Rourke jogged toward me. “The ward is coming down. We need to gather everyone—”
My father flew around him, coming toward me in his wolf form incredibly fast. His eyes flashed a deep amethyst as his howl filled the air. He charged me without stopping and at the last moment leapt, sailing straight overhead, colliding with something coming through the wall behind me.
I scrambled to the side and saw an unfamiliar wolf, feral and dangerous, emerging from the outside. Half his fur was gone and he appeared crazed. He wasn’t nearly as big as my father, but his muzzle was foaming and his eyes were opaque, coated in a thick film of white.
More commotion erupted from behind the wall. Wolves were baying. They had tried to corner this abomination, but he had gotten through. They must have alerted my father internally. There’s no other way he knew it was coming.
My father had it pinned against the wall, his teeth in its neck. I had no idea if the blood alone would curse my father again, but there was nothing I could do.
The feral wolf flipped in his grasp, contorting its bones as it sprang free.
That wasn’t normal.
The wolf turned before my father could grasp it again and lunged for me. I crouched as it barreled toward me. But before it reached me, a fist shot out, connecting with its skull. It crashed into the wall, and with supernatural speed Rourke caught it by the neck before it could stand.
“Don’t let it bite you!” I shouted. The beast didn’t even seem fazed. Rourke twisted its neck and bones popped, but it kept moving, struggling to free itself.
It wasn’t going to die the normal way.
We needed something stronger.
“Looks like you could use some help,” a voice sounded from atop the wall behind me. “Those things are truly dreadful.”
Tally stood alongside six other witches, each armed for battle. She’d lost her black skullcap but had switched it to one of those badass green army hats pulled down low over her eyes, her long white hair pulled back in a tight ponytail.
She looked eons younger and tough as hell.
Relief flooded through me.
You knew things were at a breaking point when witches broke into a Vampire Coterie with spelled AK-47s strapped across their chests.
“That thing is cursed,” I yelled, pointing to Rourke and the struggling wolf, “and if it gets loose and bites one of your witches, they die. We need to take it out. Magic may be our only chance.”
Rourke had one hand around its middle and one around its neck. Its head was at a funny angle, but it was still struggling. Rourke was stronger, thank goodness. My father circled, waiting for a chance to help.
“This thing won’t die. I broke its neck twice,” Rourke ground.
“Toss it into the yard and we’ll take it from there,” Tally called.
In an instant her flock spread out along the top of the wall, legs splayed as they cocked their guns at their shoulders. “Don’t be shy,” she said. “The ammo in these guns is spelled. We will either kill it or maim it, but it will be down long enough to find a way to take it out permanently. I don’t care if the most powerful priestess in the world cursed that thing. My magic is stronger.”
Rourke nodded once. He twisted at the waist, and with a huge roar sent the abomination flying into the yard.
It hit the ground once and the witches let loose.
27
They all fired at once and bullets poured into the beast. “Cease-fire.” Tally raised her hand and they stopped like clockwork. We all waited a few seconds. The thing was riddled with holes as big as softballs.
It convulsed once.
“Stand back,” Tally ordered. “Things are about to get messy.” It started to quiver, and foam began leaking out of the holes. “I take that back—run!”
“What’s happening?” I shouted as I took off.
“It’s going to blow that curse all over the yard. I never know how a supe is going to react to my spells until I see it. My ‘kill’ spell is killing the wolf, but the only way to truly kill it is to rid it of the curse, so that’s what it’s doing.”
Her witches had no need of a second warning. They were already gone. I glanced around me as I raced along the wall. Rourke was too far the other way. “I’m going through a hole in the stone,” I called.
“I’ll follow you when I can. Go now before that thing explodes,” he yelled.
The thing started to gurgle.
“Go!” he shouted.
I dove through a small opening right as the beast exploded, raining a curse around the yard. It sounded juicy, like a gigantic water balloon splattering. I rolled twice without looking and crashed into something solid.
My head smacked it cleanly.