Page 24 of Before the Bond Breaks
I shielded Maze’s back as she dropped two more with a double command, forcing them to fight each other instead of us. They tore into each other, making a mess of limbs and claws.
More drywall fell from the ceiling as the eitrborn started deploying their own magics. One held a sigil-bomb in its hand, aiming straight at Maze. I stepped in and absorbed the blast, grounding the poison into the earth under my feet. My body flared with electric pain, but I didn’t let it show. Instead, I slammed the eitrborn into the counter, splintering wood. I ripped its head free with my bare hands.
Maze gasped for air, the strain of her magic showing. Her knees buckled, but she caught herself at the last second. I kept her upright, steadying her with one hand as I continued the onslaught.
Candra fought with lethal precision, never letting the monsters surround her. She picked her targets, dispatching them with clean, efficient strikes. When one tried to bear hug her from behind, she snapped its wrist, spun, and drove her blade throughits eye. The thing dropped, twitching. She kicked its body away without a second thought.
Through the haze, I heard Jenson calling more warnings. “Maze, down! Candra, three right, one above.” He moved like a shadow, always ahead, always prepared for the next kill.
Two eitrborn forced their way through a toppled shelf, closing the gap on Maze. This time, her power didn’t come as easily. Her voice was hoarse, but she managed, “Attack each other.”
The monsters obeyed instantly. They tore at each other, ripping flesh and bone.
The violence escalated with every breath. More monsters smashed through the windows, glass showering the fight. The floor was slick with black blood and splinters. The shop’s wards sizzled, then died out completely.
Maze’s aura flared blindingly bright. Her eyes glowed with an ancient electric blue. She forced a single word through clenched teeth, raw and guttural. “Obey.”
Every eitrborn in the room wavered. Their bodies convulsed, twitching as the Command of Will overtook whatever programming held them together. One by one, they turned on each other, savaging the nearest synthetic body. Claws ripped through faces, jaws dislocated, teeth and fingers and knees battering every enemy in reach. The carnage was wild, gruesome, and totally without mercy.
Maze’s body trembled. Sweat soaked her shirt. I watched every ounce of strength drain from her. She sagged as her legs gave out. I caught her before she hit the ground. She was too pale, her breath shallow, and her skin was cold to the touch.Fuck!
Before I panicked, I closed my eyes and searched through our bond. Feeling the steady beat of her heart. Her magic was depleted, but she’d recover with some rest.
Candra surveyed the carnage, then conjured a controlled inferno. Blue-white flames devoured the eitrborn bodies, incinerating everything in a matter of seconds. The stink of burning eitr clung to the air.
Jenson double-checked every corner, sword at the ready. “Clear.”
Candra pressed her palm to her earpiece, voice low and urgent. “Winter. Emergency extraction. Now.”
Maze’s body curled into me, shivering, as I cradled her against my chest, careful not to jostle her. She tried to speak but couldn’t manage more than my name. Her skin was ice. I kissed her temple and whispered, “Shh. I got you.”
A portal shimmered into existence at the mouth of the wrecked shop. Blue light curled along the seams, unfurling a gap just wide enough for us to slip through. Jenson led the way, with Candra right behind. I carried Maze, refusing to let anyone else touch her.
I stepped through into the penthouse of the VPA building. The portal snapped shut behind us as I carried Maze to her bedroom. I laid her down gently on her bed, then covered her with a blanket. Her lips were blue, breath shallow. Sweat clung to her brow, and she trembled with exhaustion. I pressed my hand to her cheek, grounding her. Her eyes fluttered open, searching for me. Relief hit hard.
Candra sat on the edge of the bed on the other side from where I sat. She touched Maze’s forehead and pushed healing magic intoMaze. Winter entered a moment later, pushing past the rest of the Valen sisters who gathered in the doorway.
Candra’s focus never wavered. “Maze burned herself near dry. She needs food and rest. No sign ofeitrpoison.”
The main risk of fighting witheitrbornswas that their blood was poisonous. Jenson had been working on a potion that would counteract the effects, but he hadn’t perfected it yet.
Winter went to work instantly, grabbing a blanket, a glass of water, and a bottle of high-calorie potion of some sort. She pressed the glass to Maze’s lips, coaxing her to drink.
Maze drank the potion. After a few moments, her trembling slowed, and some color returned to her cheeks.
The world felt quiet now. The violence that had flooded the pawnshop felt impossibly far away.
Maze locked eyes with me. Even wrung out, she kept her pride intact. “I didn’t want to leave you behind, Talon.”
“You never could,” I told her, voice rawer than I wanted.
Winter fussed over Maze, loading her with blankets and potions until she sagged back, finally at rest. Candra checked the wards and perimeter one last time.
Jenson turned to me. “It’s done. No one tracked us through the portal.”
The relief of that statement didn’t ease the tension I was feeling. In fact, I hadn’t even considered that they would try to follow through the portal. If there were any, we left them alive.
I kicked off my shoes and stayed at Maze’s side, refusing to let go of her hand. Quil and Winter hovered nearby, ready for anything.
