Chapter 282: Ameline
My demon leaped into action even as Shaylee gasped in understanding the same moment I did. The vampires. Of course. What better way to completely tear Mom down than to attack her from all sides?
While I wrapped my head around the true evil living inside Ameline, ripples of demon fire surged outward, scorching the ground beneath the werewolves. Howls of agony mixed with grunts of anger as they retreated.
Ameline rolled her eyes, one foot tapping on the gravel. "Is that the best you can do?" She glared around at them as they slunk low to the ground. "Fine," she said. "I'll deal with her myself."
Perfect. Exactly the way I wanted it.
Before either of us had a chance to strike, our rising magic surrounding us in a mixed glow of rainbow colors, the earth beneath my feet began to shake as a howl pierced the night. The werewolves fell back even further, crouching low to the ground as Galleytrot, Liam at his side, strode into the parking lot. Both glowed with the green fire of the Sidhe, the giant dog shuddering as he grew as he'd done before, to tower over all of us while his eyes blazed red.
He howled again, the sound so loud I covered my ears, glad to see Ameline and the cousins do the same. She was scowling, but didn't seem all that concerned by this turn of events so I kept my guard up.
The sound echoed out across the hillside, ricocheting back toward us, overlapping on itself until not only the ground shook, but the very air itself vibrated. The Dumont witches may not have been adversely affected, but their shape shifting pets weren't so lucky. One by one they collapsed to the ground, unconscious, returning as they did to human form. I recognized the last as he fell, one of his hands reaching out to Ameline, Raoul's face distorted in desperate need. The werewolf leader was ignored by his mistress and finally collapsed with the rest of his people.
Galleytrot released the endless howl, letting the sound die out. It still seemed to take forever and I was sure I'd be hearing echoes of it inside my head for weeks afterward. Shaylee shivered with excitement, her power stirred to action by the primal call of the black hound. So much so it was my demon's turn to hold her back.
Ameline's hands dropped from her ears. "I assumed your mutt would show up," she said. "Surprise, surprise." She raised one hand, power flowing from her. Only then did I sense the energy circle erected around us. Galleytrot snarled and lunged, bouncing back from the lavender fire. He paced back and forth while Liam scowled at Ameline.
"Cheater," I smirked. "This is how you win, is it, Ameline? You brought your own allies to the fight, but I'm not allowed mine? Never mind that. It's not like you needed your werewolves to beat me or anything."
Her mask slipped, a flicker of rage showing. I grinned wider.
It shouldn't have been, I knew I needed to get a grip, but this was so. Freaking. Fun.
"Pathetic and weak," Ameline spit at me. "You don't have the courage to do what needs to be done."
I let the smile drop from my face as I approached her slowly, setting both my demon and Shaylee free. Even Quaid gasped, so I'm sure I looked suitably impressive, though I didn't really care all that much.
"Try me."
"Syd." Quaid's voice penetrated my hyper focus. "Be careful."
"Because she's a liar and a cheat?" I didn't let my gaze drop from the icy blue of Ameline's. "And a traitor to her coven." I pushed a blast of demon-heated air into her face, mussing her perfect hair and making her blink and scowl. "I think I can handle her."
I had only a heartbeat of warning before I was attacked. But the magic wave striking at me didn't come from Ameline. I had just enough time to reinforce my shields as the Dumont brothers threw their lavender magic at me in tandem.
The moment their power touched me, I was in battle mode. My demon roared her joy, even Shaylee shrieking a warrior's cry as I spun on the brothers. I'd given myself over to the full range of my abilities only a few times before, but usually out of fear or necessity. This time I did it with great deliberation, reaching out with one hand. Ropes of blue magic laced with amber and green wove their way through the air, twining slowly around the brothers. I watched them trying to shield against me, felt their growing fear and knew as my power swelled larger and stronger and brighter I could kill them so easily. They were no match for me.
No one was.
"Don't!" Ameline practically screamed in my ear. "If you kill them, your whole family will be destroyed."
