’s face, putting hot color across her cheeks. “I will finish this, and you will help me.”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

Sorcha slid her cold gaze to me. “You will help me, or I will kill your vampire friend.”

Tell them to hurry, I told Ethan. Because I’m Mallory’s incentive.

But that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy myself. I flipped the thumb guard on my sword, unsheathed it, and spun it around. It felt good in my hand, and good to hold it again.

“How about me and you take a few turns at each other, Sorcha? Unless you’re afraid?”

“I’m not afraid of you.”

I winked, crooked a finger at her. “Come on, then. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

The first fireball whizzed by so quickly I hadn’t even seen her throw it.

Damn, she’s fast, I told Ethan, and barely dodged out of the way, hitting the ground as the chartreuse blaze flew above me. It hit the snow ten feet away and exploded with a ground-shaking thud, sending snow ten feet into the air.

Fast and strong, I amended.

I popped up again, blade in front of me to shield her next volley. Sorcha just rolled her eyes and sent another volley my way. I spun and sliced through them, my arm singing when a spark penetrated leather, stung with needle-sharp pain. The fireballs dissipated but left greasy marks across the blade of my sword. I ran the flat of the blade against my pant leg to wipe it away.