Her jaw tightened.<\/p>\n
They\u2019re strong wards, but they won\u2019t be enough if they\u2019re here in force.<\/em><\/p>\n She could see them out there, lurking among the trees, slender, terrifying shadows that watched, waited.<\/p>\n They must know there\u2019s wards here. They\u2019re looking for an opening, for a weakness.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s only a matter of time before they strike.<\/em><\/p>\n Leinth took a deep breath, then another, exhaling slowly.<\/p>\n She crouched and pressed her hand into the melting snow near her feet.<\/p>\n Winter was fading, but the snow was still here. That, at least, was something.<\/p>\n You trade in death, nightsister. Mete it out and save those who\u2019ve taken you in and given you shelter. It is, in fact, the least you can do.<\/em><\/p>\n Her eyes fluttered shut.<\/p>\n Something hit the line of wards ahead of her, sending green-white energy crackling through the air.<\/p>\n The creature that had thrown itself at the border between the outside and the inside screamed<\/em>.<\/p>\n Leinth\u2019s eyes snapped open and she came to her feet, hands finding the daggers she wore at her belt, the ones she hadn\u2019t stopped<\/em> wearing despite living in the relative safety of the tiny community perched on that destroyed university campus.<\/p>\n \u201cDirae<\/em>,\u201d she spat, her eyes narrowing. \u201cHell\u2019s bitches waiting on her<\/em> call. When are you going to realize that he\u2019s never going to join you?\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the creature that had thrown itself against the barrier was one of the dirae<\/em>, an ugly hag, her fingers hooked into claws, dark hair hanging in ragged curls around a face that may once have been beautiful but had been mangled by her hate. Her eyes had grown so bloodshot that they looked to be red\u2014blood red around irises that may have been blue once, or perhaps green, but were now blackened, animated only by rage and hate.<\/p>\n They had all suspected it would only be a matter of time before the Hecate returned to press her luck, to try again to claim what she wanted for her own.<\/p>\n It seemed that time had finally come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Her jaw tightened. They\u2019re strong wards, but they won\u2019t be enough if they\u2019re here in force. She could see them out there, lurking among the trees, slender, terrifying shadows that watched, waited. They must know there\u2019s wards here. They\u2019re looking … Continue reading