Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,103
sound of the throaty purr of motorcycles filled the night.
It was then that Genevieve bent to touch the ground and pulled a huge web of power free. Rowan tried not to pass out as she shot at Guy and the recoil echoed through her straight to her arm.
Clive came out of the shadows looking a little worse for wear but when he caught sight of Rowan, he turned a whole mouth full of very sharp teeth Guy’s way and headed toward him.
As he did that, Genevieve wheezed out the words in a language Rowan didn’t recognize at all. Power seemed to swirl around Genevieve as she spoke, rising as her hands did.
“You cannot take sides!” Guy bellowed into the night where the Dust Devils had come to sit on their motorcycles, watching.
“I am their priestess. My side is their side.” Genevieve made a sharp movement, pulling her arms apart in a ripping motion and with her naked eyes, Rowan saw the crack in Guy’s protective magic.
She got to her feet and charged him, Clive still savaging Guy’s neck and back, nails and teeth furiously destroying. Rowan braced for whatever blow Guy was going to land as she shoved her blade into that crack, pressing it deep into his body with all her might.
Then she sailed over his head, hitting the side of the porch railing so hard she was fairly sure there’d be internal damage. As it was, she was unable to move for long moments as she fought to remain conscious.
Star came to lie at her side, nosing Rowan’s face to keep her awake. She tried to find the words to tell Star she’d be okay but couldn’t. So she accepted the doggie kisses and managed to turn her head to see what was going on.
In her peripheral vision, she saw a burst of light followed by an inhuman cry of agony. The ground shook so hard it awakened all new pains. Star never left her though and several minutes later, Clive arrived, going to his knees.
“Rowan, damn it. I told you not to get hurt,” he said, trying not to let her hear how panicked he was.
She tasted blood but was no longer on the verge of passing out. Sounds all around came into focus.
“Guy?” she croaked.
“Exploded. Take my blood.”
“No. I don’t want to.” She tried to sit up but her body had no plans to obey her orders. Which sort of put Clive ahead in their little battle of the wills.
Genevieve came to her next. “Take his blood, Rowan, and stop being so cranky.”
“Did we get him?”
Suddenly Clive’s wrist was at her mouth and she had to choose between spitting out the blood he’d just made flow for her, or to just suck it up and let it help heal her.
She wasn’t well enough to be a bitch about it, so she swallowed several times, welcoming the slow numbness that followed as his blood began to seep into her body, fixing things in its path.
He seemed satisfied enough that he helped her sit, leaning against him. Star crawled half into her lap.
“We got him. I ripped a hole in his shields and you stabbed him with a weapon tipped in iron. You got in there pretty deep before he pulled that wrestling move and threw you over his shoulder. Then he exploded.”
“Ew! Is that what smells so bad?” Rowan hoped it wasn’t her but she was pretty sure she peed a little when that last blow landed.
“It was an explosion of light and matter more than blood and guts. I think the stench is from the dead bodies he’s got stockpiled out back,” Patience said as she joined them.
Motorcycles drove away, the sound growing more and more faint. Rowan met Genevieve’s gaze and her friend nodded.
“I don’t know if we could have beaten him without the magic I was able to pull from the Trick,” she said quietly.
“But we did. For Carey and Thena. For all the innocent people in that town, for all the witches and Vampires who died to fuel his power.” Rowan didn’t want to cry but tears came anyway. No matter how tough she tried to be, all she could think was that Carey died because Clive’s uncle gave her secrets to their enemy. Not even at his command.
He was dead for nothing.
Yes, she’d gotten her vengeance. She’d exacted her wrath and still, there was a Carey sized hole in her heart and she couldn’t imagine it ever not hurting.