The man bared his golden fangs at her and hissed. Leia didn’t move. She saw that there was a glowing metal collar around his neck. That collar hadn’t been there when he attacked her in the alley. She would have remembered it distinctly.
The man shrieked and jerked his head from side to side as he clawed at his collar. He yelped and threw himself against the bars, glaring at her with those hateful red eyes.
Leia forced herself to look long and hard at the man. She had to remember every detail. There was something she ought to know, but what? She just had to think harder, push all the information to the front of her mind and connect the dots.
As the man screeched and slammed against the cage, Leia saw that his ragged shirt was in fact made up of broken feathers.
Black and white feathers.
Talons.
It could shift between bird and human form.
But she remembered that it couldn’t speak. Even in human form, it could only cluck, shriek and yelp. It couldn’t form words. Maybe it didn’t even understand words.
“Not a shifter,” she breathed. “Even in human form, you aren’t human.”
Shifters had control over their animals. They had a human mind and will. Even rogue shifters hadn’t lost their human mind completely. They just lacked the discipline to reign in their beasts and their animal appetites.
Leia recalled her attack in the alley. The monster had plunged its fangs into her neck and drank her blood. “You drink blood,” she whispered, staring into those beady red eyes. “And there’s lightning when you appear.”
“A lightning bird,” she gasped. “You’re an impundulu. You are a witch’s familiar.”
She reeled back when she finally recalled the last thing that Gramma and Ne-ma had told her about the impundulu that day.
“An impundulu is a good servant. It can help the witch with some very powerful magic and it will do the witch’s bidding—as long as it is well fed. But you have to feed it with fresh blood. It can be animal blood. It just has to be fresh. But once an impundulu has tasted human blood, it won’t want animal blood any more. The witch will have to let it hunt humans, or the impundulu will turn on her and devour her instead. And once it has taken human blood, it will have the ability to take the form of a man.”
“You...you’re an impundulu. And you’ve been fed human blood,” Leia gasped. There was no doubt at all in her mind. This was the impundulu that was stolen from the murdered witch.
She shook her head in horror. “Your master was murdered. Did you...did you...” Did you drink her blood?
“So who is your new master?” Leia whispered.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Leia kept her eyes on the cage as she inched sideways along the wall. It looked like she was in an unfinished basement. Leia bit down a scream when the impundulu lunged forward and slashed the air with its claws.
There was a flight of broken stairs at the corner and Leia made a mad scramble for it. But before she could reach it, something yanked her back.
Leia cried out in pain as she fell to the ground. A tendril of mist was curled around her ankle, holding her down.
The mist spiraled into a dense column and took shape. Leia gasped as Cece stepped out of the mist and walked towards her.
“Leia,” Cece said with a thin smile. “Where do you think you’re going?”
Smirking, Cece strolled towards the cage. She flicked her hand and the impundulu shrieked and clawed at the collar around its neck. Its arms became wings and the creature turned back into a huge bird.
“You...you’re a murderer!” Leia said. “You murdered that witch and stole her familiar.”
Cece laughed and clapped three times, very slowly and deliberately. “I’m impressed,” Cece smirked. “You’re not that dumb, for a human.”
Leia pushed herself against the wall to get as far away as she could from Cece. She was trapped in a dark basement with a ruthless, savage murderer.
“Why,” Leia said. “Why did you have to kill that witch?” If she got Cece to talk, she could buy time. She had to figure out a way to save herself.
“You can get your own familiar,” Leia went on in a bolder tone. “Many of the witches here don’t even have a familiar. If you wanted a pet, you could have...”
“You don’t know anything. A familiar is not a pet,” Cece said disdainfully. “A familiar helps a witch with her magic. It’s a servant, a weapon. An impundulu is the most powerful and dangerous familiar a witch can have.”
