Recovering slightly, Sophia sent out another blast of fire above the witch. In response, Evangeline threw back her head and released an evil laugh. No longer the beautiful woman she disguised herself as, but, in Sophia’s opinion, more like an extra fromThe Walking Dead. Her form was near skeletal, her skin gray, and almost transparent over tendon and muscle. Her veins were like blackened, climbing weeds that bulged grotesquely under her skin, and her eyes were now empty black sockets in her skull.
Gunfire rang out, and Sophia saw Morgan was on her feet, blood streaming from her nose and trickling like tears from her eyes but that didn’t keep her from unloading her gun straight at Evangeline before she calmly ejected the magazine and slapped a fresh one home to resume firing.
Travis spewed another stream of fire, and Sophia joined him, her foot stomping into the ground to set the foundation shaking and knocking the witch off balance.
Destin Jourdain was crouched near Nedra who looked to be unconscious but seeing Evangeline stumble, he grabbed at the opportunity, and with one hand on Nedra’s shoulder, the other outstretched, his face turned fierce as his lips moved in an incantation. A wind kicked up, seemed to wrap around Evangeline like a mini-tornado, and hold her in place as she struggled to shield against the onslaught of bullets being fired her way as more and more vampires recovered from her previous strike.
A massive wolf with silver eyes that could only be Archer Langley, launched himself on Evangeline's back, teeth sinking into the back of her neck as his head shook with savage intent. The witch’s black blood sprayed out in a wide arc. An ear-piercing screech rent the air as Evangeline attempted to fight off the wolf, and the distraction was enough to allow Jourdain’s magic to pull her forward and away from Kane’s prone body.
Sophia would have liked to have stayed and helped put paid on that bitch, but Kane was her top priority. Seeing her chance, she lunged forward, and gripping the edge of the table he was secured to with her teeth, dragged him through the new opening she’d made, and out of the line of fire.
Her brother let out three short blasts of approval before filling the space she’d exited. Sounds of the battle continued but the number of screams from Evangeline had noticeably increased. She was losing and she knew it, even if she refused to accept it.
Far enough away where Kane wouldn’t accidentally be hit by stray gunfire, Sophia stopped and inspected his wounds with a mournful bellow. His torso was a roadmap of savage-looking bruises and welts that made her want to weep. He had to be in excruciating pain, yet he was smiling at her as he said, “My beautiful dragon. I’ve wanted to see you like this since I first laid eyes on you. And you are spectacular.” He grimaced, his head lifting to look down at his bindings. “I just wish I could touch you.”
Lowering her snout to his neck, she closed her eyes and nuzzled him as he let out a happy sigh. Pulling away, Sophia let out a little growl of frustration. Her teeth weren’t designed for delicate work like cutting wire. She was more likely to take his hand off. She might possibly be able to pull the railroad spikes out of his shoulder, but if she miscalculated her bite, she could very well take a chunk of his chest with her.
Looking around in frustration, she spotted Archer Langley’s truck, a construction vehicle with a large toolbox in the back, and quickly shifted back to her human form. Cupping Kane’s cheek, she kissed him softly on the lips and told him, “I’ll be right back.”
She returned within moments with a pair of wire cutters and a large pair of plyers. She’d had to break the lock on the toolbox, and would apologize to Archer for the destruction to his property later, but right now she needed to get Kane free and did so in seemingly record time, though it hurt her heart to cause him more pain when she latched onto those rusty spikes with the pliers and pulled them free.
Kane hadn’t been able to hold back his hiss of pain but despite the incredible agony he had to be in, and his no doubt weakened state, as soon as he could, he was sitting up and pulling Sophia into his arms, his fingers tangling in her hair as he whispered, “You saved me. You saved me.”
The praise made her heart soar, but humility had her reminding him, “We all came as soon as we heard. No way would we let her have you.”
