fell. Drake, horrified, sprang up and ran to her. Red blossomed on Maya’s white coveralls in a point just above her heart.
Nash stared, blinking, all color on his face draining. I saw the shock in his gray eyes, the sudden acknowledgement that he loved Maya above all else, and the fact that he might have just killed her. He stood frozen, the gun at the end of his outstretched hand.
I broke away and ran to Maya, Mick with me. Dragons could heal—though I wasn’t sure if Drake could help if Maya was too badly hurt.
Nash came unfrozen. The sound of his anguish tore through the morning as he spun, cocking the gun to fire at Amy.
The bullet was knocked out of the air by a shaft of light so brilliant, my eyes screwed up. When I could see again, Amy was laughing.
But she hadn’t been the one to produce the stab of Beneath magic. Another young woman, this one Native American, came around the corner of the house. She puffed on her cocked finger, as though blowing smoke from a gun, and grinned at us all.
“Now, now,” Gabrielle said. “No one needs to move. What a cozy, family reunion.”
Chapter Nineteen
Nash quickly upended his gun, even though the most dangerous person in the little tableau had just walked into it. Part of Gabrielle’s menace was that she appeared to be innocent and harmless.
“Gabrielle?” I asked warily.
Her brows snapped together. “How do you know my name?” she demanded, which confirmed my worst fears.
This was Gabrielle of the past, before she and I had called a truce, before Grandmother had sat her down and taught her a few things. Gabrielle before I’d met her had been just this side of crazy, had caused the death of her father and stepmother, and gone on a rampage. I wasn’t certain whether she’d met our mutual mother at this point or not, but it hardly mattered at the moment.
“You know who I am,” I countered.
“I do.” Gabrielle looked me over. “And I know you’re not needed, Janet Begay.” She sent a shaft of Beneath magic at me, designed to kill.
Mick jerked me out of the way, but not fast enough. He took a shot of Gabrielle’s power in his shoulder, which started to burn him alive. He dove to the grass, desperately trying to crush out the white-hot flame.
Gabrielle shot again, but this time, Drake was ready with fire, hurling it at her without hesitation. Gabrielle’s magic broke but an instant later was back, supported by another blast from Amy.
It was far too much for Drake to resist on his own. Mick couldn’t help him at the moment, and my Beneath power, while welling inside me, paled compared to Gabrielle’s and Amy’s, and I was minus a storm.
Nash flung himself in front of the shafts of light, taking the full brunt of them. Both Amy and Gabrielle stepped back, uncertain, as the Beneath magic lifted Nash from his feet.
It turned him around, and then, as Amy and Gabrielle stared in astonishment, Nash’s body began to absorb it. Faster and faster, the white magic poured into Nash, like a deluge down a street grating.
He absorbed it all, his body glowing with it, until the magic broke into fragments and exploded outward. The fragments became sparks of brilliant light, then extinguished altogether, like dying fireworks.
Nash thumped back to the ground, remaining on his feet, and drew a long, but unlabored breath.
“Shit,” Gabrielle said in astonishment. “How’d he do that?” She sent him a smile I’d seen her direct at him before. “Want to do it again?”
“No!” I cried as she lifted her hand. Nash only stared at her, his gray eyes moving as he tried to work out what was happening to his efficient, by-the-book world.
I started running for Nash, praying he wouldn’t shoot me as I charged him. But I’d had an idea. I was under a dream spell, and Nash was a null. Nash’s anti-magic might possibly be able to negate the spell on me and wake me up. I had no idea whether this would work, but it was worth a shot.
Mick was up again but weak and in obvious pain. Pissed off, though. He brought his hands up in front of him, chanting words I didn’t know.
Drake’s palms filled with fire, he ready to throw everything he had at Gabrielle and Amy. Nash spun and met my charge, not shooting, thank the gods, but prepared to tackle me.
I slammed into him. We both went