Cece smiled slowly. “Do you know that once my familiar has taken someone’s blood, I can gain access to their deepest, darkest thoughts and fears? I just need a drop of their blood to get inside their heads. I can see their insecurities and terrors, and I can control their emotions. They’ll do what I want them to do. Humans are so easy to control and manipulate...”
“Bitch!” Leia snarled. “It was you. It was your voice. I knew that was your voice in my head! I shouldn’t have let you...” Leia scowled, furious at herself for believing all those lies. “You...you are a fucking liar! You spun all those lies...”
“Lies? Were they all lies?” Cece laughed. “There was some truth in my words. You know I’m right, Leia.”
“No. Nothing you said was true. Nothing!” Leia spat.
Cece chuckled and cooed at the shrieking impundulu in the cage. “Patience. I will let you feed soon.”
Leia tamped down her terror. The witch was going to feed her to the impundulu.
She took a shaky breath and forced herself to speak. “Where are we?”
“In this old, crumbling building that’s been earmarked for demolition,” Cece answered lazily. “It was an old cinema, I think. But no one comes here now. There are no houses along this part of town.”
Leia knew where they were. The old cinema was scheduled to be torn down and a shopping mall built in its place. But the project had been put on hold.
No one would find her. There were no houses and shops around this area. Even if she screamed, there would be no one to hear her.
“Why...why George’s house?” Leia said, swallowing painfully. “I know George didn’t rent his house to you. He’s planning to come home soon. George would never...” Leia gasped. “Did you...kill him? Did you murder George?”
Cece smirked. “Well, lucky for George, he wasn’t home when I found his house. Why George’s house, you ask. Two ley lines intersect in his backyard. I needed to find an intersection of two ley lines and Shadow Point was the closest location from where I was.”
“George’s backyard!” Leia gasped.
“Yes. It was the perfect location. Oh, and your boyfriend helped me get the plants I needed.”
“Plants?” Leia shook her head. Just what was this psychotic witch talking about?
“The toxin in those plants become that much stronger when exposed to the light of the full moon,” Cece went on. “I harvested those toxins to forge a collar.”
Leia’s eyes darted to the collar around the impundulu’s neck.
“Yes, that’s the collar.” Cece tut-tutted. “It’s all because of you, Leia. I could have used those plants for a very powerful spell. Instead, I had to waste so much time and energy to forge that magical collar.”
Cece circled Leia slowly. “I let my familiar out to hunt that night, and it came back with blood on its beak. It was still hungry. You...escaped,” the witch drawled, pointing an accusing finger at Leia.
Cece sighed dramatically. “If my familiar had drained your blood that night, all would have been well. I wouldn’t have had to collar it. And we wouldn’t be here now. Why didn’t you feed my familiar, hmmm? Why couldn’t you have been a good little human and just died?”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Leia watched Cece stroll to the cage. She looked around desperately, searching for a way to escape.
“You know,” Cece said, running her nails along the bars of the cage. “Only a powerful witch can have an impundulu as a familiar. This lightning bird was meant to b
e mine.”
Leia shook her head. “No,” she said. “An impundulu is passed down from mother to daughter. It serves a family of witches for generations. But you—you stole it from its master.”
Cece smirked. “Master? An impundulu has no loyalty. It’s all about power.” She pointed to the cage. “That creature inside drained the blood of its old master. It doesn’t care whose blood it is.”
“Its old master...” Leia squeezed her eyes shut for an instant. She remembered Gramma and Ne-ma telling her about the impundulu’s diet. “The witch fed it animal blood.”
Cece arched a brow. “I see the witches in town have been talking.” She barked out a laugh. “Well, they’re right. That witch did feed the impundulu animal blood. An impundulu, as you know, is also called a lightning bird, but for it to harness the power of lightning, it needs to be fed human blood. That witch had a lightning bird, but she didn’t know how to use it. She didn’t unleash its full potential and power. Useless old hag. I did the world a favor by getting rid of her.”
Leia clamped her hand to her mouth to tamp down her nausea. “No...”
