Page 280 of Sigils & Spells

His eerie midnight-blue eyes glared at me for a second, and then he dove at my neck and pecked it.

“Owe!” I cursed and pressing my palm over my bleeding neck.

As I readied my magic to blast my attacker, the raven flew back onto Onyx’s chest.

“Go away,” I yelled. What did Harvey say about Ravens eating corpses.

He lifted his beak to the ceiling of the cave and dissolved—or so it appeared. He was there one moment, and the next he was not. The bird of prey simply melted into Onyx. What the hex?

Onyx’s stirred as the sigil on his forehead vanished. “Mmm.”

“Onyx, wake up.” I shook his arm.

He opened his eyes and stared at me. Relief flooded my system.

“It took you long enough,” he said.

CHAPTER14

I expectedan explanation for the raven transformation thing but got none.

Bursting through the ropes that held him in place, Onyx rose to a sitting position. “You don’t belong down here.”

“But—”

He pressed a finger to his mouth. “Not here. It’s not safe for you.”

“But?”

He shook his head and pointed toward the tunnel that led back to the academy. “Go. Now. Back the way you came. Go … while you still can.”

The way he spoke filled me with terror. Seriously. If he, the mighty predator, was scared for me, I ought to be scared too. So, I hustled, back through the muck into the tunnel. Once the space grew large enough for me to stand, I ran as fast as I could.

I passed Norm’s dead body, passed the demon’s ashes, and almost past the student caskets when I came to a dead stop. The stillness of the vampire nest was deafening but also alluring. I had to do a double take. I may never get another opportunity to witness the undead in their slumber state. I pulled out my phone and snapped a few pictures. What would a couple minutes cost me?

Energy. As I climbed the stairs back to the main floor, exhaustion and adrenalin withdrawal hit me hard. Or maybe it was shock. My body trembled, my head ached, and my muscles refused to work. I slowed down but kept going.

That’s when I heard something approaching me from behind. Not again. More drones? I tried to quicken my pace, but my body felt heavier than cement. I was so tired. So very tired. All I wanted to do was collapse. Maybe this was as good an end for me as any.

Flap.Flap. Flap. Skuttle. Skuttle.I spun around to face the sounds and squinted into the dark. A horde of bats shot toward me. “Bats!” I screeched feeling terror flow through my veins as if it were my life blood. It would have to be bats. A sea of hairy spiders skittled like an army along the walls.

I screamed.

Two enormous hands grabbed me by the waist. I looked up and faced Alessandro. He carried me the rest of the way up the stairs and put me down gently on the sofa in the front foyer.

Tears streamed down my face. I shook with fear, shock, and pure terror, but that didn’t stop me from punching him in the stomach as hard as I could. It felt like hitting steel.

He didn’t flinch, but he did grunt.

“Onyx is alive,” I said.

“I know. He contacted me to save you.”

“You know?” It took a second for that thought to settle. “I caught the Fang Hunter,” I added.

He firmed his square jaw and nodded his approval. “I saw his body parts.”

I closed my eyes. It was over.

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