Dying Covenant: The Complete Series

by Amanda M. Lee

  I slammed out a bolt of magic that caused the desk in the office to crash against the brick wall, arching an eyebrow when I came face to face with Martin. He had a hand raised to slow me, but I wasn’t about to play that game. I merely jerked my hand, a red bolt of pain zinging into him as he spun in the air before hitting the floor.

  Roger, one hand on Sami’s shoulder, widened his eyes as I focused on him. He seemed frozen in place for a long time, then scrambled to grab Sami around the throat. For her part, Brittany cowered in the corner and tried to pretend she wasn’t in the middle of a battle that was about to get bloody. Perhaps she hoped I’d forget about her. That wasn’t about to happen, but I had more pressing concerns.

  “If you don’t take your hands off my kid, I’ll blow them off,” I threatened.

  “And then I’ll rip out your throat and feed it to the vampire,” Aric seethed, taking a step toward Sami.

  “Daddy!” Sami whimpered as Roger tightened his grip on her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have left the hotel. It’s just … I want to go home.”

  It took me a moment to grasp what she was saying. It was only after running everything through my mind that I realized she wasn’t afraid of Roger … or Brittany … or even a whimpering Martin on the floor. She was afraid of us.

  “You’re in big trouble,” I gritted out, almost smirking when I remembered all of the times Aric said it to me after I stuck my nose into a situation where it didn’t belong.

  “It’s not my fault,” Sami complained. “You guys shut me out of everything. You didn’t let me be a part of this. I don’t see how you can blame me for this. It’s really your fault.”

  Aric was incredulous. “You’re grounded,” he barked. “You’re grounded for the rest of your life. Do you have any idea what you put your mother and me through?”

  “I … this isn’t my fault.” Sami stomped her foot. “You shut me out. This is your fault!”

  Aric extended a warning finger. “We’ll talk about this later,” he muttered, shaking his head before he slid me a sidelong glance. “She definitely gets this from you. You’re grounded, too.”

  I knew it was petty to engage in a marital spat in front of our enemies, but there was no way I could let that comment slide. “You can’t ground me.”

  “Oh, I’m grounding you,” Aric muttered. “Once we’re done here everyone is going home and no one is leaving for a full month. There will be no fast food … or candy … or ice cream cakes. There will definitely be no Outlander.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you that I watch it for the history?” Sami exploded, a burst of magic causing the tiles in the drop ceiling to melt. Because they were made of shoddy material, they shrank inward with the force of the blast and began falling out of the metal grates.

  “Just until I believe you,” Aric replied simply, flicking his eyes to the ceiling. “Now, Roger, I believe I told you that if you didn’t take your hands off my kid that I’d cause you a big and bloody death. I can’t help but notice that you’re still threatening my daughter.”

  “And I’m going to continue threatening her if you don’t leave this place,” Roger snapped. “This is private property. You’re trespassing.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh thanks to the absurdity of the statement. “That didn’t seem to bother you when you sent faction after faction to our home. You didn’t seem to care about that when you tried to kill my kid with zombies … and sphinxes … and demented wolves.”

  “That’s not true,” Brittany protested, trying to find her voice. “Tell her that’s not true!”

  “Oh, shut up.” Roger clearly was in no mood to placate Brittany. “You knew exactly what you signed on for when you joined this endeavor. We told you we were going to end the mage. You said it was a good idea.”

  “To end Zoe,” Brittany clarified. “I never said it was okay to go after a child.”

  “Oh, well, that makes it much better,” Rafael deadpanned, edging around the desk I had thrown across the room upon entering. “You always were a moron, Brittany. I see nothing else has changed.”

  “Don’t you talk to me that way!”

  I had to hand it to Brittany. She was the only person I knew who could manage to sound like a prim and proper prude in the middle of a massacre.

