On a Razor's Edge (Darkness #3)(37)

Magic was sucked out of me. The spell was trying to reach every Dulcha, of which there were hundreds. The magic drew from my body and looked for more when I started to run out. I opened myself up wide, drawing it out of the air, stealing it from Trek’s shield, borrowing it from the tiger and surrounding wolves, and calling to Stefan through the link, begging him for help.

Toa’s voice echoed through my head. “Once the spell has been created, it will need to run its course. Your magic is different than mine. With your magic, there is no turning off the faucet once you have set it in motion. You will ride it until it completes the spell, or it drains enough energy to kill you.”

“So that’s what he meant,” I said weakly, my head getting fuzzy. “There are so many,” I mumbled as the magic drained faster than I could fill.

Then I felt a surge. A great swell of swirling elements up through my middle, refilling me with energy as I lay on the tiger’s back, fading. Stefan was replenishing me. He was close! How had I missed that?

I felt more than saw a burnished gold sword held by flashing tattoos on rippled arms, the blade fading to gold as my eyes drooped, his power diminishing with what he was giving me. I could potentially kill both of us unless he cut off his donation. Which he wouldn’t. But there was nothing I could do.

Protect the tiger! I heard through the haze.

As blackness consumed me, my body shutting down from the magical trauma and agony from my leg, I heard a bloodcurdling scream wrench the night. My spell had indirectly reached the source, cutting off the last Dulcha from Trek’s original spell. It probably hurt worse than my leg. Like ripping out a kidney without drugs.

“Capture him!” someone yelled.

My mind stopped comprehending. I felt empty. The battle raged, part of the enemy faction trying to get to me, but others running in another direction.

I began to hear their screams and calls to retreat. And then I felt my last remaining tree monster. I didn’t have the energy to cut the power.

“Get moving. Take her to safety.” Stefan’s voice sounded like angels singing.

I reached my hand out, trying to touch him, only seeing a hazy orange glow.

“Charles, with Sasha. Take the wolves. I’ll help Tim,” Stefan ordered.

I had a lot to live up to if I hoped to match his prowess for command. He wasn’t even directing his own people and they rushed to follow his lead.

I let my mind get even hazier as we moved away from the yelling and sword clashes. Stefan had probably brought his people, which meant the fight was nearly done. Sleep would happen soon. Or fever. We’d see.

Chapter 10

“How is she?” the Boss demanded as he entered the Mata hospital cabin twenty-four hours after the battle.

Charles got up immediately from his chair by Sasha’s head and moved to the other side of the bed. “She’s okay. Compound fracture in her leg, so that’s going to take ages to heal. She’s a human, after all. Toa helped a little with a spell, but he didn’t say how much that would speed it up. Bumps and bruises, she’ll probably be extremely weak with magic for a few days, but other than that she’ll survive.”

The Boss lowered himself into the chair, gently taking up Sasha’s hand where it rested on the bed. Charles had never seen the man move so delicately, careful not to disturb her. Seeing this form of vulnerability made him nervous; he knew that on the other side of it was a white hot rage that would destroy anything in its path. Charles stepped away toward the window.

Technically, it wasn’t Charles’s fault sheʼd ended up like this. Jonas had gotten to her first and tried to move her to safety. Out of everyone, no one had thought Darla was smart enough to get in league with Andris and his goons. No one had suspected her of anything more than trying to drown Sasha and steal the Boss back. This was a stretch, even for her. Which was probably why it had worked out badly.

Still, Jonas had barely gotten away with his life. If not for Adnan, he probably wouldn’t have survived. If Charles had been in his place, he had to admit that things might’ve worked out differently. Charles should have been involved; should have found Sasha and taken her to safety. Sheʼd nearly died. If not for the Boss, she would have. All to save everyone else. Which was ass backward as far as the plan had gone.

“What were the losses?” Charles asked, throwing his gaze out the window so he could stop registering the tender look on the Boss’s face. That shit made him uncomfortable.

“The Mata lost a dozen or so, mostly in the first scuffle. Another dozen are wounded and chained to the bed for a while. The Dulcha wreaked havoc. Trek must have emptied his store of captives to create that many. They know, without a doubt, what Sasha could represent, and they want her. Or, they want to destroy her.”

“What of Trek, and Andris? Could you get them?”

A smug look crossed the Boss’s face. “I got Trek. Sasha knocked the breath out of him and I got there in time to take out his guard and scoop him up. Dominicous and Toa are seeing to him. They plan to take him back to the Council.”

“Andris?” Charles was half afraid to ask. Andris was the brains behind the operation, working with whomever necessary to internationally to make their uprising a household name. His level of ambition bordered on an obsession, and his intelligence made everything possible.

The Boss shook his head. “Once he realized the tide was turning, he got skittish. I saw him briefly as I grabbed Trek, but he was already on his way out.”