Samantha gave a curt nod.
Baptiste hurled balls of fire into the darkness, attempting to illuminate the hiding vampires. Dark magic filled the air with an impenetrable gloom. The fiery orbs simply vanished into the blackness.
Stalking forward, Amaliya summoned her zombies to follow. The massive werewolf walked just in front of her. Smearing her blood over the zombies, she imbued them with more power. The blood from her wound slithered through the air, leading deeper into the darkness. She followed the trail more by smell than by sight. The dome of magic shimmered overhead, but the preternatural darkness made it nearly impossible to see.
Roberto flickered in and out of view as he searched the edges of the magical dome. The zombies were the freshest she’d ever controlled. It felt odd having so much life left in them. Little sparks of who they were remained. Amaliya picked up tiny flashes of their memories. The werewolf had been from Mexico. The woman had been afraid of Bianca. One of the two men had wanted to run away. The last had been in love with Etzli. Even as she grasped those remnants of the people they had been, those aspects of the zombies were already slipping away beneath the cloak of death.
“You can’t win,” Etzli’s voice taunted.
“Wanna bet?” Amaliya answered.
Though Etzli was pulling her blood, Amaliya wasn’t weakening. The deaths of the werewolf and humans had filled her with necromantic power.
The Aztec whirled through Amaliya’s zombies, slashing, hacking, and ripping with her bone knives. Body parts fell to the ground, then the vampire was gone.
“Fuck!” Amaliya exclaimed as the head of the werewolf landed at her feet.
The remaining vampires rushed Baptiste and Samantha. Etzli appeared above Amaliya, grabbed her by the hair, and
tossed her into the air. Limbs flailing, Amaliya sent her death magic into the broken bodies of her zombies. It was difficult to control her necromancy and her vampire abilities at the same time, but Amaliya managed to catch herself in the wind. Hovering, she spun about, ready for Etzli’s next attack. The werewolf rose, pieces held together by the tendrils of her magic, and charged after the attacking vampires.
Floating, Amaliya traced the blood trail into the night sky. Etzli liked to fight in the air. It allowed her to sweep in and out of the battle. The vampire was still drawing Amaliya’s blood. Amaliya felt her vampire abilities diminishing, but her necromancy was still strong. Her long black hair whipping about her face, Amaliya gave up depending on her vampire nature. She released the zombies to true death, reclaiming her power. Despite recalling her necromancy, she still felt a long tendril of her power spiraling into the night. It took her a few seconds to realize the source of the pull on her magic. The blood Etzli was stealing was Amaliya’s and it was dead just like her. With a triumph smile, Amaliya summoned it back to her. The blood returned to her in a gush.
Etzli spiraled out of the night, caught in the aura of blood. Wailing in surprise, she slashed her bone knives uselessly through the air. Like most of her abilities, Amaliya had to learn them by trial and error. Concentrating on the writhing tentacle of her blood that effectively wove a net around Etzli, she raised her hands in an attempt to keep the other vampire trapped. Etzli writhed in the mass of blood, her knives continuing the rip at it. Bobbing in the air a few feet from the Aztec princess, Amaliya unleashed more of her power. It spread out around her like great wings.
“I found the witch!” Roberto’s voice called out from below. Once the witch died the spell hiding the supernatural battle would collapse, revealing them to the humans.
“Don’t kill her yet!” Amaliya struggled to contain the struggling vampire in her power. “I almost have this bitch under control.”
Swearing, Etzli fought even harder, trying to pull Amaliya’s blood from her control and into her own. Amaliya felt the leash on her power slip and cursed. Drifting closer to Etzli, Amaliya watched the vampire thrashing in the blood cloud. Etzli’s dark eyes blazed with fury. Battling against the necromantic power holding her hostage, she bared her fangs.
Again, her power slipped. Etzli was older and more in control of her abilities than Amaliya. Most of the time Amaliya just winged it, learning as she went. This time she couldn’t depend on chance.
“Kill the witch!” Amaliya ordered.
Etzli’s eyes flashed with fear.
The magical dome vanished a second later.
The fresh death flared through Amaliya like cold fire, filling her completely, and imbuing her with the power she needed. With a cry of triumph, she sent Etzli crashing into the ground. Amaliya landed beside her, straddled the vampire, and pinned her arms to the road as the bloody vapor swirled around them. Digging her nails into Etzli’s wrists, she destroyed tendons and bone. The bone blades fell from Etzli’s hands.
Roberto emerged from the darkness and pounded his silver blade through Etzli’s chest, impaling her heart, instantly paralyzing her.
Samantha’s battered car pulled up next to them. The passenger side was a mess, but it was drivable. Baptiste jumped out and jerked Etzli into his arms.
“Make sure the knife stays in her heart,” Amaliya said.
Baptiste nodded, sliding into the backseat with her.
Amaliya once more cast out her necromancy, snagging all the dead bodies scattered across the roadway. She willed them to rest in peace. The corpses sank through the road and into the earth. Climbing into the passenger seat, Amaliya dragged the warped door shut.
“You’re scary,” Samantha informed her.
Amaliya shivered, nodding. “Yeah. I am.”
The sirens of the emergency vehicles sounded in the distance as the small car sped on toward Austin.
Chapter 21