Chapter 16
The outer wards gave way with a sickening pop as if someone had just punched through them. I felt each one collapse in my chest. They fell so quickly that it made me stumble. The wards around the house still held, but our outer perimeter was gone.
The first wave of Thessmark poured through the gap like a tsunami of gray flesh and dark magic. I barely managed to throw up a shield before clawed hands reached my throat. The barrier snapped into place. It was solid and thrumming with power, courtesy of Clio's little magical tune-up earlier.
Thank the gods for small favors and witches who knew restoration spells. ‘This is fine. Everything's fine.’
Nana's shotgun blast rang out before I could even process which Thessmark to hit first. The creature charging toward us took the shot full in the chest and went down hard. Its gray flesh splattered across the lawn.
"That's one for me," Nana announced cheerfully, pumping the shotgun. "You girls planning to join in anytime soon? Or should I handle all of them myself?"
"We literally just escaped her murder basement!" Stella's voice pitched high as her pink witch fire blazed brighter. "Some of us are still processing the trauma!"
"Process faster," Nana suggested. "I'm at three now."
"We're not turning this into a competition!
" I snarled, watching Aidon's power lash out beside me. His shadows wrapped around the Thessmark’s limbs and squeezed.
Layla and Murtagh, in wolf form, took down two Thessmark.
Layla's jaws closed around one creature's throat while Murtagh hamstrung another.
Their black and dark brown fur was matted with gray ichor that smelled like rotting meat.
But there were so many more where those had come from. And the wolves were already breathing hard. The fight devolved into chaos faster than I could track.
Stella's binding spells worked on some Thessmark but not others.
I watched her face cycle through confusion, realization, and then pure fury in about two seconds flat.
Pink light wrapped around one creature, dropping it to the ground in magical restraints that crackled and hissed.
The same spell slid off the next one like water off a waxed canvas.
"They're warded!" she shouted, dodging a swipe that would have opened her throat. "Taverner's must have given some of them protective charms!"
"That tracks," I snarled, letting my fire build hotter in my palms. "Why wouldn't the psychotic essence-stealing bitch think of everything?"
"Language," Nana said mildly, then pulled the trigger on her shotgun. The Thessmark charging her took the blast full in the chest and went down hard. "There are children present."
"The children are inside the house, fifteen feet away!" Stella and I shouted in unison.
Tseki’s serpentine form coiled and struck, taking down one Thessmark with his massive jaws. But five more swarmed him. They climbed his scaled hide like parasites. Their claws found the vulnerable spaces between his scales.
He roared, the sound rattling windows and making my bones vibrate. One Thessmark fell, crushed beneath his foot. But the others held on, driving their claws deeper, searching for organs.
My familiar's consciousness touched mine briefly, showing me that they were directing Mom and Nina's defensive magic to turn our home into a fortress.
I sent her my gratitude and showed her how some of the Thessmark were now attacking the wards on the house.
They would need that power to keep them out.
Nana's shotgun boomed three times in rapid succession.
Each shot dropped a Thessmark or drove one back.
She was a menace with that thing. I am so glad she formed an unhealthy attachment to it.
The salt-and-iron loads proved surprisingly effective.
Where the buckshot hit, Thessmark skin blistered and blackened, refusing to heal.
"That's right, you ugly bastards!" Nana racked the shotgun again, the sound sharp and defiant. "Come get some!"
Unfortunately, we were losing ground. I threw fire at a Thessmark charging Stella's flank, and the flames sputtered out halfway there like a candle in the wind.
The effort of fighting so many Thessmark was sapping my reserves fast. I tried again, pushing harder, and managed flames that scorched their gray flesh.
Fuck. The Thessmark kept coming. Stella spun, catching the creature with a blast of her pink fire at point-blank range. It shrieked and stumbled back. The effort made her stagger.
Beside me, Aidon's legs nearly gave out. A Thessmark saw the opening and lunged. Its claws were extended for his throat. "No!" I threw myself forward, calling my fire.
Murtagh hit it from the side before my flames could touch it.
Eight hundred pounds of furious wolf took it to the ground.
They rolled in a tangle of claws and fangs.
I'd already seen the damage. Blood soaked through Aidon's shirt from a gash across his chest. It wasn’t fatal, but he couldn't take many more hits.
We were going to die here. All of us. And then Taverner would walk into our house and take our babies. The thought cracked something open in my chest. Fury and desperation spilled out in equal measure.
I called my fire, making teal flames erupt from my palms. They were wild and uncontrolled. I threw everything at the nearest Thessmark and watched it burn.
Car headlights flooded the street as I turned to the next Thessmark.
Six vehicles careened around the corner, tires squealing, and doors flying open before they'd fully stopped.
Ember exploded out of the first car and transformed into her phoenix.
Wings of flame spread twenty feet across, trailing fire that scorched the asphalt black.
She dove at three Thessmark. Where her flames touched, gray flesh turned to ash.
Kaia emerged from the second car. She directed killing strikes with brutal precision. I’d never seen spears of water punch through chests like this. They froze their hearts solid.
More help poured out. The tide was turning in our favor. "And the cavalry has arrived!" Nana announced cheerfully, followed by another shotgun blast.
The Thessmark continued falling, but Taverner wasn't fighting. She stood back, watching her forces die. And she was smiling. Her calm, satisfied smile made me pause.
This wasn't meant to breach the wards through force. It was a distraction. I tried to warn everyone, but my voice came out as a croak. I tried to move toward her, but my legs wouldn't cooperate. I watched Taverner raise her hands, and I realized too late what she was doing.
I had no idea what she was planning, but she was gearing up for something big. "EVERYONE INSIDE!" I screamed. "NOW!"
Everyone retreated toward the house, covering each other.
But there wasn't enough time. Taverner was building a sphere of magic, and it was eight feet across now.
"You should have let me have them," Taverner said.
"Now all these people will die. My daughters deserve to live again.
If I have to reduce your house to rubble and kill everyone you love to get it, then that's what I'll do. "
"Mom!" Nina's voice came from inside. "The wards are breaking!"
Taverner smiled wider. "Goodbye, Phoebe." She released her spell.
I was on my knees, completely spent, unable to do anything but watch.
And then Tarja's voice filled my mind. "Not on my watch."