Magic Forged (Hall of Blood and Mercy #1)(72)

Swearing, the vampire leaned backwards, her eyes watering in pain as blood dripped from her nose.

I rolled away, but I wasn’t quite fast enough. Even with her eyes pointed up at the ceiling, the vampire struck like a snake, her claws ripping through my workout clothes and slicing my side.

I ignored the pain as I grabbed the staff, intending to toss it through the barrier.

Bleeding everywhere, the vampire grabbed the end of the staff and yanked it from my grasp. I pivoted to face her, and was shocked to see a number of vampires—including Killian—standing outside the barrier.

The fae magic sparked angrily with the closeness of their presence, but while the other vampires hovered out of reach, Killian stood close enough that one of the sparks could easily brush him. Celestina stood just behind him, her lips moving fast in a hushed whisper as she gestured away from the barrier, but Killian ignored her.

When he realized I was staring at him, both of his eyebrows rose in obvious irritation. What are you doing—you stupid wizard?

He didn’t have to speak—his irritation was settled into the way he had his arms folded across his chest.

But wait—the vampires were here. I could get out of the barrier and leave them to handle it, couldn’t I?

“Mortem Basium!” the delivery vampire screamed. Black light lashed from the black crystal on her staff, careening straight for Killian.

I kicked the vampire in the back of the knee, making her reflexively fold backwards, then chopped down on her throat with the hilt of my katana. She fell into a heap, but jabbed the staff at me.

I brought my katana up into a guard stance that blocked it, but she hit with such force it made my arms quiver and my teeth rattle.

This is what a vampire was like when they were at full strength? This was crazy! I had been so wrong—there was no way I’d win! But I didn’t have to, backup was standing just outside the barrier.

“Give up,” I snarled. “You can see you won’t make it out of here alive if you attack again.”

The delivery vampire laughed. “I already knew I wasn’t going to survive this. But that’s fine—as long as I can take that tyrant down with me!” She snapped her teeth at Killian, who had avoided the attack and was unscathed—though now Josh stood behind his other shoulder and was also trying to get him to leave.

Why wasn’t he, anyway?

The delivery vampire was on her feet faster than my eyes could track and jabbed her open nails at me.

I ducked sideways, but she followed with her speed and sank her nails into my shoulder, piercing my skin. She twisted, shredding my muscles in her claws.

I shouted, and my back arched in pain.

She dropped me and raised her hand to her mouth. Her tongue hovered just over her claws before she gagged, the scent of my blood too powerful to overcome.

On the ground, I made a change to my strategy. I couldn’t leave—she’d attack Celestina, Killian, and Josh again. But I could dispel the barrier and let everyone else in.

The vampire stepped over my prone body, murmuring in fae under her breath as the staff glowed black.

I made a show of moaning—it wasn’t too hard; pain had made my injured shoulder numb, and I couldn’t really move that arm, making my katana useless. I reluctantly released my weapon and curled my body as I tried to discreetly look for the dagger with the dragon on it. There—at the center of the circle.

I rolled twice and managed to grab the dagger. I even pulled, but it was shoved too deeply in for me to free with one hand.

The vampire clubbed me in the head with the bottom of her staff, and I collapsed, seeing stars.

I felt the surge of fae magic as the vampire triggered the spell.

Someone screamed, and the awful smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

I peeled myself off the floor and twisted around, relieved to see Killian, Celestina, and Josh were still standing. Celestina and Josh had drawn further back and were arguing with each other, but Killian had moved even closer to the barrier. He even rested his fingertips on it—which must have been blistering. Off behind him, though, an injured vampire moaned on the ground, and all the other vampires had fled halfway across the balcony.

The delivery vampire didn’t seem to care. She was unearthing a few more enchanted items from her black bag, her back to me.

Killian’s eyes lingered on me, then he tipped his head to the side, telling me to leave.

By now it was pretty apparent I couldn’t do much of anything—and if Killian was telling me to leave, he must have a plan.

I nodded and tried to stand, but the pain in my head ached with such fierceness I could barely see straight, so I slumped back down onto my knees.

Killian made a quiet exhale of irritation. “You betray your own kind for what—the fae?” His voice was dark, and he stared at the female vamp, the tilt of his chin saying he was unimpressed.

“They pay well, but that’s not why I took this job.” Her hands shook as she pulled out a wood carving of a phoenix and set it on the ground. “You made me! You’re a vampire—how could you limit the number of Unclaimed in the area?”

As I discreetly edged toward the side of the barrier, it dawned on me that her hands didn’t shake from fear, but rage.

Killian impassively stared at her. “Unclaimed vampires are liabilities at best, and most often live short lives. As a species, we cannot allow such a thing any longer.”