Bianca plucked a golden ring from the palm of a zombie and held it up for all to see. “Here it is. ” Slipping it onto her index finger, Bianca crushed the zombie's head. Then, as if that wasn’t enough, she tore it apart, vengeance in her face.
“Not to kill them,” Bianca said, gesturing toward the defiant vampire and his comrades.
“So much for not killing us. ” The sarcasm in Cian’s voice made Amaliya slightly smile.
“Who should we kill first?” Etzli asked. “Cian? Rachon? Or their pet dog?”
Eduardo growled, edging toward the Aztec princess.
Amaliya.
Studying the area, Amaliya realized no one had called her aloud. She glanced at Cian, but he was crouched low to the ground, the obsidian blade in one hand, watching their enemies, preparing to strike. Cassandra also had her blades drawn and looked far more alert, though blood still trickled from her brow.
Maybe they could kill Etzli, but how would they kill Bianca?
Again, Amaliya heard her name, but this time she realized it came from within her. Trying to remain alert to her surroundings, Amaliya let her mind sift through her power. The blackness of her necromancy was tangled with the remains of the witch's black magic, both edged with the fiery red of Cian’s powers. But there was something more buried in all the layers. It was silvery and throbbed with power. Mentally grasping it, Amaliya heard Samantha's ardent whisper in her mind.
I need to help you. I need to help you fight him.
As Samantha's voice floated through her mind, Amaliya saw the armies of the dead attack Cian and the others. Instantly, she sent out her power, unleashing it, pulling the dead to her through her spilled blood.
Bianca gasped, her fury assaulting Amaliya, but Amaliya resisted. Concentrating on her link with the dead, Amaliya leashed them to her, calling them to her side. Bianca fought with her for control, her hiss of anger sizzling in the air.
Amaliya was dimly aware of Eduardo gnashing his teeth and tearing into dead flesh. She heard the clink of knives clashing and smelled Cian's blood spilling into the air. Amaliya wrestled the dead from Bianca only to have them called back.
“Come to me!” Amaliya said through clenched teeth.
Cian and Etzli spun through the air, clashing in an aerial battle above the heads of the zombies. Eduardo ripped through the zombies, trying to fight his way to Bianca.
Amaliya dug her fingers into the earth. “Come to me!”
To her shock, Samantha spilled out of the ground next to her, coughing and gasping.
“Sam!”
“Bitch!” Samantha spit up dirt, then her eyes widened at the spectacle around her.
Etzli battled Cian and Rachon at the same time, twisting and thrusting through the air. The tiny woman fought savagely, slipping in and out of the darkness like a wraith. Her daggers were made of bone and each cut was deep. She was a whirlwind of violence and Amaliya could barely track her with her eyes. Each time Etzli drew blood, it was a fountain that arced through the air. Cian had once told Amaliya that Etzli could summon blood from the very bodies of her enemies. Now she was witnessing it with her own eyes. Blood rained down on the zombies below as Cian sent Etzli howling into the darkness with a swift stroke only to have her reappear behind Rachon. Cian grabbed Rachon’s arm and flung her aside, Etzli’s killing blow missing.
Cassandra meanwhile fought her way through the zombies, slashing her way through creatures that were looking more and more human and exerting supernatural strength. Bianca was imbuing them with her power, making it increasingly difficult for the coyote and dhamphir to fight their way to the necromancer.
Amaliya sent out her power like a net and caught the zombies within it. Again, she turned them against Bianca.
“I have them!”
Rachon fell to the ground, her slashed throat pouring blood into the ground. Gagging, the vampire pressed her hands to her wound, trying to heal, but her blood arced into the air toward Etzli. The blood goddess was enshrouded in a halo of blood. Cian managed to slice off one of her hands, the bone dagger spinning into the night. Etzli screeched with pain.
“Oh, my God!” Samantha gasped.
Amaliya felt Bianca once more drag the zombies away from her control and she cried out in frustration. “I lost them again!”
Eduardo let out a pained yelp from somewhere amidst the zombies while Cassandra clambered onto a mausoleum, claiming the high ground in the battle with the undead.
“I'm supposed to help you!” Samantha shouted at Amaliya.
“How?” Amaliya demanded. “How?”
Samantha hesitated, then grabbed her hand. “Our connection! If you can drag me through the fucking ground to your side, it has to be something powerful!”