Fine debris rained down on Emily as she struggled to focus through the pounding in her head. She wiped the blood from her nose with the back of her hand and squinted at her surroundings. A gaping hole, as large as a school bus, had been torn into the tower wall, and Ariandel lay on the ground nearby, bleeding profusely.

  The man named Umbra stalked into the study with a predator's grace. It had been hard to tell when he was bound, but this man was strong. And by the looks of things he had more than a dozen men on his side. Easily outnumbering the Mages in the tower and causing the whole place to freeze in a stand-off.

  “Right, I’m only here for one person the rest of you get out of my way or I'll gut you,” Umbra said as he walked into the room with a savage demeanor.

  Ariandel choked up a wad of blood and snarled at the interloper.

  “You dare?! Do you have any idea where you are right now!” With a wave of his hand, several guards that Emily had never seen in the tower appeared from thin air.

  Umbra shrugged and changed course toward the Silvaren.

  “My tolerance for your shitty laws ended the moment you stuck me in that place. Now I’m going to burn this place to the ground, but first.”

  As he finished talking he flicked his wrist and a small dagger shot out towards Emily. It hit the bubble of water around her and popped it with ease.

  Neal recoiled as his spell fell apart and chaos descended as the two forces began to fight.

  Emily’s body was only half listening to her commands, but she couldn’t waste this opportunity. She crawled into a half-kneeling position and glanced at the nearest person.

  Which just so happened to be Zila. With the spell restraining her blood gone, Emily reached into her chest and pulled out the largest mass of blood yet.

  The cord whipped straight from her chest and lashed out at the old woman. It slammed into her from behind and rapidly condensed into half a dozen spikes which all pierced through her chest. The old crone didn’t even have time to scream before she died.

  Ariandel saw this and growled.

  “You ungrateful bitch!”

  Emily watched as the woman died but wasn’t at all satisfied. She turned her gaze on Connor and his eyes widened.

  She lunged for the man while Umbra laughed at the top of his lungs and dove for Ariandel.

  The others in the room clashed, and somewhere in the distance, she felt her blood approaching.

  Not willing to let go of her grudge she drained Zila’s corpse and used the blood to attack Connor. The man reacted by creating a spectral beast in front of himself. It was a Bruin in every aspect that mattered but one. The spell beast rose to its hind legs to attack Emily but that didn’t help it with the amount of blood Emily had access to right now.

  She weaved chains around its form and sent them at Connor again. He threw up another conjured beast but Emily didn’t care as a bat-like creature slashed at her. She took its claws straight to her neck, and as they opened up her carotid artery she sunk the chains into the man's flesh. Like meat hooks, she yanked his arms upward and suspended him in the air. When this happened his conjured beasts seemed to blink out of existence. Connor had clearly never been in a real fight and it showed.

  “Wait, Emily, please! I told him that this was wrong. But Ariandel is my senior, it is only proper for me to-”

  Connor never got to finish the sentence as Emily ripped him in half, pulling his blood in as well.

  She had just spotted Neal when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

  “Don’t. We need to get out!”

  Emily was ready to turn on whoever tried to stop her but when she saw Alex’s face she stilled.

  Glancing over her shoulder the man stood there in his full gear looking ready for anything. When she glanced over his shoulder she saw Cupcake behind him looking worried.

  Emily glanced back at Neal and saw that the man had created a growing water bubble around himself.

  “Emily, we need to go. The owner of this tower is not so easily distracted.”

  She glanced over at Ariandel as he fought Umbra. He still had a sword sticking out of his stomach, and yet he fought back with plumes of orange flame. Umbra kept laughing while he fought Ariandel, but from the looks of things they were evenly matched. He was unable to secure the kill because of the Mage currently being in his tower.

  They needed to leave but Neal was still alive, and this pissed Emily off to no end.

  If she could just get rid of him then she could deal with the real problem, Ariandel.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  At that moment, Ariandel appeared to have regained his composure. A sudden yell escaped him, followed by an explosion of red energy.

  “Enough! All who have encroached upon my home today will regret it!”

  However, before he could unleash his gathering spell, Umbra swiftly drew a spear and hurled it at him. It stabbed through his chest and caused the source in the room to go berserk. Ariandel let the spell go while panting and took a look around the room. The guards he had summoned had not lasted long against Umbra’s men, and seeing things weren’t going his way, he growled and flicked his fingers.

  There was a pulse of source and his body disappeared from the room, along with Neal.

  Emily wanted to scream in frustration but there was one final person in the room.

  Genevieve had fallen to the floor when the disaster struck, and Emily walked over to her now.

  She swallowed as Emily approached but then Emily held out her hand.

  “Get up,” she said firmly.

  Genevieve bottom lip trembled.

  “Are you going to kill me?”

  Emily ground her teeth together and shook her head. She had thought about it, but Genevieve was the only one who tried to stop what had happened. Emily did not blame her for that.

  “If you promise to do everything you can to take this thing off me, I’ll call it even.”

  Genevieve hesitated.

  “I will, but I-I’m not sure I can do anything without my equipment.”

  “Then we’ll get it. For now, you are with me.”

  Genevieve looked at her and whispered something under her breath.

  Just before Emily could ask what she’d said, Umbra shouted in their direction.

  “Everyone out now!”

