Sorceress, Interrupted - By A. J. Menden Page 0,96

she’s just using you to get what she wants. Though, why she didn’t just let the Dragon out herself—”

“She can’t!” Dylan crowed. “She needed me. And she saw my potential and—”

“Why did she need you if she’s so powerful?” I asked. Kate could probably have let the Dragon out anytime she wanted. Scary thought, but true. Had Dylan truly hooked up with one of the lesser gods?

“Her powers are based on inspiration.”

I felt like a knife punctured my stomach. “Inspiration? W-who? Which one?”

Cyrus was staring at me, confused. “You know what he’s talking about? It’s all nonsense to me.”

“A Muse. He’s hooked up with a Muse.” I turned back to our enemy. “Which one, Dylan?” Please don’t say her name, please don’t say her name.

“Mneme.”

“Goddamn it!” I swore violently and threw in an extra few curses in Italian for emphasis.

“Who’s Mneme?” Cyrus asked.

“The Muse of remembrance. Older than her better-known sisters. And a crazy bitch.”

“She was much more complimentary regarding you, Fantazia,” Dylan said.

“There’s a first time for everything.”

Dylan laughed. “I wanted to kill you, but she said no. I sent the Cult of the Dragon to get you, and she got angry. She was in a real snit about it, wouldn’t have sex with me for days. Got pretty mad at me when I had control of Cyrus earlier and threatened to take your head. Don’t know how mad she’ll be after I kill you here, but I’ll tell her it was in self-defense.”

“Dylan,” I warned. “I’m give you this one chance. Walk away now, before I’m forced to kill you.”

“Funny. But you see, I’m the one with the power here, and I’m not nearly that generous.”

He and his minions attacked. Cyrus took on the minions, somehow managing to cast a magic-blocking spell and also charging at them with his sword. “I’ll take care of them, you take care of Dylan,” he called. The minions looked for weaponry of their own.

“That’s going to be easier said than done,” Dylan replied, blasting me with some sort of draining spell. I raised a shield just in time, but felt it waver. “I’m a demigod now!”

“You’re still no match for me,” I said, flinging a bolt of energy. It should have knocked him off his feet and into the wall behind him, but he only took one small step back. I was definitely down, power-wise. But I was also unwilling to give up, so I quickly added an oxygen-stealing spell, wrapping it with a few words around his head.

He brushed it away like a cobweb from his face. “You want to try again?” he asked, mocking me.

I took a different approach, trying to affect his mind with a spell that summoned all of his worst nightmares—or should have. He frowned. “Being naked in school without remembering to study for a test? Hardly your best work, Fantazia.” He gave me a nasty look. “I’ll give you one more shot.”

I cast the most brutal spell I know, one that reached inside his body and caused his heart to stop. Nine times out of ten it kills whomever it’s thrown at, so I don’t use it very often. This time, it was a complete fizzle. Dylan just brushed it off his chest with a chuckle.

“That tickled,” he said. Then he gave me a fiery look. “My turn.”

With a growl, he threw a blasting spell at me. It was more powerful than any attack I’d ever faced, and it obliterated my defenses and knocked me off my feet, sending me crashing into the wall. More importantly, it knocked the sword from my hand and sent it clattering across the floor. The edges of my vision started to go black. I heard Cyrus call my name. I could barely move, but turned my head to see that he’d gotten rid of Dylan’s cronies.

The effect of our soul bond was hitting him, though, and he was curled up in pain on the floor. So, Wesley was right: Cyrus and I would die together.

Dylan walked over to where my sword lay and nonchalantly leaned down to pick it up. “Poor Fantazia,” he said. “Not as tough as you used to be. Maybe it’s because you gave a big part of yourself to this no-talent loser. I’m betting you wish you could rethink that, huh?” He hefted the blade and gave it a few experimental swings. “Let me give you a little hint, though. This weapon?” He held it out. “It wouldn’t have worked on me. See, a human can