Broken Bonds (Lizzie Grace 3)

I’m partially through. I’ll need another few minutes, at least.

A sharp sound echoed across the night. The barrier encasing this wellspring’s clearing rippled, and flashes of blue, purple, and black were briefly visible.

The heretic chuckled. “So you truly thought it would be that easy to take me out?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, even though I knew what that sound had been—and what it meant.

The barrier had been spelled to divert any kind of attack. Unless Eli could figure out a way to create a small gap in the magic, Aiden wouldn’t be able to shoot the heretic. Belle and I were—for the moment—on our own.

I flexed my fingers. Energy surged and sparks danced around my fingertips.

“Release your spell,” the heretic said.

“No.”

He shook his head, and then flicked his fingers—a very simple motion that unleashed hell.

The distant thunder surged and a storm of darkness hit. It pummeled me, tore at me; it was thousands of tiny claws ripping at my flesh, drawing blood, seeking access to my soul, seeking to control.

Belle screamed. I flung an arm out; wild magic surged from me and around her, protecting her. The storm continued to batter me, a force unlike anything I’d ever felt before.

Reach, something within me said. Call.

I closed my eyes. Reached. Not to the power of this place, because to do so this close to such a large wellspring would have indeed torn me apart. Instead, I reached for the other—for the one protected by a soul and a witch.

Both answered.

Strength poured into my limbs even as my senses sharpened—not so much my physical senses, but rather my magical.

I opened my eyes. Saw the haze of purple surrounding the heretic. Saw the slight haziness around the lower part of his torso suggesting he was protecting his head and his heart over the rest of his body.

Saw the demon standing behind him, a twisted, scaly creature with yellow eyes and razor-sharp teeth and talons.

The storm continued on unabated. Blood was now running down my face, my arms, my torso. But the claws were getting no deeper; there was a barrier inside me now, and it was as fierce as the magic that was keeping Belle safe.

“You will not defeat me.” My voice was remote, mine and yet not. “Cease your attack, heretic, or I will consign your soul to the hell you deserve.”

“You do not have that power,” he growled.

And unleashed his demon.

The creature flew at me. I raised a hand; the wild magic immediately responded, capturing it, containing it even as a spell rose unbidden through my mind. The demon screamed, writhed, and fought within the confines of its prison but there was no escape. With a howl of desperation, it was sent back to fires from which it had come.

A glint of movement caught my eye and reflexes cut in—reflexes that came from the wolf who was, for the moment, a part of me. I flung myself sideways, rolled to my feet, and then lashed out with a booted foot. Caught the heretic side-on and sent him staggering—away from me, away from Belle.

Raising a hand, I caught the threads of wild magic that were flickering like angry snakes all around me, and flung them at him. They wrapped around him, cocooned him, and then raised him high above the ground. He screamed in frustration and the intensity of his dark storm increased. It felt like I was being shredded, felt like I was becoming nothing more than bloody muscle and bone.

Belle?

Through the electronic barrier. He’s mine.

A heartbeat later, the heretic’s storm stopped and then he stopped. Not because of anything Belle had done, but because a bullet tore through his head and ended his life.

I dropped to my knees and sucked in deep breaths even as I thanked the forces that had saved our lives and helped end the threat. Katie’s energy kissed my skin, then she, Gabe, and the wild magic itself left, leaving me weak, disorientated, and bloody.

Belle dropped to her knees in front of me, her expression filled with fear. “Lizzie? Hang on—don’t you dare leave me. Not now.”

A smile touched my lips even as the siren call of unconsciousness got stronger. “Won’t. I have a date with a hot shower.”