Shades of Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #16) - Alexandra Ivy Page 0,76
it against her temple. The creature was giving her a headache.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
Another condescending sigh. “The fact that she still had the stone with her meant she’d used it just before she became stuck in that void.”
Brigette stilled, suddenly realizing what the creature was trying to say. “Oh. You think she made a wish and it put her in that…void or whatever that place was?”
“Oui.” He held her gaze. “Wishes are dangerous things.”
A chill wiggled down her spine. Then she glanced around the desolate village. She’d made a terrible mistake. Now she had the potential to make amends.
“I’m willing to risk it,” she muttered.
Levet clicked his tongue at her stubborn refusal to heed his warnings. “What is your wish?”
“To change the past.”
* * * *
Basq silently cursed as he studied Greta’s covetous expression. He’d already realized that they’d been lured to this specific spot by this specific woman. And that she wanted something from Chaaya. But he hadn’t once considered that it might be connected to her magical weapon.
Chaaya looked equally bemused. “My spear?”
Greta licked her lips, taking a step closer to Chaaya. “It’s a powerful artifact.”
Chaaya wrapped a protective hand on the hilt of the spear. “Why do you want it?”
Greta hesitated. Basq could sense she was eager to simply grab the weapon. So why didn’t she? Did she fear a physical confrontation? Or was there something about the magic of the spear that made her wary?
“It can take me home,” the older woman finally admitted.
Chaaya shook her head. “It doesn’t create portals.”
“I can create the portal,” Greta insisted. “I just need you to use the magic of the spear to pull us through it.”
Basq stepped to the side, pressing against Chaaya in warning. “This is a trap.”
Greta hissed in his direction like an angry cat. “Stay out of this, leech.”
He ignored the woman, concentrating on Chaaya. “She deliberately used Brigette to get you here.”
Chaaya sent him a puzzled frown. “How?”
“She somehow realized that once Brigette escaped the dungeons, you would be the one chosen to track her down,” he said. “You’re the only one who can sense the darkness.”
“Why not just try to call to me?”
“Would you have answered a strange voice whispering sweet nothings in your ear?” he asked.
Chaaya shook her head. “No. I would have assumed it was a trick by the beast.”
“Exactly.” Basq sent a narrow-eyed glare toward Greta. “Your aunt knows you well enough to find another way to lure you to this place.”
“This is nonsense,” Greta snarled, clearly sensing that her opportunity to escape was slipping away. “I told you what happened.”
“Basq is right.” Chaaya took a deliberate step backward. “It’s too much of a coincidence that you would choose Brigette.”
Greta balled her hands into fists, her eyes flaring with an ugly combination of emotions. Greed. Lust. Fury.
“I wanted to do this the easy way.” She lifted a fist, as if intending to smash it into Chaaya’s face.
Basq instinctively leaped to intercept the blow, grabbing the woman’s arm and using it to throw her against a nearby hut. She hit with a satisfying thud, but with a speed that caught him off guard, she was on her feet and striding toward him with a furious expression.
“You are starting to piss me off, vampire,” she snarled.
Basq moved to block the woman from reaching Chaaya. “Just starting?”
“This is my world,” Greta warned. “I control everything.”
Basq shrugged. “Not me.”
Greta smiled, then she waved her arm in a dramatic motion. Instantly the ground disappeared beneath Basq’s feet. With a curse he hastily leaped to the side.
“Everything.” She smirked, giving another wave of her hand. This time a spray of white-hot coals from the fire zoomed toward him.
“Basq,” Chaaya cried out.
He leaped over the lethal projectiles, his fangs fully extended. “I’ve got this,” he assured her.
Greta instinctively backed away as he raced toward her. “You can’t kill me,” she protested.
“I’m willing to make you wish you were dead.”
Basq grabbed her by the shoulders, already prepared when the ground disappeared. Still holding her tight, he jumped on top of one of the huts and slashed his fangs through her throat.
Blood spurted even as she used her powers to create a hole in the thatching. He tumbled to the ground, but with blinding speed he was out of the hut to confront the woman standing just a few feet away.
He growled in disgust. The blood stained her gown, but her neck had already healed. She hadn’t been lying when she claimed she couldn’t die. So now what?