  “Shut up, Brittany,” I ordered, irritation wiping out my rage. She was a freaking idiot. There was no doubt about that. I wasn’t sure, now that it was in front of me, whether or not I could kill her. She really was the idiot who let a man lead her around and never thought for herself. It was annoying and borderline criminal, but I wasn’t certain it was a kill-worthy offense. I definitely wasn’t ruling it out, though. “I’m talking to your soon-to-be-dead husband.”

  “Oh, you think so?” Roger puffed out his chest, but I could tell he was faking his bravado given the steady stream of sweat running down his cheeks. “In case you haven’t noticed, I have the upper hand here. I have your child.”

  I let my gaze bounce between Roger and Sami a few times. Sami appeared to be finding her strength. She wasn’t thrilled about our arrival – and I totally believed that was because she didn’t want to be punished rather than the fact that she feared for her life – but she didn’t seem to be worried about Roger or the way he kept his hand around her throat.

  “You do have our child,” I confirmed, sending a mental push in Sami’s direction. I knew it worked when she snapped her eyes in my direction. “What are you going to do about that, Sami?”

  Sami visibly swallowed as she stared at me. “Do you want me to kill him?”

  Did I? Could I order my child to kill an unarmed man? Yes, he was threatening her, but he was no match for her power. “You don’t have to kill him to handle the situation,” I replied after a beat. “What does your heart tell you to do?”

  Sami wet her lips. “My heart wants to kill her.” She inclined her head in Brittany’s direction. “I think that’s because she hurt you. She didn’t hurt me. In fact, she hasn’t been here very long. When she came into this room and saw me she said they should let me go.”

  The information softened my stance on Brittany. “Well … you’re still in trouble for sneaking out of the hotel room. You’re going to be grounded with no access to a computer … or iPhone … or iPad … or Xbox.”

  “Oh, man!” Sami almost wailed the words. “What does that leave me with?”

  “Your dog and your parents,” Aric answered for me. “If you thought we embarrassed you before, just wait until we take you to the ice cream shop and lick the same ice cream cone.”

  I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing at Sami’s hangdog expression. “You guys suck. This is so not fair.”

  Something occurred to me. “Wait a second … I thought you said I was grounded, too. I believe there was a no ice cream edict in there somewhere.”

  “Yeah, well, we both know that won’t last,” Aric said, winking. “We’ll talk about that later.”

  “Yes, I think we’d all enjoy that,” Roger said, snapping his hand tighter around Sami’s neck. “If you don’t want me to kill her … .”

  The sight of Sami’s eyes widening propelled me into action. I had every intention of crushing Roger’s spine, but it was too late because Sami was done being used as a hostage.

  She lifted her hand, placed her fingers on Roger’s wrist, and let loose with her magic. Roger howled at the burning, releasing Sami almost immediately as his forearm blackened and crisped.

  Rafael jerked forward, grabbing Sami around the waist and tugging her toward him. He didn’t hesitate despite the fact that her hands were burning a man in front of his eyes.

  “You’re in massive trouble,” Aric muttered, collecting Sami from Rafael and giving her a kiss on the forehead. “You get this defiant streak from your mother, and I hate it.”

  “Do you still love me?” The expression on Sami’s face was earnest.

  “I will always love you,” Aric answered automatically. “I will always p
unish you when you do wrong, too. This was wrong.”

  “This was very wrong,” I agreed, glancing around the room. I leaned my head back so I could look up and down the hallway. A smattering of students gathered, stakes and long knives in their hands. They seemed to be waiting for someone to issue orders. I had a feeling that task would fall to me. “If you fight us, I’ll kill you all.”

  Alan slipped through the crowd, his eyes dark. “You’re an abomination. We cannot let you leave.”

  I studied him for a full minute as he took tiny shuffling steps forward. He seemed eager to prove he was some sort of hero, yet terrified at the same time. I knew I’d have to send a message to get these kids out of the building. I was resigned to making Alan that message.

  “Yes, well … .” I licked my lips and briefly pressed my eyes shut, mustering a yellow flicker of power before shooting it in his direction. “I gave you every chance, man. I really did.”

