I swallowed hard at her tone. She sounded serious ... and then some. “Now seems like a good time to share them, doesn’t it? Just ignore the battle going on over there, and the screams, and that horrific burning scent. Just tell me what you want.”
Emma let loose a hollow chuckle. “You’re not ready.”
“No? I happen to think I am.”
“Except you’re not. You’re nowhere near ready. Despite all the preparation they plotted for your ascension, you’re nothing compared to me.”
The vitriol she spouted felt somehow personal but the words made no sense. “What ascension?”
The sound of feet rustling through leaves caught my attention to the right. I looked, even though it was probably a mistake, and almost swallowed my tongue when I caught sight of Sami.
She appeared out of nowhere, her black hair wild and free around her shoulders. She glanced from Emma to me and back to Emma and then did the unexpected and whipped out her arm, tossing a golden blade of magic directly at Emma’s head.
“Ugh.” Emma managed to duck, but I swear it took off a hank of her hair.
Without waiting around to check out her handiwork, Sami bolted toward the trees. She was going for Rafael, I realized. They’d kept him back, away from the battle, and she intended to sneak through the trees and save him on her own. I couldn’t let her do that.
Before Emma had completely recovered, I unleashed a barrage of my own magic. It wasn’t enough to kill her, and it was likely that decision would come back to haunt me at some point, but it was enough to knock her backwards. The second she hit the water, I rolled to my feet even though my knees and hip protested the lingering pain from my hard water landing.
“Sami, wait for me!”
I rushed headlong into the trees, my keen eyes searching for the girl. My hip genuinely throbbed but I tried to ignore it. I had other things to worry about. I couldn’t find Sami. How could a teenager manage to disappear without leaving a trace? I should have been smarter than her, stronger than her.
Then I remembered who her parents were and exactly what they could do. It didn’t matter where she was right now. Where she was going was the most important thing. With that in mind, I put my head down and started running. I didn’t have far to go, and when I reached my destination, I found the bulk of the vampires had rushed into battle, leaving only three behind to watch Rafael.
I took a moment to study the battle. Blades glinted and magic exploded at regular intervals. I couldn’t pick out individual faces in the fight but I felt in my heart that Gunner was okay, perhaps even enjoying himself a little bit thanks to the adrenaline. He didn’t need me to run to his rescue. Sami had to be my concern, something I recognized with little thought, and then a voice invaded my mind.
Look behind you, idiot!
I immediately threw up a deflection spell and whirled around, grimacing when I was pushed back a good three feet. Emma had given chase, and she was no longer playing nice.
“Why did you do that?” she hissed. Sami still wasn’t showing herself. “Why did you go after the girl? What is she even doing out here?”
All I could do was hold out my hands and shrug. “Kids today. What are you going to do?”
She rolled her eyes and then frowned. “How did you know I was behind you? I shielded.”
I thought of the voice and jerked my eyes to the left, to where Mama Moon rested with her back to a tree. Her arms looked to be tied behind her with a rope, probably magically imbued, and her face displayed a colorful array of bruises.
“I should’ve known.” Disdain positively dripped from Emma’s tongue. “We should’ve killed you last night,” she hissed at Mama Moon.
Rather than quake in fear, which wasn’t her way, Mama Moon chuckled hoarsely. “That probably would’ve been the smart thing to do.”
“I won’t make that mistake twice,” Emma promised.
Realizing she was about to unleash a torrent of magic, I rolled to my knees in an attempt to cut her off. I didn’t get the chance, because suddenly Mama Moon’s hands were free and she was firing her own magic at Emma.
The first barrage hit Emma dead center in her chest and I could read the pain that twisted her features. She managed to avoid the second burst, but only by dropping to her knees and rolling behind a bush.
Confused, I glanced back at the tree and found Sami appearing from behind it. She had a knife in her hand, one she’d obviously used to free Mama Moon, and her mouth was a grim line. “How did you get back there?” I was legitimately dumbfounded.
Sami didn’t answer. Instead, she placed her hand on Mama Moon’s battered face and released the same blue magic I’d witnessed her mother use for healing purposes.
“Well, aren’t you a useful little thing?” Mama Moon noted as she tentatively touched her fingers to her recovered face. “I think I might want to keep you.”
Sami blinked several times in rapid succession but didn’t smile. “Everyone says that.” She didn’t stop to check on me, jumping over my knees and racing toward the vampires, who still weren’t looking in our direction. It was only then that I remembered Rafael.
“Crap.” Despite every muscle in my body aching I moved to follow, my back and knees protesting yet another fight. Sami was already engaging with the enemy before I could catch up to her.
“See you on the other side,” she said cheerfully as she slapped her hands on either side of the closest vampire’s head. Instantly, he turned to ash
