The Soul's Mark: HUNTED (28 page)

How long?
Mitchell demanded, clearly ignoring the little reunion.

An hour tops,
Meg chimed in with a sharp edge to her tone, and Eric’s chuckle vibrated through the bond.

Amelia quickly filled them in on their findings. 
There’s something else.  Two of them are different.  Half breeds.  Witch and hunter, and they’ve been able to manipulate us.  We’re fighting it, but it’s exhausting.

They called themselves immortals, and they can change into skeletons
, Megan added.

Nothing is truly immortal,
Mitchell said dismissively.
  Try to figure out their weaknesses.

I’ve tried,
Amelia sent.
  All I got was that everything can die.  You need to evacuate everyone.  Run and hide.

I’m not going anywhere without you,
Mitchell tossed the words at her with blinding force.

Mitchell.
  Amelia didn’t know what else to say.  But as it turned out, nothing she could have said would have mattered.

No,
Eric shouted. 
We stay and fight.

A blistering heat rushed into Amelia’s brain, and she felt a sudden pull on her energy.

The connection snapped shut.

Amelia didn’t have to wonder what had happened.  She could feel it.  Her own magic working against her, wielded by someone else.  Mitchell.  No wonder why it had been such a struggle to lift the damper.  She gritted her teeth and clenched her fist.  If they lived to see tomorrow, Mitchell Lang was going to get an earful.

CHAPTER 30

When they reached the iron gates that closed off her street from the rest of the town, Amelia wanted to jump out of the truck to do a happy dance.  Joe was nowhere in sight.  The only thing that stopped her from squealing out in excitement was the sudden tug around her heart that signaled Mitchell was close by, and her heart filled with dread.

Josh gently squeezed on her thigh and said in a husky voice.  “You ready for this?”

Amelia let her head loll to the side on the leather headrest, trying to look groggy as if she was just coming out of the delirious state.  She forced her lips into what she hoped looked like a surreal kind of smile.  “Ready for what?” she murmured.

“We’re here,” he said, and then he reached across her, popped the lever on the door, and shoved it open.  “Get out.”

What?
 Amelia almost screamed out loud.  She hadn’t come up with much of a plan, but not one of her ideas had involved her getting out and waiting.  Amelia started to protest, but Josh quickly cut her attempts off.  “You need to lift the spell.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” she said, and relief swept over her.

Josh must have read her relief for something else.  “It’ll be okay,” he said, taking her hand before she could jump out into the rain.  “I promise it’ll be over soon.”

Not able to think of anything to say that would make her sound like his words were actually encouraging, Amelia just squeezed his hand and then got out of the truck.

Megan was already drenched; the rain was still coming down in a steady fall.  She stood in the middle of the road, watching the gate she had unlocked slowly swing open.  Amelia stepped up beside her and took her hand, weaving their fingers together.

They exchanged a quick look, and the question that had been on the tip of Amelia’s tongue was answered from the cagey fear she saw in her cousin’s eyes.  She hadn’t heard anything else from Eric.

“What’s the plan?” Megan asked.

“Maybe they are gone,” Amelia whispered, hopefully, but the soft tug around her heart told her they weren’t.

“Hurry up,” Cole shouted, and let his truck coast closer to them; Josh and the rest of the hunters were right behind him.

Amelia sucked in a deep breath and closed her eyes.  She mentally shouted to Mitchell, begging him to run, but if he heard her, he didn’t let on.

From behind, Cole growled some threat that she couldn’t quite make out.  She glanced over her shoulder to see him standing in the rain, with an arrow pulled tight and ready to launch at her.

For about half a second, she thought about just letting them kill her, but then the hard truth hit her.  If she died, they would still continue the hunt until Mitchell was dead.

Megan tugged at her hand, frantically whispering unintelligible warnings to her, and after a long narrowed glare at Cole, Amelia turned back to the spell.

Megan pushed images to her in a fast slide show.  A gleaming dome with fracture lines splitting along it like cracking ice, a burst of light, and then the wall crumbling to the ground.  The magic built in both of them, flowing between them in steamy streams, and they let it grow until they were burning up with the pleasure.

They locked gazes and their lips twitched into identical smiles.  “Shatter,” they said in unison.