  Alan contorted when the magic slammed into him, gasping as his spine twisted. The sickening sound of crunching and cracking bones filled the room as Alan’s head slammed to the side, his sightless eyes locking on a colleague before he slipped bonelessly to the ground, dead.

  “Omigod!” One of the girls screamed when she saw Alan’s body. There was little doubt that he was dead. She dropped her knife to the floor, a clattering sound filling the hallway, and turned on her heel and ran.

  I shifted my gaze to the other students. “Run or you’ll get the same.”

  The kids moved in tandem … away from me. They were terrified, and rightfully so.

  “Don’t ever come after me or my family again,” I called out. “Leave your weapons on the floor when you go.”

  None of them spoke, but I heard metal hitting concrete before a door opened and footsteps pounded on stairs as the enemy fled. I spent a few seconds reading Roger’s expression as he cradled his arm and talked to himself, and when I looked back into the hallway it was empty.

  “I guess that handles that,” Aric said, shifting Sami so he could keep her close to his side. “All that remains is what you’re going to do with these guys.”

  “And burning the campus to the ground,” I reminded him.

  “Oh, well, that, too.”

  “Burning the campus to the ground?” I’d almost forgotten Brittany was there until she opened her big, fat trap. “You can’t do that. This is a community. This is a place where people live. This is my home.”

  “I’m not even sure why I’m having this conversation with you,” I admitted, swiveling. “I was determined to kill you when I left the hotel. Heck, I was determined to kill you this morning, but Paris talked me into waiting. By all rights you should be dead at least three times over.”

  “And yet I’m still here,” Brittany pressed. “You cannot destroy this campus. What about the students?”

  “You can’t hear it because you’re in a basement, but the cops have been evacuating students since we arrived,” I replied. “They know we’re going to destroy the campus. Actually, one cop knows we’re going to destroy the campus. We have hundreds of cops and wolves getting as many students as possible away from here. You can rest assured that I will burn this place to the ground.”

  “But … why?” Brittany looked lost. “You’ve won. Why don’t you just leave?”

  “Because I never want to come back, and as long as this place stands, I’ll have to come back.” I opted for honesty. “This place attracts evil. My family will never be safe as long as the evil keeps coming here.”

  “Don’t you think it makes you evil to destroy it?” Brittany challenged.

  “I think it makes me pragmatic,” I corrected. “I should’ve done it at graduation. I should’ve ended it then. You can’t say your life wouldn’t have been better if I’d put an end to all of this back then.”

  “But … this is my home.”

  “You need to find a new home, Brittany.” I refused to back down despite the pathetic expression on her face. “You need to find a new husband, too, because I’m not letting this one live.”

  Brittany balked. “You can’t murder him!”

  “Murder him? That’s rich. He threatened my child. I’m killing him to keep Sami safe.”

  “No!” Brittany was furious. “I won’t allow this to happen.”

  “You don’t have any say in the matter.” I released the magic again, slamming Roger against the wall and lifting him so his hands were fused above his head, lashing him to the office rafters. I glanced at Martin, who was curled into a ball on the floor. He was alive, but I’d shattered half of his bones in the initial assault. He couldn’t escape.

  “I’m going to give you the option of leaving, Brittany,” I said. “It’s a gift, because I was certainly determined to kill you twenty minutes ago. You can’t save Roger … or Martin … or anything in this building. You can’t save the school or your job either. You can save your life, though.

  “You can pack your belongings and get out of this town, maybe start a new life someplace else,” I continued. “I will give you that option. You don’t have a second choice.”

  Brittany’s face was cold, immovable. “And what if I say no?”

  My answer was simple. “Then you can die here, too. I won’t feel any guilt if that happens.” I pressed my lips together as I turned to Aric and Sami. “Who’s ready to go home?”

  Sami raised her hand. “I am.”

  I ruffled her hair, amused. “I figured you were.”

