65 Birdie #3
My stomach twists at the threat in his words. “Kill me if that’s what you want. I’m not telling you anything!”
“Not yet,” he taunts. “But we haven’t started playing.
” Flames burst to life in his hand as he holds it over me.
Wiggling his fingers, he lets sparks drop down.
I shriek in pain as the little flecks of fire hiss against my skin.
I try to crawl away, but he just boxes me in closer, laughing as he keeps dripping flames onto me.
Dáinn, please. Help me.
Enzo looms over me, his eyes like two smoldering black embers.
“Now, let’s try this again, little mouse.
Tell me your name, and I’ll only hurt you a little.
Don’t tell me, and I’ll be forced to hurt you a lot.
Your—” Before he can finish the word “choice,” the witch chokes on a gasp, his fiery eyes going wide with shock. Slowly, he looks down to his chest.
I glance up in horror to see a pair of skeletal hands emerge from a swirl of shadows behind him.
The points of each bony finger press into the witch’s chest, right through skin, muscle, and bone, as if Enzo were made of soft butter.
As I watch, the pair of skeletal hands jerk apart the witch’s sternum, tearing him in half.
I cry out, throwing my hands over my head as blood and gore rain down. There’s a cracking sound of more bones breaking and then the witch drops dead at my feet with a horrible squelch, his body peeled like a bloody banana. His ember eyes flicker once before the flames go out.
Trembling, heart racing, I gaze up through the gaps in my fingers. The wraith floats before me, cloaked in a swirl of inky black shadows, holding the witch’s spine.
Dáinn.
I take him in. He has no legs, no lower half. His upper body is draped in robes, his face hidden behind a hooded cowl. The shadows flow out of him, creeping into the corners of the loading dock, blocking out all light from the alley beyond.
Dropping the spine at my feet, he reaches out a skeletal hand. It drips with the blood of the witch he just deboned like a fish. Heart in my throat, I take it, letting him pull me to my feet. He cups my face with his other bloody hand. “Are you all right?” he rasps. “My Birdie, are you hurt?”
“You came,” I whisper, unable to catch my breath.
“I heard you call my name.”
Trying to fight back my tears, I press myself against his chest, sinking against him with relief. In the safety of his embrace, I can let go of my panic and fear. He’s here. Nothing can hurt me now.
His arms go around me as he holds me tight. He’s bony in this form, the ridges of each rib pronounced. I feel his shadows coil up my legs, lending me strength and stability. There’s no warmth to them, but it’s still a comfort. He saved us—
“Oh—Frankie!” I push away from him, all but stumbling to get free of his shadows as I race for the alley. “Dáinn, come and help me!”
Frankie is still lying on the ground in a crumpled heap near the wall of the life sciences building.
I drop to my knees at her side, taking her hand.
Yikes, she looks bad. Her clothes are singed, shirtsleeves still smoking.
The left side of her face, neck, and her left arm are all severely burned. But she still breathes.
“Oh, thank god. She’s still alive.” I lean over her, stroking the unburned side of her face. “Frankie? Hey, can you hear me? It’s Birdie.”
She blinks twice, the blue-white light in her eyes slowly fading. She winces in pain, taking in what I’m sure must be a gory scene with all the blood now covering me. “Is he dead?” she says through panting breaths.
“Yeah.” Guilt twists me up as I take in the extent of her burns. “God, why did you do that, huh? Why did you waste time saving me?”
“Cause you’re—coven—”
Tears sting my eyes as I sniff them back. “Well, you’re a crazy bitch. Next time, just bring me some fudge, okay? Here, can you stand? We gotta get out of here.”
She groans, trying to sit up, but all it does is bend her burned flesh. Crying out in pain, she sinks back to the ground.
My stomach tightens in a knot as I glance over my shoulder at the wraith. “You have to get her back to Jasper. She needs medical attention.”
The wraith stiffens. “I’m not leaving you here—”
“She just saved my life! Now we need to save hers. Take her to Jasper while I try and clean up this mess. We’ve gotta get the Jeep and the GPR back to the island in one piece.”
“You’re rather more important than a sonar—”
“It’s radar,” I snap, pushing at his bony chest. “Now please just go. Get her to Jasper and come right back for me.”
“All right,” he hisses. Looking around, he points with a skeletal finger towards the open loading dock. “But you wait for me in there. Do not leave. Understood? I’ll be right back.”
I nod, backing away until I duck inside the loading dock. I don’t dare look down to where Enzo lies in bloody pieces. As I watch, the wraith swoops down, placing both hands on Frankie’s charred shoulders. In a swirl of blackest shadows, they both disappear.