A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(41)

“Oh, no,” I gasped. “No, no, no…”

Patrik’s body stiffened as he raised his sword above his head. Thadeus was forced out of a fight as well. His legs carried him several feet across the platform, until he stood face to face with Patrik. Their faces grew pale as they realized what was happening. Azazel had their blood, too.

“No,” Patrik gasped, his arms no longer obeying him. Thadeus brought his sword forward, sweating and grunting, desperately struggling against Azazel’s blood spell.

I could only imagine their frustration, after having just liberated themselves from his control.

“Yes.” Azazel sneered, plucking the arrow from his shoulder. “Now, get busy with one another and stop being so troublesome.”

Patrik and Thadeus started fighting each other, their swords clashing, though they did their best to oppose Azazel’s control. Their pained expressions brought more tears to my eyes. I couldn’t take this anymore. I needed to get out of here. I needed to help.

I kicked at the glass bubble once more, praying to all the supernatural entities out there, including the Daughters of Eritopia, for some help. My brother was dying on the floor. One of my best friends was unconscious, while the other was suffocating in Azazel’s invisible grip.

I had to do something…





Phoenix





Like Aida, I was helpless. The obsidian cuffs were making it even worse for me, as I couldn’t use my sentry powers, either. My best friend was slowly dying on the floor, and my sister was struggling to breathe in Azazel’s invisible hold. The others were fighting off Destroyers, while Draven was facing off with Azazel, unable to get Serena out of his grip.

It didn’t look good, and I could feel my heart twisting in agony.

Like a winged gift from the heavens, Field suddenly flew in, along with two more shifters that looked like him, their grins telling me they were itching for a fight.

The shifters were the first to drop, sinking their fangs into a couple of Destroyers that had gotten dangerously close to killing Jax. The Mara took advantage of the opening and drove his sword through a beast’s neck, severing its spinal cord.

Field had high speed and his hatchet out, chopping off another Destroyer’s head before he crashed into a second one. One of the young Druids brought his sword down and beheaded the monster, giving Field the second he needed to get to us.

He brought his hatchet down against Aida’s bubble, but the glass didn’t give in. Aida’s expression lit up as they glanced briefly at one another. He tried hitting the sphere again, but still, he couldn’t even scratch it.

“It’s no use.” I groaned out loud. “They’re sealed by Azazel!”

“Jovi needs help! He’s dying!” Aida cried out, pointing at her brother.

It was only then that Field noticed him on the floor, several feet away, the sword stuck in his stomach. He instantly paled and rushed to Jovi’s side, dropping to his knees. He looked at the wound, then checked Jovi’s pulse. Jovi’s eyes were still open, and he was still breathing, but he was clearly struggling to stay conscious. Nevertheless, he was able to give Field a weak smile before he coughed up some blood. The sight of him in this state tormented me. Field’s face was drained of all color as he moved to pull the sword out.

“Don’t!” Jax shouted at him from across the platform while dodging a Destroyer’s broadsword. “The sword hit critical organs! If you remove it, he’ll bleed out even faster!”

“So what the hell do I do?” Field shot back, his voice shaking with panic.

“One of the shifters might be able to help him, but they’re a little busy at the moment, as we all are!” Jax replied, then blocked another hit before he shuffled around and used his mind-bending skill to confuse the Destroyer and drive his blade through its head in an upward motion.

Field roared with rage but couldn’t do anything further for Jovi, as he was immediately attacked by two other Destroyers and was forced to go on the defensive, moving away as he blocked their hits. One of the shifters wailed, caught between two Destroyers. The beasts snapped its neck and tossed its body over the edge of the platform, eager to take on more. That left us with just three shifters to help Jovi, should they be given a window of opportunity – but there were so many Destroyers involved, every one of our fighters was overwhelmed.

I heard Azazel laugh and saw him cock his head to one side and look at Draven. I was surprised at how the snake was able to multitask his spells, though I was focused enough to instantly take everything in and look for soft spots in his deadly theatricals. But I couldn’t spot anything. I could only rely on Draven finding the opening he needed to take the snake pendant away from him.

“Did you really think dipping your arrows in toxic shifter blood would do something to me? I’ve been conditioning my body to all of Eritopia’s poisons for years,” he said. “I couldn’t risk someone slipping something in my drink, could I?”

“Azazel, if you hurt her, I swear I will take extra time to torture you for this,” Draven hissed. “Let her go, and face me! Stop hiding behind her like a coward!”

Movement at the corner of my eye caught my attention. I lost all focus for a moment as I turned my head and saw Viola standing by my glass bubble, her hair loose and a thin layer of white silk hugging her body. Relief washed over me.