Autumn Storm (The Witchling #2)(62)



Autumn breathed out just as Dawn shoved the knife towards her. She cringed, expecting pain. The air magick caught it the knife and held it a few inches from her stomach. Dawn pushed harder, and Autumn prayed for the magick to hold.

The teen behind her chuckled. “Smart. This one doesn’t want to die.”

This one. They really had killed Tanya. Autumn didn’t let his words distract her. At last, Dawn wrenched the knife away in frustration. She paused then stabbed at Autumn, this time towards her throat. Autumn barely reacted in time. The air magick deflected the blow without blocking it, and the knife slid into her shoulder, bringing with it hot pain.

It did the opposite of what she expected. Instead of feeling more helpless, she grew angry. She knew pain. They were friends. It was the reason she’d learned to control her own body and mind. Right now, it sharpened her focus.

“See? Nothing happened,” Dawn said, satisfied.

“You barely grazed her,” Alexa said in amusement.

“Yeah, it didn’t hurt,” Autumn said. Autumn didn’t grimace like she wanted to at the words. Dawn had sunk the knife into her shoulder almost to the hilt. There was no barely about it. She wanted them to kill her fast, if her magick wasn’t able to contain the knife. Beck wasn’t going to save her this time, and she had little hope of leaving the field alive tonight.

“Shut. Up,” Dawn breathed. “This is all your fault. If not for you, I’d be marrying Beck and Alexa would have Decker!”

“That is pure delusion,” Autumn said, almost pitying the girl. “You got knocked up and the father realized you’re a bitch and wants nothing to do with you. Now you have no idea what to do. At least you’re getting a trust fund out of it. I wonder if it was worth losing your modeling career?”

Dawn punched her, or tried to. Autumn blocked the blow with air magick. Fury crossed Dawn’s face, and she stabbed at her with the knife. Again, the air caught it before it reached Autumn.

Stepping back, Dawn’s eyes flared. Air magick lifted her hair, and Autumn realized she’d pushed the girl too far. Autumn felt the magick gathering without knowing what Dawn planned to do with it.

“Dawn, don’t do anything crazy,” Alexa warned.

“Listen to her, Dawn! If you do anything to bring Decker-” the guy behind Autumn released her.

Incensed, Dawn wasn’t listening. Wind whipped around them, howling.

“Dawn, seriously. If you –“ Alexa grabbed Dawn’s arms.

“Leave me alone!” Dawn shouted, trying to push her away. Alexa refused to release her. Dawn lashed out with the knife, and Autumn saw a line of red form across Alexa’s cheek. Alexa didn’t let go of her wrist.

Autumn crept away, towards the tree line. The guy was shoved away by air magick, and Autumn gasped as Dawn broke free and ran after her. She braced herself to be knocked down. Dawn’s air magick pushed ahead, and Autumn fell back, the furious girl on top of her. Autumn’s air magick deflected the knife aimed at her eye, and it landed in the hard ground beside her ear.

Magick that wasn’t hers washed over her, pinning her to the ground. She struggled to breathe and focused what she was able to on channeling her air to keep the knife away from her. Dawn cursed, and the sensation of being crushed by air increased. Tunnel vision formed and her ears began to buzz, distracting her. Pain tore through her side.

The pressure was gone suddenly, along with Dawn’s weight. Autumn gasped, breathing deep and fast. She didn’t have time to recover completely, not with Alexa and Dawn fighting close enough to hit her.

She rolled onto her knees and pushed herself up. The knife wound in her side burned, the blood warming her cold skin. She had no idea if there was any organ it might’ve hit. It wasn’t the kind of pain she was used to, but it wasn’t nearly as bad, either. She faced the Dark boy, who stood between her and the forest.

His eyes were on the two girls. Autumn limped forward, shook out her leg then hedged past him.

He gasped and grew pale. “Dawn …”

Autumn didn’t want to look, but she did. Black fog swirled around Dawn’s feet and crept up her body. Her amulet flared white then turned dark. Alexa stepped back from her, fear crossing her face.

Autumn watched as confusion then anger registered in Dawn’s eyes. The blond girl looked up suddenly, focused on Autumn with wildness that made her step away.

“You did this,” Dawn’s voice was a hiss.

“I’m getting out of here,” Alexa said.

Autumn silently agreed and wished she was able to run. Dawn bent to grab the knife from the ground, and Autumn knew before the charge what the girl planned to do. Her magick stopped the knife but not Dawn’s body from plowing into her. They rolled in the snow. Autumn was unable to track the position of the knife and prayed she didn’t end up with it sticking out of her neck. When they stopped moving, she pushed at Dawn with all her strength. Dawn released her long enough for Autumn to clamber to her feet.

“We need that knife!” the teen guy shouted. “It’s got Tanya’s –“

His voice warbled. Autumn felt lightheaded. She shook her head and checked herself for more wounds. The snow was streaked with blood from where they’d rolled. She couldn’t tell if she was hit again or not.

Alexa appeared torn, not moving forward until the guy ran for Dawn. He shoved by Autumn. She caught her balance before ending up in the snow. He struggled with Dawn, who didn’t want to give it up. Finally, he punched her. Dawn lashed out at him, but Alexa tackled her to the ground.

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