Page 65 of Samhain Savior
Inside, my own magic bucked and fought, like it was attempting to throw off her spell, but didn’t know how. The world began to blur at the edges, my vision darkening as the shock of her spell ate at my consciousness.
“Delilah!” Archer’s voice cut through the haze of agony that had clouded my thoughts. When the world blinked back into focus, he was on his knees before me, hands on my shoulders, concern on his face. “Are you alright?”
I lifted my hand, my trembling fingers gently touching my neck where Helena had sliced me. It wasn’t my throat, not really. More like the bottom of my lower jaw, but it still hurt, and my fingers came away soaked with blood.
“Thatbitch!” Archer seethed, his eyes on my bloody fingers, but I couldn’t worry about that. Not yet.
“The relic!” I gasped, my heart racing and my face sweaty. “She’s taking it.”
Turning, Archer cursed to see Helena sprinting toward the far side of the cemetery, the golden orb in her grip as she fled the scene.
“Vine.” Archer called, his hands still on me as he continued to assess for damage.
“On it, boss.”
Vine moved quickly, his hands coming up, palms spread, and before I could fully process what was happening, there was a wall of flame easily twelve feet highblocking Helena’s path. It encircled our rag-tag party, the intense heat singing the grass and leaves at its base and creating steam as the damp ground instantly baked dry.
Skidding to a halt, Helena cursed, spinning wildly and placing her back to the wall of flames as she looked for another exit. But there wasn’t one. Within the circle of flames Vine had created there was only her, me, the demons of the Brotherhood, and the unconscious Storm-bringer, still hanging in his ropes of shadow.
And one very muddy hedgehog, currently cuddled against Mal’s raven, both of them giving me dirty looks.
“You said I could leave,” Helena whined, her eyes wide as Archer stood. Rising beside him, I stayed close, unwilling to allow the orb out of my sight. “You’re a crossroads demon. You have to stand by your deals.”
Archer chuckled, a low, dangerous sound as he approached her. He seemed completely oblivious to the scorching heat pouring off the wall of flames.
“Foolish mortal,” he grated, his eyes flashing. As I watched, his face appeared to change, his features shifting beneath his skin to become sharper, more animalistic in a sense, with a low, heavy brow and high cheekbones. His teeth, already sharpened, elongated further, his canines lengthening into fangs that looked wickedly dangerous.
My heart raced and my thighs clenched. Why was it that he was evenmoreattractive to me now, as a powerful demon straining against the bonds of his humanity, than he was when he appeared as the dark and brooding syndicate leader?
I was supposed to hate demons, not lust over them.
“We made no deal.” With a growl, Archer leapt forward, one hand encircling Helena’s throat as he lifted, her feet dangling as he held her high. “You made demands to which I did not agree. You broke the laws of the land, desecrated a sacred space, defied the rules that have governed my territory for centuries, and—” he pulled her close, his words dropping so low I could barely hear him. “You hurt my witch.”
I swallowed, my heart thudding against my ribs, as confusion and desire warred within me.
“For all those crimes and more, I, The Archer of theUmbra Fratrum, sentence you to die.”
“Wait!” she begged, her pale face reddening in his grasp. “I know things. I can tell you things. Plans the Order has. Please.”
Raising one eyebrow, Archer paused, lowering Helena until her feet touched the ground again, but he didn’t release her.
“Why would I ever trust the word of a traitor?”
“Because I know why they want your witch.”
The words hung in the air, heavy with suspicion.
“You lie.” Archer’s declaration was final, and he began to squeeze, his shadows pouring out and beginning to creep up Helena’s body. She screamed, the sound wheezing and thin as she thrashed in Archer’s iron grip.
“Need…her,” Helena wheezed, her words barely audible as she fought to speak. “They…her…”
“Wait!” His head snapped to me, his eyes now fully black, the reflection of the flames dancing in their inky depths. “I want to know. I want to hear what she has to say.”
“She offers nothing but falsehoods,” he insisted, the words thick behind his fangs.
“And you’ve been so honest with me?” I snapped back, watching as he flinched at the venom in my words. “I can decide for myself what is true and what isn’t, but only if I hear it in the first place.”
I moved forward, intending to step between him and Helena, but he shifted, keeping her away from me.