  “Can I be ungrounded if I’m good for the rest of the night?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  Aric led Sami to the door, and I cast one final glance over my shoulder as Brittany fruitlessly worked to save her husband. “You have five minutes before I torch this building, Brittany. Say your goodbyes and get out.”

  “Go away!” Tears streamed down Brittany’s face. “I hate you!”

  “Of course you do. I’m the villain in your story, just like you’re the villain in mine.”

  Thirty-One

  I sucked in a breath as I exited the athletic building, the relief of knowing I’d never enter again releasing the tightness that had been gathering in my chest all day. It was almost over. Really … and truly … almost over.

  “I wasn’t afraid of them,” Sami announced, seemingly unruffled by what she’d seen and done. “I knew I could handle them.”

  “You’re still grounded,” Aric said. “You’re grounded big time. In fact, you’re so grounded you’ll have to come up with a new term for what we’re going to do to you when we get home.”

  “House arrest?” I suggested.

  “With torture.” Aric smirked as he glanced toward Kelsey’s car. “You need to go with Paris and Kelsey now, Sami. We have a few things to finish up here. We’ll meet you at another hotel when we’re done.”

  Sami jerked her shoulders. “What? No! I want to stay with you.”

  “You can’t, junior mage,” Rafael said. “You’ve had your adventure for the day. It’s time for us to finish things up.”

  “But … I don’t want to leave.” Sami’s panicked gaze bounced from face to face. “I should be part of this.”

  “You’re the biggest part of it.” I ran my hand over her hair. “You don’t need to see the rest. What comes next is me finishing my job. You’ve already completed your job.”

  “But you might need me.” Sami adopted a pragmatic tone. “What if you get tired from burning things?”

  “Then I’ll sleep well tonight.”

  “But … .”

  “No.” I offered her a firm headshake. “You’re done. You’re going with your aunts.”

  Sami crossed her arms over her chest, frustration evident. “I’m really mad at both of you. I hope you know that.”

  “Yes, well, somehow I think we’ll survive.” Aric chuckled as he stooped lower so he could hug her. “We won’t be gone long. We need to finish this together. You understand that, right?”

  Sami chewed on her bottom lip. “I
understand.”

  “Good.” Aric kissed her forehead. “I’m going to walk Sami to the car and then I’ll be back. Your five-minute warning for Brittany should be up right around then. We’ll start with this building.”

  I nodded, gripping Sami’s shoulders before she could turn and giving her a tight hug. “It will be better now, Sami. You’ll see.”

  Sami sighed. “It’s easy for you to say that. You don’t have to be embarrassed by watching your parents lick the same ice cream cone.”

  Rafael snorted as he watched her trudge across the grassy median to where Kelsey and Paris waited. “She is more like you than I realized.”

  “That’s probably not going to help her in some respects.”

  “Perhaps not.”

  We lapsed into comfortable silence and I took advantage of the momentary lull to suck in gasping mouthfuls of air so I could settle myself. We still had a mountain of work ahead of us, yet it felt as if the heavy lifting was done. We would be able to breathe easier … and soon.

  I sensed the danger when it was already too late, swiveling to look back at the building and locking gazes with Brittany. Her hair was disheveled, tears streaming down her cheeks, and she had a gun in her hand.

  “What are you doing?” I barely managed to get out the words before I felt the pain rip through my chest. I jerked back, the impact of the shots – and there were multiple bullets flying into me – knocking me off balance.

  Rafael let loose an unearthly scream as he raced at Brittany. As if in slow motion, I saw his body blur. He was on Brittany before I hit the ground, ripping her apart with his bare hands as she screamed, gurgled and ultimately whimpered before dying. I saw the blood, barely registered it, and then bounced against the ground.

  “Zoe!” I heard Aric’s anguished cry as he pounded back in my direction. The pain from the wounds numbed me and I found myself floating as I stared at the night sky. It looked peaceful from here, as if this really was a quiet college campus without an evil underbelly. It was a strange thought to focus on given the fact that I’d been shot, but it was oddly soothing.