Page 63 of Sweet Nightmares
Jane clutched her knees tightly for a moment and inhaled sharply, trying to get her bearings. She needed to pull herself together and fight back. She had practiced with Nightmare long enough to be somewhat decent at manipulating wind. Even when Nightmare was no longer speaking or looking at her, she still religiously practiced.
Jane could do this—the only problem was that ten vampires turned into nearly twenty. Probably too many to control for long. But she’d try.
You better fucking work.She reprimanded her wind a moment before calling for Nightmare in her mind. She wasn’t sure if he could hear, nor did she know if he would come, but it was worth a try. Jane stood up quickly and twisted her hands, feeling the wind and calling it to her bidding. The song it sang back to her was beautiful because it became an extension of her.
With a snap of her fingers, Jane pulled the air from every single vampire’s lungs. They all toppled and clawed at their throats.
Even vampires needed to breathe.
“Oh, I should have mentioned I am a Wind Witch.” A vicious smile painted her face. “And the bride of Nightmare. I am not one to be trifled with.” She took a taunting step toward the ringleader. “So where were we?”
He clutched his throat and glowered at her, trying to take a step toward her to presumably snap her neck or something equally as vile.
Jane clicked her tongue. “Ah, no, no. You won’t be moving.” Jane twisted her hand and squeezed the wind around his body, holding him tight. “Isn’t this fun?”
His lips were tight, and his nostrils flared.
“It looks like you have something to say.” She released the hold on his air supply, allowing needed oxygen to enter his lungs once more.
“You are psychotic.”
“Oh, thank you for the compliment. I definitely get it from my husband.” Jane paused in thought and tapped her chin with one finger. “And probably my bosses. They can be quite insane, too.”
“Let them go.”
“Why should I? Weren’t you about to make me your dinner?”
“They weren’t.”
Interesting. He cared about them. It was very possible that these vampires were victims, too. If someone held their weakness, then they would be able to compel them. This meant that Emrys might be right about the person who killed her parents being responsible for them. What other option was there because, with the Accords, only freed vampires could create new ones?
“I know you are not the boss.” Jane squeezed her hand tighter, making the wind, in turn, squeeze harder. Extremely painfully. “So, who do you answer to? Who holds your weakness?”
“I am not telling you anything about us.”
“Because you can’t or because you don’t want to?”
The vein in his neck pulsed, and he gritted his teeth tightly. It seemed to be the former. Interesting. Were these vampirescontrolled by her parents’ murderer? Could she be closing in on the truth?
But as soon as Jane had the thought, her body quivered. Her magic was fading. She was doing too much. She swallowed and tried not to show her weakness. But her limbs went weak, and she barely kept herself up.
She stepped forward and had to reach out for the couch to steady herself, but she didn’t quite make it, and her knees hit the rock floor hard.
“Ah, your magic has limits.” He smiled. “So, all I have to do is wait you out.”
Jane glared at him. Her mind felt like wet sand; slow, dense, and sticky. Holding on to her magic like this was tiring—it was hard. Pain reverberated from where her knees had hit the rock so hard.
Jane placed her palms solidly on the floor and lifted herself to her feet like a newborn fawn. Step by step, she tried to leave the cave. But the process was slow, and she was losing her grip on the vampires.
But she kept walking, putting as much distance as possible between them and her.
“This isn’t over, girl,” the ringleader called from behind her. “I will find you and kill you.”
“I look forward to it,” she said with a shaky voice.
Halfway to the opening, Jane slumped completely to the ground. She rested her hand on the rock, begging her magic not to break. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this, and it seemed like Nightmare had forsaken her.
Jane pinched her eyes closed, and her hold on the vampires slipped. She braced for an attack that didn’t come.
