She's leading a small team of Soul Eaters through the city with a fewcrolvesfollowing her orders. As if she can sense me, she twists around and meets my stare. She smiles and it sends an unwelcome shiver down my spine.
"Is that her?" My mother's question startles me. There's a viciousness in her tone I've never heard before. "Is that the one who carved up your chest?"
I swallow hard, pushing those torturous memories to the dark recesses of my mind. "It's her."
"She dies today."
Suddenly, my mother screams and throws an arm up to the sky where dark clouds swirl in fury. She slices her hand down toward the street and a flaming ball streaks from the sky, headeddirectly for Vesper and her crew. It all happens within seconds. Vesper was there, and then she wasn't. The ball strikes the ground so hard, the blast spears debris toward us. We duck, covering our faces from the blow.
When the dust settles, there's a gaping hole where the group stood. Thecrolvesare dead and there are a few bodies of Soul Eaters strewn about. Unfortunately, they won't remain bodyless for long. But Vesper is nowhere to be seen. She somehow managed to slip through our grasp.
A knife swings for me. I move just in time to avoid being stabbed.
Vesper grits her teeth, swinging her twin daggers with fury. Her face is stained with blood and black soot, but she shows no sign of slowing her attack. And my mother can't use her power again without risking hitting me by mistake.
I parry with her, moving with a swiftness I've spent years practicing for this very moment. She hisses and screams but continues her wild assault. My shadow blades slice against her thigh and her upper arm, but the injuries don't stop her. They only infuriate her. She lunges for me but suddenly her knives clatter against the cobblestone streets and she grabs her head, screaming.
My eyes dart back up the path and Finn is walking toward us, his orange eyes raging, his hand outstretched to her.
"Don't kill her!" I command. "We need her alive. If you kill her, she'll find a new host."
At first, Finn doesn't let up. Vesper writhes on the ground, kicking and wailing, tearing her hair. My shadow swords disappear and I press my hands to Finn's face.
"Finn, you have to stop. We need her alive."
My mother comes up behind him and slips her hand over his shoulder and it seems to jar him. "Finnigan. Release her. Your brother wants her alive." She shoots me a look to say, shewishes she could have killed her, but that wouldn't have solved anything. I appreciate the motherly sentiment, but Vesper will only be destroyed when we bind her soul to a holy blade. And I plan to keep her chained until I have the opportunity to be rid of her.
Finn blinks the orange away and he's back to himself. He releases Vesper but she doesn't move or make a sound. Shit.
"Did I kill her?" Finn's question comes out quiet. We stare at her body.
Ronan catches up to us, slightly pale, but not so tired looking. "People are safe and there aren't any morecrolvesfrom what I can see." He spies Vesper's body. "Dead?"
"I'm not sure," I step toward her, but Finn pushes past me.
He kneels and presses his hand to her neck to get a read on a pulse. But the second his hand touches her, her eyes flash open and she rams one of her daggers into his chest.
"Finn!" My mother screams.
Vesper kicks Finn off her and takes off down the street with her daggers, laughing.
I catch Finn as he falls backward, blood oozing from his chest. "Shit! We need to get him to Shaye. She can heal him."
"We don't know where she is," Ronan tears up, swallowing hard. "The Harbor District is enormous."
Finn's breathing is labored, his chest rising and falling slowly. I apply pressure to his wound and he groans. A tear slips down his face, disappearing into his hairline.
"Get me to the hospital," he rasps, eyes frightened. I don't recall my brother ever looking at me with such quiet alarm before. But it's how he says, "I don't have much time," that chills me to my core.
Ronan pushes me out of the way, pressing Finn's hand to his own chest wound as he scoops him into his arms. "The hospitalis about a mile away. I'm the fastest runner. I'll get him there. You find Shaye and get her to the hospital."
My mother has tears streaming down her cheeks, inconsolable. I press my hands to her face. "Go with them. Be strong. We're going to save him."
She nods, though I sense her despair. She's the strongest woman I've ever known, and her entire body is alit with horror. I see it in her eyes. She's being forced to watch one of her sons die.
"Go!" I scream at Ronan.
Ronan and my mother take off down the street. He's right. Out of the four of us growing up, Ronan was always the fastest. The adrenaline pumping through him will help him push through his exhaustion to get Finn to the doctor in time. But I need to find Shaye. I know without a doubt, she can save him. I sprint toward the harbor. It'll take me at least ten minutes to get there and Finn needs me to hurry.
