Page 123 of Elora and the Crow

“Well,” Ronin held his hand out to Cece, “guess we’re doing this the hard way. C’mon, tiny tree witch. Let’s go kill some motherfucking zombies.”

CHAPTER39

Malencia’s deadly magic felt like icy fingers tracing Elora’s body and head, looking for any weakness, any opening to slip in and kill her or, worse, turn her. Elora’s magic crackled against her skin and flowed through her veins, that intoxicating power so addictive. She knew how easy it would be to let the darkness in, instinctively knew how much more powerful she would become with it.

It whispered to her, caressed her skin, promising unlimited power, and oh, how Elora wanted to let it in. She couldn’t defeat Malencia without it.

No! You can do this! Concentrate!

She spoke the incantation of the ancient curse over and over, concentrating all of her magic on Malencia. Her vow to never do magic with the intent to harm someone was a tiny voice in the back of her head slowly being drowned. The man she loved would die if she didn’t kill Malencia.

Not just Jonah.

Panic washed over her. Cece was here now, too, fighting the horde of undead alongside Jonah and the phoenix shifter. The thought of losing both Jonah and Cece spiked her magic, and she smiled with grim satisfaction when Malencia winced, and Elora’s light pushed forward.

Malencia spoke faster, her light pulsing with fresh magic. Elora fought against it, but when Cece’s scream echoed in the clearing, her concentration slipped as fresh panic galloped through her veins.

“Cece!” Elora cried as Malencia’s light slipped closer. Elora fought back bitterly, calling on her magic, but Cece’s name was a steady drumbeat in her head, and while she didn’t dare to look away from Malencia, she could see Cece in her head. Could see her best friend’s body being torn apart by the undead, and it was all Elora’s fault. Her magic faltered, and Malencia shrieked in triumph as the cold yellow light enveloped Elora.

White hot pain exploded in Elora’s head, and her magic snuffed out like a candle as she collapsed in the snow. She sucked in a ragged gasp of breath, her entire body pulsing with pain as her head throbbed with agony.

She squinted up at Malencia as the dark witch stood over her. Malencia grinned, her gaze traveling over Elora’s body. “You gave it a good effort, fire witch, but you had to know you’d never defeat me.”

“Fuck you,” Elora gasped.

Malencia laughed, her hands glowing bright yellow as she raised them. “I’m going to enjoy this.”

Her body in agony, and the pain in her head excruciating, Elora used the last of her strength and magic to cast a barrier spell as the yellow light washed over her, and Malencia cast the killing curse.

The light was knocked back, and Malencia screamed in frustration, her gaze furious and her body shaking. “You bitch! Why won’t you just die!”

The light intensified, and Elora shrieked as fresh pain flooded her body. Her barrier spell was weakening under the fresh onslaught of Malencia’s magic, and she closed her eyes, whispering Jonah’s name as her magic waned.

* * *

They were losingtheir fight against the undead.

Jonah used his knife to stab a zombie through the temple as, a few feet away, Ronin shot one in the face.

“Gun’s empty,” he shouted before using the butt of his gun to bash in the head of the zombie trying to bite his calf.

“There’s too many!” Jonah shouted. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Ronin said before kicking a zombie in the stomach.

A zombie reached for Jonah, but it was knocked flying by a thick tree branch, its body smashing into a tree. It fell in a heap but staggered to its feet immediately, shuffling toward Cece, who, hands glowing green and a grim look of determination on her face, was using tree branches to fight off the undead.

“Cece, behind you!” Jonah shouted as a zombie popped up behind the curvy witch and reached for her.

Ronin slammed into the zombie, knocking it to the ground. He dropped on top of it, grabbed a rock sticking out of the snow and brought it down on the zombie’s face. The dead man’s face cracked apart, and Ronin smashed the rock into his face a few more times before jumping to his feet.

He grinned at Cece. “You’re not the only one who can use nature to -”

A zombie appeared behind him, sinking its teeth into the side of Ronin’s neck and tearing it open. Blood sprayed from Ronin’s carotid artery, and Cece screamed piercingly as Ronin fell to his knees, the zombie dropping with him.

Jonah ran toward Cece as a crowd of zombies fell on Ronin, eagerly tearing into his body with their teeth, ripping chunks of flesh away.

As the zombies tore into the soft meat of Ronin’s stomach, yanking out intestines and stuffing them into their mouths, Jonah grabbed Cece and pulled her back.

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