Page 62 of Rune Assassin

I hopped onto my broom and flew into the sky. Several of the controlled people jumped up and managed to latch onto the tail of my ride. Their extra weight was an unfamiliar counterbalance and I couldn’t steer the broom away from the deep waves of the dark sea. We crashed down hard, throwing the people from my tail but swamping me with water.

I went under the turbulent waves and my breath caught in my throat as Clara’s magic flowed past me. The flow had changed to strands that sank into the deep mud at the bottom some hundred feet below me. The outline of a massive ship was illuminated on the sea floor.

The need for oxygen forced me to swim to the surface. I broke into sweet air but I’d lost my broom. Clara’s magic riled up the water and wave after wave pushed me around.

I started when something light landed atop my head. The upside-down face of Duncan the bird came into view before he cawed. The flapping noise I’d heard earlier flew over me and a dozen huge eagles grabbed hold of my arms. They lifted me out of the water so my feet skimmed the rough surface and flew me back to shore where all hell had broken loose.

So had Tegan. He was in full dragon form and was having a fun time bowling for blue bloods with his tail. The spectators were thrown back and landed on the soft sand, but the wind was knocked out of them.

Quinn had joined the fray against Morrigan and his own Clasp. The senator was a formidable foe with her purple magic as she threw flaming balls at him while Conor accelerated their speed to slam through Quinn. Fidel’s birds dove down and harassed the pair, grabbing their hair and dragging them to the sand.

Cordelia was armed to the teeth with glass vials which she lobbed at the thickest of the stubborn crowd. The spectators’ eyes rolled back and they crumpled to the beach unconscious.

And behind all the commotion of the contestants was their host, the noble Lusio, who cowered on the sand and had a distinct wet patch on his trousers.

Hugo stood away from his chaos behind his own pawns, his face a picture of fury as his zombies were wiped out one by ten. He caught Clara’s eyes and stabbed a finger at my husband and companions. “Deal with them!”

Clara narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head. “No. Not for you and not for that filth. I’m no longer anyone’s slave.”

She gritted her teeth and flung up her arms. The ocean swelled and all eyes turned to the massive creation that rose from the deep. It was a huge wrecked ship in near complete condition. She lifted the ship high above the roiling waters and flung her arms forward, launching the ship over our heads and at Hugo. The vampire threw up his arms as the timbers smashed down on him. The wood shattered into millions of pieces and the hull was torn open, causing dozens of treasure chests to spill out. They tipped and coins poured from the coffers and onto the sand.

All was quiet for a long moment before Clara’s legs buckled. She fell to her knees in the waves and the rough tide caused by the rising pulled her out.

I recalled Tegan’s handsome chest and blew a sharp whistle. My broom blasted out of the ocean and slipped between my legs. The birds squawked in protest and released me as I zipped down. I used the handle to scoop Clara out of the waves and far enough to deposit her on the sand. The landing wasn’t the most precise and I ended up tumbling off. I would have rolled for several yards if a pair of strong arms hadn’t caught me.

Tegan grinned down at me with his human face. “A perfect landing.”

I cupped his face in both my hands and glared at him. “Don’t make me kill you.”

He chuckled as he righted me and now I could see the fruits of my labor. Clara breathed softly in the sand while those under Hugo’s power gently awakened from their mind control. They sat up and stared blankly at one another, their clothes and hair messed up from the battle.

I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt the weight of our blood contract lift from my shoulders. This whole mess had started with shipwrecks and ended with a shipwreck. And boy was I glad it was ended.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE

A splashof water caught my attention and I turned to see Clara shuffle toward us. She had her head bowed as she approached us and she stopped a few feet away. “I’m sorry. I truly am.”

I grasped her shaking shoulders and smiled at her. “You did the right thing. That’s not anything to apologize for. Besides, it’s not like you had a choice in some of the things you did. Lusio was controlling you like Hugh controlled the other people.”

A faint smile touched her lips. “Thank you.”

I cleared my throat of what I could only describe as annoying emotion involving onions and nodded at the carnage atop Hugh’s impaled body. “So what was the last trialsupposedto be?”

Clara rolled her eyes. “That fool wanted to see who could bring out the most treasure from the ship. It was the first one he had salvaged and he would have had me raise it for the idiots in the crowd. The gold in the chests isn’t even real.” Fidel’s face fell and he started emptying his pockets.

A wild, joyful cry interrupted us as Lusio threw himself at Tegan’s feet.

“How can I ever repay you?” Lusio questioned us as he grasped the hems of Tegan’s coat.

Tegan brushed the man’s hands away with a look of barely concealed detest on his face. “You can start by repairing the damage you’ve done to the vampires.”

Lusio bobbed his head. “Of course! Anything!”

“And you can give Clara her freedom from your blood contract,” he insisted.

“Immediately!” He reached into his coat and drew out a soggy piece of paper which he tore up. I could see a great weight lift from Clara’s face. “See? All done!”

“And you can give us your fastest horse and lightest carriage for two.”

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