It chilled Raven to see such a strong man being turned, all without a fight.
“What’s happening?” When only silence greeted her, Raven turned toward her men. “Durant?”
“Huh?” He blinked in confusion, but didn’t bother to even glance at her.
Jackson didn’t even register her question, turning away from her with all the rest.
Devastation nearly wrenched her heart out of her chest. When she looked around the only other person who remained unaffected was the gypsy.
Eve glanced at the men as they plodded forward, then inched her way toward Raven. None of the men even noticed the women, despite even bumping into them to get to the siren. “Can you sense anything?”
Raven focused on Veronica and dropped into her second sight.
And saw nothing.
She amped up the charge. All the warmth around her bled away, her breath billowed out in a cloud of white as she pushed herself for more. There had to be something. She expected bright bursts of magic; instead, it splashed through the air like fluff from a dandelion.
It drifted across her skin, then crawled over her like a cluster of spiders, trying to burrow into her flesh as if desperate to get inside and pull her under its spell. Blood whooshed in her ears. The longer she stayed in the alternate vision, the more her head pounded, and she finally blinked it away. “It’s not magic, but it’s close. Can you do anything?”
Eve lifted her arms and began casting, knitting an intricate spell that Raven had no ability to interpret.
Though Durant had remained by her side, he stared at Veronica, completely captivated. Something shriveled inside her when he stepped away from her, drawn to the seductress.
The dragon growled in denial, and Raven grabbed Durant’s arm.
Current jumped between them, electricity snapping in the air, and every hair on her arm stood on end. The dull look in his beautiful golden eyes gradually faded. He shook his head like a dog, not seeming to recognize his surroundings, completely dazed and uncoordinated as if drugged.
“Durant?”
Alarm spiked through her when Jackson drew farther and farther away, and she reluctantly loosened her hold on Durant to go after him.
She darted forward, managing only two steps, when a gurgling protest reached her ears. Her skin crawled at the sound. She whirled to see Durant sway on his feet, the vacant look falling back over his eyes.
“Run.” His raspy voice sent a chill down her spine.
She was losing him.
The same realization darkened his eyes, and a pit of despair yawned between them at his utter helplessness. He took one stumbling step toward her when he completely forgot her existence, and his eyes began to dull over.
Her soul shattered at the loss. If she did as directed and left, the circus would vanish in the middle of the night, and she’d never see any of them again.
She couldn’t do it.
Even if it meant they would kill her.
The animals paced restlessly, unaffected by whatever the bitch was doing.
Hope surged at the realization, and Raven whirled and yelled, adding power to her words to make it a command. “Durant, you have to shift. She can’t control your beast.”
He heard her order and struggled against the pull of the siren, but it was too little too late. With each heartbeat, he fell further under her influence.
Then it was too late as he finally lost the battle.
She grabbed for his beast, willing the change on him, but slammed into some sort of barrier. No matter how much energy she threw at it, she couldn’t access his tiger, meeting nothing but darkness.
The loss of connection gutted her, leaving her so alone the dragon lifted its big head and gave a mournful wail. She’d been able to connect to him by touch, and a fragile hope flared to life. She tried to shove the shifters out of the way, but it was like pushing at a brick wall. She wedged herself between two men and squeezed through, only to be confronted by three more.
“Raven.” Eve grabbed her arm, a combination of fear and pity etched on her face. “We can’t help them that way. We need a plan.”
“The men are mine.” Veronica stood, her chin high, surveying the crowd like a queen over her possessions.
Fury rippled through Raven. Claws sliced through the tips of her fingers, and she welcomed the sting of pain. Energy spilled through her veins with the need to eliminate the threat. “Over my dead body.”
“That can be arranged.” Veronica laughed, drunk on power. Her skin tinged green as the siren fully emerged, a mythical creature said to lure sailors to their death. Two rows of needle-like teeth filled her mouth, while sharp, dainty talons tipped her fingers. If the siren had been in water, Raven suspected her power would be twice as strong.
That weakness gave them an opening.
Rebellion must have shone on Raven’s face for Veronica’s eyes narrowed, then she turned toward the men and pointed. “Kill them.”
Raven automatically fell into a fighting stance and lifted her sword, then slowly lowered it as the men around them turned toward her.
She couldn’t do it.
She couldn’t kill them, not when they weren’t in control of themselves.
To her shock, the sword shimmered then vanished as if she’d banished it by thought alone.
She open and closed her firsts, already missing the blade, feeling naked without it.
Vulnerable.
“Now would be a good time.” Raven shouted over her shoulder.
Eve threw a spell at Veronica, the power slamming the bitch back a few feet. Half of the men paused, those the farthest away from her, and the siren hissed in fury and hummed a haunting melody until the men resumed their march.
It had worked.
Only for a few seconds but it had worked.
That meant they had a chance.
Excitement shimmered along her spine. “Whatever you did, do it again.”
