Female. Bloody. Throat torn out.
It was Soledad. I lurched to my feet. Quint rolled to her knees and tried to stand. Fell over onto her side, retching.
Koun tore his wrist and fed Soledad, even as he half carried her to the dead grass of the narrow prison yard.
“Check in,” Eli said, his words tinny in my earbuds.
His voice just as muffled, Alex said, “Soledad came through the circle at the prison. She’s hurt. Koun is feeding her. Jane landed on Quint. Both need healing.”
The Emperor himself went to Quint, tearing his wrist, feeding her his powerful blood. That was a sign of status I’d have to consider when I had time. If I ever had time again. I looked around. Everyone else was okay. Grégoire stood in the center of the street, two swords drawn, his body language hopeful for a fight.
Except for Soledad and the vamps, there was no activity.
I worked my jaw, trying to pop my ears. Molly was still in theirhedge, her husband’s hands on her shoulders. He was humming a soft tune I could barely hear, similar to the working he had created to keep were-creatures calm when they couldn’t shift in the full moon. Air magic. I moved closer. “Molly?”
“All safe, Janie,” Evan said, though I read his lips as much as heard his voice. “She’s good. Just got a shot of magic as Soledad came through.”
Which might have affected her death magics. Within sight of the witches guarding the null prison.Crap. Still blinking to clear my eyes, I used Beast’s sight and saw the death magics crawl across Moll’s skin, the film of smut nearly transparent. “Drop thehedge,” I said.
Evan, not really sure why I asked, did.Trust...
Pulling the Glob, holding it with its padded bag, I held it out toward Moll’s waist, thinking about the death magics that needed to be taken away. And hoping it didn’t damage her earth magics. Instantly the Glob swept up the dark energies, doing its thing, cleaning up excess and dangerous energies.
The Glob spun its own power into a tiny whirlwind of might that stung my skin and burned my eyes, plucking threads of death magic into a tiny storm of power. The Glob yanked all the death energies into a tiny pocket of blackness. A pocket universe that I... carried in my pocket. I wanted to laugh, but didn’t. I might have sounded nervous or hysterical or something.
Molly heaved a relieved breath and nodded at me, her eyes wide. “Thank you. That worked.” She shrugged her shoulders as if testing for a missing weight and smiled. “Much better.”
“We’re good,” I said to Koun.
“My Queen is ready to move,” he said into his mic.
“Each team, evac to your prearranged locations,” Eli said. “Alex? Did you and Bruiser get it?”
“Affirmative, bro.”
“Get what?” I asked.
Koun tapped his mic. Listening ears. Right.
“Never mind.”
Molly touched my hand and pointed. “Leo just appeared. That poofy thing vamps do. Did you know he dresses like a priest and wears a gold cross?”
I had an instant image of Leo wearing his outclan priest suit with the gold cross dangling over the white band on his collar. The gold cross, with the three tiny holes.
That might possibly match the nubs on the back of the Jesus focal.
The dead Jesus that had arcenciel blood worked into the gold and had been hidden in the office next to his old one.
“Leo?” I touched the Jesus amulet in my pocket. Knowing he could hear me where he stood, I said, “We need to meet.”
He looked at me across the dark and inclined his head.
“The Yellowrock Clan Home is closest,” I said. Not the freebie house. The official clan home. “Koun?”
Koun snapped out orders, lifted Soledad over one shoulder, and carried her toward the waiting SUVs. In the rush, Quint and I moved together and somehow were separated from the others. I lost sight of Molly, Evan, Soledad, Koun, and Leo.
Quint tossed me the keys to the SUV she had claimed and said, “Drive.” My lady-in-waiting pulled a shotgun and rearranged three semiautomatic handguns as she buckled in. “I’m not able. So I’ll ride shotgun. Literally.” She laughed. It sounded pained.