“Yes, after I murdered that old hag, I fed her to her pet. And once the impundulu had its first taste of human blood, nothing could stop it. It drained every drop of her blood.” Cece came closer and whispered, “And it wants more.”
Cece stalked closer, her black eyes gleaming. “It tasted your blood that night. I think I should let it finish its meal. Once you’re gone, that dragon will forget all about you and come to me.”
“D-dragon?” Leia’s chest constricted painfully, making it hard to breathe. A shiver of pure terror and rage coursed through her.
Sky.
The witch wanted Sky.
“Leave Sky alone,” Leia snarled. “You leave him alone!”
“Do you think I really want him? It’s his dragon I want,” Cece said. “I want his dragon fire.”
“Bitch!” Leia screamed. “You’re a liar, a thief, a murderer! Keep away from Sky, you...”
As Leia flew at her, Cece sidestepped her and grabbed her arm. “I think I’ve had enough fun with you. You’re becoming annoying now. So—into the cage with you,” Cece sang.
“No!”
“My familiar needs to feed,” Cece said. “And I need something from you. If I hadn’t collared the impundulu, it would have drained your blood in a matter of minutes after it pounced on you at your house. The collar stops it from feeding.”
“What do you want from me?” Leia spat. “I won’t give you anything!”
“Oh, you will give me everything I want. While my familiar is feeding on you, I will harvest your eyes and heart. A beating human heart is a very potent ingredient. I’m going to keep yours beating in my magic jar for a long time, Leia.”
Leia struggled hard, trying to twist free of the witch’s cold, cruel grip. “Let me go!” Leia screamed. “You’re crazy!”
Cece laughed. “Come, let’s not keep my familiar waiting. It can’t go without blood for too long.”
At Cece’s words, Leia froze suddenly. She stopped struggling and appeared unresisting and passive. She shuffled meekly towards the cage, seemingly resigned to her fate.
Cece glanced at her. “That’s right,” she said, smiling. “You know you can’t fight this. You can’t win, so it’d be much better for you if you just accept it. Don’t worry, I promise I’ll keep your heart is a very pretty jar.”
Leia looked straight at the monster in the cage and said in an oddly calm voice, “An impundulu needs blood. Fresh blood. We can’t let it go hungry.”
Cece’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “You are going into the cage willingly?”
Leia lowered her head.
She heard a click as the door of the cage unlocked. Cece muttered an incantation and pointed at the collar around the impundulu’s neck. The collar glowed and vanished.
Leia fought down her panic. Without the collar, the impundulu was free to feed. It was starving. Lightning zapped from its talons as it screamed and spread its wings.
Leia saw the impundulu shift into a man. The monster reached out and tried to swipe at Leia with its clawed hands.
Cece was holding the cage door, ready to open it. “As you said, an impundulu doesn’t care where the blood comes from,” Leia said suddenly.
“What?”
“You need to give your familiar blood, or else it will turn on you,” Leia said. “An impundulu will turn on its master if it’s starving. It does your bidding only when you can control it.”
Leia turned to Cece and bared her teeth in a dangerous smile. “But when it gets too hungry, you can’t control it, can you?”
Cece raised her hand to slap Leia but Leia caught her by the wrist. “When your familiar starves, your magic wanes. Your lightning bird hasn’t fed in a while. You have to lock it in a cage, or it will attack you. It needs blood. Any blood.”
Cece screeched and opened the door to push Leia into the cage. “Get in the cage! Get in!”
Leia fought back as Cece shoved her forward. The door was swinging inwards and she was starting to tumble into the huge cage. Once she was fully inside the cage, Cece would slam the door shut and lock it.
There would be no way out.
Leia had to make sure that she wasn’t the one who got locked in.
Just as Leia began to fall backwards, she reached out and grabbed Cece. Pivoting on her heel, she whirled round and shoved Cece into the cage.