Kane pulled back, his hand gripping the back of her neck. “No.Yousaved me. When she had me under her spell, trying to control my mind, it was thoughts of you that allowed me to break free. That’s why she was forced to nail me to a table.” Pulling her closer, he sealed his lips to hers in a hungry kiss. “I love you, Sophia,” he murmured against her mouth. “You’re my queen. Always.”
Sophia pulled away to release the sob of joy that had risen in her throat. Her fingers touching his beloved face in wonder. “I love you, too, Kane. I’m so sorry I doubted you for even a second. I saw you,” she continued in a rush, tears hazing her vision. “Last night I saw you leave with her and I thought –”
“Shh. Hey, don’t do that,” he said, brushing tenderly at the tears on her cheeks. “You have nothing to be sorry for.” He gave her another kiss, this one quick and firm. “And we’ll talk more later, but right now, we need to finish this.”
“You need to drink first,” she insisted, shoving her wrist under his nose.
Smiling fondly, he kissed the lines of veins on her wrist instead of biting. “Soon,” he promised. “We need to get back in there.”
Sliding off the table with a wince of pain he attempted to hide, he turned and glanced around him with surprise. “Why aren’t there police sirens and helicopters and reporters? No way people aren’t hearing this.”
Sophia lifted her arm and pointed before turning in a circle. Kane looked around in amazement as he finally spotted the people some distance away, their hands joined, faces lifted toward the sky as they chanted. Turning a slow circle he saw the sheer numbers and stood in awe as he realized that what looked like every witch in New Orleans had answered the call for help.
“It’s an illusion,” Sophia told him. “From outside that perimeter, it looks like nothing is going on. Not even sound penetrates. Anybody walking or driving by would see nothing more than an empty warehouse with an empty parking lot.”
“Oh, my God. That’s perfect.” Kane threw back his head with a shout of laughter and then took Sophia’s hand and raised it to his lips for a kiss. “Dragon up, my love. We have a battle to finish.”
He watched her transformation with amazement and a smug part of him preened. She had brilliant, greenish-gold iridescent scales, massive spike-tipped wings, and a barbed tail that could probably take out a building with a single swat. His woman was a beautiful, fire-breathing badass. And while he would have liked to stand there all night and admire her, he couldn’t risk Evangeline somehow getting the upper hand once more.
Entering the warehouse through the hole Sophia had made earlier, Kane was forced to shield his eyes from the unnatural wind that was kicking up dust and debris. Evangeline was in the center of the storm, her feet a good foot off the ground as she hung suspended, her body oddly contorted, while wolves surrounded her, snapping their teeth and growling.
The vampires were no longer firing, though they stood with guns at the ready as Destin Jourdain, his arms outstretched, muscles bulging with the effort to contain one of his own, shouted, “Surrender, Evangeline. Let us help you. Letmehelp you.”
She was struggling, Kane could see, her expression, a rictus of pain as she tried to fight the prison that Jourdain had created around her. Yet she still managed to spit out one single word laced with vitriol, “Never.”
Her body spasmed and her back arched at what seemed an impossible angle, her lips moved in a call for more power. Those black, bulging veins began to glow with an eerie inner light, her skin cracked open like alligatored asphalt, revealing more of that same glow and Evangeline released a pain-filled scream.
“Stop, Evangeline!” Jourdain shouted. “Enough. You’re overloading! You’re killing yourself!” He immediately dropped his arms and rushed forward, his aunt’s name, a cry on his lips as the wind dissipated, but he was too late. A second later, with a shrill screech, Evangeline Duvalier burst apart, leaving nothing behind but a shower of gray, glittering dust.
Chapter Twenty-Six
In the aftermath of the battle, there was a whole lot of naked going on as shifters retook their human forms, though Travis did manage to find a tarp he had quickly thrown over Sophia before going to check on Morgan. A good thing, that, considering Kane was loathed to let her go from where she was cuddled to his side, but nor did he want so many eyes on her gorgeous form. She was his.
