AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But that’s not what I agreed to.
Josephine believed Freya would go willingly with her.
That would be her downfall. Even if I failed, I would at least buy Freya enough time to put an end to her mother’s killer. I would help put an end to the witch who wanted to destroy my sister and avenge the witch who’d died protecting her.
“You don’t trust me, old friend?” Josephine asked Gloria.
Josephine feigned nonchalance, but, as she peered down at the silver-haired witch, her neck was tense. Gloria didn’t blink an eye. The old woman held Josephine’s stare like a matador facing a bull.
“No,” Gloria answered flatly.
Josephine cackled, and her face stretched in an unnaturally wide grin. The magic that roared in her veins was having ill effects. The higher the Blood Moon rose in the sky, the more humanity left her. Reddish light flickered under her tan skin that now glistened with sweat. Dark veins crowded around her eyes, which burned so brightly they were more yellow than green.
Her laughing-fit finally ended.
“I always knew you were smarter than the rest,” she said.
Her gaze homed in on me. “If it’s blood you want, it’s blood you’ll get.”
Without warning, a thorny vine sprouted from the ground and nicked a small cut into my forearm. A single drop dripped onto the soil. Too much adrenaline pumped through my veins for me to even feel the sting.
With one of her long fingernails, Josephine cut a similar gash into her own arm. I gulped. She’d sharpened her nails into talons. In the grand scheme of things, it was a small reminder that what I faced was far from human or even witch.
I faced power itself.
Dark and angry and ancient power. Though I couldn’t see the Bloodblade’s dark magic, it electrified the space between Josephine and me. The stolen magic coursing through Josephine’s veins only amplified its song. With my hunter’s senses unlocked, I could hear it.
More, more, more, the Bloodblade's magic purred. It wanted to snuff me out and take my soul to add to its wicked collection.
Josephine prowled closer. Only a couple feet separated us. I didn’t feel frightened or disturbed. I didn’t feel anything at all, but bleak determination.
“By blood and by honor,” Gloria chanted. “By the power of Hecate herself…”
Heat flared through the wound on my forearm and glowed bright red. The light transferred to the drop of blood that had fallen to the ground. As it glowed like a ruby and coagulated, so did Josephine’s. Like slugs, the drops moved toward each other. My stomach churned at the sight.
Josephine noticed my grimace and bared her teeth in a smile. I steeled myself and focused on Gloria’s words. She recited the terms we agreed to, exactly as we had agreed to them. Still, the Bloodblade hummed.
Instead of letting it deter me, I welcomed the sound. With a start, I realized magic no longer frightened me—not when magic needed to be wielded by someone strong enough to manage it and not when it knew nothing of fighting for something other than its own mindless greed.
As Gloria finished her speech, the droplets of blood became one and burned even brighter. Heat burned my wound, then the small cut healed altogether. A serpent-shaped scar took its place.
“Ready, hunter?” Josephine taunted.
She launched her attack.
I dodged the first swipe of Josephine’s dagger, only for my foot to be snagged by a vine. I barely caught my balance, then hacked the thing off with the Sol Sword. Josephine launched spells at me, but the charms from my bloodline held strong. Magic buzzed against my skin and hummed in the air, but my frantically beating heart drowned out almost everything else.
“Your blood saves you now,” Josephine taunted. “It won’t save you forever.”
I barely stepped out of the way of another vine, but yet another one after that snagged my wrist. I chopped it down, but not quickly enough. Josephine swiped her dagger across my arm that held the sword. Adrenaline kept me from fully recognizing the pain and my grip did not slacken, but I knew I couldn’t go on like this for much longer.
An idea struck me. I jutted my sword forward, as if I meant to strike the witch. She easily dodged it, which gave me the space and time to spread my flaming sword across the grass we stood on. Its unnatural flames lit the blades of grass instantly and kept them burning, as if the sword could read my mind.
Hell, I thought, maybe it can.
Josephine snarled. “Think that will stop me?”
I didn’t bother answering her. I knew she only meant to distract me, and distractions could be lethal. Besides, my idea had worked. No more vines reached from the ground for my ankles.
