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“Times change,” said the witch Spade had given blood to. “I want to live long enough to change with them.”
“Wise choice,” Bones ground out. “Now, point to the most powerful among you, and be sure to pick those with good survival instincts because if they cross me, you’ll eat your own heart.”
The witch pointed, and Bones and Spade began giving more of their blood to the witches she’d indicated. At the same time, the dragon abruptly deflated like it was no more than a very elaborate balloon. Then, Denise rose up naked from the remnants of her leftover scales.
Spade yanked the robe off the witch he was giving his blood to, revealing that she was wearing jeans and a Miley Cyrus shirt under it. Then, he gave Denise her robe. She put it on, grabbed the next witch, and ripped her wrist across the witch’s fangs.
“No!” Spade said as Denise’s demon-branded blood spurted into the witch’s mouth. Only Ashael’s blood would have been more potent, and one taste gave away the source of Denise’s powers. It also marked Denise as a vampire’s version of a walking drug.
The witch’s eyes widened as she swallowed. Then, she sucked at Denise’s wrist as if she were starving. When Denise yanked her arm away, the witch howled, “Wait! I need more!”
“No more. Now, chant away that hex with the rest of them,” Bones said in a steely tone.
The witch kept screeching for more…until her arm tore free and her own hand reared back and slapped her in the face.
“I said chant!” Bones roared.
Even high, being slapped with her own dismembered limb was enough to scare the witch into complying. She began to chant.
Denise shook her head. “Okay, I should give less of my blood to the next witch,” she said under her breath.
That aquatic tornado came closer. I tried to back away and suddenly found that I couldn’t. What? This wasn’t the immobility spell acting up again. I could move closer to the writhing, spinning waterspout. I just couldn’t move away from it.
Denise abruptly stopped giving blood to the other mostly frozen witches, and from her expression, she hadn’t wanted to. Then, the markings on Denise’s forehead started to glow at the same time that my own forehead began to burn.
“Cat?” Denise said, her widened hazel eyes meeting mine.
I wanted to scream. I also wanted to hurl every weapon ever created at the towering funnel of water coming ever closer, and I couldn’t. I could do nothing at all. Despite my best efforts, I’d lost and I wasn’t the only one about to pay the price.
Tears made everything blurry. “I’m so sorry, Denise.”
Why couldn’t it just be me? Why did it have to be her, too? I’d gone after the witches! She’d done nothing to deserve this!
Bones was suddenly in front of me, blocking my view of the approaching sea goddess. He picked me up, but when he tried to carry me away, he couldn’t budge me despite his feet digging furrows into the ground from his efforts. Then, his power flared until my skin burned from the residual energy and still, I didn’t move a fraction. Whatever magic that marked me as her sacrifice now anchored me to her path despite Bones pitting all his physical and telekinetic strength against it.
I might not have been able to leave, but he could.
“Bones, you have to go now.”
I couldn’t let him die, too. I’d rather be fed to that watery monstrosity a thousand times than be the cause of that.
“Please go. Please,” I said, and shoved at him with all my strength. “You can’t let her take you, too.”
“She’s not getting either of us,” he snarled.
I wished that were true, but I could only save one of us.
“It’s okay.” I forced back every screaming emotion enough to crease my face into a smile. “A little thing like death can’t separate us. Not in any way that truly matters, so be the father that Katie needs and leave.”
My voice rose on that last word, riding on the tears that I refused to shed. I wouldn’t let his last memory be of me crying. In so many ways, I had nothing to cry about. I’d been so, so, so lucky. I’d had more love than I had ever dared to wish for, and I’d take the memory of that with me wherever I went.
His arms only tightened around me while he kept me locked out of his emotions.
“I am being the father Katie needs. That’s why I’m not letting this waterlogged bitch take her mother.” Then, he raised his voice. “If either one of them dies, every last one of you will beg for a merciful end, so bloody well chant!”
The witches’ voices rose until their desperation was clear even if I couldn’t understand what they were saying. Then, all I heard was a barrage of gunfire followed by a series of booms that shook the ground hard enough to make cracks appear.
Spade was unleashing his arsenal.
