Wayward Son - Rainbow Rowell Page 0,29

them to rat-drinking. “Have you heard the good news about small mammals?”

I can’t just keep pushing these two back. I’ve been trying to keep my distance from them, casting instead of punching. (I couldn’t take them both in a fistfight.) But Lestat has her eye on my ivory wand—she’ll grab it as soon as she’s close enough.

I hear a familiar bellow and spin around.

He’s at the other side of the square, swashbuckling out of a sword shop like the illegitimate grandson of Indiana Jones and Robin Hood.

There you are, Simon Snow.

With a blade in each hand and a fair-haired vampire on his tail.

Simon’s beautiful in battle: He never stops. You never see him plan his next move. He doesn’t plan, he just moves.

But he’s running out of options. His sword has already cracked in half. He’s got an axe in the other hand, and—it breaks against the vampire’s rock-hard neck. Crowley, no. Simon’s no match for him now, not without magic.

“Snow!” I shout, forgetting my two opponents—

Just as Simon takes the broken axe handle and stakes the vampire right through the heart.

SIMON

I hear Baz call my name. When I look up, two vampires have grabbed him by the arms.

The vampire impaled on my axe handle has already started to wither. Like it was the magic in his heart holding him together. I pull back the stake, and he falls—a man-shaped pile of blood and boots and ashes.

I’m already in the air, flying towards Baz as fast as I can manage. The vampires have pushed him to the ground—bollocks! One of them has his wand!

I beat her over the back with my axe handle; I’m at the wrong angle to stake her. She turns on me, waving Baz’s ivory wand as if a spell is just going to fall out of it.

Baz uses the distraction to get back on his feet and throw a punch at the other vampire, the guy. It’s a messy punch. Baz has never learned to fight with his body, even though he’s made of steel. But the vampire he’s fighting is the same—all power, no skill. They’re trading hits like clumsy steam engines.

I hook my tail around the girl vampire’s leg, but the trick doesn’t work this time. She holds her ground, then jerks her leg back, pulling me into her arms. Then she goes for my face with the wand—she’s given up on casting spells and is just going to stab me with it—but I wrap a wing around her, holding her so close she can’t move.

I forgot about her fangs. She opens her mouth wide.

I whip my wing open, flinging her away.

It gives me a moment to deck the guy Baz is fighting squarely in the jaw. (It has almost no effect on him—vampires are nigh invulnerable—but it feels good to land a punch.)

The girl’s on my back faster than I thought possible. I was wrong to turn away from her. I beat my wings, but she hangs on.

“Simon!” Baz yells, and I want to tell him not to get distracted.

I crash my skull back, trying to keep her fangs off me. My wings are still flapping, and I’ve lifted a few feet off the ground, but it’s not enough to take off.

Baz staggers back from his opponent, then stands tall, making two fists at his hips. His eyes go hooded and dark. That’s a very attractive way to die, I think. But then Baz opens his palms, and he’s holding two balls of fire.

He shoves one in the boy vampire’s face, then hurls the other at the beast on my back—she bursts into flames.

And so do I.

I fall to the ground, rolling—as the crowd around us erupts into applause.

Baz reaches for my hand to help me up. I take it, snagging his wand from the ground. I hand it to him. “Penny,” I say.

We both turn to the other end of the square, where Penny has just vaporized the last vampire. He’s there, and then he isn’t. Once he’s gone, she sees us. She gives me a hesitant thumbs-up, then steps around the vampire’s meagre remains.

We all start walking then, almost like we agreed to do it. Slowly. Towards the exit.

The Normals are still applauding. Baz turns and waves at the crowd. He elbows me, so I wave, too.

Penny catches up with us and grabs our arms. “We’ve got to get out of here.”

“If we run,” Baz says through his smile, “they’ll follow us.” He bows and waves with both hands.

Penny and I