Breathing Fire (Heretic Daughters #1)(52)

I pulled the huge axe from my back, hacking it down at him with one fluid motion. His own blade met mine, the druid tumbling from his arms. My eyes swung down to the unconscious man, and I sucked in a sharp gasp. It was Collin, and if he was breathing, I couldn’t see it.

I sent a bolt of red fire straight into the air. It was a make-shift warning flare, accompanied by my scream, “Dom!”

I couldn’t tell at first if it worked, occupied as I was with the necro King. I hacked at him relentlessly, cursing him every time our weapons clashed. Finally I sent him sprawling. I wasted no time, sending a wave of flames crashing into him. He screamed, rolling away, frantically beating out the flames.

He flew at me, sharpened teeth sinking into my neck. “That doesn’t work on me, you zombie bastard,” I muttered, ripping him off my neck. I threw him hard across the clearing.

He rolled to a stop and lay still, but his eyes were open wide. “What are you?” His discordant voice filled my ears.

I approached his still body, my foot stepping hard on his neck. “Haven’t you ever watched a zombie movie? You guys aren’t supposed to speak. So shut the f**k up.” I punctuated this with a hard stomp of my heal to his throat.

I took a quick glance around at the rest of the fight. More necro bodies littered the ground than not, but it still looked grim.

I looked west at the sound of approaching howls. Dom and crew were bearing down on us at full speed. I braced myself for the onslaught.

The rest of the circle’s necros perished with one viscous wave of fighting.

Cam reached his brother first, frantically feeling for the pulse in his neck. He was nude, obviously newly changed from beast form. I got way more of a show than I wanted as he sprinted to his fallen brother’s side.

“He lives,” Cam finally spoke. Dom loomed over his shoulder. Their eyes turned to me. “Why was he carving these symbols into his arms?” Cam asked me. His tone was cold. He didn’t seem to properly understand that I had just saved both his brother and his Arch.

“He,” I indicated the necro I spoke of by bouncing my heal on his neck, “was using him to cast some sort of death spell against your Arch. I’m not familiar with his magic. Don’t ask me to interpret those symbols.” My tone was just as cold. “They were practicing their magic within a very powerful circle. It was almost completely invisible. I wasn’t even aware that necros could do this kind of magic.”

Dom looked grim. “That’s because it’s druid magic. Apparently the necros have been learning a few things.”

I tapped the neck beneath my foot again. “Want this one for questioning? Or should I finish him?”

“We’ll take him.” At his words, the unconscious necro was bound, bagged, and dragged away. I tried to be subtle as I knelt down and quickly grabbed his fallen crown, clipping it to my belt. I had a slight problem with hoarding treasure. So what? Name me a dragon who didn’t.

I looked back at the two brothers, healers now descending on the unconscious one. Cam met my eyes. “How did you know about the circle if it wasn’t visible?” His voice held accusation.

I looked at him coldly. Leave it to Cam to turn it around on me. He’d always been an ass**le like that. “There was a voice calling for help, actually. It was loud enough that I caught the sound from across camp.”

“Collin’s voice?” Dom asked.

“No.”

“Whose voice was it, then?” Cam asked, standing.

“I have no idea. It sounded like a child. A little boy, maybe.” My tone was flat.

Cam looked back at the soldiers who’d accompanied me. His gaze settled on Christian. “Did anyone else hear this voice?”

They all answered with a no. Christian glared at Cam. “So she has better hearing than the rest of us. What are you getting at?”

Cam looked at Dom, jaw clenched, eyes defiant. “I ask that she be taken in for questioning. You know how hard these circles are to detect. It makes no sense that she could find and break one. I charge that she was involved in this plot.”

Dom stared back at him for long moments. I saw that familiar tick in his jaw. “This woman just saved your brother and your Arch from possible death. You can guess very well what he was doing with those marks on Collin’s arms. Your reaction is to accuse her of a crime? Your hatred blinds you-”

“Your obsession blinds you!” Cam interrupted with a roar. Dom silenced his outburst with a look.

“Your request is denied. You have much to learn about showing gratitude.”

Cam sent me a murderous look. I mouthed, “you’re welcome,” at him. He visibly reigned himself in from reacting violently. I smirked at him, pretending to scratch my nose as I flipped him off. He had to turn away, shaking with rage.

“These things had help learning about our magic,” Cam was saying to his Arch again. He just wouldn’t quit. He paced back and forth in front of Dom as he set up his case. “No druid would betray such things. It’s unheard of. She was in close proximity to our kind for over thirteen years. She picked up enough information about our magic to detect a circle of power. It’s obvious she picked up more than that! You can’t think it’s a coincidence she shows up days before this fight, and everything goes to hell. Would you rather accuse one of our own of betrayal than see this whore for what she is?”