Blackbird Crowned (The Witch King's Crown #3) - Keri Arthur Page 0,108

men, I saw the guns. I swore, flicked a finger of wind at them, and snatched the weapons from their grasps. As one, they turned and ran.

I couldn’t afford to let them escape, if only because they might come back with heavily armed reinforcements.

I snared them with the wind and drew them back into the whirlpool. Then, with a quick flick of the sword, I killed them, slicing their bodies open from neck to toe. As their screams abruptly died and their blood colored the whirlpool, I became aware of the sudden sharpening of electricity and the thick, almost metallic scent in the air.

I swore, let the wind drop, and dove into the barn.

Not a moment too soon.

A bolt of lightning as thick as my arm hit the ground where I’d been standing only seconds before and fused the dirt into glassy black rock.

Maybe Max had decided killing me might be the easier option.

I scrambled upright and, as thunder rumbled ominously overhead, thrust Elysian into the ground, pressed Nex against her hilt, and once again used the earth’s awareness of those who walked with darkness to direct the lightning into the ground.

Eight more halflings were ashed. Max obviously hadn’t been aware of that little trick, because the magic protecting his people wrapped around their bodies but not the ground. He had protected the house, however, because I was getting little more than an odd sense of deadness from its entire footprint.

Another warning rumble of thunder. I sucked in a deep breath, silently prayed for luck, and then ran, with every ounce of speed I could muster, toward the end of the house.

Close to the halfway point, I spotted something glinting in gravel and realized it was one of the guns. I scooped it up and ran on. I had no idea how to use one, but I wasn’t about to leave it just lying there for someone else to pick up, either.

The end of the house loomed, and the magic protecting the inner walls washed over my senses, a thick slide of foulness that flayed my skin. Horror surged. Not because the foulness told me there were dark elves within the building, but because my skin actually reacted to it.

Me, who was immune to magic, reacting to a spell.

Fear hit so hard that I stumbled several steps and had to throw out a hand to stop from crashing head-first into the wall. The slimy threads I could sense but not see rolled across my fingers, making them burn and itch. Vita immediately responded and the reaction eased, but it was still a horrifying realization. If they’d found a way to counter my natural immunity then I was in deep, deep trouble. At least Vita, for the moment, seemed able to counter the spell’s intention, and that meant I had better keep her out of sight and safe.

I swung Elysian’s scabbard around and thrust Vita into her. The gray immediately swept her from sight, but her faint pulse nevertheless echoed across my senses. Hopefully, I’d be able to access her if necessary.

I sucked in an unsteady breath, then shoved the gun into my belt at the back of my jeans. I had no idea if the safety was on, no idea if one wrong movement would set the damn thing off, but having it close to hand made me feel a tiny bit safer.

Overhead, the thunder rumbled ominously, and the thick scent of sulfur once again charged the air. But the heavy black clouds weren’t gathering above the farmhouse; they were rather racing off to the left. It was only then that it occurred to me—if Max had found a way to protect his forces from Nex’s lightning, it was also possible he’d uncovered a means of seeing a Blackbird wrapped in light.

I dragged out my phone and sent a quick warning to Luc. He didn’t answer but if he was in the middle of a battle, he was unlikely to. I just had to hope he saw it before that damn storm hit.

With another unsteady breath, I held Elysian out in front of me and padded to the front of the building. A quick peek around the corner revealed no guards, and there was no immediate sign of any other spells. Not that they needed any, given the power in that foul wave.

I took a cautious step out to look at the windows. They’d all been boarded. Max really had prepared his trap well, and it was, I suspected, one