* * *
KYRA
Kyra had never shot a gun before, and that was evident in the fact she missed Dirk’s head, but her finger was already pressing against the trigger to do it again.
“Kyra!” Kace growled as he moved beside her, “give me that before you shoot Xee or Ri.” His eyes were a deep green, darkened around the edges when he turned to her. His hair was pulled from his face, the skin at his throat perfectly smooth but his front was drenched in blood, both old and fresh. He handed her a knife, smaller than his own but it fit perfectly in her palm.
Kyra opened her mouth, her words drowned out by the rumble of the earth beneath their feet. She was shoved back just at the first crack appeared, a paw clawing through. Kace seemed to burst from his skin, a bright light cutting through the darkness before a large beast stood where he once was. The dark green eyes were replaced with liquid silver, watching her warily before he turned and shot towards the crack just as a hound crawled out.
Kyra stood there, unable to take her eyes away from the beast that was similar to Xander’s, except his fur was a light speckled grey compared to pure white.
Someone grabbed her arm, and she turned with her knife before her wrist was caught.
“Fucking bitch,” Bane said calmly as he pulled her back with him, taking the knife.
She jerked, not wanting to be touched as panic began to tighten her lungs. He released her, and she fell forward, the grass cold and wet beneath her palms.
“Look at the mess you’ve caused.” Her hair was yanked, forcing her head up to look as three hounds circled the Guardians. Dirk had lost both his wings, but his moves were precise and strong when they connected, his arcane a bright red with a heart of black.
Bane released her hair, allowing her to sag against the cool earth. She dug her fingers into the dirt, using it to anchor herself. Bane stepped into view, his glamour stripped as his natural appearance emerged. Kyra watched him through her hair, her heart beating so loud it drowned out the snarls and clang of metal. Bane wore all black, a stark contrast to skin so white it was paler than bone. He flipped her knife between skeleton-like fingers, his smile pulling such thin lips they almost split.
“My kind are rare, and tonight has been a great loss.” He knelt in front of her, the flat of the knife resting against her cheek. “One day I will make you pay for killing my brethren, and until then I’ll make sure it hurts.”
Kyra didn’t care that the knife was so close, her hand brushing across Bane’s arm. She stretched out her awareness, feeling the roughness of his thread and pulling it with all her strength. The blade nicked her as he screamed, but his thread didn’t break.
“You fucking bitch!” He punched her in the face, his knuckles snapping her head painfully to the side. Darkness invaded her vision, but for once she refused to let it win. Her eyes settled on the druid, the one who stared at the sky, his lifeblood soaking the same dirt she was pressed against. With tears burning her eyes she called to him, feeling her magic roar to life as the crystal on her arm burned against her skin.
She could taste it, the Chaos, could taste both life and death.
It was raw, feral as her chi pulsated, embracing the power she was born with. She no longer wanted to hide from her magic, the once untameable Chaos bending to her will.
That was what she was. Life and death.
Another punch connected, but she could no longer feel it, or the fingers that pressed against her windpipe. Arcane burned from her palms, the purple so dark it was almost black, but the centre was a shimmery white that seemed to sparkle.
Life and Death.
She could give life, and she could also take it.
Bane’s thread was in her grasp, and she was on her feet with no memory of how she got there, his skin on hers. Her arcane wrapped itself around it like vines, feeding from his life through such a thin thread. That was all that secured Bane to his soul, to his life, a thread as weak as he was.
Bane visibly cringed, fingers tightening as she gently tugged, feeling his soul sing to her in response. She felt resistance, a spell fighting her hold.
Kyra smiled, watching Bane try to drift from her grasp.
He was weak, struggling to concentrate as fear widened his eyes.
The druid glittered in her peripheral, his spirit answering her call. His eyes were white in death, hollow as he looked towards Bane with nothing but pure unedited fury. He stepped closer, hand moving slowly until it gripped around Bane’s wrist.
Bane’s head jerked to the side as his wrist broke with an audible crack, his fingers releasing her windpipe. She sucked in a pained breath, not realising how long she had been without air. Her chest burned, her throat dry as she watched the spirit ravage the man who had watched her for years. Who had violated her over and over.
She would have fallen, the Chaos that surrounded her anchoring her feet to the earth.
This time when she tugged at Bane’s thread, it snapped with an almost embarrassing ease, and as she watched the life behind Bane’s eyes die, the crystal that had once siphoned her magic shattered.
Chapter31
Xander
