Page 86 of Dancing with My Elf
When Andre raised his hand to attack me, Gianna ran up to his side and blasted him with the silver pepper spray.
Andre clutched his eyes, howling in pain. We closed in on him, knocking him down.
When Gianna ended up beside me, I said, “Nice work.”
She smiled. “Nice weapons.” Then she pulled out the silver blade from her cape. “Want to do the honors?’
I blinked at her. Never did I think training her to defend herself would come back full circle in the end. Many witches believe what you put into the universe comes back to you. The accuracy seemed spot on here.
“I do.” Taking the blade, one of the weapons I’d forged long ago, I stared at it. Would it finally serve justice?
Andre fought back with viciousness, attacking the people I cared about. Attacking my friends. As I approached, I stared for a weakness, searching for when and where I could slip in.
I spotted it and smiled. This little elf would use her small stature to her advantage. When there was a break in the fight, I ran in low and plunged the blade into the demon’s chest. He fell backward onto the sand, staring at me with surprise.
He reached out to grab me, his eyes turning cold with hate. His arm trembled and then fell. The fury drifted from his hard glare as did any sign of life. He exhaled with a shudder and his eyes turned blank.
Particles pulled away from his body, tugging at his physical form. My heart pounded, and as he disintegrated right in front of me.
Diego stepped over to me and patted my shoulder. “Well done, Zoe. Want me to finish the others off?”
Grateful he’d do the dirty work, I handed him the blade. “Please do.”
If the fallen demons on the sand weren’t dead, he’d ensure it.
Pandora beamed at me. “Great work.” She turned to Cassandra and Nova. “Let’s seal up the portal for good.”
“With the magic of three?” Nova asked.
“Exactly.” Pandora gave her a quick nod and mounted her broom.
Nova and Cassandra followed, and the three of them whooshed toward the portal, their hair floating behind them in the wind. Pride swelled in my chest. Nova had become an integral part of our team.
I turned back to Lucas. He took out the final demon in the sky. I waved at him, motioning for him to come to us.
The witches positioned in a circle around the portal and hovered on their brooms. The muted sound of chanting reached me. They pointed their wands at the gaping chasm. For a few seconds, nothing happened.
A gush of water and flames shot out as a plume from the middle of the portal. It reached for the sky like flaming talons before falling and receding back into the sea. The churning water descended with it as the portal appeared to slip away. After several more pounding heartbeats, it vanished completely. The ocean flowed with a calm once more, and no sign of any dark magic remained.
We all cheered on land, and exclaimed with variations of, “We did it!” and “They’re gone!”
I raised my fist into the air. It was over. Finally over.
Searching for Lucas once more, I spotted him flying over to me. Oh no, why was he flying like that?
His wings flapped more slowly. Erratically. Smoke wafted from his wings. How could that be? He breathed fire! It shouldn’t affect him.
I stared from the portal and then over to Lucas. Had he been wounded in the fight? Or blasted by the dark energy from the portal?
No. Please no.I clasped my hands together, willing him to fly safely to shore. Had my calling him over brought him right into the blast zone?
Lucas stumbled in flight. He tumbled over himself and attempted to reposition himself upright.
It didn’t work. He plunged down like a rock toward the sea.
I shot all the energy in my body toward him, attempting to cushion the fall. The enormous effort took too much out of me, and I collapsed.
Chapter 18