Strands of gold and white light leaped from their entwined hands, hitting the layer of protection.  The shafts of light laced together into a glimmering spider web along the wall.  The web climbed higher and wove around the dome, and then it contracted around it, slicing through the shield as if it was nothing more than a flimsy sheet of tissue paper.

Amelia almost didn’t hear the revving engines behind her as she gaped at the beauty before her.  The wall of protection shattered into leaves of multi-colored paper that were floating to the ground all around them.

The trucks revved louder, snapping her out of it, and terror ripped through her.

Amelia rushed towards Josh’s vehicle, desperately yanking on the door handle.  It was locked.  She couldn’t think.  The only thing she knew was that she needed to go with them.  Needed to get to Mitchell.  The tinted window lowered, and Josh said, “Sorry, sweetheart.  You two need to sit this one out.”

Megan yanked her away, and Amelia shot her a vicious look.  Josh hit the gas, and Amelia was about to throw herself in front of him but stopped short when she heard Megan’s silent words,
Eric’s here.

But Mitchell’s not,
Amelia shrieked, pushing the words to Megan.  She could feel Mitchell moving, further and further from her, the chain pulling taut as he went.  The brake lights flickered, and they disappeared over the hill.  And with them out of sight, Eric, Erin, and Angelle materialized in front of them.

“Where are the others?” Amelia asked, taking in her friends’ black cat burglar outfits.  When her eyes settled on Angelle, Amelia recognized the uneasy and guarded look she was getting.  That look was emphasized dramatically with the skin-tight leather one piece and knee high black leather boots that Angelle was sporting, giving her the appearance of a lethal and deadly goddess of darkness.

Amelia saw Erin’s lips moving, forming the answer to her question, but the sound of her voice was lost.  A howling snarl broke through the stormy night, and a stab of skin-ripping pain left Amelia breathless.

Mitchell.

They couldn’t have found him already.  Not unless…

The ground swayed beneath Amelia’s feet, and the world spun around her. 
This can’t be happening.
  Numbness slithered its way through her body, and her throat swelled shut.  Mitchell’s agonizing pain penetrated her again and again.

A turbulent heave propelled Amelia forwards, as if someone had tied a chain around her waist and yanked.  Her belly began to heat and simmer with heady energy.  Another tug pulled at her, and she almost fell.

“Amelia,” Eric yelled.  He was in front of her, shaking her like a ragdoll.  “Amelia, look!”

Amelia followed his gaze and leaped back, a whispery scream caught in her throat.  Illuminated chain links and radiant strands of brilliant white light jutted out of the center of her belly.  The links clasped together, and they stretched in front of her forming a visible chain that disappeared into the willows.

“Mitchell,” she murmured.  He was using her magic, pulling on her essence.  And then she noticed his pain subsided, melting away to a dull ache.

Without a second thought, Amelia bolted forwards, following the line of energy.  She opened up her senses, letting herself connect to him, and her sprint increased in speed until she was moving at a pace that shouldn’t have been humanly possible.  She didn’t think, couldn’t think, because if she thought about it, even for a second, she knew she would second-guess herself.  So instead, she did exactly what Mitchell had been begging her to do all along.  She used the bond.  She breathed it in, and let the pure ecstasy of their combined power fill her core.

Her heart swelled when Mitchell came into view, and she pushed herself harder, barreling through the willow branches.  Amelia wasn’t sure if he felt her coming or if he had heard her, but something made him glance at her.

And then she saw it.  The soft glitter in the tree.  The swaying branch.  Cole’s face peeking out of the cloak.  “Look out,” she screamed, and Mitchell didn’t hesitate, he hit the ground before the words were fully out of her mouth.  A silver arrow sailed past him and lodged in the tree behind him, right where his heart should have been.

“What are you doing?” Josh’s voice exploded in her ear, the hiss of his breath touched her neck, and her stomach churned.

Amelia spun around, ready to fight him off.  She raised her arm like she meant to hit him, and when he dodged it, she kicked him in the stomach.  He doubled over gasping for breath, but didn’t fall.  A restrained anger stemmed up his face, and his voice was strangled when he asked, “Why?”

