Page 49 of Toadstools and Vampire Kisses

I grimace at his terrible ego as I deftly evade another swing of his swords and a fiery blast that releases from the tip of the blade. I hiss in annoyance as I note a scorch mark on my jacket from where the blast came too near before burning out mid-air just beyond me by its telltale fizzle. It is a short-range attack. A small blessing.

“I will show you the death you so long to see,” I growl in irritation.

“And a death it shall be, but your death!” Katherine suddenly shouts in agreement as a volley of witchfire hurtles toward him, each burning sphere glowing with arcane power.

Rowans eyes widen as he turns toward them, his energy gathering around him to form the reflective wall, but he is too slow. The first several burning spheres plow into his body with enough force that he stumbles back several steps before he manages to pull up the barrier between himself and the witches. Those that hit their mark have scorched deep into his flesh with a terrible stench that seems to continue to burn under its own power, even as the rest of the witchfire burns out ineffectively against his spell in a cascade of punishing light that rocks him violently on his feet—and leaves him exposed to my attack.

I turn my head toward Katherine for a moment, and she grins at me triumphantly from where she huddles beneath the wing of a large red dragon coiled in the midst of the ballroom. There is not another human in sight, but I cannot worry about that now. I stalk toward my prey, his nostrils flaring, drawing in the last scent of his life. The blast of wind I send from my wings is small but enough to cause him to spin around and lose hold of his spell so that the final blasts of witchfire hit him. It draws out an angry shout, his entire body arching with the agony that he cannot feel. I am almost sympathetic to his cruel plight as he whirls with his sword raised and rushes me with a shout as my body coils powerfully with the muscle memory of ancestral dragons if what Adeon said is true.

Time to end this.

I can feel the muscle stretch and lengthen and then tighten as a burning sensation runs over my arms and face. The skin feels as if it is splitting within those seconds, and I can hear the tear of fabric as my body becomes something stronger and more terrible.

I sneer as I parry Rowan’s thrust and slash down with a wing-claw of more monstrous length than before. The long, sharp claw drops with the full weight of the wing behind it into his sword arm, cracking the bone, shredding flesh, and damaging tissue and muscle with the force of the powerful blow. The one direct hit has turned his arm into a mangled mess that would take days of healing if I was of mind to allow him to live that long. Slowly the sword drops from his useless hand to clatter onto the now bloodied floor. Though he does not cry out or show a hint of agony, he cannot keep ahold of it and his head lifts to stare at me with pure hatred burning in his eyes.

“You have neither the skill nor strength to worry me, Rowan Algriech, Former King of the Algriech coven!” I spit out contemptuously.

“I am still king!” he screams, spittle flying from his lips, but this time it is I who laugh as I lift a wickedly clawed hand.

It descends quickly with a terrible wet sound as the claws slice through his throat. As my body turns with the force of the motion, my wing comes up and the lethal claw follows the mark, cutting the rest of the way through, severing his head from his shoulders. Even when it falls, his mouth is frozen open, his fangs bared in a silent scream.

The body crumples, dropping heavily beside it. I do not give it a spare glance as I step away from the mess, dismissing the remains as unworthy of any further attention. Spinning in the direction of the garden doors, I startle for a moment when Adeon’s reptilian head snaps forward, capturing a guard in the brutal crush of his fangs. He chomps twice, blood spraying before flinging the body away near several others that I neatly avoid.

Baleful gold eyes fasten on me, moving with me as I pass. I wonder if he is going to forget that we are allies and use this opportunity to dispose of me, but Katherine pushes back his wings and gives a pat to his jaw that makes him close his eyes like a contented cat. She waves me out before employing that hand to scratch at the hard scales of his jaw and throat. I give her a nod of thanks and hurry forward, noting in passing the press of numerous humans crowded beneath the wide sprawl of his massive wings.

A worried corner of my mind quiets with relief and I pick up speed, gaining on the doorway. I do not slow to see how Jace and Connor are faring as they fell a guard between them with terrible shrieks, nor to watch the savagery that Ulrek inflicts on another guard in the form of an enormous black wolf. These worries are all beyond me as I race to find my love and destroy the final threat that stands before her.

If Titania has harmed a hair on her head, I will make her death as agonizingly slow and creative as I can.

ChapterTwenty-Eight

FRAN

The children are crying, their sniffles filling the air as they huddle around me. My heart aches for them, but I shush them as gently as possible as my ears strain for any hint of pursuit. I’m not stupid. I know something is out there. I can feel the brush of its presence through the overgrowth of the hedges that has formed an impenetrable nest over us. I don’t think that any of the vampires who are attacking us can fly, but I’m not taking any chances. How else could they have gotten so far onto our property without alerting the fox guardian?

Alice, all of six years old, clings to my leg as her older brother, Davie, holds Beast tightly within his arms, his face pale beneath the ghoulish paint as he stares up at the branches above us. The other children creep closer, their eyes likewise, drifting among the hedge. Thank the gods that the children’s party was set up so close to the exit into the garden. They are scared now, but at least they are somewhere safer. The hedge will protect them for as long as I have the power. Even if the worst should happen, the barrier would protect them for a time without me before something broke through the walls.

“There’s something out there,” Davie lisps, the air escaping awkwardly between his missing front teeth.

I nod and tuck him closer to me to comfort him, though I can see he is trying to be big and brave for his sister. Beast whines in his arms, but Davie strokes his ears and shushes him sweetly as he leans into me. Eight little ones have all grabbed ahold of different parts of my dress, even the older kids clinging tight as their heads whip around with wide-eyed fear. One of my younger cousins, Tiffany, who’s the oldest of the bunch at just fifteen, trembles, her fingers hooking into my arm as she delivers small electric shocks into my skin with her worry. It makes my skin jump and ache, but I don’t scold her or push her hand away.

“Why did the monsters have to come here?” she whispers. “It’s all their fault.”

I shake my head, understanding her fear but unwilling to allow such thoughts to fester in her mind. “They aren’t monsters, Tiff. Just like all people, there are good and bad vampires.”

Her eyes snap to me. “Are you sure? Or are you saying that because you likehim?” she asks in a brittle voice. “Mom and Dad were talking about it. They say that nothing good can come from it—and nothing has. What if the vampires killed them?”

A soft crescendo of weeping comes from the younger children, and I gently hush them before glaring at her. “That was unnecessary.”

A mortified look crosses her face before it falls miserably, and I sigh, acknowledging that this is a difficult situation for everyone. Even for Jack who prowls along the wall of the hedge, circling us protectively. I have little doubt he heard Tiffany’s words, though he is not letting on.

“What you said is really not fair,” I begin gently.

“Why not? Dad said that everything was better before all the monsters came out. There was just us witches, and we knew where we stood. Now everything is scary. I’m scared right this moment,” she admits in a whisper, her body trembling harder with her confession.

“Do you like it when you are judged for being a witch? If people don’t like your magic, or when your mother and father ask you to not share it among certain people so you don’t get hurt by those who are afraid of you.”

Her chin wobbles, guilt flooding her eyes as they tear up. She dashes a hand across her eyes. “I hate it. I hate that people think we are evil or that we will do bad things with our magic.” She gives me a skeptical look from beneath her wet lashes, her mouth pulling down in a confused frown. “Are you saying I should consider vampires like us? They eat people.”

---