Page 104 of The Tracker's Dawn: Sunderverse

“Take it out!” Damien ordered again, his hands weaving a spell that he quickly shot at the second hybrid. The magic hit the creature square in the chest and sent it skidding backward.

“I can’t,” Lucia cried out, breaking the rule not to talk. “I’m trying, but I can’t.”

Jake’s skin grew sallow, and beads of sweat covered his entire torso and face. His head turned from side to side as if a terrible nightmare were ravaging his dreams.

A tug-of-war began between the demon and my sister. By degrees, Velthgrek pushed into his chest again, inching closer to the sternum. I clenched my hands to stop them from attempting to push the damn thing out of him, but if I touched him, it would only make things worse. Damien had warned us against it.

Lucia hissed through gritted teeth, renewing her efforts. The demon retreated back into Jake’s arm.

A keening sound escaped through Jake’s half-opened mouth as his eyes rolled into the back of his head.

I stood there, my fingers flexing, useless, unable to do a thing.

A third hybrid broke in, tearing a second hole in the door. The beast trampled in, growling and thrashing. Rosalina discharged her gun, but the bullets could’ve been gnats for all the harm they were doing.

We’re fucked. Fucked!

I locked eyes with my sister, begging her to take the demon out of Jake. She shook her head even as she renewed her efforts and the tug-of-war went on and on.

Rosalina continued shooting, careful to avoid Eric as he weaved between the three hybrids, biting and clawing wherever he could, buying us time. She hit one, then another, discharging an entire cartridge. Their bodies twitched, and they slowed but didn’t go down. She switched guns and focused on the third one, but Damien’s magic hit it first, dropping one at last. The beast twitched for a moment, then went still. It seemed the mage had found the right magic spell to put them out of commission.

Movement caught my eye at the hole at the garage door.God, no!How many more were coming? And where was Mekare? Surely, she wasn’t far behind.

As if I’d conjured her, instead of another hybrid, the witch walked in, a sphere of magic surrounding her, protecting her from Damien’s spells.

A satisfied grin slashed across her face as she said, “You started the cleansing without me? How rude! Let me give you a hand.” Wasting no time, she weaved a magic spell and shot it straight at Jake.

CHAPTER 33

Ascream vaulted frommy throat as Mekare’s black magic flew in our direction. Instinctively, I shifted, though it was useless. Neither Red nor I could do anything against the blast of magic headed our way.

But that didn’t matter. I only wanted to protect Jake.

In the split second that my torn clothes fell to the floor, I leaped forward on my way to a head-on collision with a crackling ball of energy.

I closed my eyes as I sailed through the air. I waited for the blast to rip me to pieces but it never came. Instead, there was a hiss and a pop, and when I looked again, the magical attack was dissolving, falling down like spent fireworks. Purple remnants of magic mixed with black.