Something Witchy This Way Comes (39 page)

“You make a very compelling argument. I’ll try to keep her alive. However, that depends on you.”

“I don’t get it. You would’ve had me on board if you’d been patient. By pushing, you’re losing me. Why the rush?”

His stance stiffened. “It seems that Her Majesty Jane has disappeared. That troubles me. I’ve known for years that there’s something different about your family. What are you exactly though? Does Jane know? Does it have anything to do with her disappearance? I wasn’t worried about any of that until…” He tapped his chin, still looking at ease, as if completely confident that his ten men could handle one little girl and two young guys.

Pins and needles. If only he’d spit it out.

“Now I’m wondering if your uniqueness and Jane’s disappearance could be related to your sister Zoe digging herself out of her coffin. Strange, huh?” My face must have given me away, because Boris’s brows shot up. He leaned toward me. “You already knew.”

My hand shot out, sending a ball of fiery energy straight into his gut.

He gasped and fell back, clutching at his stomach. “Kill them!”

His men charged, but I strengthened my shield.

Boris popped up, face flushed with rage and twisted into a remnant of its former self. “You stupid little bitch. You’ve just assured your demise,” he scoffed. “While you’re using all your energy, I’ll send a man out for food. When you’re too weak and can’t refuel, which boy will you cut loose first? Hayden? Or Chait?”

“Tessa, let go when you need to,” Hayden said. He and Chait exchanged a nod, then pulled out their knives and struck out, their bubble of safety protecting them while they kicked ass on Boris’s men.

Which left Boris for me to deal with. He’d never let me out of his sight. Not until I was dead. If he suspected Zoe was alive, he’d kill her too. He’d make sure it was done right this time.

I remembered the logs and imagined his heart as a hunk of wood — which wasn’t much of a stretch. In my mind’s eye, the spark grew to a blistering heat. “Bring out the little girl!” he screamed, twitching in pain.

Bree appeared, shaking and sobbing as Kyle held a knife to her throat. My shield went down and Boris lunged, a large knife in his hand. We tumbled to the ground.

“Tessa, don’t worry about us. Protect yourself f—” Hayden stopped mid-sentence but Boris kept me too busy dodging the blade to see what happened. We tussled over the hard laminate floor, my limbs thrashing at him. He trapped me beneath him, grabbed a chunk of my hair with his free hand and smashed my head against the floor. Searing pain speared my skull.

His strength unnerved me. If he hadn’t been damaged by my fire and weakened, he probably would’ve already killed me — which he could still do if I didn’t get him off me and turn my shield back on. If I put it up while we were touching, would he be included in my protection?

I wrenched his hand away and he thrust the dagger at my chest. I clamped a hand onto his wrist while his fist pounded my throat and knocked the breath out of me. As we rolled over, his dagger flew at my neck. I jerked to the side but the metal still grazed my skin.

Boris landed on top again and I recreated my shield. His next hit bounced off. My hands stretched up to choke Boris. He tried to break my hold, but couldn’t pierce through the shield. I couldn’t keep my wall up indefinitely though, not while I fought him too. My power would be depleted before I could kill him.

At superhuman speed, I pulled my knife from my waistband and aimed at Boris’s throat. I thrust the pointed end through his flesh as hard as I could. Blood spurted from his neck. He slowed, but didn’t stop.

I concentrated on my protective bubble again while building a blaze beneath his chest. His face flushed and he shrieked, his eyes bulging. I felt his power wane and took that opportunity to roll us over, pinning him to the ground.

A man had Hayden in a headlock, a knife to Hayden’s throat. Protecting him while keeping my own shield intact used too much energy. I sent his attacker a little heat, enough to give Hayden an advantage. Hayden seized the moment, sending his opponent a hard elbow in the face. Hayden followed that with a blow to the groin and a kick in the gut. The guy dropped. Beyond him, Chait retrieved both daggers and took out two guys simultaneously.

With my thighs straddling Boris, I locked his arms against his sides, giving me a huge advantage. Oddly enough, he didn’t resist at all. We remained in a draw — motionless, while I helped Hayden kill another guy and Chait took out two more.

I felt a new surge as power welled within Boris. He’d healed. So that’s why he hadn’t made a move to break free. He’d been recharging while I used valuable energy helping Chait and Hayden. My strength was fading, my shield weakening.

No more waiting. Hayden and Chait were on their own. I dropped my assaults on their enemies and focused on Boris.

Boris smiled as if sensing the shift in energy and welcoming it. In one swift movement, his knee slammed into my back, thrusting me forward. I hadn’t realized my shield had weakened that much or I would have disengaged earlier.

He gripped my wrists, twisting them as though trying to break through the remainder of my shield to snap the bone. Pain threw me and my shield fell entirely. We wrestled, Boris using brute strength as his hands squeezed my throat and I gasped for air. My limbs tingled as my air supply dwindled.

Boris had to be neutralized
now
. Mustering all my power, I moved the atoms around Boris, faster and faster until the heat became a ball of fire so intense it blinded me. I closed my eyes, then I pushed the flames into his face. He screamed, his hands releasing me as he covered his eyes. I jumped on him, gripping my dagger and pressing it into his neck.

