Page 46 of Dawn to Dusk
“Disrupting the soil will force Pylo to surface.”
“You can do that?”
“Not easily.” I huffed. I wouldn’t be able to do it to Balthazar, but it was a trick I picked up when my daughter was little. Like most witches, her magic sometimes got her into trouble, and she would get stuck deep in the earth. This always forced her out.
Another wave of my magic finally did the trick and Pylo’s magic moved above ground. Esmerey was performing her ceremony nearby, and her magic billowed down the mountain in thick waves. I sensed it as soon as we were within a couple miles of it, so I knew Pylo could too.
It did not matter. Once Pylo figured out Esmerey was gone, he bolted right to where Balthazar said she would be. She chose the third biggest range in the area in a hope to throw off anyone who might come looking for her, but apparently, Pylo foresaw her planning for that.
The heat emitted from the ceremony felt like its own entity. This woman always kept me hot and bothered. Sweat dripped from my pores, and I pulled my hair up to get it off my neck trying to get some cool air. Edur was content, not affected by the rising temperature thanks to his ice goddess. Good for him.
“He’s coming from the east.” I warned Edur.
“We got a plan?”
“We can’t warn Esmerey or she’ll stop the ritual. It’ll cripple her magic until the winter solstice.” I used a leather strap to secure my hair at the top of my head. “She needs all her strength.”
“It’s that important?”
“As far as gods go, Mirneax is low maintenance, but she requires the rituals of both solstices to be completed or she withholds her magic.”
“Why not go to the isles if he wants a Petriv son so badly?”
“Because he already knows Esmerey can produce a magical prodigy.”
“Her next child is claimed by Bria, though?” This confused Edur. “Mirneax implied it would be decades or even centuries before she has another child.”
That explained why Esmerey asked all those questions about the moon goddess. “I doubt he knows that. He only knows she has already produced a strong son for him.”
Maybe it was even his way of getting the woman he wanted. This ceremony causes serious effects on the witches. Inhibitions never lasted long. Pylo could have easily gone to the isles to seduce Smerthna or Ira. The lengths he was going to, told me this was not only about a son. It was also about breaking her.
Something we would not allow.
“Remember what I said about hunting a hunter.”
He nodded. “Take the lead on this one.”
I shifted into the unicorn and stepped out to distract Pylo, as Edur hid in the bushes. Pylo came into view and sneered at me. “Scram, beast.”
He walked around me, not viewing me as a threat. Unicorns historically stayed docile, unless they felt threatened. Something I felt to my very core.
Pylo turned his back to me, and I did what any sensible equine would do. I reared back on my hind legs and nailed him in the back with my hoofs.
The force shoved him to the ground, and I stepped back, waiting for him to act sloppy. Let that rage he was known for make him stupid.
A threatening snort blew through my nose, warning him. Pylo gave a man version of a growl as he stood up. “The world already thinks you are extinct. Might as well make it true.”
He wielded his magic, and I stomped my foot down. The life magic Myllia blessed me with disrupted the ground again. He pulled out his wyretooth blades and ran at me, opting to use combat instead.
Pylo never saw Edur sneaking up behind him. I felt proud of the beast for applying some tactical skills, but when Edur got his arms around the man, it was all brute strength.
The witch choked, dropping his blades, as Edur compressed his fists into Pylo’s chest. I stomped my foot every time Pylo tried to get a handle on his magic. The sound of bones snapping hit my ears.
Edur snarled. Even in human form, his strength was overbearing. Pylo struggled uselessly.
I shifted back into a man. “If we kill you, Esmerey will take the blame. So, if we can’t kill you, what can we do with you?”
“If I kill him like this,” Edur paused to tighten his hold. Pylo gave a silent shout, unable to expand his lungs. “They’ll know it was me.”
