Boundary Born (Boundary Magic Book 3) - Melissa F. Olson Page 0,88
deep, deeper than I ever could. It was like he’d rewired their brains. The other four vampires were closing in—I could feel them only inches from my back.
Well, I would just have to try harder. I poured everything I had into Opal, all the power I could summon. “Remember me,” I said fiercely. “Defend me.”
Then the others were on me, and I lost my grip on the mindset as I was bodily pulled away from her. The two vampires who reached me first were the ones from Denver, and although I tried to catch their eyes to press them too, they carefully avoided my gaze. They grabbed at me, but they were clumsier than the vampires I had fought in the past. Maybe Lysander’s press had dulled their reflexes. The one at my back grabbed me around the waist, and before anyone could seize my arms I snapped an elbow back fast, bursting his nose. He was surprised enough to loosen his grip, and I dropped low, ducking between their legs to dance back.
I felt pretty good about that for about two seconds, then one of the female vampires I didn’t know was suddenly in front of me, wrapping one hand in my hair and pinning my left arm to my body with her other hand. I tried stomping on her instep, but she barely even flinched. A male vampire in front of me snatched my right wrist and began wrenching it backward, until I cried out in pain. A third vampire ducked down and grabbed both of my ankles, and no matter how much I struggled I couldn’t kick free of his grasp as he began to lift me. Emil was saying something in front of us, but I didn’t bother listening. “No!” I screamed, but the most I could do was wiggle. I twisted as violently as I could, but their grips were absolute.
Then there was a sickeningly loud crack as the head of the vampire bending back my arm seemed to snap to one side. His grasp abruptly loosened, and he crumpled to the ground. I twisted to peer down and saw that his neck was broken. My eyes went up, and I saw Opal standing there. She gave me one quick, meaningful nod, then punched the vampire holding my left arm so hard that her nose seemed to cave inward. It must have done something to her spine, because she dropped, too.
Two down.
Startled by this new threat, the vampire holding my legs shifted his grip, and I caught him off-guard by intentionally toppling myself backward onto the ground. I used that precious second of surprise to tug the shredder free from my forearm. I couldn’t get an angle on him, but Opal recognized my intention and grabbed his shoulders, slamming his back against the ground. I regained my balance and struggled forward to plunge the shredder into his chest. His heart exploded soundlessly, and the light left his eyes as his body began to decay.
Three down. Two left.
Emil was shouting instructions to his vampire guard, but I tuned him out and focused on the remaining vampire near us. His teeth bared as he stepped toward me, single-minded, and I realized he couldn’t adjust Lysander’s press—I was his target, and he couldn’t look away from me and focus on Opal even if it killed him. Which it did, a heartbeat later, when Opal snapped his neck. He would survive, as would the other two, but it would take them awhile to recover.
Opal reached down, offering me her hand. I took it and climbed to my feet. “Are you okay?” she asked, looking worried. “I’m sorry, I . . . I’m not really sure what’s going on.”
“Tell you later,” I promised. “You’re doing great.” I turned to face Emil, my hand going to my back. “What do you think, brother? You want to send your bodyguard after us, too? I don’t like his chances.”
Emil’s mouth dropped open, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was staring at Opal, his eyes wide. “You broke his press,” he whispered. He said it like I’d deciphered some famously unsolvable math theorem. He turned to me, shock still written on his face. “Come with me,” he said, his voice weak.
“I thought we settled this. I’m not going anywhere with you.”
He gestured with frustration. “That’s not what I mean! Come back with me. You and me and my mother—maybe we could find a way to stand against them.”