Leia moved with a speed she hadn’t known she possessed before. She leaped out of the cage and slammed the cage door shut. The lock engaged automatically with a click.
“It wants blood and it doesn’t care whose blood it is,” Leia panted. “Your blood will do just fine.”
The impundulu stared at the witch with its glowing red eyes. Cece was screaming an incantation, trying to get the collar back around its neck.
With a hiss, the impundulu pounced on the witch and clawed at her.
Cece yelled out an incantation and sparks flashed from her fingertips. The sparks bounced harmlessly off the back of the impundulu as the monster plunged its fangs into her neck.
The impundulu began to feed greedily.
Leia covered her ears and turned away.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Sky sped to Cece’s house, his dragon roaring in his head. Mixed with the scent of Leia’s blood was a scent he recognized. When Cece called forth that strange, swirling fog, Sky had whiffed the distinct smell of her dark magic.
He’d scented that same smell in Leia’s house. He had no doubt that the witch had taken Leia.
Sky screeched to a stop in front of the witch’s house and charged up the front steps. The front door wasn’t even locked.
The whole house was empty.
Sky checked every room, every corner but there was no one in the house.
Where was Leia?
He raced into the backyard and saw that those poisonous plants had wilted. The moonlight illuminated their shrunken, blackened leaves. Cece had drained those plants of their toxins and their life force for her magic.
Sky stood in the middle of the empty house, trying to think clearly. He gasped when he recalled Cece’s words. She had threatened to use Seath. That evil witch might have already gotten to his baby brother.
Sky hurtled across the street to Seath’s house and pounded on the door. “Seath! Seath, open up! Open the door!”
“Whoa!” Seath exclaimed as he threw the door open. “What’s up? You okay, Sky?” He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and squinted at his big brother.
“You in bed?” Sky said, pushing into the house.
“Yeah. Of course. Do you know what time it is? What’s happening, Sky?” Seath asked as Sky began flicking on all the lights. “What are you looking for?”
Sky searched the whole house and said tightly, “She’s not here.”
“Who’s not here?” Seath asked, throwing up his hands. “Will you tell me what the hell is going on?”
�
��Cece. She...”
“Cece? The lady across the street?” Seath’s eyes bugged. “Why would she be here?”
Sky scowled. “She’s a witch. She took Leia.”
“What? How do you know?”
“I saw her, on Leia’s street. And I smelled her magic in Leia’s house. Leia’s missing. There’s blood on the wall and...”
Seath’s green eyes darkened with fury. “Blood? Oh, that witch is going to pay!” Seath said, slamming his huge fist into his palm.
“We’ll help you find her!” Seath yelled as he ran out of the house after Sky. Seath rushed over to Storm’s house and almost hammered the door to splinters. “Storm! Wake up! Come out right now!” Seath hollered.
Sky knew that Storm was a light sleeper. In a matter of seconds, Storm was out of his house, wearing nothing but his sweat pants and wielding an assortment of knives.
“Are we being attacked?” Storm asked. “Who’s attacking? Wolves again?”
“Not wolves,” Seath answered. “A witch. We need to go save Leia now! Why are you holding all those kitchen knives?”
“We should always be prepared,” Storm snapped.
Sky could feel his dragon rippling under his skin. He turned to see Storm and Seath running to him. Sky tossed the keys of his truck to Storm before launching himself into the air.
His dragon tore out of him and large, powerful wings unfurled. Sky heard the engine of his truck and the squeal of tires as his brothers followed his lead.
Sky flew above the town, filtering all the sounds and scents through his dragon senses. He scanned every house, every building, trying to detect Leia’s voice or scent.
Below him, he could see his brothers driving down the streets as fast as they could, searching every corner and alleyway.
Where was Leia?
He had to find her scent. Time was passing, and if he didn’t find her soon, she might be…
No! No, Leia was alive!
He would find her.
Sky forced himself to focus and sieve through all the sights, sounds and smells of the town.
Skyfire Dragon Page 9
