Cornelius was singing. Oh dear God.
The song reached its crescendo and died.
My magic was still wrapped around the two attackers. I sank into it, pushing as hard as I could. The world faded, its sounds dulling, as all of my energy went into invading the two minds.
A second barrage of nails tore into the cars. Magic crackled all around me, magenta lightning dancing over the trucks and SUVs. Explosions popped like crazy firecrackers. Something hot smashed into my head, and a chunk of a side-view mirror rolled off me to the ground.
I barely noticed. My magic vines pulsed and pulsed, without any way in. If I didn’t succeed, we’d die in this parking lot.
Third barrage. Something stung my legs.
I had to do something, or we wouldn’t make it out of here alive. I had to chance the wings.
I hauled myself forward and looked around the rear tire. Xavier was aiming another set of nails at Gunderson’s screen.
The rapid staccato of the Rattler split the night. Mom returning fire.
Gunderson jerked and stumbled to the right, clutching his shoulder. The arcane screen melted into the air.
I squeezed their minds with everything I had. I never wished for Tremaine powers, but right now I’d trade ten years of my life for just one burst of my grandmother’s brain cracking magic.
Xavier bared his teeth. The vehicles in front of him slid, knocked back like Matchbox cars kicked by an angry child. A huge Tahoe at the opposite end of the row screeched and rolled to the right. Mom jumped to her feet, firing. A flaming tire shot across the lot and smashed into her. Mom flew back and crashed into a blue SUV.
Mom!
I dropped my hold on their minds, and the world reeled, my mind unable to adjust.
My mother was right there, in the open, against the car. Spikes hammered into the metal around her. She screamed, a short guttural sound.
I dashed into the open.
A cloud of bats dropped from the sky swarming between us and Xavier. Magic sputtered and nails sank into the swarm. Little furry bodies dropped to the ground.
I sprinted to Mom. She sagged against the SUV and grunted. I slid on broken glass, caught myself on a car, and landed by her. “We’ve got to move . . .”
A two-foot spike protruded from Mom’s right thigh, pinning her to the SUV. Blood drenched her leg, soaking through her jeans. Her hands were red.
I gripped the spike and pulled. It didn’t move.
“Leave me,” Mom snarled.
My hands slid on my mother’s blood. I grabbed my shirt, wrapped it around the spike, and pulled with everything I had.
“I said leave!”
Cornelius charged around the car. He saw the spike.
“I can’t!” I told him.
He tossed the shotgun to me and gripped the spike. The muscles on his forearms bulged. Mom gasped, sucking in air.
The swarm of bats had thinned and through the gaps, I saw the glow of another magenta circle sliding upright.
Cornelius planted his foot onto the car and pulled, his back swelling, the muscles in his neck cording.
“Leave me! Go!”
Cornelius growled like an animal. Gus dashed next to me and bared his teeth.
I had a shotgun and a dog. We were too far to do any damage. The moment Xavier saw Mom, she would die, and Cornelius would die with her.
Magenta magic crackled.
The bat swarm scattered. Xavier grinned in the glow of his circle, Gunderson next to him, gripping his arm with a bloody hand. His face was a mask of pain. A car hung suspended in midair above them, poised to fly through Gunderson’s magic screen.
It would land on top of Mom and Cornelius, and it would explode like a bomb. They would die. In an instant, I saw my mom’s lifeless body fall to the ground, Cornelius crumpled next to her, his blue eyes glassy and blind.
No. No!
I lunged into the row. Xavier saw me, his grin turning brighter.
All of my frustration and fear exploded inside me, burning into fury. Black wings burst from my back, their edges burning with red and I screeched. It wasn’t a song. It wasn’t a scream. It was a screech, a terrible, awful shriek that cut like broken glass. Magic tore out of me in a dark torrent, guided by my voice like a laser and smashed into the two men. The circle around Xavier went out like a candle snuffed out by a hurricane. Gunderson’s eyes rolled back into his head. He dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. The magenta screen vanished.
Xavier stumbled back, his face bloodless, and cried out. The car in midair wobbled, dancing back and forth.
The circle around Xavier reignited. It had protected him against most of my shriek. He stumbled inside it and straightened slowly.
The tower of the Office of Records was right behind me.
Xavier was a coward, and nothing scared him more than me gripping his mind.