Page 11 of Lunar Diamonds (Celestial Magic #1)

DRAKE

W ell, shit. This night wasn’t going as planned.

“Cover upstairs!” Erin ordered her son.

Ollie took off, his heavy footfalls pounding on the stairs.

The front doors crashed open, coming off their hinges and slamming into the floor. A myriad of shadow witches spilled into the mansion.

Fuck Kane.

Fuck Rhianna.

“Get them out of here,” April told her brother.

Being fae, his magic only worked in Faerie, not here.

Aaron took Riley and Isaac into a side room just before the first masked shadow witch charged into the living room.

April and Alice remained, putting themselves between Erin and the invader.

Shit. I was handcuffed and without weapons.

Great.

Black-laced blue energy swirled around the witch’s hands, others gathering in the doorway.

“Freeze!” the man yelled, clapping his hands.

As his spell unleased, Alice fired her gun. A bullet hit the shadow wanker between the eyes, his body hitting the floor with a satisfying thud.

Sadly, a thick layer of ice smothered April, freezing her in place. Not dead, but in need of a magical antidote or for twenty-four hours to pass for the effects to wear off.

Alice took down the second witch with a trip spell. She dashed forward, unloading a bullet into his chest at the same time he unleashed his freezing magic. She met the same fate as her sister.

I ducked behind the sofas for cover.

“Get over here!” I hissed at Erin.

But she just stood there, her focus on the door.

“Erin!”

Two more shadow witches joined the fray—one armed, one with shadow magic churning in his hands.

“Where are the sacred scum?” the woman in the lead demanded, pumping her shotgun.

Zara’s voice. Rhianna’s best friend.

I gestured for Erin to run, my heart pounding, the pain in my forehead thumping along with it.

She didn’t move, folding her arms across her chest. “Leave this place.”

Zara laughed. “Drop the delusion, bitch. I’m not here for it. Hand over those witches and I might let you live.”

“This is a sacred place,” she countered. “You must leave.”

Zara’s presence made my skin crawl.

Loathsome piece of shit.

She spat on the floor. “Shut the fuck up, old woman. You’re no match for us.” She spat again, completely disrespecting this house. “Look at you and look at us. We broke your defenses, we’re winning big.”

Footsteps pounded above, along with three new arrivals dashing past the open living room door. Shadow witches were everywhere, like invading ants.

Wankers.

“You are unworthy of this blessed space,” Erin said, a firm lid on any emotions. She looked so calm. “The corruption of shadows is not welcome. Leave before you live to regret it.”

Zara sniffed and fired her gun. Erin flew across the room, crash-landing into a vase. She hit the floor with the broken shards, blood quickly pooling beneath her.

Shit. This really wasn’t supposed to happen. Erin Lovell was an essential part of this house. If she died?—

Don’t let it happen.

I pondered my next move, my legs my best weapons right now.

“We know you’re in here, Drake,” Zara said with a chuckle. “Batting for the other side, are you? I knew you were a traitor. I could smell it.”

She wasn’t wrong about the traitor part. As long as I didn’t fuck up, this mansion and these witches were my way out.

I scratched at my left wrist, Rhianna’s dirty work a constant irritation.

I’ll be free of you soon.

“Come out and play, Drakey Wakey,” Zara taunted.

A blend of revulsion and fear knotted inside me, threatening to skewer me and throw me off course.

I’d come too far to fall apart.

Zara and Rhianna were always joined at the hip. A cruel pair, delighting in torture. Most nights I heard the pain of their victims when drawing blood for their magic, helpless in my dark cell. The endless pleas for mercy, prayers, bargaining, and the mocking delight of the best friends reveling in the suffering.

Rhianna loved locking me away in darkness for hours. Seeing as she couldn’t physically hurt me, she used mental torture on me. She knew my past, knew how to hurt me. No light, no warmth, leaving me to hope that one day I’d break these bonds.

As much as the fear of that cell rattled me, I steadied myself.

I’m not going back.

I’ll be free tonight.

Man, a couple of sniffs of ginkgo powder would give me the boost I needed right now. But it was in Alice’s pocket.

“Drakey, Drakey, Drakey,” Zara sang, just as she did whenever I got marched into the dark, a hood over my head.

Pure darkness.

Pure emptiness.

Alone…

I thought of light in all its forms. Bright and steady, chasing the dark away. Spotlights, sunlight, moonlight.

Moon.

The Moon.

Riley.

I want to see his face again…

“Come on, Drake,” Zara added. “Be a man. I’ll only slap you a few times before dragging your deceitful arse home. You know, for the honor of Rhianna.”

She was almost upon me, her slow, stalking steps dangerously close. I drew a long breath, my muscles tight in preparation for a showdown.

In lieu of my ginkgo powder, I locked my brain down. Slammed all the gates against my emotions, activating survival mode.

Temporarily. I’d need a fix as soon as possible.

“Drakey Wake?—”

I jumped up, flashing Zara my best smile.

She spun, aiming the shotgun at my head. The minion behind kept his magic up.

Zara’s lips spread with malicious glee. “There you are.” She eyed my handcuffs. “Interesting accessories.”

“You like them? I’m not sure they go with this outfit.”

She sniffed, her grin dropping. “Hilarious. How could you do that to the woman who gave you a home?”

She said tomato, I said being forced into a dire situation, having to endure her voice and face and rotten existence every day for the past six months.

“Well?” Zara pressed when I didn’t answer.

“I want out,” I answered.

She sniffed again, her eyes darting in the direction of the door Riley escaped through. “Where are the sacred witches?”

No response from me.

“Give this up, Drake. You know they don’t stand a chance.”

If I could just get that gun off her, I’d gain the upper hand over her for the first time in six months.

I almost did once. So close to escape, but the bond?—

Slamming heaving locks across my mind, I rushed her, aiming to slam a cuffed hand into her head. But I quickly lost confidence, hitting the brakes, jumping back awkwardly with egg on my face.

“What was that?” she asked.

Because I’m a useless piece of shit.

If I missed my attack, I’d be too close to her, leaving myself exposed to capture. She might not be able to hurt me, but her spells would snare me like an ill-fated bunny in a hunter’s trap.

Fuck it. If I couldn’t fight, I’d flee, recalibrate. Leaving this house wasn’t an option. No going back, only forward.

I rolled my neck.

“Freeze him,” Zara ordered the other witch.

He unleashed his freeze spell. I dodged in time, rolling across the floor as the magic whizzed above my head.

Zara roared her fury. “Stay still!”

The other witch came at me again, crouching and firing off the spell with a mighty clap. The cold energy missed me as I spun and lunged at the caster.

“Bloody hell!” he grumbled, getting to his feet.

I twirled around him, delivering a kick into his lower back. He sprawled onto his front, smacking his face on the floor. His nose definitely went crunch.

He went still.

Zara pumped her shotgun. “Enough of this shit!”

I faced her down. “You can’t hurt me, Zara.”

“You’re right.” She lowered the gun, magic crawling across her hands. “You’re right. Let’s change tactics.” She dropped the gun, bringing her hands up into a clapping position.

Shit.

“Freeze!”