“You and me, so not going to happen,” Amelia said as sweetly as she could.  Raw adrenaline pumped through her, and little sparks ignited over her skin.  Delirious heat spread over her body, and pleasure slowly trickled in as the sparks grew, spitting from her skin.

Josh’s eyes widened and a thunderous crack echoed through the clearing.  Amelia pivoted to find the source of the sound, keeping one eye on Josh, who was glaring a burning look of hatred at her.

Amelia almost missed it, but she turned just in time to see Angelle descend from a tree and land on one of the twin’s shoulders in a way that if Amelia hadn’t known any better, she would have sworn she had been practicing the move for years.  She gripped his head, and with a quick twist, his neck snapped and his body fell from beneath her.

Angelle landed on her feet and winked at Amelia, “You didn’t really think I’d let you guys have all the fun, did you?”

Right then, Stephanie rushed at Amelia and kicked out, but Amelia grabbed her leg, tossing her off balance and she went down hard.  Amelia could hear the fighting around her, and Mitchell grunted from somewhere.  She spun around, searching for him.  It was a mistake.  Stephanie vaulted back up, grabbed Amelia’s hair, and yanked.

Amelia screamed, and tried to pull her hair free.  She managed to spin around, and with the motion, Stephanie let go and shot back a step.  Erin was closing in on Stephanie’s back, and Amelia let loose a bolt of power, sending Stephanie right into Erin.

Erin wrapped one arm around Stephanie’s waist; the other hand gripped her chin, and with a quick twist, Erin snapped her neck.  Stephanie’s eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she hit the ground.

Amelia’s panting breaths masked the silence that had fallen around her.  She sucked in breath after breath in hungry gasps.  It was only after she started to breathe normally that she noticed she could no longer hear the fighting.  There were no cracks from flesh hitting flesh.  No grunts.  No shuffling footsteps.

Amelia looked up sharply to find Josh, bow cocked and aimed at her head.  Suddenly, she couldn’t breathe.  The luminescent energy that had surrounded her sizzled away, extinguishing like a candle that had been snuffed out.

“Amelia,” Josh growled.  “It’s over.”  His eyes began to glow, and his skin rippled and faded until all that was left of his face were his daunting florescent eyes floating in the eye sockets of his skull.  Amelia was suddenly glad for the cloak that covered his body, because the skull was unnerving enough.  “Come with us now or you both die,” he said.

Amelia, go with them,
Mitchell commanded.  The sound of his voice pulled her gaze.  Mitchell stared at her, his eyes burning, and she knew that he couldn’t see a way out of the situation where both of them could live.  He stood still below Cole who was still in the tree with an arrow pointed at him.  If he moved, she’d die.

Luke and Lola stood by him, watching Cole and posed as if they were ready to throw themselves in front of Mitchell if Cole sent the arrow flying.  Erin and Angelle were slowly inching towards Josh, closing in on his sides.  Eric was the only one who didn’t seem tense.  He was leaning against one of the willows as if he didn’t have a care in the world.  The other twin and the kid were lying lifeless at his feet.

Eric wasn’t watching either of the remaining hunters, but instead, his laughing eyes were glued to the base of the tree where Cole was perched above.

Out of the corner of her eye, Amelia caught a glimpse of Megan at the trunk of the tree.  With a small leap, she gripped the bark and started to shimmy her way up seemingly effortlessly, as if she was a cat climbing the curtains.

Amelia, please go with them,
Mitchell pleaded, but this time she ignored him.

Amelia arched a brow at Josh and said, “I thought you said I was your destiny.”

His skin snapped back in place, and he pulled the bowstring tighter.  “And I also said that you’d come back.”

Think, Amelia!
a nagging voice in the back of her mind said.  She knew she just needed to stall a little longer.  If she could just keep them distracted long enough for Megan to get to Cole undetected.

“You get that I’m the only reason they haven’t killed you yet, right?” Amelia asked, and she hated the quiver she heard in her voice.

Josh laughed, and a sly smile stretched across his face.  “I’m immortal.  I can’t die.”

“Everything can die,” Amelia countered, reiterating his exact words.

A startled high-pitched scream reinforced Amelia’s words, and Josh shot up, dropping his weapon.  Amelia didn’t waste a second.  She launched forwards, kicking the bow out of reach.