CHAPTER 193

She looked at Marco's corpse, and a sick feeling filled the pit of her stomach. This was somebody she had known, someone that had sat across from her for years, and he had just been snuffed out in front of her.

A drop of rain hit her on the nose, disrupting her musings, and she looked up to see that ominous clouds had formed overhead. Puzzled by the sudden shift in weather, she was further surprised by the large creature that landed on what remained of the roof with a heavy thud.

The ball of energy buzzed excitedly, and then a beam of light arced out across the lawn, incinerating the yard and spirits alike. Beth ran from the beam as it chased her, and then collided with Kisa, who was also trying to flee.

The beam stopped just short of incinerating the both of them, and Beth looked up in time to see Kisa staring back, her eyes wild.

"Get out of my way," she shrieked, then jumped to her feet. She didn't make it far, because Tink launched herself at Kisa, and both of them became a tumbling mess of teeth and claws.

"Tink see nasty bitch ghost, get out of stupid cat!" She was on Kisa's back now, and grabbed the cat girl's ears and yanked. Kisa howled in agony, then grabbed Tink by the hair and smashed her into the ground.

"Get the fuck off of—ow, you fucking bit me!"

Kisa's forearm was in Tink's mouth, and Beth could see blood running out of the wound. She moved to help, but Kisa tried to use the wand on Tink, but only succeeded in pointing it straight down.

The blast sent the two of them flying apart, and Beth was tossed onto her back. She smacked her head on the ground and fought to keep her wits about her as the world tilted sideways.

From where she lay, she saw the shadow move toward her, his hands raised in excitement.

"Your world is about to—" the shadow's proclamation was cut off when lightning lit up the sky to reveal the biggest bird Beth had ever seen in her life. It was clutching the remaining turret in its claws, and massive streamers of electricity flowed all along its feathers.

A second blast of lightning revealed Quetzalli, who stood nude on the edge of the roof. Her horn glowed an ominous blue color, and her arms were stretched wide. Nearby, Dana was hiding in what looked like a metal cage that had been attached to one of the iron beams.

Yeah, sure. Whatever. Beth only had so much brain power left, and asking questions would have used what was left up.

Several blasts of lightning struck the dragon girl, and the air became charged with electrical energy. Her face was a mask of concentration as she manipulated the powerful electrical arcs along her body, and everything in the yard lit up with filaments of electricity. Her outstretched arms blazed with flickering light as a loud hum filled the air.

The spirits in the yard came into focus, surprise on their suddenly human faces. The air around the shadow shimmered as he seemed to absorb the energy, but there was an outcry from inside the house as the second round of invaders was booted. Souls now flowed out of the building in rapid fashion, and the shadow turned his attention on the bird.

"No, stop him!" Beth cried, but her own voice sounded far away. Had she even spoken out loud? The thunder was making her ears ring.

A whip made of bones struck the shadow from behind, leaving a white mark that sparkled. The shadow stumbled forward, then turned his attention toward Sulyvahn. The dullahan's head was back on his body, and his features were twisted up in anger.

"Yer fucked." The dullahan brought the whip around and caught a magical barrier summoned by the shadow. With every strike of the whip, the bones glowed brighter as if they were heating up. After enough strikes, the magical shield shattered and the shadow tried to move toward the house, the pulsating sphere moving between him and Sulyvahn. "Ye shouldn'a called yer minions home to roost, 'cause there ain't enough of them to hold me back now!"

As electrical energy pulsed through the yard, a white figure teleported between broken windows and then appeared outside, revealing itself as Jenny. A pair of nearby spirits were startled, then ran away from her.

Jenny said nothing, but her body folded backward, as if she was going to crab walk. Once crouched down, she launched herself into the air and crashed into the shadow. Her head spun around so she could get a good look at him, then opened her mouth wide, as if to bite him.

"Gah!" The shadow sidestepped Sulyvahn's attack and then used Jenny as a shield for the next one. When Sulyvahn's whip hit, Jenny cried out in agony. Her body turned to static and vanished.

"Time for you to go," said the shadow, then sent a beam of light at Sulyvahn. The dullahan bent over backward, and his head tumbled off, releasing black mist all along the ground. When the beam swept around to catch him, he tumbled out of the way like an acrobat.

The mist spilling from his neck formed into a magnificent black stallion with burning white stars for eyes. Sulyvahn jumped onto its back and rode hard across the yard, his whip trailing behind him. The beam vaporized many of the spirits it struck, and Beth stood just in time for Sulyvahn to reach down and scoop her up.

"You keep a horse inside you?" she asked incredulously.

"Can ye think of a better place? Plug yer ears." He yanked off his head and swung it in a large circle overhead, then let out a keening wail. Nearby spirits stumbled about as if drunk and even the shadow clutched at his ears, causing his beam to go off course.

Even with her fingers in her ears, it felt like someone was dragging a razor down her spine. Sulyvahn circled the yard a few times, doing his best to clear a path by the door. Once there, he stopped swinging his head.

"Go inside, lass!Ye'll be safe!"

He kicked the flank of his midnight horse and raced across the yard. The shadow's beam prevented Suly from getting any closer, but the shadow's army was dwindling fast. This close to the house, Beth's hair was standing up on end, and she saw that the shadow's back was to her.