Dead Man's Deal The Asylum Tales - By Jocelynn Drake Page 0,51

anything else. There were now two magic users in my apartment. I was in serious shit.

When I had battled to leave the Tower, I had faced only Simon. Of course, Simon was a master warlock of considerable power, so beating the bastard had been no easy task and I had no illusions about the fact that luck had played a large part in my final victory. But now I was faced with two and I was beginning to have some serious doubts about the likelihood of my survival.

With my back pressed against the cabinets, I peered around the edge of the wall to see a warlock with bright blond hair taking a slow step across the balcony toward the glassless doors. Yeah, warding the balcony was starting to look like a good idea. I quickly waved my wand and lifted my empty left hand. The glass shards that littered my living room rose up into the air and turned toward my newest guest like thousands of little daggers. With a whispered command, the shards shot through the opening at the warlock, attacking him again and again. They wouldn’t kill him, just buy me some time.

Turning my attention to the witch, I frowned, struggling to think of something that would be effective in getting her out of my hair without killing her. Of course, even if I managed to send her away, there was still a good chance that she would only return at a later date. If the inhabitants of the Towers were anything, they were definitely single-minded. With a grunt, I gave my wand a short wave in the air, wrapping the energy net tighter around her so that it sizzled as it bit into her skin, sending her screams even higher in pitch and volume. A second later, she disappeared from sight and I gave a quick sigh of relief. If the spell I had woven was correct, she was now sinking to the ocean floor near a reef off the North Shore of Oahu.

Could this kill her? Sure. If she was stupid enough to come after me without knowing some basic escape and underwater breathing spells, of course she could die. Was she going to die? Most likely not. Warlocks and witches were harder to kill than that. The only plus in all this was that if she did die, I wasn’t going to get dinged again. If she died, it would be because she drowned, not because of magic. It might seem coldhearted, but the witch bitch had been here to kill me first and I wasn’t about to owe Lilith a second year.

The air crackled again with pent-up energy. I jerked my head back, pressing against the cabinets as a bolt of magic shot through the entrance into the kitchen and slammed into the wall, leaving behind a black scorch mark. Apparently the warlock had gotten free of my little glass entanglement.

“What the fuck do you want?” I shouted from the kitchen. I stayed back, unwilling to stick my head out and give the asshole a target. I could hear the muffled crunch of glass underfoot as he stepped onto the living room carpet.

“Your head for treason,” snarled the warlock.

Before I could stop myself, I leaned around the doorway so I could look at him. “What?”

He didn’t speak but snapped his wand in my direction, sending yet another blast of green energy in my direction. I raised my left hand before my face, calling up the appropriate countercurse to shield myself. A grunt escaped me when the energy pummeled my shield, knocking me back. Cracking sounds filled the air, sending my heart pumping in fear. The energy stopped for a second only to be followed by another blast. My defensive shield splintered and I was thrown to the back of the narrow kitchen.

Pain exploded down my spine and radiated through my ribs as I slid down the wall and fell on my ass. Fuck. This bastard was strong. He would have given Simon a run for his money. Were the witch and warlock the next in line for the open seat on the council and they thought killing me would give them a leg up?

Breathing in short, ragged gasps, I couldn’t get a lungful of air. I was also having trouble clenching my wand in my hand as my fingers had started to tingle.

With a wave of my left hand, all the drawers in the kitchen slid open. A second later, the utensils hovered in