The wraithwolves glided forward, their eyes fixed upon us.
“Lightning globes,” I muttered. “You take the one of the left, and I’ll take the one on the right.”
“Won’t kill them,” said Nadia, flexing the fingers of her right hand. “I can’t hit them that hard, and neither can you.”
“It’ll stun them,” I said, drawing together power for a spell. “And that should be long enough. On three. One, two…”
Blue sparks played around her fingers.
“Three!”
I lunged forward, thrusting out my hand, and Nadia did the same. A globe of blue-white lightning exploded from my fingers, snarling and crackling, and a smaller globe erupted from Nadia’s hand. Hers wobbled and jerked a bit, since she wasn’t as experienced with the spell, but it nonetheless worked. Both lightning globes slammed into their respective wraithwolves, and the creatures reared back with screams of fury, fingers of lightning crawling up and down their limbs.
In their instant of pain, I moved.
I leaped forward, drawing on my Shadowmorph, and the symbiont came at my call. A blade of shadow erupted from my right hand, shaping itself into a weightless sword that could cut through anything. I swept the sword forward, and took off the first wraithwolf’s head before it could react. A surge of power went through me as the Shadowmorph fed upon the creature’s alien life, converting it into strength that I could use. The second wraithwolf started to turn, but I flicked my wrist, driving the Shadowmorph blade down, and I cut it in half, more life energy surging into me.
The wraithwolves twitched a little and went still, black slime leaking from their wounds.
I let out a long breath and looked at Nadia. She was staring at me, eyes wide, and a wave of intense desire went through me. Using the Shadowmorph’s power had that effect. I wanted to throw her to the ground, rip off those tight jeans and tank top, and take her right now, consequences be damned, my fears be damned, my self-control be damned…
My self-control kicked in and drove that impulse back. I had not remained a Shadow Hunter for decades by ignoring my self-control.
Sasha had, and it had killed her.
Nadia swayed a little on her feet. She could feel the dark lure of my Shadowmorph.
“Wow,” she said in a little voice. “That was…fast.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I…”
Five more wraithwolves leaped over a nearby car, charging at me in perfect silence.
“Nadia!” I said. “Watch out…”
She gestured and vanished, disappearing beneath her Cloak spell.
The wraithwolves attacked, and I retreated, dispatching one with a sweep of my Shadowmorph blade. I attacked again, but the wraithwolves retreated, and then lunged at me, driving me back step by step. There was no sign of Nadia.
I realized that she had abandoned me to the wraithwolves. She had taken her own advice and fled, using me as a distraction to get away. It was disappointing, but not surprising.
Maybe Nora had been right. I should have seen it coming. I should have…
One of the cars roared to life and surged forward. I sprang out of the way, but two of the wraithwolves weren’t so lucky, and the car smashed into them, crushing the creatures against the wall of a nearby building with a loud crash. The remaining two wraithwolves came at me, but two against one was far better odds than four against one. I dispatched the first wraithwolf with a quick sweep of my Shadowmorph blade, and then a lightning globe burst from the window of the car and slammed into the remaining creature.
It went into a wild, twitching dance, and I finished it off with a thrust.
I lowered my hand, the Shadowmorph blade dissolving and crawling back up my arm, and took a deep breath.
The car let out a creaking noise, and Nadia kicked her way free.
“Wow,” she said, looking at the carnage at the front of the car. “That made a mess. You weren’t kidding about massive kinetic force.”
I nodded.
“Do you think we should hide the bodies?” said Nadia.
“They’ll dissolve in a few minutes,” I said. “They’ll leave behind pools of black slime, and those will evaporate quickly. We should get out of here before someone comes to investigate the crash.”
“Right,” said Nadia, pointing towards another alley. “Circle around the block first?”
“A good idea,” I said, and we left. As we vanished into the alley I heard shouting as someone discovered the wrecked car, but we were out of sight by then. “Thanks for the help, by the way. I couldn’t have handled that many on my own.”
“You’re welcome,” said Nadia, and then she grinned. “Oh! I get it!”
“What?” I said.
“You thought I had abandoned you!” she said, amused. “That I had left you to fight the wraithwolves alone. And you would nobly and heroically battle to save me, the distressed maiden.”
I snorted. “I’m the heroic one? You’re the one who stole someone’s car and rammed into the wraithwolves.”
“Ah, whatever,” said Nadia. “God, I’m hungry. Let’s go get a steak somewhere. Preferably not here.”
“Agreed,” I said.
“You’re still paying for it, though.”
Nadia led the way on her motorcycle, and we found a steakhouse a few miles away. It was a good meal, and we wound up talking until the restaurant closed. Once the staff kicked us out for the night, Nadia paused near my car.
“Hey,” she said. “I had fun.”
“I’m glad,” I said.
She hesitated, and then leaned up and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“We should do this again sometime soon,” Nadia said. “All right?”
“All right,” I said. “Next time I’m in Milwaukee, I’ll call.”
I suspected I would find a reason to be in Milwaukee sooner rather than later.
“I’ll look forward to it,” said Nadia, stepping back. “Don’t drive into any wraithwolves.”
“You’re the one who ran over them.”
She grinned, pulled on her helmet, started up her bike, and rode off.
I watched her go.
Maybe this was still a bad idea. I was a Brother of the Family and she was a thief for Morvilind. She might get killed. I might get killed. This could go sour very quickly.
But I was in a better mood than I had been in years.
Yes, this might go sour…but I would take the risk nonetheless.
THE END
Thank you for reading WRAITH WOLF. If you liked the book, please consider leaving a review at your ebook site of choice. To receive immediate notification of new releases, sign up for my newsletter (http://www.jonathanmoeller.com/writer/?page_id=1854), or watch for news on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jonathan-Moeller/328773987230189).
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Other books by the author
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Wraith Wolf Page 3