I settled my gaze on her, feeling the central calm of my witch magic anchoring both demon and Sidhe. "So you say."
"They'll believe me." Her eyes snapped with anger. I was eliciting feelings from her. Bonus. "The Council. I'll tell them you kidnapped us, lured us here with the intent to kill us."
"You won't," I said, "if you're dead too."
She shook her head, backing away slowly. "You'll never catch me in time."
Quaid's head came up, chocolate eyes black in the darkness around us. "Managed to corner yourself, have you, Ameline?" He laughed, a rich and delicious sound. "All along you've assumed Miriam was the most powerful witch in the coven." He continued to laugh, bending over from it. "But you have no idea. None."
Ameline looked back and forth from him to me even as her magic snaked out across the ground, tasting mine. I let her. Blue eyes flew wide as she opened up and really felt what I had to offer.
"Boo," I said.
Ameline stumbled back another step. "It's not possible." Was that fear? I barely held back my own laughter even as my power continued to swell and grow and pulse so bright the entire lot was lit like daytime. I reached for my edges, for the final reach of my magic.
And understood at last what Dad meant.
I didn't have any.
I could keep going, drawing more in, taking on all of the power in the world. Torsh, the god wannabe, had nothing on me, nothing. My whole body hummed as I welcomed in the vast expanse of magic at my disposal, knowing then no one and nothing could stand against me.
Girl, Gram's voice snapped in my head, breaking the trance. Pay attention.
The balloon of power was punctured, fading as if all the air were being let out at once. I resisted at first, struggling against my grandmother who finally pinched me mentally.
Enough grandstanding. Back to work.
I sagged a little as I returned to myself, the light dimming to a soft glow, my power pulsing inside me like a heart, in perfect harmony. I laughed again, but this time from pure joy.
"Still feel like playing, Ameline?"
"This is war." She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, fear reflected in her eyes. "Even more now, once the Council knows what you're capable of. You fool, they are jealous of you, of your family. This will be all I need to convince them to bring you down."
"They can try," I said. "You can try. Good luck with that."
"The Hayles are done." So much spite, so much hate. At last I was seeing all of it. The brothers both moved as if to escape her, but she lashed out at them, her own allies, her power dropping them to their knees to topple to their sides, unconscious. "Fools," she snarled, "they dare retreat when I am about to be victorious."
Um, had she missed the last five minutes? Victorious, my ass.
I gasped as something drove its way through my weakened shield, distracted by my own arrogance, and drove upward through my body toward my heart. I snapped off the javelin of magic in time, just in time, where it emerged from the ground at my feet. Stupid, stupid! I'd let my guard partially down and she almost had me.
Gram was right, damn it.
Quaid lurched toward me, terror on his face as I sagged, fighting against the lavender magic now trapped inside me. It was like I'd ingested a living thing with teeth and claws tearing at my insides, ripping and rending at the core of my magic. My demon fought it off with equal fury while Ameline battered me from the outside against what remained of my shields.
I felt Quaid beside me, the touch of his skin on mine. The connection between us surged to brilliant life. The lavender magic inside me answered his call immediately, fleeing from my body in a rush of fire. Quaid crumpled at my side, crying out in pain as Ameline's magic lashed at him over and over while I struggled for control, for focus.
This couldn't be happening. I'd beaten her. She couldn't be winning.
I looked up into her eyes, gasping for air, fighting for control of my power through the damage she'd done while Quaid collapsed next to me, moaning. The light of triumph in her eyes was too much.
How the hell did I lose?
I called up my magic, the family magic, even as she loomed over me. The ground shook as Galleytrot howled, Liam screaming my name, but I was focused on her, on the one chance I had to block her and regain control.
Ameline's triumph faded from her eyes suddenly as a brilliant flash of lavender light exploded behind her. She looked startled, almost innocent, as she sighed and sagged to the ground, out cold. I looked up, panting and desperate, to see Mia standing behind the fallen witch, hand still raised from the blow she'd struck.
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