He heard their jeers. But he smiled as Maeve’s killing power ramped up.
Gammet was in the center opposite and waved both arms in a forward motion which sent three shifters farther up toward their right flank and two to their left.
Better fire now, witch.
Maeve swept her arm right to left as she released a spray of her killing power. A gold, glittering stream of energy hit the air. At the same time, gun barrels flashed in a blinding assault. But the tremendous power she held in her witch’s arsenal stopped the bullets dead on.
He felt her fury rise, so he gripped her tighter. I know you’re angry, but stay focused.
They tried to kill us both. I’m sick of this.
I know. Ease down a little and keep your weapon on target. You’ve got an excellent back and forth stream. Can you add a boost? I’m thinking you could get past their fire power and hit some of these shifters with an added blast.
I’ll see what I can do. She reined in her temper and stayed remarkably steady. He could feel a second layer of power building.
Fire when ready.
A few seconds later, a broad wave pushed the power from behind. It swelled forward, and just as he’d hoped, catapulted beyond the bullets. Two of the shifters on the left fell to the ground unmoving. The other three, screamed in agony.
Ely, in the center, remained upright, arms crossed over his chest. None of the blasts had touched him.
Braden had no idea what kind of power he carried, but if he was that connected to Veyda, he had to be damn powerful.
He issued Maeve an order. In the air. Now.
He lifted her by the waist and felt her engage her levitation in a quick, abrupt flight straight up. He tracked with her, but kept part of his focus on what was happening on the ground. He needed to know if Gammet would follow after them.
At least a hundred yards above the park, Braden had Maeve pull up. She hovered beside him and joined him as he looked down at Gammet and his rogue wolves below.
Ely moved to his men on his right, the two that had fallen prone. They were struggling to get to their feet. The warlock lifted a hand gun and shot each of them in the head.
He heard Maeve gasp. Braden, he killed them. He killed his own men.
I know. Some men have no conscience. Unfortunately, there were a lot of men and women like that in Five Bridges. Let’s get back to your compound.
Gladly. She whipped in the air and headed back in the direction of the Landing.
He stuck close. He saw the Graveyard looming but he suddenly felt confused.
Right. The protection spell.
She must have guessed or remembered, because she suddenly whirled in the air and caught his hand. She then tugged him forward.
The confusion quickly dispersed and he flew across the spelled boundary. They descended together toward the bottom of the driveway. Though they were now well inside the perimeter of the security spell, she didn’t let go of his hand. Instead, she set a brisk pace and took him into the center, then hung a sharp left to her apartment. Because he was still connected to her, he experienced no confusion and even saw the spelled line on the floor. He wasn’t sure if that was normal for a wolf, but there it was.
None of the Landing residents would be able to locate her front door without her assistance. Given her horrific introduction to their world, he didn’t blame her a bit for such extreme measures.
Truth? His alpha wolf loved her set-up. He had privacy right now with the witch and that was all he cared about.
She finally let go of his hand as she levitated in a practiced swirl down the first set of stone steps to her living room.
He chose to walk. The stairs weren’t broad by any means and he kept his head low as he descended.
For a moment, his mind became fixed on Gammet. He’d made a mistake getting his heavily armed shifters into position. If he’d had them fire right away, both he and Maeve might be dead right now.
The warlock had also been on them within minutes of their leaving Maeve’s protected facility. Which meant Veyda really wanted him dead. But why? Was it his search for his wife’s killers? Was he getting too close to the truth about Veyda’s crimes?
Or was it something else.