Page 43 of Blood of Night (The Thorne Hill)

“Thanks. Most people call me bull headed or stubborn, but strong-willed is such a better way to put it.” Slowly, I advance, spotting a wooden broom on the ground only a few feet from me. I ball my fist, feeling heat gathering at my fingertips. It spreads through me, warming my body and loosening whatever is gripping my wrist. “The game is over. You lost.”

The djinn side steps back, shaking her head. “You should be dead. I drained you first. It won’t take long now.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’ve survived many near-death experiences because I’m not human.” I take a few more steps forward. “Which, again, means game. Over.”

“No.” The djinn smirks and holds up a hand, whispering some sort of incantation before snapping her fingers.

And nothing happens.

She opens her eyes, fully expecting me to be gone, yet here I am. Her eyes widen and she makes a run for it. I pick up the broom and hit it against the side of the barn, scaring the cow.

“Sorry,” I tell her and break the rest of the handle in half, needing one end to be nothing but broken shards. I run after the djinn, jumping over a pile of overturned buckets. She’s not far ahead, and I bring my arm back and throw the broken broom handle like a spear. It hits her in the lower back, and everything around me spins, going faster and faster until—

Suddenly, I sit up, heart racing. I’m in the woods, laying in what’s left of a dried up pond. There are only a few inches of water, but a few inches are all you need to drown when you’re unconscious like this. Gasping, I get to my feet and blink a few times, trying to get my vision to focus.

“Easton?” I call, holding out my hand and feel the biggest sense of relief when I easily summon a ball of blue energy. I toss it up and wince from pain webbing across my wrist. Something that looks like a thick black vein is embedded in my skin, dangling from my arm. Grimacing, I grab it, feeling the slick, rubbery surface slip between my fingers. Looking away, I pull and feel it slide through my own veins. At least half a foot comes out, and I gag as I drop it into the water.

Clamping my free hand over the bleeding wound, I look around for Easton again. The sunlight is fading, and the woods are eerily silent.

Binx,I mentally call.Help us.

Something splashes in the water behind me. I whirl around, hoping to find Easton slowly sitting up. I open my mouth to call his name again, but my voice dies in my throat. But it’s not him.

It’s the fucking djinn.

ChapterTwenty

“Why won’t you fucking die?” I ask through gritted teeth. Blood pools around my fingers, pouring from the ragged hole in my vein. I’ve healed myself before when I was almost dying from blood loss. I can do it again…I just don’t know how.

“You can’t kill me in my own dream,” she replies, lips pulling into a smile. She’s dressed in all black, with her hair slicked back. Her eyes glow a faint shade of green, and the darkness coming from her is suffocating. She’s right, and I should have known that throwing a broken broom handle was too easy. I don’t have any other weapons, and I don’t know how to kill a djinn. The frustration of so many unknowns bubbles inside me, and I take my hand off my bleeding wrist and throw it out, sending a wave of energy at the djinn.

“But I can kill you here.”

The djinn is knocked back, but she stays on her feet, shimmering out of view. Dammit. I let out a breath and turn around again, looking over the water. I’m closer to the edge of the pond than the middle, and I’m sure the middle is deeper.

Deep enough to drown someone in their sleep.

Fuck. Easton was cold and clammy. He’s underwater somewhere.

“Easton!” I yell, summoning another ball of light. I throw this one up, spreading my hands apart so it grows in size. Blue light illuminates the water, but it’s too murky to see beneath the surface. I put my hand over my bleeding wrist again, applying pressure to the wound to try and get my blood to clot.

I heal faster than most humans, even before my father unlocked all my angel-powers. Lucas had commented on how quickly the bite wounds clot after he’s fed from me, but the puncture on my wrist is still bleeding—and it’s bleeding a lot.

“Easton!” I call again, squeezing my wrist as I trudge through the scuzzy water.

“Do you wish to find your friend?” The djinn shimmers back into view, standing along the shore.

“Nice try,” I tell her, and feel warmth spreading beneath my fingers. I take my hand away and look at my wrist, which is healed. I wipe blood away, needing to be sure. There’s no wound anymore. There’s not even an indent where the demonic IV was. How did I? I didn’t do anything, but I…I did.

Something splashes again and when I look up, the djinn is gone.

“Shit!” Water sloshes under my feet and the toe of my boot gets caught on some sort of underwater plant. If Easton is underwater, then it could already be too late. My heart pounds in my chest as I think about having to call Melinda and tell her what happened. I’ve already lost so many people, I’m not losing anyone else, not when I’m so close to—

The oracle.

I madly pat my pockets, feeling for it. My eyes actually close and I let out a sigh of relief when I feel it still safely zipped in my pocket, right where I left it. The thing supposedly brings bad luck, which is the last thing I need during a fight with a monster.

Though the djinn knows I have an advantage. I found her in the nightmare and can find her again. And this time, I can kill her for real. Holding my breath, I scan the surrounding forest, trying to find her. Easton made the wish. She’s bound to him until he dies. He has to be nearby.

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