She ripped it free, and the guy stumbled, momentarily confused as blood sprayed. Evie had been training. That guy wouldn’t be dragging her into the car.
And I was going to end up full of holes if I didn’t focus. Black-eyes struck out with the side of one fist, immediately following up with his knife. I dodged the fist but the knife caught my shoulder, drawing blood.
I ground my teeth as the scent of my own blood reached my nose. Burning pain slid through me, but he hadn’t hit anything vital. Most importantly, my arm would still work.
Black-eyes grinned at me and I threw another knife. He dodged, but I threw the next one with my left hand.
This one landed, sinking in right below his collarbone. He cursed and I launched into a roundhouse kick. The trick was to pivot on your back foot and twist your hips, so the kick had as much power as possible.
He was off-balance and hadn’t tensed his abdominal muscles. I didn’t have a chance to enjoy the ‘oof’ of his breath leaving his lungs as I darted close and shoved my knee into his groin.
He swung out with the knife, but I was already gone, and he was getting frustrated. Add testosterone and the fact that this little rendezvous wasn’t going anywhere close to the way he’d expected, and there was no longer any critical thinking happening.
He slashed downward with the knife this time. I jumped back. He’d over-extended, and I swept out a leg, slid it behind his knee and gave him a shove.
He fell, and I lunged toward my Colt.
A huge hand clamped around my ankle. I hit the ground hard, pain exploding in my shoulder as I kicked out at him.
It was like kicking concrete.
In this position, Black-eyes had the upper hand, already on his knees as he grabbed my other foot. My body was leaving the ground as he pulled me toward him. I reached into my utility belt, cursing as my spelled stones went flying out of the pocket as he lifted me higher.
New plan. I grabbed the first pouch I found, clawing at it with my nails to break through the plastic.
I widened the hole, wiggled my fingers inside, and pulled out a handful of powder. My eyes slammed shut and I threw it over my shoulder.
Black-eyes screamed as the wixbane attacked his vision, and the steel clamp around my ankle was suddenly gone. My knees burned as I scrambled along the pavement. My hand fumbled for my Colt, and I rolled onto my back as he made it to his feet.
I shot him in the head.
He must have been tied to the darker-than-night, because it was suddenly daylight again.
“Evie!” I screamed as he fell.
“I’m fine,” she called back, and I groaned as I slowly got to my feet. Bearded guy was lying beside her, still bleeding out, and Evie was leaning against the SUV, her face ashen.
I let my ward drop. I had no idea how the hell I’d even held it for that long, but I was exhausted.
It took a powerful witch to tie a human to a darker-than-night spell.
I glanced around us. Close to the apartment entrance, an old woman was crumpled on the ground. I made it to her in seconds, but it was obvious she was dead, her neck broken.
The assholes hadn’t wanted to leave any witnesses.
I made my way over to Evie, and she threw her arms around me, both of us silently holding on for a long moment.
“One of them is still alive,” she said.
“Yeah.” I squeezed her tighter. “We’ll question him.”
The sun disappeared above us for a split second, and I glanced up.
The demons were here.
Samael landed a few feet away, his wings out, dripping with fiery embers. His silver eyes glowed with icy rage.
Evie was momentarily stunned, her gaze wide as she stared at him.
