Tobias prowled toward him. I’ll tear that look from his face. He slashed the athame downward, and a flame shot from the blade straight at Jack’s heart. Jack held up a hand, blocking the attack. Another slash of fire, and a look of concern crept onto Jack’s face. Tobias’s body was ablaze as he slashed again. Jack blocked it again, but this time, sweat trickled down his temples.
Tobias was a simmering cauldron of rage. Fire traveled down his arms, erupting from his fingertips. Flames seared the air. Jack crouched and then leapt upward, gripping a tree branch, its leaves singing with Tobias’s fire. In a single smooth motion, Jack swung his legs over the bough, standing upright. Tobias swung the athame again, unleashing a burst of fire at Rawhed. Black smoke swirled from the magnolia’s scorched leaves. In the next instant, Jack was on the ground again, gripping a twig in his hand.
Tobias stiffened. Right. The tree god.
“You see,” Jack grinned. “I’ve got my own wand now.” With a lazy flick of his wrist, a strand of black vines unfurled from the wand, striking Tobias in the chest. Winded, Tobias gripped his heart as it filled with a gnawing dread. He stumbled back. A sharp emptiness spread through him, until Eden’s lifeless face flashed in his mind.
He clenched his fists, and the fire inside him raged again, hotter this time. He dropped the athame, letting out a roar. A primal part of him—no longer just Tobias, but something older than language itself—surged through him. I left London in ash. I burned Rome. I rained fire on Pompeii. His scream was no longer his own, but something deep and fluid, from a distant age.
He lunged forward, gripping Jack by the throat and knocking him to the ground. Strength coursed through his arms as he showered Jack’s pretty face with blow after blow. The smell of burning leaves filled the air. The magnolias’ crowns were aflame like candelabra all around the dance floor. Tobias drew back his arm again—but a few whispered words from Jack sent him flying into the air, breathless as he soared above the tops of the trees, their flaming leaves emitting tendrils of black smoke. He had just managed to catch his breath before plunging back down, sprawling on the parquet floor with a crack. He gripped at a stabbing pain in his chest. My ribs are broken. Screams and hysterical sobs from the crowd pierced the air, nearly drowned out by the Fury’s wails.
Jack stepped over him, a faint smile on his lips. “You’ve made friends with Emerazel, I see. You probably have no idea what you’ve done.”
Tobias gasped. He thought one of his lungs might be punctured by a shattered rib. His athame lay on the floor a few feet from him. Jack circled him, gripping his magnolia wand. He could have killed Tobias by now. Something—Fiona?—was stopping him.
Tobias closed his eyes, Eden’s dangling legs flashing through his mind. The image of her bare, dirty feet sent another rush of white hot anger through him. He turned his head, whispering to the athame, and the hilt flew into his hand. Another wave of heat swelled in him, starting to heal his broken body, and he jumped up. Roaring, he lunged for Jack again, pinning him to the ground. He raised his arm, slamming the athame into Jack’s chest. Jack’s blue eyes went wide.
Tobias tuned in to the panicked shouts around him. Some were screaming about fire, others for the red dust. He raised his head, looking for Fiona. She stood in the grass, gripping Alan’s arm.
The look on her face was enough to tell him that he’d been right to keep this from her. Her jaw had dropped, and she stared at him with a look that said, Monster.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
Fiona
The blood pounded so loud in her ears that she almost didn’t hear all the yelling. There they were, Tobias and Jack—both powerful, both liars. Jack lay bleeding on the dance floor, and Tobias slumped next to him, holding his chest like something was broken.
Alan gripped her arm, key in hand. “We need to get Tobias out of here.” He pushed up his wolverine mask.
“What we need is to transform and free Mariana,” she shot back. “And Tobias just ruined our chances. He can’t transform now. His ribs are broken.”
Alan wrinkled his forehead. “We can’t just leave him here.”
She snatched the key from his hand. “You need to leave. I’m going to find Mariana. Tobias can obviously take care of himself.”
She glanced at her former friend, crumpled and gasping on the parquet floor. Mr. Ranulf prowled toward him, his angel mask pushed up on his head. He held a chalice pendant aloft, chanting. Tobias’s face drained of color, and he recoiled from the charm. Nearby, Jack’s body twitched. Why did the necklace only affect Tobias? What exactly had he done?
She didn’t have time to worry about that now. The simple fact was that he’d lied to her. Maybe he’d thought he was protecting her, but that was even worse. It meant he didn’t think she was capable of being involved anymore, ever since the Harvesters had stuck her on Maremount’s gallows. He was treating her like a child.