I assessed her approaching figure. Unfortunately, it seemed the witch had the upper hand in this scenario.
Clicking her tongue, she said, “So selfish. Very well, against your will it is.” She muttered something under her breath and a pale blue light came hurtling towards me. I rolled out of the way, narrowly missing her spell and locating the lost dagger in the process.
Before she could act again, I hurled a blast of water at her.
The blast was powerful enough to bowl her over. She landed on her back with a grunt.
Using the distraction, I picked myself and the dagger off the ground, never taking my eyes off the witch at my feet.
Face twisted in rage, she sent another spell hurtling towards me, but I dodged to the right, avoiding the pale blue light oncemore. I pivoted and came to a screeching halt. Gliding on her wings, she landed in front of me. “Your little trick back there? That was a mistake,” she said, baring her blackened teeth.
There was no time for hesitation or doubt. I lifted the dagger and drove it into her chest.
She stumbled backwards, stunned but not killed. It was the distraction I needed.
Hitching up my gown, I accelerated past her at breakneck speed. My footsteps thudded against the puddles on the ground, my target drawing nearer with every splash. The cottage—it was just within my reach.
Lungs screaming, I flew through the rickety hinges of the open front door. Slamming it shut behind me, I doubled over, panting.
Inside, the lingering stench was as putrid and stifling as I remembered. Only now, alone in the all-encompassing darkness, the atmosphere felt much more sinister.
The dwelling shook with a boom of thunder. Over the battering of rain against the leaky roof, I could hear shouts from the melee outside.
“You will pay for that,” called the Crow. “It won’t be comfortable for you where we’re going, I’ll make sure of it.”
“If you think I’m going anywhere with you, you’re denser than a cauldron full of rocks,” I called back with a boldness that I certainly didn’t feel.
A shrill laugh. “I’m the dense one? You’ve only succeeded in making this easier for me. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...”
It wouldn’t be long now.
Once more, the Crow saltated in front of me. The moment she materialized in the dilapidated cottage, we locked eyes. The air evacuated my lungs.
A split second.
It took only a split second before the Crow’s face fell. Inthat second, I glimpsed understanding and horror in her jaundiced eyes.
The shrieks came first, but the almighty roar of the jade fire that engulfed her entire body and cast the room in an eerie, green light quickly drowned them out. Before I could draw breath, the hungry flames flared and devoured the Crow whole.
I inhaled sharply. The heat from the fire fanned me, but it made no move to ignite the wooden floor underneath my feet.
Then, as abruptly as they had appeared, the flames vanished, leaving nothing but a plume of coiling smoke in their wake. The only trace of the Crow’s existence was now just particles in the air.
Chapter 51
The smell of smoke didn’t linger, nor did the cloud that accompanied it. Before it could even touch the ceiling, it evaporated into nothing. Running a shaking hand caked with dried blood and grime through my hair, I exhaled a long curse. My eyes fell to the place on the floor where, moments ago, a witch had stood and burned. Now nothing, not even ash, remained.
Outside, the world had gone quiet. Even the rain had subdued—no longer a lashing, but now a timid pitter-patter on the roof.
On legs of lead, I staggered to the battered old door. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I steadied myself, then opened it.
I blinked at the tableau that greeted me.
The witches that had infested the clearing were gone, leaving the destruction they had caused in their wake. Smoke billowed from charred tree branches—there must have been a fire. Puddles of blood and blackened scorch marks marred the damp earth. Some of the surrounding trees were now discolored with swathes of rot—a consequence of the witches using ambient magic. Crumpled on the ground lay the corpses of Livia, Magnus and the beasts, dismembered from battle and truly dead.
If I strained my eyes against the darkness, I could just make out the shape of the grimoire, remarkably still lying where I’d left it. Thank the goddesses the witches hadn’t snatched it.
The groan of the door behind me announced my arrival, and every eye turned towards me.
