Allegiance (Causal Enchantment #3)(110)
Imogen jerked my body forward so I was standing in front of her like a shield, her grip of my arms tightening painfully. “Like I said … you can’t get inside this circle, so there’s no point running through your sick fantasies.”
“You’re right. I can’t.” Mint eyes rested on me for a moment before moving back to my captor.
She couldn’t … but I was already inside the circle. Sofie was sending me a message. She was telling me what I needed to do. I needed to take Imogen out to save us all. Me—the terrified, weak human.
Swallowing hard, I glanced around. How? I was a human surrounded by a ring of powerful witches, one of whom had a knife on Caden, ready to dig out his heart. It needed to be quick and effective. My eyes roamed the ground for weapons. Cobblestone to the temple? Did she need to be dead or just injured? God. I broke out in a cold sweat. This could end in disaster. Everything I did seemed to turn into a disaster. I looked back at Sofie, pleading silently for her to give me something to work with. I got nothing in return except flaring nostrils. A sign of impatience. I was failing her. I needed to do something now.
Suddenly, Sofie stretched her arms out to her sides, palms up. She tipped her head back and yelled, “We made a deal! Any time now, Terra!” Terra?
“What’s she talking about?” Imogen muttered, her fingers raking my arms, her tension increasing. I tried edging away but she yanked me back with her death grip.
And that was when I felt something cold and hard against my calf.
My dagger.
That would work. If I could just reach it …
“You can’t win,” I said, my voice hoarse, a desperate plan unfolding in my head.
“Shut up!” Imogen lashed out, annoyed.
Hope sparked inside me. Annoyance was what I needed. I needed to goad her further. “They’ll get in here. They’ll beat you. Sofie will outsmart you. She’ll always be smarter than you.”
“Shut up, you little bitch!’ She threw me to the ground. I landed on my forearms and knees, the stones cutting into my flesh. I barely felt it, though, my heart pumping fiercely. I could see Caden’s face at this level. Our eyes connected. I held his gaze as I slowly reached down to my boot. Could he tell what I was doing? Without moving my head, I scanned the group. Could they? So many eyes. Too many eyes. I needed a distraction. Something other than the ring of vampires around us.
“Are you so afraid of a few vampires that you have to hide behind this wall? Come on, Imogen! Fight like a real sorceress! Show me what you’ve got!” As if reading my mind, Sofie began shouting obscenities at the group, provoking them, distracting them. I shifted my weight as I pulled one leg up, steadying my foot on the ground. My hand slid into the boot. Was Sofie watching? She couldn’t know what I was doing. She didn’t know I had a knife, I realized. Whatever. Maybe she expected me to smash Imogen’s head in with a stone. All I needed to do was stop this she-devil, and the circle would be broken.
Or maybe I’d fail. Maybe I’d die trying.
Inhaling a lung’s full of courage, I glanced one last time at Caden. His eyes hadn’t left me. I love you, I mouthed, fighting back the tears that threatened as my hand wrapped around the handle of the dagger—Caden’s gift to me.
“What are you doing?” Imogen’s sharp voice froze my hand. I looked up to see her towering over me, glaring suspiciously, at my hand.
I failed. Already. And I hadn’t even tried.
All of a sudden, a banshee’s wail let loose in the atrium, setting my hair on end. Heads whip around. I followed their gaze to the one mountain of burned bodies within the circle, where tiny fissures spidered through the hard ash.
Something was breaking through.
It quickly rose, unfolding like a butterfly for the first time. A naked body. A female body by the supple curves taking form under the soot-colored skin. Good God, what new monstrosity has Imogen created? Its eyelids burst open. Steely violet eyes. I knew those eyes.
“Fiona!” Bishop’s bellow sent shivers down my spine. He crashed to his knees, using one hand for support, as if delivered a deadly blow, an eternity of sorrow vanishing from his face.
Screams of terror exploded within the bubble. I turned to see Sofie smiling gloriously. And then she turned to me and she roared, “Now!”
I didn’t waste another second doubting. I yanked the dagger out and stood in one fluid motion. My arm wound back above my head, aiming for my target with all the strength I could gather. For Caden. For Veronique. For me.
And then I struck.
I felt the blade slide into Imogen’s back, tearing through muscle, splintering bones, and finally piercing something deep inside. I yanked the blade out with force, winding to strike again. Imogen spun around, teetering forward, her eyes wide with shock. For just a moment, I thought I had failed. Her mouth opened to scream. A gurgling sound came out, and then she collapsed. Dead.
The pink translucent glow evaporated and, with it, any hope of survival for these witches. Red hair and fur flew past me in a whirl, tearing Merth bindings off, freeing everyone to exact their own personal revenge. I stood there holding my bloodied dagger, immobile, unable to focus on any one person. Not wanting to focus on any one person for too long. My sweet childlike Lilly, who fed me drug-laced warm milk only hours ago, tore someone’s throat out mere feet away from me. Max and his brothers ran side by side to tear down sorceresses trying to escape. All around me, sorceress bodies fell as their enemies—my friends—held true to their promises.