Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

32.2 | Shadows of the Moon

Bone snapped. Elliot wailed. Gunshots rang. Wolves snarled. But to Lu's ears, the noises were smothered. Even her own screaming was dull as she watched the Volkari's jaws unhinge, revealing torn flesh and protruding bone. Blood trickled down Elliot's arm and fingers, a river of red cutting through desert dunes.

Elliot staggered, and it was instinct to catch him before he crashed into the grass. To ease him across her lap, slip her fingers into his hair, and take his hand.

He winced at the touch, and Lu ripped back. The injured arm lay across his stomach, its gruesomeness blurred by her tears.

But they couldn't hide the shock in his widened eyes. The panic that mirrored Lu's own.

"I can fix this," she murmured.

Lifting a shaky hand over his arm, she latched on to an inner power, feeling for currents of magic that ran through the earth. Trying to remember how she'd healed Dante's lashes.

In a blur of bronze hair and gleaming metal, Nika sped by, raising that machete along with a war cry. She swiped at the wolf who'd bitten Elliot, and when he deflected, growling, she twirled and jabbed.

The wild rage etched into her features was enough to make Lu lose contact with her power. So she closed her eyes, blocking out all distractions. Even the thunderous beating of her heart faded into nothing as she opened herself up.

Magic, warm and revitalizing, flooded into her body. She focused it toward her hands, willing it into the physical world. Into Elliot. His pained groan was the only confirmation of success.

Volkari bites are lethal to the other races.

There is no cure.

Have mercy on the poor soul who has to suffer a bite.

More toxic than belabane.

More painful than burning alive.

Lu shut down the thoughts creeping into her mind.

Concentrate, she told herself, just as Tatiana had instructed these past weeks. You are the channel through which magic flows. The mold that gives it form. You can wield it like a sword, or a shield, or a remedy. You have all the power.

And so Lu called more, letting an invisible wave of magic wash over her with so much force that she couldn't breathe. Sending streams of it into Elliot's blood. Burning away the poison of the wolf bite.

As soon as one touched the other, Elliot screamed in agony. The toxins multiplied, spreading faster. Growing stronger.

No.

Lu stitched muscle and bone back together, sealing the gaping wound in Elliot's arm. He panted and trembled as she reached out with her power, trying to rein in the poison that speared through his body. But every time she got close, it slipped from her grasp.

Nature demands balance, Tatiana had once told her. There are some things that even magic cannot fix. Like Volkari bites.

But what if a cure exists and no one has discovered it yet?

You can try to redefine magic, but there will always be consequences. I learned that the hard way.

"Stop!" Elliot was screaming. "Lu, please!"

Noting his pain, Lu pulled her hands away and opened her eyes. His face was colorless, beaded with sweat.

"It's not working," he rasped, furrowing his brow.

Lu glanced around the cemetery. Shadow-monsters brawled with keepers and wolves. Asteroth—in Miles's body—took a swipe at the massive, dark-haired man who'd accompanied Nika. And Nika herself was still battling that Volkari.

Help—Lu needed help. She needed something.

A gentle touch on her cheek guided her focus back to Elliot. He didn't mask his fear, but it was nothing in comparison to the warmer, stronger emotions in his brown eyes.

"I should have fought harder when you were taken."

Lu shook her head. "Ell—"

"No"—he tugged her closer, wincing—"I should have. Because I love you."

Her stomach clenched. Her heart fluttered. A smile overcame her, and tears streamed down her cheeks and moistened her lips.

"You saved me," she said. "That's even better." His mouth curled upward, but it fell as his face twisted in pain. He squeezed her hand. "Let me try—"

"No. You have to save your energy. Help Nika."

Something cleaved through her, leaving a hollowness in its wake. "I can't leave you."

Elliot curled in on himself, crying out. Lu felt his pain. It crushed them both. All she could do was hold him, whispering assurances in his ear.

The whites of his eyes turned yellow. His veins darkened and webbed out beneath his ashen skin. He coughed, black bile spewing onto his lips.

"It hurts."

Lu sucked in a breath at the weary rawness in his voice. He pressed her hand against his chest, a silent question in his eyes. Lu sobbed, shaking her head.

"Please," Elliot pressed.

She searched his face, trying to find the courage to do what he asked. It felt like being ripped in two.

Lu leaned down and kissed him, summoning that familiar power. She didn't cast a spell, she didn't hone it into any shape. She just . . . freed it, and beyond her shuttered eyes, the world began to glow.

Elliot pulled his lips away from hers. "Beautiful," he croaked as that light brightened.

He stiffened, gasping, then sagged, his weight sinking against her. The ragged breaths stopped. The grip on her hand relaxed.

Lu opened her eyes and peered down at his sleeping face. She tore her gaze away, quaking as tears gushed down her cheeks.

Chaos unraveled around her, unfazed as Elliot passed from this world and into another. The sight was sickening. Anger burned away her sorrow, filling her with heat.

This needed to stop.

So Lu screamed, and as the sound traveled through the cemetery, a blast of pale purple light followed it.