“Time for you to start over.” His eyes bulged wide, but beyond his tremors, he seemed unable to move.
This was the perfect situation. She would half-syphon him to be sure he was weak and then have Catriona and Broch join her. It would be the perfect opportunity for them to see if Catriona could syphon—
Anne’s thoughts cut short.
Hold on.
I don’t feel anything.
Joseph’s energy wasn’t feeding into her. The rush of power she usually felt during the syphoning process hadn’t come.
I can’t syphon him.
She frowned, trying to think of another way to accomplish what she needed to do.
I guess I’ll tie him up. Maybe Con, with his mixture of Sentinel and Angeli power could syphon him, or even Catriona or Broch—worst-case scenario, they’d have an Angelus swing by and give it a shot. There had to be a way…
She looked down at Joseph to find his eyes more focused. He was looking at her.
Before she could react, she felt a sharp pain in her left side. He’d recovered from Con’s disruption and pulled a small throwing knife from his vest to plunge it into her side.
Stupid. She’d gotten cocky and let her guard down.
She tried to disrupt his energy with her own to knock him out, a trick she’d used countless of other times against ill-behaved humans, but again, her powers, so carefully provided by the Angeli to help her defeat their fallen, failed her.
Anne pushed herself away. Usually, if she was wounded in battle, she’d use the energy of her enemy to quickly heal. But Joseph provided no power. She’d still heal faster than the average human, but at the rate she was losing blood, it wouldn’t be fast enough to beat Joseph’s next attack. The fireplug was already back on his feet and had produced a large Buck knife from a holster on his side.
He leered at her. “Chica, I’m going to carve you into—”
Something clattered at the door and Anne looked over to see Broch burst into the room with Catriona close behind. She didn’t have to say a word. The two assessed her situation and Broch ran forward to catch Joseph’s hand in mid-air as he lunged to stab at her.
Joseph grabbed for another knife with his free hand but Broch soon had that wrist in his grasp as well. Though he fought like a bull, Broch’s size was too much for the smaller man. Joseph roared with frustration as Broch pinned him to the floor with his knee.
Catriona ran to Anne’s side.
“You’re bleeding.”
“I’m fine.” She could tell by the way Catriona was staring at her wound it didn’t look like she’d be fine. “I just need some time. Try and syphon him while Broch has him down.”
Catriona slapped her hand to her chest. “Me?”
Anne nodded and pressed harder on the hole in her side. The pain of the pressure stole her breath.
“I couldn’t do it,” she said through clenched teeth. “I’m not the right frequency, I guess. Just try. Touch bare flesh and imagine his life flowing into you.” Catriona was about to move toward Broch when Anne reached out and grabbed her arm. “If it doesn’t work go find Con. He can knock him out.”
The world around her seemed to spin off its axis, then she closed her eyes.
Don’t lose consciousness. Don’t lose consciousness. She couldn’t leave these two new soldiers alone with Joseph. While it looked as if Broch had him under control, they didn’t know—
Suddenly, Broch roared with what sounded like pain, snapping Anne from her thoughts and helping her to refocus. He released Joseph, falling back, nearly crashing into Catriona.
“What is it?” Anne asked, trying to use the commotion to help her focus.
“Pain,” said the Highlander, looking bewildered. “It’s like he wis ripping the flesh fae me.”
Anne swallowed. Joseph was syphoning Broch. The urgency of regaining her strength returned.
I can’t lose these kids. Not on the first job.
Anne struggled to find her feet, but Joseph beat her to it. He lunged for the large knife he’d lost as Broch stood and ran at him, slamming him against the far wall. Broch struck him, hard in the face and Joseph’s hands flailed. Broch hit him again and again.
Anne looked at Catriona. “Now! Try and syphon him while Broch has him.”
Catriona flew toward the grappling men. She grabbed Joseph’s free arm, the one trying to find Broch’s flesh to syphon, and wrestled it as if it were an angry whipping python.
“What do I do?” she screamed.
“Concentrate,” said Anne, standing with the help of the sofa beside her. “Imagine pulling everything he has into you. Drain him like a battery. Concentrate on his power and pull it towards you.”
She saw Catriona grimace and squeeze her eyes shut.
“Nothing’s happening.”
Anne took a step forward and stumbled, grabbing Catriona’s arm to catch herself.
Joseph stopped thrashing. Anne felt energy enter her body.
Am I syphoning Catriona?
She was about to let go when Joseph screamed.
No. It’s Joseph’s energy but how—
Catriona jumped and released her grip. “What’s happening?”
Joseph’s energy stopped flowing into Anne. She had her suspicions confirmed.
She and Catriona together could syphon him.
“Don’t let go,” she barked in her most commanding voice.
Catriona appeared dubious but listened. She grabbed Joseph’s bare arm and Anne felt energy flowing into her once again. Joseph wailed as they drained him and Catriona turned her face away, grimacing. Broch struggled to hold the smaller man against the wall as he lunged repeatedly in his attempts to break free, his eyes wild with panic. The Highlander refused to let go, even as Anne heard him grunt with pain as Joseph pulled energy from him to replace his own.
Soon, Joseph’s flesh turned the familiar gray of a dying Perfidian. His attempts to escape slowed. Broch