  He and his men advanced toward the opening, and Emily didn’t hesitate to follow with the others. The wall was already beginning to mend itself, and the room’s temperature continued to rise rapidly.

  When they reached the opening, they found a few ropes dangling down the side of the tower. Emily glanced back at Cupcake, then quickly mounted her. Alex climbed on behind her, and as Genevieve realized what they were about to do, she shook her head, her face pale.

  “No, I can’t—”

  Emily pulled Genevieve onto her lap, holding her firmly as she leaned off the side of Cupcake’s saddle. Once she was balanced, Emily clicked her tongue, urging Cupcake forward. The group leaped through the opening just as the wall sealed shut behind them.

  Umbra and his men were already more than halfway down as Cupcake fell passed them. The Rime wolf pressed off the tower as they dropped three stories into the street. As they landed Cupcake yelped at the rough landing, but Emily’s blood took care of the damage in seconds.

  Emily glanced back at the tower as it began to ignite. Flames licked the stone and the top of the tower began to shift.

  Genevieve glanced up from the saddles with wide eyes.

  “Oh no. He’s engaged the tower's defensive measures. The only ones in there that might survive would be him and his Apprentice.”

  The spire continued to shift, but then another voice caught her attention.

  Ashe came sprinting from the opposite end of the street, with Nox and half of the wandering fangs close behind her. The panic on her face eased slightly when she reached them.

  “Emily, you're okay. I’m so glad. Those people showed up at the house, and we had to run.”

  Emily gave Ashe a brief nod but kept her gaze fixed on the tower, where a sense of impending danger loomed.

  Genevieve squirmed in Emily’s lap, her voice urgent.

  “We need to leave! My carriage is nearby. If we can reach my brother’s tower, I promise you protection while I work on Emily.”

  That was all Alex needed to hear.

  “Everyone who can fit, into the carriage—now. Umbra, follow us! Miss, we’ll have to trust your word. Can you vow that your tower will protect us?”

  Genevieve’s eyes widened, but a steely determination quickly replaced her hesitation.

  “I give you my vow: you will be safe in our tower until I have examined the relic.”

  Emily frowned but glanced back at the black-and-gold spire. The top had shifted, forming two pillars with a ball of flame slowly building between them.

  “We need to move!” she barked.

  A low groan came from the tower’s lower levels, and suddenly, a door materialized not far from them. Neal stumbled through it, escaping the inferno raging inside. His body was covered in blistered skin, and his clothing was scorched with burn marks.

  The moment Emily saw him she moved Cupcake towards the man as he fell to his knees, boiling water still coating his form.

  As she stopped in front of the older man, Emily began to raise a spear of blood.

  Neal glanced up at Emily with a tired look of defeat. Then Ashe arrived next to Cupcake and she froze. Neal was looking in her direction so he saw her right away. His eyes widened and a look of rage appeared on his face.

  “Was this all you? Did you plan to have me killed? Answer me!” Neal screamed, his voice raw with anger.

  Ashe’s face turned pale, but to Emily’s surprise, she responded.

  “No, Master. I never knew you were here. I never wanted anything to do with you again.”

  Emily’s eyes widened as the pieces began to fall into place. Without hesitation, she formed two small spheres of blood and plunged them into Ashe’s ears, drying them instantly.

  “You never wanted anything to do with me?” Neal sneered, his tone dripping with venom. “After I saved you from a life of mediocrity? If that’s how you feel, then you should end your own life!”

  Emily’s breath hitched, her eyes darting to Ashe. She watched closely, wondering if Ashe had heard Neal’s vile command. From the way Ashe clutched at her ears, it seemed the blood was muffling the sound and causing discomfort.

  Emily slid off Cupcake and lowered herself to the disgusting man’s level, her expression cold.

  “I was already going to kill you,” she whispered, leaning close to his ear, “but now, it’ll be even more satisfying.”

  The man tried to cast a spell, but Emily was faster. Tendrils of blood wrapped around his hands, and with a gentle squeeze, she shattered his fingers. A sharp crack followed by his scream cut through the air. Stripped of his ability to form gestures, he glared at her with pain and hatred. Emily met his gaze, her face as emotionless as his once was when he had looked at her.

  “I’m not sad to see you go,” she said softly, sending a stream of blood burrowing into his body. His screams echoed briefly before fading into silence.

  Umbra appeared beside her, glancing down at the lifeless body.

  “Well, that was inspired,” he remarked casually, then pointed upward. “But we should really get going.”

  Emily followed his gesture, her eyes widening as she saw the ball of flame above. It had grown to the size of a truck and hovered ominously in the sky.

  “Why didn’t you warn me sooner?” she snapped.

  Umbra laughed, unbothered. Around them, the streets had cleared, leaving only Emily, Alex, Ashe, and Genevieve. The growing inferno above seemed ready to unleash destruction at any moment.

  Cupcake was already overburdened, but Emily clicked her tongue, urging the beast forward. The loyal creature dashed after the carriage without hesitation.

  Umbra let out a whoop of excitement as he kept pace with Cupcake at full speed.

  The ball of fire above suddenly burst, unleashing a cascade of flames. Waves of heat and fire roared down the side of the tower, scorching everything in their path. The inferno crashed into the cobblestone streets, consuming everything it touched and leaving only smoldering ruins in its wake.

  Blood points: 306