Wicked Wings (Lizzie Grace #5) - Keri Arthur Page 0,103

melted bit of the tire.

Had she set me up?

Possibly. More than possibly.

And yet, why would she do that if she wanted Belle’s help? Didn’t she realize the connection between us?

Probably not, came Belle’s thought. She’s a very old witch, remember, and as far as we’re aware, there’s been no other cases of one witch becoming the familiar of another.

True, though I had a bad feeling Vita’s actions wouldn’t have changed even if she had known. Our White Lady was very intent on gaining her vengeance no matter what it cost anyone else.

Which was just one more reason for Belle not to give her access.

Once again, something cracked deep in the forest, this time behind me. I jumped and turned, my heart pounding in the vicinity of my throat. Nothing. There was nothing.

And yet she was there.

What the hell was she waiting for?

What sort of game was she playing?

Perhaps she simply wants you to suffer. Belle’s mental tones were grim. Maybe you should just jump into the SUV and drive as fast as you can away from the area, flat tire or not.

If I’m in the SUV, I can’t see her coming at me. I don’t want to end up like Byron.

Byron was stationary. You wouldn’t be.

I’m not sure it’ll make any difference. I scanned the area again, uncertain what to do, one part of me seeing the sense of Belle’s suggestion while another warned it would be the worst possible step.

The decision was taken out of my hands.

Power surged, sparking across the night, its feel so fierce it sprayed across my skin like liquid fire. Light appeared—it was a churning mass of heat that shot through the trees and left a trail of flaming destruction behind it. It wasn’t Empusae in origin. It was witch.

Vita.

The bitch was definitely using me as bait.

And her mass of burning destruction was headed straight for the SUV.

I swore and ran like hell.

I wasn’t fast enough. I was never going to be fast enough.

The fiery ball hit and the vehicle exploded. Heat, flames, bits of plastic and metal and God only knows what else cannoned into the air. The force of it was so strong it sent me flying. I threw out my hands, skinning them along the stony road as I tried to break my fall and protect my face. If it hurt, I didn’t feel it. I stopped sliding and twisted around; saw the remnants of the SUV on fire. Saw the naked, furious form coming straight at me.

Terror surged. I clamped down on it, scrambled to my feet, and threw the spell still entangled around my fingers. She saw it and dodged, but I flicked a hand and the spell arced around and came at her again. Magic surged, this time to my left. A twisting mass of fiery, angry-looking threads shot out of the trees—and once again, its source was Vita.

The Empusae leaped skyward, her form once again shifting from human to owl. Vita’s energy didn’t follow; instead, it collided with my repel spell and a second explosion occurred, one that sprayed energy and spell remnants across the nearby ground.

A scream rent the air. My gaze jumped up. All I saw was talons. Sharp, gleaming talons, coming straight at my face. I flung a hand up instinctively and the firefly energy that had been dancing across my fingertips formed a thick lance that arrowed directly at the demon. She screamed, dropped away sharply, and then came in under the lance for another attack. More energy surged across my fingertips, its force fainter. I flung it anyway, even as I began another spell that was a combination of a repelling spell and an energy whip. Then I turned and ran into the trees.

Remaining on the road, in plain sight, with multiple directions from which she could attack me, was stupid. I might in reality be no safer in the trees, but they did at least restrict the speed with which she could attack.

An incoming sense of doom hit. I slid to a stop, spun around, and cracked my whip toward her. She squawked and tipped to one side, but her descent barely altered in speed. I swore and dropped. Felt air rake my back, an indication of just how close her claws had come.

I thrust to my feet and lunged to the left, into the deeper undergrowth. Heard her scream, felt the wind of another approach. Lashed my whip around my head even as I ran on, crashing through the scrub, tearing