Boris froze. Checkmate.

“Stop!” I screamed. “Everyone stop.”

There were only two guys standing but a couple others looked as though they were getting ready for another round. At my words, they hesitated but didn’t surrender their arms.

My breathing came in shallow breaths and my trembling hands itched to kill Boris. I scanned the faces of everyone in the room, trying to ignore Bree’s terrified eyes. I couldn’t let her distract me. This was no time to allow emotion to rule.

 “Cease fighting and throw down your weapons,” I ordered, my knife bearing down on Boris’s neck.

A new stream of crimson decorated the edge of the blade.

“Boris is no longer your leader,” I announced. “You can’t save him, but you have an opportunity to save yourselves. Drop your weapons now. Those of you who don’t surrender will have to deal with me.” It was a bluff. By the time I killed Boris, I wasn’t sure there would be anything left of me to battle anyone else.

A moment later, they dropped their arms.

“On your knees,” I told them. “Hayden, gather their weapons.”

Chait wiped blood from his nose and grinned at me.

Someone like Boris would never stop until he got what he wanted. I couldn’t allow him to live so that my grandmother and everyone I loved would be in constant danger.

Kill or be killed.

But the thought of going through with the act of murder made my stomach churn. I didn’t have a choice though. This was the moment. The blade steady against his throat pressed him harder against the floor. “Goodbye, Boris.” I shifted my weight and prepared myself.

“Tessa, wait.”

Grandma.

I couldn’t let her distract me. No way could Boris have the chance to gain the upper hand again. I kept my shield up, knife against his flesh, my eyes trained on him.

“Hear me out.” Her even voice, closer now, held a hard edge.  “And whatever you decide I’ll back you one hundred percent. But you need to know... When you kill him, you’ll be killing your grandfather.”

So, that’s how Grandma rose in Boris’s group — she’d married him. Now it made sense that she knew so much about his organization. That explained how Boris knew my family was slightly different.

I inwardly scorned the new hope in Boris’s eyes. He couldn’t think I’d get all warm and fuzzy. Not after he’d tried to murder his own granddaughter. Me. Could I go through with it now though, knowing who he was?

Not if I didn’t absolutely have to. 

As though sensing my hesitation, he exhaled, looking immeasurably relieved.

“Grandma, can you get Bree out of here?” I asked, bearing down on the blade so Boris wouldn’t think I’d let him go. Every cell in my body stood at attention, waiting for him to fight again.

Painfully aware of the silence in the room, I held off until one of her men took Bree away. They were all waiting for me — my grandmother, Hayden, Chait and everyone else. Whether Boris lived or died was my call. Though I would’ve preferred not to be a party to the death of anyone — and even though it seriously grossed me out — if Boris didn’t die, I knew I would. He’d eventually see to it.

My eyes found my grandmother’s. She nodded her approval for whatever I decided.

“Hayden, would you like the honor?” I handed him my dagger and Boris’s eyes widened as he tried to squirm free. “Make it so he can’t hurt anyone.”

“I’d rather not stop there.” In a flash, Hayden was by my side, relieving me of the knife. “Not after seeing what he’s capable of.”

I knew what Hayden wanted, what needed to be done. But I couldn’t bring myself to give the order. “It’s your call,” I told Hayden.

“Maybe you shouldn’t watch.”

I averted my gaze and Boris twisted in my grasp until my knees lost their grip on his hip. My hand shot out to seize his wrist and slid over his blood.

Boris roared and writhed to free himself. Unable to grasp his flailing arm, I showered his face with another stream of fire. He screamed and I regained control of his limbs. Hayden’s knife descended to Boris’s neck like a guillotine.

While holding Boris, my hands weren’t free to cover my ears. The razor sharp edge of Hayden’s weapon cut through the flesh and bone.
Crunch
.
Squish
. I was fully aware of the exact moment the last bit of life in Boris died.

Trembling, I kept my head down and sucked in a shaky breath.

 It was over.

I surveyed the room to find all eyes on me. My breakdown would have to wait. Rising, I took the bloody knife from Hayden, raised it and turned to the small crowd that had formed. “Long live Queen Jane!”

Chapter Thirty-eight

Tessa

Hayden and Chait stuck close to me as the bodies were removed and Boris’s men taken away. With the adrenal rush gone, my emotions were raw and exhaustion ravaged every muscle in my body. I wanted to sit and rest my wobbly legs. More, I wanted a bubble bath. In the dark where I could weep in relief and not have to see my splotchy face.

Just before I claimed a chair, a man bowed before me and held out a tray of food. I recognized him as one of the guards at the cemetery, one of Grandma’s most trusted. “Your Highness.” 

My head whipped over my shoulder. He must have been talking to someone else.

The corner of his mouth twitched. “Yes, you. Queen Jane’s granddaughter, correct?”

“I am.” I elbowed Hayden and Chait as they snickered. “Joshua, right?”