Page 47 of A Lost Light

The cult leader shouldn't have been able to open a portal inside the barrier Andy, Belladonna, and I had erected. But she did. We let the magic slide away and moved closer to the irate and idiotically arrogant councilor when the single witch emerged, but now I was rethinking the wisdom of that decision.

While Aahil pulled out the jinn who had possessed the stupid councilor, I stepped away, moving closer to the perimeter of the yard. A wave of my hand and a tug at the churning magic inside me had the protective circle arching around us and overhead again in an instant. This crazy witch wasn't content to admit to failure, and the racket that had ensued was likely to call attention to the situation. Which would undoubtedly lead to someone calling for the authorities. Which would in turn mean the SA would show up and thinkwewere to blame for the attack on Darkbrier.

While I had no doubt wecouldhandle anything the SA threw at us, it would require me letting Sunshine out to play, among other things, and I knew Andy wasn’t yet willing to admit that if she wanted to play the game of Save the Whole UndeservingWorld, we were going to have to play with the ruthlessness of villains.

So, I kept my dark magic to myself, only pouring out enough to erect the barrier by myself and shield us from prying eyes and ears. And hopefully keep the SA out if theydidshow up.

My chest ached, and I clenched my teeth as I tried to ignore the sensation. It tugged at me, pulling me in two different directions. Toward Andy who was standing far too close to the tussle with the councilor… and toward Elijah, who was creeping ever closer to the cult leader, slipping past the rebels who were attempting to get to her.

Goddess damn it.Why?I had finally accepted that I was hopelessly in love with Andy and would change my whole way of living to put her wellbeing first. To not only look out for my own survival, as I had for a couple hundred years now. Then Ambrose wormed his way in, and I had to admit that I cared for the shadowy lurker just as much as the witch. And while the others annoyed the fuck out of me most of time, I somehow found myself not actually wanting them dead. Butnow.Now I couldn't stop thinking about the angelic golden boy, wondering if he was okay. Were we pushing him to use his magic too quickly? Had he fully adjusted to his new body? Was my summoning and binding strong enough to withstand an attack from this crazy blond witch with her unnatural magic?

I glanced at Andy, who was holding her own by the front steps of the mansion, casting magic I had taught her. She was remembering her defensive lessons well, repelling the air elemental as the jinn went on a rampage, trying to get at the councilor. She had the entire rest of our weird little family nearby to assist. I had to trust that she could handle herself. And trust that if she couldn't handle herself, one of those other idiots would step in before anything truly awful happened.

But Elijah was all alone.

No, not completely alone. I saw a glint of yellow eyes and moonlight on sleek black fur as the jaguar crouched low, ready to spring. I felt a surge of anger and determination, some strong, righteous feeling, as Elijah's glowing wing branches flared out around him, knocking back nearby rebels. His emotions, I thought belatedly. His anger and determination. He lifted his hand, limned in that bright golden energy, and I lent him some of my own power, watched in awe through my extra senses as a halo of darkest black outlined his angelic aura, making the gold shine even brighter.

His hand touched the witch's barrier, and it shattered.

I felt it then, recognized just what was making our angel so angry. Soul energy. As a necromancer, I was familiar with the remnants of the lifespark that allowed me to reanimate dead flesh and bone. But Elijah was an angel. He was far more in tune with life energy—withsouls—than I ever would be. So of course he had sensed the wrongness first.

“Elijah!” I shouted, rushing toward him, still maintaining the barrier, but ready to drop it at a moment's notice if that bitch went after my angel.

I almost tripped over my own feet, and Sunny's dark laugh ghosted through the back of my mind.My angel. Ridiculous.

I shoved my stupid thoughts away as I ran, but I knew I wasn't going to be fast enough to reach Elijah if the cult woman threw a killing curse. Which… she was powering up to do right then. “Fuck.” I let more of my power loose, felt it ripple over me, the dead scattered around the yard calling to me. Sunshine stretched hungrily inside me, wanting todevour.

A black blur arched through the air, flashing between Elijah and the witch, and she screamed as she went down under the sleek, muscular feline. The curse she had been weaving went wild, missing Elijah. It seemed certain that the jaguar was about to die. But the glowing green spell missed him by a hair'sbreadth, passing him by and shriveling a nearby decorative tree instead.

I was having a hard time reining in my power. It crawled beneath my skin, begging to be unleased. To dominate and control. To protect the people I loved.

The witch screamed again, and I finally reached Elijah's side. But he was already moving away, reaching toward the mele on the ground at our feet. I grabbed his arm and jerked him back. “Stop!” I roared, my fear for him accidentally turning the request into an order. He went rigid, his arm frozen in my grip as he looked at me, his blue eyes glowing like sapphire flames.

“Dyre?” he said, his voice deep and reverberating, carrying so much power of its own. Speaking to whatever remnants were left of my own shriveled soul, nearly strong enough to echo my command with one of his own. Nearly, but not quite. I was still the one in control in this odd dynamic.

“Stay back,” I said, making it a request this time, not a maker's command. He was not some mindless walking bag of bones. Damn it. “Let River handle it.” I arched a brow. The jaguar seemed to be more than capable of murdering one scrawny little witch.

But Elijah shook his head. “I have to get that amulet.”

I frowned. But River's cat screamed an inhuman scream as the witch blasted him off her and lurched to her feet. She was dripping blood from half a dozen bites and long scratches that had flayed flesh all the way to the bone. The right side of her cheek was destroyed.

Her hand flew up to clutch at the amulet she wore around her neck, and I cursed my own stupidity and distraction over the angel. “Fuck,” I muttered again, drawing on Sunny's power as I felt her drawing from what was clearly an ancient magical artifact.

One powered by soul energy.

“Grab the woman and let's go!” The command was slurred from her destroyed face, but it was enough to reach the jinn she had enslaved.

The councilor's wife jerked, then she started jogging toward the witch and the portal she had opened. I laughed. If this woman thought she was wining, she was seriously mistaken. I was done playing around.

Sensing the souls trapped in that amulet, seeing the way she enslaved the jinn… it reminded me violently of the time I had spent playing captive to the Lovells in their cursed bestiary. Every corpse in the yard rose to their feet, but I wasn't commanding them. They were simply responding to the residual power that flowed from me, awaiting a purpose.

Reaching out a hand, I started to drain the woman's life force, letting Sunny feed the way he had been longing to do. It was dangerous. Reckless. If I let Sunny off his chain, there was a really good chance that I could never stop him. That he'd remember what he was and go into a soul lust that would end with an entire city dead and devoured. But something inside of me had snapped.

Something burned. Heat flared in my arm. But I was hungry. I was so tired of being hungry and restrained….

Chapter 28

Ambrose

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