We couldn’t let him get to his second transport charm.
Beside me, silver flashed as Mac hurled a dagger at him. The blade struck him in the arm that reached for his pocket, and he howled, spinning backward.
We were almost to him. Only thirty feet away. Grey, with his incredible speed, was even closer.
The kidnapper didn’t even bother to remove the steel that lodged in his flesh. Instead, he raised his impaled arm and waved it, dark magic flashing on the air. It smelled of sewage and crawled across my skin like spiders.
Thousands of knives appeared in the air, floating between us and him. The blades pointed toward us, glinting evilly in the moonlight.
One of the witches shrieked her rage. They were nearly to their sister, but the blades stood in their way. The witch on the far left—one that I didn’t recognize—waved her hand and conjured a tornado. The other witches raised their hands and directed their magic toward the whirling wind, helping their coven member.
The tornado tore through the blades, sucking them up and pulling them away.
Grey was nearly there. He made his move, sprinting toward the kidnapper, who was once again reaching for his pocket. He grabbed the man by the arm and tore him away from Coraline, who stumbled forward. She appeared dazed, as if the kidnapper’s touch had addled her mind and magic.
I reached her, grabbing her to pull her farther away.
The kidnapper roared, a massive burst of magic exploding out from him. Grey was blasted backward, thrown fifteen feet across the lawn. The blast slammed into me as well, nearly pulverizing my insides.
I almost went to my knees, but managed to keep my grip on Coraline, who almost seemed sedated by the villain’s touch.
The bastard surged for us, and I shoved him back
hard.
The contact blasted through me, sending an image into my mind, burning it behind my eyes.
A twisted serpent design, ornate and unfamiliar.
Crimson red filled my vision, along with the screams and shouts of war. The smell of blood. The taste of dirt.
The kidnapper reached for us again, slamming a hand into me that felt like touching a live wire. Electric shock blasted me backward, my vision temporarily blind. Panic flared as I lost my grip on Coraline and flew through the air, slamming into the ground.
One quick shriek sounded, and I scrambled upright, my vision still bleary. Through hazy eyes, I caught sight of Coraline disappearing into a cloud of orange smoke, her witch sisters only inches away from grabbing her.
Shit.
The orange cloud disappeared entirely, and I ran for it, desperate to get a hint of where the bastard had taken my friend.
I plowed through the line of confused witches, stumbling to a halt in the space where the cloud had just been. I used all of my magic to try to get an idea of where they’d gone, but nothing came.
It was as if they’d never been there at all.
My heart thundered in my ears, and adrenaline weakened my knees.
“We’re too late.” My words escaped on a whisper.
“What the hell just happened?” Mary demanded, her pink hair flowing in waves down her back. Ire flashed in her magenta eyes. “Did you know there would be a second abduction?”
“No.” Horror turned my stomach. “Not until just five minutes ago.” Damn, this guilt burned. We should have been quicker at the casino. If only I’d won my hands a little faster. If only we’d avoided the bar all together.
Mary waved her hands. “More details, Sherlock. Because we’ve been trying to find Beth and have had no luck.”
“We haven’t figured out where she is yet,” I said.
“Well, figure it out faster,” Mary snapped.
“Rudeness is not necessary.” Grey stepped between me and the witches, his posture protective. “Carrow is doing everything she can to help your friend and the other victims. You should be thanking her, not criticizing.”