But I hold tight, and the mere fact that she doesn’t manage to free herself immediately tells me the magic within it has indeed dampened her powers a tiny bit.

I use the distance between us—a mere ten feet—to my advantage, and, in quick succession, pull and throw four knives from my holster.

She doesn’t block a single one, and they all embed in her stomach.

Kymaris doesn’t even flinch, instead thrusting her free hand toward me. A bolt of power hits me and causes so much pain, I can’t even scream. I go stumbling backward several feet and fall to my knees. It feels like my chest is collapsing in on my lungs, and I claw at myself to try to pull away the invisible magic.

Vaguely, I see Carrick and Maddox now battling Kymaris. The lariat is gone and she’s at full force, but the two demi-gods are keeping her off balance with a coordinated attack of magic and weapons, their bodies moving so fast, I can’t really follow the action.

I call on my light magic to repel away whatever it was that Kymaris hit me with. Just as my lungs loosen and I suck in a deep breath, I get knocked forward by something hitting me in the back.

My face hits the dirt as sharp teeth sink into my shoulder.

There’s a demon on me.

I call forth a well of magic but before I can let it loose, the demon is knocked clear off me with a sharp yip of pain.

I turn over to stare in astonishment at my savior.

Zora stands tall and proud, glowing with magic.

“You did it,” I exclaim breathlessly. She tapped into her powers to save me.

She bends at the waist, a grim smile in place. Offering her hand, she mutters, “I couldn’t have you dying by some hell dog, could I?”

I laugh as she yanks me up from the ground. She’s the one initiating affection as she pulls me into a hard hug. There’s no stopping the tiny moan from the pain in my shoulder. I glance at it to see blood seeping through my shirt from the demon bite. Zora releases me and I give the shoulder a roll, noting it still seems to work.

“Let’s take this bitch down,” Zora grits out, her eyes moving to Kymaris.

Carrick and Maddox are holding their own with her, but the power she’s pulling from the Blood Stone is giving her the advantage. They are now backing up defensively.

“Let’s do it,” I tell my twin, and we rush forward to join the fray.

Kymaris catches our advance from the corner of her eye. With an airy wave of her hand toward Maddox and Carrick, she freezes them in place.

Just like that, without hardly a thought, she rendered them useless. Suddenly, I realize the entire time they’ve been battling her, she’s been toying with them.

Kymaris takes in Zora standing next to me, her eyes lit with confusion. “What is this?” she demands imperiously. “Two of you?”

“Identical twins,” I say proudly.

Zora reaches out and grabs my hand, and I can feel the power between us flare brightly. Mine is white while hers is tinged in dark, but when mixed together, it feels the most right I’ve ever felt when it comes to my powers.

Behind Kymaris, I see Maddox and Carrick starting to move, able to break free of her spell with their own magic might.

Carrick catches my eye, and I nod.

At once, all four of us shoot blasts of magic at Kymaris—Zora and I from her front, and the demi-god brothers from her rear.

It tears through her, causing her to stiffen as her back arches in pain. She screams and struggles, but we hold her in place.

And for a moment, it seems that this is it. We are taking her down.

I consider making a run for the Blood Stone. She’s fifteen feet away and I can tear it free, I’m sure.

Except I don’t get the opportunity as Kymaris gives a grand display of the power of the gem at her chest. With a mighty heave, she shrugs off our magic and repels it back on us. All four of us go flying away from her.

Zora and I land hard on our butts, but we both jump up and try to blast her again.

Carrick and Maddox do the same.

Kymaris is simply faster, and she blasts the four of us again.

We go flying again, this time further away from her.

We do this two more times and Kymaris sends us flying each time, this time until Zora and I are right back at the north end of the ritual field.

Our only reprieve is that a contingent of annihilators rush in to take on Kymaris, and they’re joined by several Brevalians.

I watch in horror, however, as she manages to destroy each one with relative ease.

All the while, Carrick and Maddox keep coming at her, but she manages to keep them rebuffed. Depression starts to swallow me as I push off the ground and watch Kymaris easily keep two demi-gods at bay and kill several immortals one by one as they rush her.

Tags: Sawyer Bennett Chronicles of the Stone Veil Fantasy
Source: readsnovelonline.net