“Please,” I whispered, moving his hair out of his eyes.
He blinked awake, clasping my face in his hands. “Lyla.”
His whisper made me shudder as I glanced up to check on the others.
Synthia was slowly getting to her feet, her arm already healed.
Naz took a blow to the head as Jimmy whipped around him, his unnatural speed giving him an advantage. Tumbling to the floor, Naz grunted. His eye socket was blown, blood dripping into his eyeball. A gun appeared in the vampire’s hand, aiming straight for Naz’s chest.
“No!” Tinniel shot to his feet, knocking me over. “Jimmy!” Extending his arm, he swirled his fingers in a quick circle before almost stumbling to the floor.
I stared at Jimmy as he froze in mid-movement. His eyes widened when his arm started to turn towards himself, the barrel of the gun slowly inching closer to his forehead.
Tinniel had cast a spell on the vampire, using his own gun against him.
The vampire hissed, his long fangs biting into his lower lip and drawing blood.
“You want to know where Mariah Ford is…” He strained to talk as he fought the spell. “You need me alive.”
A red flush painted Tinniel’s cheeks and ran down his neck. He shook his head slowly as his mouth twisted into a snarl. “I’m past caring.”
“Please,” I whispered to Tinniel as I stepped near him, a lump forming in my throat.
Jimmy was ultimately a bounty, even if he had tortured the sorcerer. Not only that… my inner child had suddenly burst into life, the little girl in me needing her mother. Tears popped into my eyes as I reached for Tinniel’s arm and gently stroked a small patch of unbruised skin.
Panicking, Jimmy started to run, his arm still moving.
Tinniel glanced at me, his eyebrows pulled low in a frown as he shook his head.
“Take him in!” I pleaded. “But please don’t kill him.”
His back straightening, Tinniel dropped his hand and fell to the floor, too weak to go after the man who had almost killed him.
Synthia was beside Naz, holding her palm over the side of his face, desperately whispering a healing spell. When they saw that Tinniel couldn’t catch the vampire, they both surged to their feet, aiming their weapons.
“Get him!” Naz screamed, his crossbow firing several arrows into the vampire’s back.
Their weapons were useless. Bullets from Zac and Synthia bounced off his suit, crashing through the glass around him.
Lunging upwards, I gripped Beauty and planted my feet firmly. As I lifted the sword, Jimmy reached the door of the capsule and threw himself at it, smashing straight through. The glass shattered, the pretty tinkering sound strange after the bloody battle. He fell, sinking into the water before any of us could blink.
Naz propelled across the capsule, his wounds forgotten as he jumped, his huge bulk splashing into the river.
Synthia waved me back as I went to go forward, pointing at Tinniel.
I dropped beside the other twin as a sob squeezed my chest. Lifting his head, I carefully cradled it on my lap and looked down at his face. His breathing was laboured, his eyes so swollen, I couldn’t tell whether they were open or not.
“Did they get him?” he rasped.
Looking through the glass, I swallowed hard when Naz resurfaced and punched the water hard, splashing himself. “No, I don’t think so.”
Tinniel winced as he inhaled sharply. “Bastard.”
A chuckle escaped me as water filled my eyes. Leaning over him, I stroked his blood-soaked hair out of his face. The slight creasing of the corner of his lips made me bend closer. “Why did you do it?” I whispered.
His throat bobbed and the tiny slit of his eyes closed. “I was afraid of losing Naz. It was stupid and risky.” Clearing his throat, he looked up at me. “But I had to protect you both.”
“Why? We can protect ourselves,” I replied, wiping my eye when a tear dribbled from it.
My chest burst when he brought up his hand and cupped my cheek, gently caressing his thumb over my skin. “I can’t help it,” he muttered, his breath shaky. “The drive to protect you consumes me. It has since I met you.”
“I know how that feels.” Glancing at my hand, I winced. The blood and mucus from the werewolf’s eyeballs was smeared over my thumbs. A shiver made me tuck them under Tinniel, hiding my disgusting battle marks.
“Lyla,” Tinniel whispered, his voice low. “We’re bonded and there’s nothing I can do to stop it.”
Smiling for the first time all day, I bit the inside of my cheek. “Well, I’m glad you’ve finally admitted it. As soon as you’re well, we’ll figure it out.”
Which was code for… I’m going to jump your bones because I can’t stop thinking about you taking me. It was a good job he didn’t have the same magical ability as Naz. I wasn’t sure his broken bones would appreciate me pawing them.
“I’m not sure it will be that easy.” His chuckle thrilled me, igniting my skin.
Leaning down, I ran a finger over his swollen lips before placing mine on them in a butterfly kiss. Our breath intertwined as I stayed there, looking into his eyes. “Nothing ever is.”
A cough nearby made us both jump. I clenched my hands and searched for the source.
The werewolf rolled slightly, his hands still covering his face. “I wouldn’t get too cosy, if I were you,” he called.
My stomach churned, almost forcing the contents out. If I could keep them down, it would be a successful battle.
Itchy tingles erupted on my arm and not in a good way. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what the blind werewolf had to say.
Tinniel held his breath as I opened my mouth to reply. “And why is that?”
“Because Tinniel’s brother, Henrick, didn’t die.” A bark of laughter escaped the man as he took his hands away from his eyeless sockets and grinned.
My heart pounded in my ears as Tinniel sat up and stared at the wolf.
“Jimmy used a spelled decoy. He’s keeping Henrick and Mariah together. And he’ll never let them go.”
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Copyright
Copyright © 2020 by Rachel Medhurst
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Published in 2020
Author
Rachel Medhurst grew up in Surrey, England. She writes to prove that no matter where you come from, you can be anything you want to be. Your past may shape you but it doesn't define you. When Rachel isn't writing, she can be found reading and walking in nature.
www.rachelmedhurst.com
The Witch & the Bounty Hunter (Federation of Magic Book 1) Page 17
