Page 14 of Centaur Bolt

Then her eyes widened, and she pulled more power, using it like a giant sword to sever our connection. It snapped so suddenly it sent a jolt of pain lashing through me.

The two of us locked gazes as though we were the only people in that hall—but we weren’t. Rookie warrior that I was, I’d forgotten that she wasn’t alone…

A glowing ball of energy set my world on fire and slammed me into the wall.

Struggling to stay on my feet, I gasped in agony.Finn.I reached out to the Torshin with my talent, but it bounced off without reaching him.

Apparently, I wasn’t the only one who could create shields. I longed to bury my fingers in his throat and send my beast after his twisted heart, but he was too far away.

Finn grinned, revealing black teeth. “Your powers won’t work on me, wizardling.”

Then a huge red form rose between us…

8

Havoc

As I peered around the corner, I reinforced the scale pocket where Fang burrowed—if I was going into battle, I wanted her safe.

How the fuck was I going to get that monster through the damned gate? And then there was Rafael—I glanced over in time to see that bastard Torshin hurl a glowing ball of energy at him.

Locked in a staring contest with the Sorceress bitch, Rafael didn’t see it coming. There wasn’t even time for me to shout a warning. It slammed him, driving his body into the wall.

The Deranger rose within me as I charged around that corner. It pushed the beast to the surface, so that my scales chased over a form growing larger with every stride, and my wings erupted from my shoulders. But I clung to my human with grim determination—I needed that brain if I was to live through this.

Finn was too far away to hit directly. Instead, I blocked his next throw, blasting straight into the energy bolt—it zinged and scorched over my scales, but I scarcely felt it. I reached to pick Rafael up off the ground…

“Get Marcus,” he gasped.

Suddenly, my collar was enveloped in red light that pierced through my brain. I couldn’t help the scream, and from deep within, the Deranger clawed for control.

“Dart them!” Brock shouted. “Shoot them both!”

So much for any loyalty from my old boss. At the edges of the fight, mercenaries took aim with the fucking dart guns.

Rafael shoved himself between me and them. A fraction of my size, but he clutched his crystal, and I sensed the power in him reach out to the mercs.

“Do not shoot!” he ordered, and they hesitated. “Go!” he shouted to me.

His power pushed at me, demanding that I obey, that I force myself through the agony coming from my collar. I let the leash on the Deranger slip. My body struggled to complete the change as it catapulted straight into the mess that surrounded Marcus.

The Dragons had managed to snag Marcus’s head in the net. He snapped at them with his razor jaws—just as my talons slashed the net away from his wicked face. Darts hung off him, but they hadn’t gone deep into the scales.

Then Rafael screamed.

I spun to see the Torshin, Finn, coil a glowing rope of energy around him. For just a second, Rafael’s tortured bicolored gaze met mine.

I took a step toward him.

His power blasted me. “Go!” he ordered.

I fought it, for just a moment. The hesitation while standing so close to Marcus almost cost me my head. A gust of hot breath and the clash of teeth—I barely ducked in time to avoid ‘em. Slapping the snapping jaws aside, I folded my partly-transformed hand into a fist, and plowed him hard in the snout.

His creature shrieked at me and lunged. I spun toward the gate.

“No!” Isobel’s scream of rage echoed across the cave as she blasted the bloodpower at us.

It hit me hard. Straight through to the collar, and pierced my brain with brilliant red light. Agony pulsed through me, and my half-shifted form staggered—just as Marcus’s vicious beast hit me full bore.

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