page11 (2/2)
The lead olf snaps at the female With a howl, she leaps I unleash the spell as she ju spell If it doesn’t work, I won’t know much about it—she’ll be on me in a second and I’m defenceless
The olf lands about a, the cords of her throat thickening, cutting off her supply of air Score one for Bec!
The weakerspell I bark a few quick words and the creature’s fingers grab at each other He roars with surprise and tries ripping the them in place It’s more of a trick than a real spell It will immobilise the olf for less than a minute, then he’ll break free and I’ll have to think of so else
But there’s the do than the others andwith the one-eyed beast He barrels across the floor, howling dreadfully
Before I can react, Dervish and Meera cut ahead ofthe spiked ball expertly, landing a blow to the beast’s right shoulder Dervish jabs at hi the creature’s stomach
Neither blow is fatal but the olf screams with pain and surprise, and falls back a few steps He roars at the others, su them The feh her cheeks are puffed out, she looks ready for business Morrigan’s milk! In the old days that spell would have been the end of her Curse this ic
“We can’t get past,” Dervish says calmly “Back up They were human once If we’re lucky, the protective spells of the study will halt them”
“And if they don’t?” Meera asks
“Fight like a demon,” he chuckles bleakly
We shuffle back through the open door of the study As soon as we’re in, I dart to the nearest wall and grab an axe—the swords here arefor me
One of the olves howls The fe, ready to tear us to pieces But as soon as she crosses the threshold she screeches, clasps her hands to the sides of her head, doubles over and vomits She looks up hatefully and reaches for Meera, then screaain She rolls out The males roar at her but she roars back more forcefully than either of them
“It worked,” Dervish notes dully
The stronger male approaches the doorway He sniffs at the jah His nostrils flare and the pupils of his eyes widen He leaps back before he gets sick Dervish strides forward and slams the door shut
“What are they doing here?” Meera pants “Where did they come from?”
“No ti his beard with the tip of his sword “There are probably others with theht break the spells and free the way for the olves”