Cold Burn of Magic by Jennifer Estep Read Free Book Online

guilt, and fear knife me right in the heart.
    Damn it.
    I pulled a throwing star from my belt and sent it flying. The weapon zipped across the pawnshop and sank into the guy’s right shoulder, making him howl with pain, let go of Devon, and, most important, drop his sword.
    I grabbed another star from my belt and raced down the aisle, heading straight at the wounded man. He was so focused on the weapon sticking out of his shoulder that he never even looked up, so I sliced the edges of the second star across his stomach to get his attention. He threw back his head, bellowing even louder with pain and anger, but I was already pulling out the first star from his shoulder and moving forward for another strike.
    Mortal, magick, or monster, there are certain areas that are particularly sensitive on anyone—eyes, throat, knees, groin. So that’s what I went for. I slammed my sneaker into the guy’s knee, putting all of my weight and strength behind the blow. Then, when he staggered forward, I rammed my knee into his groin. He was really screaming then.
    The guy toppled to the floor, but I wasn’t done yet. I grabbed his sword from where it had fallen. Then I brought the weapon up, around, and down—straight into his heart.
    He arched once and then went completely slack—dead.
    I stopped long enough to hook my throwing stars back onto my belt and glance at Devon, who had managed to pull himself up onto his hands and knees.
    â€œAre you okay?”
    He gasped for air, so I took that as a yes .
    By this point, Ashley, the bodyguard, had killed one of the guys and was fighting another, along with the mystery man. I tightened my grip on the dead guy’s sword and stepped forward to wade into the fight.
    At least, I tried to.
    The fourth and final guy, who’d been hanging back so far, stepped into the aisle in front of me. The overhead lights made his black, stubbly hair stand out like needles poking out of his skull. I recognized him—the leader of the three guards that had chased me across the rooftops last night. What was he doing here?
    â€œWell, well, well,” he rumbled, grinning and showing me his crooked teeth. “If it isn’t the one who got away.”
    â€œI thought you didn’t like carving up little girls.”
    He shrugged. “I might not like it, but it doesn’t bother me, either. Especially not when I’m getting paid this much for it. You’re not going to be so lucky today.”
    I twirled the sword in my hand. “We’ll see.”
    He let out a loud bellow, raised his sword, and charged at me.
    We fought through the pawnshop aisles, knocking over books, dashing bottles off counters, overturning bins of movie posters, and making a mess. The guy didn’t have all that much skill with a sword, and I was easily able to defend against his attacks. But he had a moderate Talent for strength, and each one of his blows was so sharp and hard that it threatened to jar my weapon out of my hand. I was going to have to change tactics before my own strength gave out and he managed to slap the sword away from me.
    Meanwhile, Ashley had killed the second guy and was battling the mystery man, who had drawn his own sword to counter her quick, relentless attacks. Devon managed to stagger back to his feet, although he was still trying to suck down air through his severely bruised throat. Felix remained sprawled on the floor in the front of the shop, still unconscious.
    Everything was going more or less okay—until the mystery man broke through Ashley’s defenses and stabbed her in the stomach.
    She screamed, and blood arced out from the wound—dark, red, arterial blood. Ashley collapsed to the floor, although she managed to hold on to her sword. The mystery man approached her and she lashed out with the weapon, trying to catch him across the legs. However, he sidestepped her clumsy blow and headed toward Devon, who raised his fists, even as he