Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

33.1 | One Thousand Falling Stars

The machete sang as Nika drew it across the wolf's throat. She didn't wait to see the beast collapse, didn't savor the kill. But as she stalked away, hunting for Lu and Elliot among the gravestones, she couldn't ignore the thump of its horse-sized body hitting the ground. Or the scent of its blood.

Her gaze landed on her sister-friend just in time to see it. Lu's hands were glowing as she held Elliot, her beautiful face twisted in pain as the boy heaved his final breaths. A hole formed in Nika's heart as Elliot went motionless.

She'd been wrong about him. He wasn't the villain she'd expected. He was his father's son in blood only, and pure that blood might have been, but Elliot's soul was purer. Seeing the life drain out of him filled her with regret. She wished she'd been able to tell him how grateful she was for his help, how proud it made her to call him a friend.

Killing the wolf who'd bitten him did nothing to ease that feeling. It did nothing to assuage the ache that bloomed inside her when Lu let out another scream.

Nika stepped forward, needing to reach them, to hold Lu's hand and look into Elliot's face one last time. She hadn't moved a meter when a blast of magic swept through the cemetery.

The ground slammed into her, rattling the contents of her skull. Heat washed over her body, and she instinctively raised her arms over her head.

Hisses and screeches lit up the sky, and the scent of ash invaded her olfactory system. When flakes of it rained down around her, Nika sat up, groaning.

She gaped as that magic burst out of Lu's body like a shattered star, scorching every shadow-monster on the field. Light streamed across the grass, miraculously sparing the lives of keepers and Volkari.

Head throbbing, Nika forced herself back onto her feet and spotted Ren and Misha. Their brawl with Asteroth had been driven out of Lu's range. Fifty yards of grave-ground separated her from them as they circled the Demon King.

Nika willed herself to ignore Ren's limp and the way Misha guarded his left ribs. She narrowed her focus on the walking corpse, the pendant around his neck. At the hedgewitch's shop, the only way to stop Ren from killing her was to rip it off Tatiana.

Nika started sprinting. As she swerved around headstones and leapt over moaning shapes, a storm of ash and magic showered over her. Aiming for a mausoleum that rose between her and Asteroth, she flung the machete high in the air and leapt.

Her heart thudded inside her throat as she crested the mausoleum, tucking her legs up and throwing herself into a somersault. When Asteroth whirled around, she uncurled her body and slammed down.

Ren and Misha whipped their heads in her direction, the former displaying his signature scowl. Nika merely lifted her arm, and the machete slid into her grip as though it had been forged for it.

In the beat of silence that followed, Lu's ethereal magic faded into nothing. The cemetery looked like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption.

"Nika," Ren warned. "Get out of here."

She caught his gaze, saying, "Together."

Confusion, and then understanding, flashed through his features. It was the same promise he'd made weeks ago, in the gardens at headquarters. Together—they would save Lu together. And here, now, they would fight together, too.

So Nika charged.

Asteroth was snarling at the ashes that sprinkled the ground. "I hate witches," he said before dodging Nika's attack.

She skidded to a halt and turned around just in time to see Misha pull the trigger of his handgun. As the bullet went straight through his stomach, Asteroth only flinched.

Misha fired again, but the gun clicked. He didn't even have time to curse before Asteroth pounced. In a blur, the demon plucked Misha off the ground and threw him twenty feet. Nika sucked in a breath as Misha smacked into a paved walkway. And stayed there.

Four keepers came barreling through the headstones, firing weapons and raising battle cries. Nika ducked for cover, panting. She heard the tearing of flesh, the breaking of bone. Only when the keepers fell silent did she stand up again.

Asteroth had his face buried in a keeper's neck. Nika gagged as the poor man's head fell off his shoulders and rolled into the grass, which was now scattered with body parts. Ren rose from behind a grave marker and crept forward. Nika mimicked his movements.

Asteroth saw her first. When he smiled, remnants of his victims stained his fangs. The sight of the blood, and of Miles's familiar grin, filled her with so much rage that nothing in the world could have stopped her from doing what she did next.

She blurred before him, swinging the machete. Asteroth caught the blade, its edge piercing his skin. She yanked, but the grip was too strong. And the next thing she knew, he'd ripped it clean out of her hands.

Nika stepped back, her heart plummeting into her stomach. On instinct, she opened her mouth to scream, but before she made a sound, the demon seized her by the throat.