Page 144 of Kingdom of Chaos
An anaconda, I realize with a jolt.
Why does it have to be a snake?
The shadows slither lower, drawing her closer to the water.
I strain my senses, searching for Kerrim, expecting him to step from the shadows at any moment, but there’s no sign of him. Four figures emerge from the shadows and I’mmomentarily stunned by the damage Titus managed to inflict on them all alone. Blood stains their clothes, and they move with a stiffness that speaks of pain, but they’re still standing. They’re locked on to us, their eyes faintly glowing in the dim light.
Vampires.
I feel it instantly, the tug of their compulsion, like invisible threads pulling at my mind.
Whether it’s their intent to kill us or just detain us, one thing is clear.
They aren’t planning to let us leave.
Talon and I share a quick glance. He feels it too. But we’ve been training for this. Over the last two days we’ve worked on blocking compulsion, and though the pull tugs at the edges of my mind, I force it back.
Imogen, being a vampire herself, laughs—actually laughs—echoing sharp and bright in the cavernous space.
“Sorry, boys. If you want to take me down, you’re going to have to do better than that.”
Then she launches. A blur of speed and fangs, she collides with the nearest vampire in a snarl of teeth and fists. Talon isn’t far behind, moving with lethal precision, ice crackling at his fingertips as he slams into the next one, sending the vampire sprawling across the floor. The other two converge, hissing, but Talon whirls on them, frost blooming at his feet, a blast of cold air erupting from his palms as he sweeps out his arm. One of the vampires is flung back into a glass enclosure, shattering it in an explosion of water and scales.
The room erupts into pandemonium.
I have no time to focus on them, because Ensley is slipping.
The shadows coil tighter around her, dropping her closer to the surface of the water. The anaconda stirs beneath her, its massive body rippling like liquid muscle.
“Hold on,” I whisper, voice shaking as I rush closer.
My fingers tremble as I reach out, feeling for my magic. It’s weak, flickering like a candle on the verge of snuffing out, but it’s still there.
Come on, come on.
Ignoring the fight raging behind me, I extend my hand. The shadows are sluggish at first, reluctant, but then they surge forward, responding to my call. They meet the tendrils holding Ensley, tangling with them in a silent, writhing battle.
For a breathless second, it feels like they’re going to snap back, like I’m too drained, too weak to fight them off.
No. Not her. Not now.
I push harder, teeth gritted, and reaching up with my free hand I grasp thelunacite pendant in my fist, squeezing so tightly the gem is cutting into my palm. The magic inside me flares, searing through my veins like fire. With a sharpcrack, the vampire’s shadowy tendrils shatter apart, and Ensley drops?—
I lunge forward, the shadows at my command forming a blanket underneath her. The effort nearly buckles my knees, but I hold on, guiding her over the glass partition, and then gently down to the floor in front of me, away from the water, away from the tank.
My breath comes in ragged gasps, the world tilting around me as I drop to my knees and pull Ensley to me.
Her eyes flutter, her skin pale and clammy. But she’s breathing. She’s alive.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper, a tear slipping down my cheek as I cradle her against me. “I’ve got you.”
A blur of motion has me looking up just as a body crashes into a glass enclosure across from us with a sickening crack. The impact shatters the tank, water gushing across the floor in a rush.
A massive reptile, maybe a monitor lizard or maybe a crocodile, slides free, gliding over the limp, unmoving body ofone of the vampires as if they’re nothing more than an obstacle in its path.
Talon and Imogen stand over the unconscious bodies of the remaining vampires, breathing hard but still on their feet. They high-five between pants.
“We have to get her somewhere safe,” I call out, my voice shaky but urgent.