Eve nodded, her face pale under the strain, but she didn’t waver as she began gathering energy again. “Fine, but you need to keep them off me while I cast.”
Raven nodded, taking a few steps away to give herself room to maneuver. Raw current churned under her skin, ready to burst free. She’d love to give Eve a boost, but couldn’t risk contaminating her with the tainted magic in the process. It would be a death sentence she didn’t deserve, not after everything that she’d survived.
The storm continued to brew, thunder and lightning cracking across the sky, seeking release.
Seeking her.
Raven wanted to call down the storm, throw all that lovely current at Veronica, but she’d never been able to direct the power. It always had a mind of its own. If she could get close enough, gather the woman in her arms, she just had to wait for the lightning.
It would come for her.
It always did, begging to be used.
Like an addict, her whole body trembled with the need for a fix, a small taste of the storm.
Raven concentrated, gathered the current in her palms, the raw energy scorching her hands as she drew it from her bones. When the first man came within striking distance, she tossed the little ball of energy she gathered.
The man froze and twitched as the current electrocuted him.
He dropped to his knees, awareness creeping back into his eyes as his beast rose to the surface.
Elation spiked in her chest so hard, so fast, she lost her breath.
She could save her men and bring them back.
Raven panted under the strain, her hands raw and painful as if she’d lost a few layers of skin despite the armor. She only had so much energy left before the precision strikes devastated her power supply. She could possibly take two more men down without drawing the attention of the storm.
Three more men quickly took the place of the one she’d shocked. Wanting to save the remaining energy to bring back her pack, she slammed her elbow into the temple of the first one, knocking him to ground. When the second one reached for h
er, she was desperate enough to kick him in the balls and dropped him. She thrust her fist into the throat of the third, but not before she took glancing blow high in the shoulder.
A streak of pain shot down her arm at the jarring blow.
Exhaustion weighed her down, making her slow.
Making her sloppy.
She wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer.
When she turned to face the next attack, Raven froze, nonplussed when she came face to face with the kid.
The hesitation was all the opening he needed.
He lunged toward her.
He nearly reached her before self-preservation kicked into gear. Not wanting to hurt him with the current, fearing that it could damage his unawakened beast, she coldcocked him.
To her relief, the kid dropped like a stone and didn’t move.
Raven backed away, stumbling over one of the bodies, barely catching her balance as she danced away from another man. The strike meant to rip out her heart cracked a glancing blow to her ribs instead.
Even with the armor in place, every inch of her body ached. Cuts stung. Abrasions throbbed. The adrenaline began to wear off so that she felt every scratch, every bruise. There were just too many to fight. They would eventually wear her down unless she resorted to killing them. “Eve!”
“I’m close.” Her voice broke under the strain, the last word cracking.
Raven didn’t bother to look behind her as the next man swung at her, his claws aimed to gouge out her eyes. She grabbed his arm and twisted, her stomach lurching as bones snapped. “Faster would be better!”
Veronica narrowed her eyes, hatred burning in the blue depths, and she began to sing again. The song was beautiful, captivating and within moments, the few men Raven had managed to free gradually fell back under her spell.
Three more men crowded closer, nobody home behind their eyes. If they knew what they were doing, they couldn’t stop it. Raven knocked another one down with another jolt of current. The muscles of her hands twitched with agony, and Raven reluctantly dropped the energy she held, not sure how much more damage she could take before she stopped healing.
Despite all the work, it had only bought her a few minutes as the men slowly lumbered to their feet. The pain had to be unbearable, but not one even gave a hint of it as they slowly surrounded the two women.
The feel of being hunted closed in on her. A weight pressed against her chest with the need to stop them.
Kill them.
“Leo.” Fighting the primal urge, Raven turned toward the lion and saw the large beast perk up. “Gather the rest of the shifters and create a barrier between us and the men.”
His lips lifted, fangs flashing, telling her what he thought of that idea, not budging an inch, the stubborn beast.
“I’m not asking you to kill them. Push them out of the way. Hell, pin them to the ground by sitting on them. I don’t care. We just need to buy some time. I’d rather not kill them.”
He cocked his head as he debated her request, and Raven continued to back away from the men, zapping the ones that got too close. Her mouth went dry with the need to dump all the juice into them until it pulled out their beasts … even if it would damage them beyond repair. “You trusted me once, trust me one more time.”
Her desperation must have reached him.
With a roar, the lion loped forward and knocked the man who’d been reaching for her back to the ground. The other animals joined the fray, creating a rather fragile shield.
The pressure of being hunted eased for a fraction until she saw Jackson stalk her just beyond the reach of the animals.
Raven backed up from his predatory expression. “Eve?”
“I need another minute.”
Raven gathered more energy, her body trembling under the strain not to let it all loose and wallow in it. Each time she drew current, the wilder the storm grew. It sensed her nearness and gathered strength to pounce. Wind picked up, tearing at the tents, stripping the trees of leaves. “I don’t think we have it.”
