Bloodfire (Blood Destiny 1) - Helen Harper Page 0,98

was moving at an unbelievable speed, getting larger by the second, cartwheeling and spinning through the sky. I tried in vain to scramble at my feet, but the gale around was too strong. It felt as if I was being pinned to the earth. All I could do was watch. There was a roaring thunder in my ears and, oddly, I thought again of Corrigan’s loud animalistic ire as I’d escaped into the portal. He didn’t matter now though, nothing mattered now. My time was up.

Chapter Twenty Seven

The swooping shape drew nearer and nearer. Despite the situation, I vaguely admired the elegance of the flight. She landed a few feet away from me, causing ripples of tremors to shake beneath me. At least the wind died down though, and the atmosphere returned to the heavy oppressive stillness from before.

As soon as I was able, I sprang to my feet. Belatedly it occurred to me that I’d dropped the bow after I’d tried to shoot the door, and that no doubt it had been carried away in the hurricane. Fortunately I’d had enough sense left in me to hook the dirk through one of the belt holes at the top of my jeans, where it was still secure. I pulled it out and held it in front of me, prepared to take action.

Iabartu stood relaxed in front of me, examining her fingernails, as if she needed to make an emergency appointment with her manicurist. She was the same height as Alex’s scrying had intimated and she was indeed floating just a few inches off the ground, as she had been when she had brutally attacked John. A sudden image of his corpse flashed through my mind and I felt the returning flash of fire. I shifted my weight and took a step forward. I was going to everything I could to destroy her.

“Bitch,” I muttered, without even realising it.

Her white eyes lifted up to mine. And they actually were white - she had dark pinpricks of pupils, but absolutely no irises. The effect was extraordinarily unsettling. Despite the shudder of revulsion her gaze caused in me, it occurred to me that she looked rather bored of me already.

“What’s your point?” Her voice was quiet and yet icily hard.

I swallowed and then steeled myself. She might be ice but I was all fire. I ignored her question. “I believe that you have been looking for me.” I impressed myself by keeping my voice steady.

Iabartu arched a thin eyebrow at me. “Why, yes, little dragon, I have.”

“You may be rather disappointed,” I countered, “I am more human than Wyr.”

She hissed, unexpectedly. “That is…unfortunate. But not disastrous or unexpected. It is your human nature that I knew would mean you would come looking for me if I pushed hard enough. Why do you think I left the portal open? Or the cloth for you to track? Your kind are so very sentimental and weak.”

“You murdered my alpha,” I spat.

A glimmer of a smile flickered over her bow-shaped lips. “Yes, I did, didn’t I?” She laughed musically, and the sound grated through every inch of my soul, fanning my flames further. “Just think how much anguish he could have spared you if he’d only given you up at the beginning. Because, like I told him, the end result is still the same. I will drain you dry of every drop of fiery blood until all that is left is an empty husk.” She laughed again, but this time the sound was colder.

“Why?” I bit out. “What makes my blood so special to you?”

“Oh little human Wyr, I could use it in ways that you can only dream of. You see, like you, I’m just a half-breed. Half a goddess.” Her eyes gleamed. “A fantastically powerful one, but still there are those who seek to bring me down because I am not as pure as they would wish. Your blood will help me destroy them into dust. Just a few carefully placed drops mixed into their mead and they’ll be mine to control.” She laughed coldly, but I noticed that her fists were clenched.

“If you’d just asked,” I commented, “I’d give you a few drops.”

The expression on her face was scornful. “And let you loose for someone else to use? I don’t think so. Besides,” she flipped her hair self-consciously, “I need a constant supply. Your blood has certain…addictive qualities that makes it so useful. There’s no point in establishing the need, the desire for it,