Page 57 of Forgotten Monsters
She squints at him. “You are here to protect us and the President. Let Rose make the sacrifice.”
Oz gives her a benevolent smile as he passes Deveraux the ivory blade. The professor carves a deep line in her black skin. Blood pours out of the self-inflicted wound, but instead of flowing down to the marble, the stream dances into the air and forms liquid ribbons.
The patrons hold their collective breaths.
“May the lies be exposed. May the liars be tainted,” Deveraux says.
“May the lies be exposed. May the liars be tainted,” the crowd repeats.
It’s the first time in my life that I helped cast a group spell of this magnitude, and the magic takes a life of its own. Power ripples in the air, thick and heavy. The blood swirls above our heads, but I keep an eye on Darkwood. The vampire looks too smug for my taste.
Just as the magic reaches the high of its crescendo, the vampire reaches for his amulet.
The windows of the ballroom explode in a storm of glass. Broken pieces scatter across the glossy marble with a high, tinkering sound. Deveraux cries out in pain and slumps to the ground, her blood raining down on us. Dad dashes over to her.
Lydia runs to the broken windows, her face pale and joyless. “Darkwood turned off the force fields!” she yells loud enough for the entire crowd to freeze in horror.
21
SOMETHING BLUE
“Rose is injured. I need a healer, quick,” Dad commands.
Darkwood raises his hand to Cole. “He blocked the spell.”
“Youblocked the spell. Now turn on the force fields again or everyone here will die!” I cry out. I have this undeniable intuition that if we don’t get him now, if we allow him enough time to retreat, we’re never going to get another chance.
An ugly pout deforms Darkwood’s mouth, and I realize he’s counting on it. Whatever happens next, he will pit it on us. Absolute chaos ensues as the guests argue amongst themselves.
Oz’s voice booms over the shouts of the crowd. “Get the President and Councilmen out of here! The hollows are coming!”
The magisterium agents clear the crowd to get to their leader, but a solid wall of hollows breaches the confines of the ballroom. They are drawn to magic, and the spell we just cast was of nuclear proportion, which might explain their speedy arrival.
Cole dashes toward Darkwood. “Turn the protective barriers back on, or I’ll make sure you die first.”
“It’s too late now.”
Spells zap through the air, and a nasty burn singes my thigh. Darkwood takes this opportunity to act. He moves so quickly, my eyes can’t follow, and wraps his arm around my neck.
Magus launch themselves at Cole.
The cold edge of a knife presses on my throat. “Where are the hollows? Tell me.”
Most people can’t see them, but the white fog slowly divides into individual specters, about ten of them.
“By the windows.” A forceful wind blows my hair back as I build an infernal orb in my palm and aim it at his thigh. Deveraux said the amulet protected him from most spells, but I try anyway.
The bastard chuckles. “Now, Miss Winslow. Let’s walk together.”
The doors at the back of the room slam open as people run for their lives. Screeches blast in the large space, and the distorted sound numbs my ears. Darkwood hauls me closer to the broken windows.
A white eel flies in our direction, unstoppable. Its icy teeth snap at me, and my forehead burns. The creature recoils and whips its tail, apparently stunned for a few seconds.
Holy shit. I’m immune.
Darkwood uses me as a shield as he pushes past the specters. “As soon as you offered up your blood for the ritual, I figured out where my unicorn horn had gone.”
I grip his arm and sink my nails inside his skin, but he’s as solid as a rock. “Let me go.”
