Sinister Magic: An Urban Fantasy Dragon Series (Death Before Dragons #1) - Lindsay Buroker Page 0,87

of his blood. He’s super uptight about it.”

She spat at me. I jerked my head back to avoid the phlegmy wad, then patted down the slick oddly-textured black robe she wore to make sure she didn’t have pockets full of weapons.

“You are the Ruin Bringer,” Synaru-van said in realization. “You have delivered yourself to us?” She lost her ire and frustration and cackled.

I liked it better when she’d been spitting mad.

“You were the only one in that organization that my people thought would get in the way of our plans, but we weren’t sure if we could kill you. If we killed your employer, and bribed someone to close your office, we thought you would quit.”

Great, confirmation that Willard had only been targeted because of me.

“But now you’re here in our lair. You’ll never escape.” She laughed so hard that tears came to her creepy yellow eyes.

Someone pounded at the door.

Do you want me to bite her head off? Sindari asked.

Yes, but I didn’t say that. I gripped the mad elf’s shoulder. “If there’s an antidote, tell me, and I’ll keep my tiger from eating you.”

Someone pounded again and tried to shove the door aside. Synaru-van kept laughing. What a nut.

Keep holding her down. I dug a syringe out of Zoltan’s sample kit.

Synaru-van spotted it, and her humor shifted to rage. “You think I’ll let you take my blood?”

“I sure hope so.” I shoved her sleeve up as she renewed her bucking and thrashing against Sindari.

As I struggled to hold her arm down and find a vein, I expected her to fling a magical attack at him—or me—any second. It took three stabs to get the needle into her vein, and she shrieked at the indignation.

“What are your plans anyway? Our office wasn’t even bothering your people.” I hadn’t even known they’d existed two days ago…

She calmed, focusing on Sindari, and I sensed a psionic blast targeting him. There was the attack I’d expected. He shook his head and growled without releasing her.

Shouts came from the tunnel. I only had a half a syringe of blood, but I pulled out the needle and capped it. It would have to be enough.

Synaru-van’s mad yellow eyes turned toward me, and I knew she would launch her next psionic attack my way. I stuffed my syringe in the kit and pocketed it.

The wave of power came not from her but from behind. The deadbolt snapped as the door flew open, banging against the wall.

Sindari lowered his fangs toward the alchemist’s throat, but another wave of pure energy came crashing into the lab. It struck hard, flattening me to the floor and hurling Sindari across the lab. He smashed into a cabinet, breaking open the doors, beakers and flasks tumbling out and shattering all around him.

Mages stood in the doorway.

I swore and shoved myself to my feet, swinging my gun toward them as two dark elves charged in. When I fired, my bullets bounced off invisible barriers around them, ricocheting into the ceiling and nearby cabinets. I switched Fezzik to my left hand and pulled out Chopper, hoping the magical blade would cut through their shields.

A few feet away, Synaru-van reached into the bosom of her robe—why hadn’t I checked there for weapons?—and pulled out a vial. Before I could stop her, she flung it to the floor at my feet.

Holding my breath again, I sprang backward and scrambled as far from the cracked glass as I could. Synaru-van was too far away to reach with Chopper. I fired at her, hoping she wasn’t shielded, as blue smoke writhed from the floor, its tendrils stretching toward me.

One of my bullets sank into her shoulder, and she shrieked, but my victory was short-lived. Invisible energy slapped against my wrist with bone-crunching force, and I couldn’t keep from crying out and dropping Fezzik. One of the dark elves rushed to protect Synaru-van as the other sprang for me.

I still had Chopper in my other hand, and I stabbed like a fencer to keep him back. The blade pierced his shield, and his eyes bulged as the point dug into his chest. For the first time, one of them retreated, scrambling madly back out of reach.

Taking advantage, I reached into my pocket to pull out a grenade. I had the blood. It was time to blow my way out of here. Maybe the ceiling would collapse, and I could climb out.

But even as I slashed and cut my foe, slicing into flesh three more times as I