Once Bitten (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #1)(53)

As much as I wanted to lay on the ground in shock and let the rattling in my brain settle, my adrenaline had me up in an instant. I reached out for all of the consumable energy in the vicinity. I could gather some from the natural elements like the moon, stars, and air, but I needed a direct physical link for the attack that I planned to launch. In a dirty back alley with no fertile soil beneath my feet, my power reached out for the one steady energy source that was close enough to touch and achingly familiar.

Arys slowly approached. He looked rough. Deep red scratches formed a diagonal line from the outer edge of his eye to the top of his upper lip. She had just missed raking one of his damn eyes out. The dirt smeared on his face reminded me a little of war paint. His torn clothing added to the savage look in his eyes, so feral that even I grew nervous as he drew closer.

“Back for more already?” Catherine asked haughtily. The tone was forced and cost her a choking cough.

Unlike vampires, I’m not content to play cat and mouse all night, and I wasn’t sure Arys could be relied on to finish her. Worried that she would recover if I waited, I reached out to Arys metaphysically before he was close enough to touch. Our link was going to help me take down Catherine. I drew on Arys’s deep stores of undead power and fed it into Catherine. If I kept the connection, the sudden onslaught of energy would push her past capacity.

My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I cursed. Surprised that it even still worked, I had no choice but to ignore it.

At first, she just looked plain stunned. I think it took her a moment or two to comprehend what was happening. When the realization dawned on her, she panicked and tried to send the energy back to me.

If I deflected the shot, I’d have to break the attack, and I wasn’t willing to do that. Refusing to lose the stronghold I’d gained on her, I decided to brace for the blow.

A millisecond before it slammed into me, I closed my eyes and tensed, but the impact never came. I opened my eyes to find that my vampire lover had intercepted Cat’s attack with one of his own. A shower of hot sparks rained down all around us, illuminating the dark alley like a camera flash.

My energy was dwindling. I struggled to zone in on a focal point, to pump my power into her undead heart until it could take no more.

“Arys, I need you.” My words were breathy, almost voiceless, yet Cat reacted to my plea as if I already held her heart in my hands.

She was on her knees now, beaten. Still, I pushed into her with all I had. Fire coursed through my veins, and I struggled to take a deep breath. The energy that I channeled pushed my limits, and I fought the urge to crumple beneath the burden.

I steadied one hand to direct the stream of raw power into Catherine. With the other, I reached blindly for Arys. Our link didn’t feel complete. It wasn’t strong enough.

As I sank to my knees, he reached me. He clasped my hand in his and pulled me to my feet.

Everything in me, all that is wolf or woman, reacted to the vampire’s touch. His aura mingled with mine. He seemed to fall into me as if he had always been a part of what I am. A resurgence of strength filled me, and I focused on Catherine with a new fury.

Her mouth gaped, and her eyes grew wide with terror. Our mingled power danced with flecks of blue and gold as it flowed into her. Blood began to stream steadily from her nose and mouth. The whites of her eyes turned a grotesque shade of red, and I resisted the urge to look away. Sparks danced around our joined hands but I felt no pain.

The amulet around her neck went dark. Finally, the last of the fight went out of her. The amulet had supplied the majority of her power. As a vampire, she’d been mediocre at best. Now, she was at the point of demise, and nothing could save her.

No sooner had I wondered when it would be over, than a horrible sound came from her. She shrieked like a wounded animal and looked down on her body. She began to turn slowly to ash before our eyes. I closed my eyes and willed her to stop. I felt her heart pause and then burst.

Like a volcanic blast, her remains showered down around us. Her ashes settled on our hair and eyelashes. The sound of my heart beat loudly in my ears, and I allowed Arys to pull me close.

Catherine’s amulet lay on the ground amid her ashes. Before Arys could take advantage of our intimate proximity, I pulled away and gathered it up in my palm. I turned the star shaped pendant over as I studied it. It didn’t feel like black magic. I’d turn it over to Lena for proper disposal.

Shoving the charm into my pocket, I looked up to find Arys staring solemnly into the ashes. I wanted nothing more than to thump him a good one, but my back muscles ached enough to make me reconsider.

“Don’t try telling me now that you wanted to spare her after all,” I said. Hands on my hips, I dared him to try to placate me. “You could have gotten me killed by that psycho bitch!” I scattered the ashes with a kick.

Arys held up a hand as if to silence me. “I had no idea she would be this foolish, Alexa. I’m truly sorry that you got mixed up in this, but it was purely by chance. Perhaps if you hadn’t been so eager to get some dirt on me, she wouldn’t have made you a target.”

So that’s where this was heading. Of course, that was to be expected.

“You are so absolutely full of shit, my friend. She wanted to take me out because she thought that we’re lovers, which you made no attempt to clarify.” With a raised eyebrow, I added, “If I didn’t know better, I’d think that you didn’t have the balls to off her, so you had me do it for you.”