Read Online Crimson Wind by Diana Pharaoh Francis - Free Book Online

scorched. Her arms were a patchwork of black and red, and her hands looked like she’d stuck them into the heart of a fire. Her clothes were charred, her hair burned. The smell was awful.
    Alexander glanced at the circle. It still held, but the magic it contained was growing visibly more chaotic. It would not be long before it broke through. What kind of idiot was Giselle, risking a powerful working like this without a coven to support her? When she was barely out of her sickbed?
    “Get them out,” he ordered the others as they hovered helplessly over the two women. “The circle will not hold. Hurry.”
    No one argued. Niko and Tyler lifted Giselle gently away and carried her out into the sitting room. Thor grabbed Max, who groaned, her head lolling over his arm. Alexander and Tutresiel followed. They spun the heavy stone door back into place. The wards flared as it shut. They should be powerful enough to contain the explosion. But if not—
    “Keep going. We have to get out of here,” Alexander told the others.
    Before anyone could move, a blast reverberated through the mountain. The wall between the sitting room and the workroom bulged, and a spiderweb of cracks wove across it and the ceiling. Two lamps shattered to the floor. Dust sifted down from above.
    Giselle convulsed, her body flailing. Niko and Tyler held her firmly as magic whipped them, leaving behind red welts and blisters. Max struggled to stand, and Thor steadied her as she swayed. She closed on Giselle, grasping the witch’s face between her raw hands, bending to get close in her face.
    “Stop it. Giselle! Get your shit together before you kill us all!”
    Her voice was thick and rasping. Magic writhed over her arms and up her shoulders. She did not seem to notice. Her attention was fixed on the witch. Giselle’s eyes flickered.
    “That’s right. Wake up and shut this down,” Max urged. “Come on, now. Remember, I get to be the one to kill you. Are you trying to commit suicide before I can do so?”
    “Fat chance,” Giselle whispered, and her eyes opened wide. She sat up. Her mouth pulled into a thin line, her face skeletal beneath the pale wrapping of skin. She had nearly drained herself to death fending off the attacks four weeks ago, and her recovery had been slow, despite the healing help of Xaphan.
    She struggled to climb to her feet. Niko helped her. Stepping away, she clenched her hands, pulling them tight together between her breasts. Taking a long, unsteady breath, she pushed them out before her. As before, the magic chasing around her body slid down to ball around her fists. There was less of it now than there had been inside the anneau floor. Alexander held his breath.
    Giselle brought her fists down sharply at her sides, flattening her hands and pointing her fingers toward the ground. She shouted a word that hammered Alexander’s skull and sent him reeling. He fell against Tutresiel. The angel shoved him away. Alexander caught himself against the wall and spun about. Tutresiel watched him, his red eyes shining brilliantly, daring Alexander to attack.
    “Later,” Alexander mouthed, and then turned back to Max and Giselle. The smothering press of magic was gone.
    Giselle stood inside a patch of burning carpet. Black smoke billowed as the thick pad beneath caught.
    “Get her out of here,” Max said, coughing.
    Tyler swung the witch into his arms and carried her out into the foyer area. Niko and Alexander grabbed Max, picking her up between them.
    “Can you put that fire out?” she asked Tutresiel as Alexander and Niko set her back on her feet, continuing to steady her as she swayed.
    “It is magic fire. Xaphan must do it. Or a witch.”
    Max looked at Thor. “Go find him.”
    Thor took off at a dead run. Dense black smoke squeezed from the cracks surrounding the now-closed doors. It stank of chemicals and made Alexander’s throat and nose burn.
    “Tutresiel, wait here. When Xaphan’s done, bring him. Giselle will need