Read Online Biting Cold: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES SERIES) by Chloe Neill - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Chloe Neill
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temper rise. Was this about Mallory? The overflow of her magic?
My arm ached beneath his fingers. “I don’t have any intention of doing that,” I assured him, wiggling my arm to free myself. But he wouldn’t budge. His fingers tightened.
“Distract her if you must, but let them bring her down. This isn’t your fight. It’s hers, and she has enough to answer for without adding your name to the rolls.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised. “Now relax and let go of my arm. You’re hurting me.”
His eyes widened, and he froze, then pulled his hand back and stared at me, horror in his eyes. “My God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I rubbed my arm absently.
He looked at me and opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late for more words.
“The eagle has landed,” called out one of the gnomes.
It was like something from The Wizard of Oz . Out of the swirling clouds dropped a giant glowing orb as large as a compact car. It rotated and split open in a flash of light, and just like a good witch, Mallory stepped into the Midwest.
But there were no coiffed curls or magic wand or glittering gown in this story. In fact, I barely recognized her. She looked awful, and an awful lot like an addict in the throes of a bad craving. I’m not sure what the Order had done or what she’d been through since she left, but she seemed to look even worse than she had the last time I’d seen her. Thinner and sadder. Her hair, once blue, had lost its color and luster. It now hung blond and limp at her shoulders. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks looked gaunt.
But her appearance didn’t faze the gnomes. It took only a second for them to launch their attack. As the cows scattered to the other side of the pasture, they revealed long wooden bows and began showering Mallory with a spray of feathered arrows.
I winced on her behalf but shouldn’t have wasted the effort. She might not have looked her best, but the girl had undeniable skills. She threw out a volley of magical sparks that incinerated the arrows on contact. The air glowed like the Fourth of July . . . if it had commemorated a battle against a self-interested witch.
I glanced behind us. Where was Paige? All things considered, this was really her fight. She should have been out there by now, fighting back with the magic that we didn’t have.
Another unit of gnomes stepped forward, springing a net of vines hidden in the dirt beneath Mallory’s feet. She was pulled up and into its grasp, but she quickly recovered and blasted the net into a thousand tiny wicks. The net collapsed and dropped her to the ground again with a thump.
She looked pissed.
I had been surprised by Mallory’s appearance, but that emotion paled in comparison to the shock I felt at what she did next. Without any warning to the gnomes, and without any apparent hint of remorse, she threw out an orb of magic that whipped the gnomes back like rag dolls. They hit the ground, obviously unconscious, if not worse.
And she didn’t stop with one. She threw orb after orb until she’d cleared a twenty-foot circle around her.
It was time to go for broke. I looked at Ethan, who nodded. With swords in our hands, we stepped out of the trees and prepared to do battle.
“Mallory Carmichael!” I called out. “Stop this right now!”
She rolled her eyes with the arrogance of a self-absorbed, sadistic teenager. “Walk away, Merit, or bring me the Maleficium and we can all leave together like one big happy family. I know you don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
She was right, but it wasn’t as if giving her the book would actually save lives. She’d already thrown aside a dozen gnomes like they were nothing more than scattered leaves.
On the other hand, if she wanted me to bring the Maleficium to her, maybe she wasn’t entirely sure where it was. We could work with that. I stalled, giving the gnomes time to regroup a bit.
“We’ve talked about this before,” I said. “Releasing
My arm ached beneath his fingers. “I don’t have any intention of doing that,” I assured him, wiggling my arm to free myself. But he wouldn’t budge. His fingers tightened.
“Distract her if you must, but let them bring her down. This isn’t your fight. It’s hers, and she has enough to answer for without adding your name to the rolls.”
“I’ll be careful,” I promised. “Now relax and let go of my arm. You’re hurting me.”
His eyes widened, and he froze, then pulled his hand back and stared at me, horror in his eyes. “My God, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
I rubbed my arm absently.
He looked at me and opened his mouth to speak, but it was too late for more words.
“The eagle has landed,” called out one of the gnomes.
It was like something from The Wizard of Oz . Out of the swirling clouds dropped a giant glowing orb as large as a compact car. It rotated and split open in a flash of light, and just like a good witch, Mallory stepped into the Midwest.
But there were no coiffed curls or magic wand or glittering gown in this story. In fact, I barely recognized her. She looked awful, and an awful lot like an addict in the throes of a bad craving. I’m not sure what the Order had done or what she’d been through since she left, but she seemed to look even worse than she had the last time I’d seen her. Thinner and sadder. Her hair, once blue, had lost its color and luster. It now hung blond and limp at her shoulders. There were dark circles under her eyes, and her cheeks looked gaunt.
But her appearance didn’t faze the gnomes. It took only a second for them to launch their attack. As the cows scattered to the other side of the pasture, they revealed long wooden bows and began showering Mallory with a spray of feathered arrows.
I winced on her behalf but shouldn’t have wasted the effort. She might not have looked her best, but the girl had undeniable skills. She threw out a volley of magical sparks that incinerated the arrows on contact. The air glowed like the Fourth of July . . . if it had commemorated a battle against a self-interested witch.
I glanced behind us. Where was Paige? All things considered, this was really her fight. She should have been out there by now, fighting back with the magic that we didn’t have.
Another unit of gnomes stepped forward, springing a net of vines hidden in the dirt beneath Mallory’s feet. She was pulled up and into its grasp, but she quickly recovered and blasted the net into a thousand tiny wicks. The net collapsed and dropped her to the ground again with a thump.
She looked pissed.
I had been surprised by Mallory’s appearance, but that emotion paled in comparison to the shock I felt at what she did next. Without any warning to the gnomes, and without any apparent hint of remorse, she threw out an orb of magic that whipped the gnomes back like rag dolls. They hit the ground, obviously unconscious, if not worse.
And she didn’t stop with one. She threw orb after orb until she’d cleared a twenty-foot circle around her.
It was time to go for broke. I looked at Ethan, who nodded. With swords in our hands, we stepped out of the trees and prepared to do battle.
“Mallory Carmichael!” I called out. “Stop this right now!”
She rolled her eyes with the arrogance of a self-absorbed, sadistic teenager. “Walk away, Merit, or bring me the Maleficium and we can all leave together like one big happy family. I know you don’t want anyone to get hurt.”
She was right, but it wasn’t as if giving her the book would actually save lives. She’d already thrown aside a dozen gnomes like they were nothing more than scattered leaves.
On the other hand, if she wanted me to bring the Maleficium to her, maybe she wasn’t entirely sure where it was. We could work with that. I stalled, giving the gnomes time to regroup a bit.
“We’ve talked about this before,” I said. “Releasing
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