She needed to shut down soon or the full ferocity of the storm would tear them apart. The closer the storm, the weaker her shields, and the more the dragon rose to the surface, lured out by all the lovely current.
The dragon could only take so much, and a deep foreboding slithered down her spine.
Things were different now that the dragon was awake. The creature had always been safe and protected.
Never weakened.
It had always kept her alive, helped her survive. Raven suspected that if the dragon died first, she would die was well.
No healing.
No coming back.
The dragon seemed so indestructible that Raven sometimes forgot the beast was just a toddler. They were both vulnerable until the creature could come into her full power.
For the first time, Raven realized that it was up to her to protect them now.
One person drew her attention by his complete stillness.
Taggert.
Even near Veronica, he didn’t fall under her spell, made no move to attack.
He was so focused on his beast, he was immune to Veronica and her machinations. She’d considered him weak, therefore beneath notice and had dismissed him. A hint of an idea formed at the fringes of her mind, only to scatter when Jackson leapt over the shifters as if they weren’t even there.
He came at her like a juggernaut, his natural training taking over, and he lunged for her throat.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Raven ducked the first blow, trying to grab Jackson’s arm but missed.
Though she realized he wasn’t in control, after their recent argument, she couldn’t help but feel the fight was very personal.
She didn’t want to kill him, but knew he wouldn’t hesitate to take her head.
He kicked out, his foot slamming into her chest, nearly knocking her off her feet as she stumbled backward. If not for the tiny armor, he would’ve broken her ribs. She wheezed, struggling to straighten.
She would never be able to beat him in hand-to-hand combat. Not only did she not have the training, she couldn’t bring herself to harm him.
Throwing out all the fighting styles London had been pounding into her head, Raven ran toward Jackson and plowed into him.
She wrapped her arms and legs around him, twisting to catch the blow aimed for her face against her shoulder. She buried her face into his neck to keep away from his snapping teeth.
Skin touched skin.
Jackson struggled to untangle himself, his hands grabbing her hips, his claws sinking deep.
Raven yelled in pain, tightening her hold, when sanity gradually returned to his face. “Raven?”
His claws immediately retracted, and he juggled her weight, trying not to hurt her as he cradled her close.
She smiled through the agony, swallowing hard in relief to have him back. “My touch breaks the siren’s hold, but the instant I let go, you’re going to try to kill me again.”
He actually paled, his arms squeezing painful around her. “Then you better not let go.”
“Right.” She leaned against him, stealing a few seconds of comfort, before pushing him away, careful to maintain contact with a hand on his chest.
Jackson gazed down on her, his face softening. “Your powers can break her hold on us.”
“Yes, but it only lasts for a few seconds before it fades.”
“Then you have to fill me up with as much energy as you can, and I’ll take care of Veronica.” His voice was low, full of determination.
“Your body wouldn’t be able to handle the raw current, not to mention the shifters will tear you apart before you even got near.” It was a suicide mission, and he knew it.
She scrambled to find any alternative, but her mind came up blank at every turn.
Jackson grabbed her hand, brought it up to his lips and kissed her fingers. “Raven—”
She shook her head, refusing to even contemplate sacrificing him. She had to come
up with a different solution. “Can you shift? You might be able to change into your beast before she grabs ahold of you again.”
Jackson stubbornly shook his head. “I’m not willing to take the chance on your life.”
The animals were knocking down the men as fast as they could, but Veronica’s minions didn’t seem to feel fear or pain. They just rose and marched ever forward.
Everyone except Taggert … the only one of them close enough to kill Veronica before anyone could stop him.
Everything inside her revolted at the prospect of using him that way.
As if sensing her regard, Taggert lifted his head, and their eyes met.
Shock jolted through her body, the world around her fading when she saw his eyes had gone completely black. A deep foreboding filled her.
He was cresting.
Even if she could reach him in time, there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Though he’d been growing tougher, his beast wasn’t nearly strong enough for the change.
Given time, he might have the ability to shift, just not yet.
At least not alone.
Indecision caused her to hesitate, worried that if she tried anything it would only make the situation worse.
Time ticked away.
He wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer before his beast killed him, tearing him apart from within.
If she didn’t do something, he would die.
Sending him energy would be risky.
Over the last few weeks, his body had become conditioned to the current. He sought her touch at every opportunity like a craving he couldn’t control. The only problem, the last time she gave him a boost of power, she’d nearly killed him.
Terror weighted heavily in her chest, afraid of what would happen to him if she did it again.
If she failed to save him, it would destroy her, stealing the last bit of her humanity with him.
Jackson followed her gaze and grunted in understanding. “You don’t have a choice.”
Raven swept her fingers across his chest, trying to soothe them both. “There is always a choice. You just have to decide if you can live with the consequences.”
Durant crossed the animal barricade, too strong to hold, slowly prowling toward them like his tiger counterpart as he locked onto her.
Electric series- Raven Investigations BoxSet Page 24
