Lethal Blow: (Succubus Hitwoman Book 2) by Eliza Hendrix (love books to read TXT) 📕

What I’m asking Rachel is so insane it just might work.

“So, do I have to take it out of me, or what?”

Drax doesn’t look impressed, but I can tell he knows this is the only way.

“A bit,” I say, handing Rachel one of my knives.

She takes it reluctantly and lets it hover over her left palm.

“I don’t understand,” Ace says, stopping Rachel before she applies pressure. “Why is she the one doing this?”

No one says anything, which is explanation enough. With eyes doubled in size, he gapes at Rachel. “You’re related to—”

Rachel nods. “Apparently. So, am I doing this, or what? I do want to point out that this is some serious stuff. Once the portal opens, I don’t think we should leave it open.”

Ace stretches his swollen jaw and something pops. “Rachel’s right. I’ve seen someone create a blood portal once in my life, and the result, well… Let’s say it wasn’t a success.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Drax asks.

Behind him, Mr. Mushroom barks like he understands what we’re talking about.

“Things don’t always go as planned,” I say. “But what choice do we have? The world is about to go to shit. I can guarantee you that the war has already started—”

“About that…” Ace says, sounding like he’s withholding some big dark secret.

He may very well be, so I give him a stern look that translates to, I don’t have all day.

“I overheard a few people talking during the Battalion meeting. The Council of Elders will attempt to cast an Interruptu spell.”

Everyone in the room gasps, including me, which makes me feel like a total moron. “That’s impossible.”

He shakes his head. “I know it sounds insane, but this could change everything.”

Rachel, still standing awkwardly with my blade in her palm, grimaces at us like we’re speaking in another language. “What is that?”

“It pauses all feeble life,” I say. “Every feeble on Earth gets placed into this isolation realm and when they return, they have no idea what happened to them.”

“Well—” Drax says.

I roll my eyes. “The Council of Elders will never admit it, but they use the spell on certain individuals for unknown reasons. Some of these people have come forward with unusual marks on them, claiming they’ve been abducted by aliens.”

“Can you blame them?” Drax says. “That’s pretty invasive.”

I swat the air in front of my face. “Who cares about privacy? That’s not my point. I’ve never heard of the council being able to pull this off worldwide.”

“Doesn’t mean it’s never happened,” Ace says.

“Well, it hasn’t in the last thousand years,” I say. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but there’s no way they’ll pull it off.”

“Still,” Ace says. “It’s a possibility. If we wait a while longer and the Council of Elders gets feebles out of our way—”

“It isn’t happening,” I cut him off. “And we can’t rely on some miracle to make this easier for us. We need to stop whoever stole the book and the amulet before things get out of hand. The longer we wait, the worse things will get.”

He tightens his lips.

Loud crunching fills the room, and everyone turns to look at Drax sitting on the bed with chips falling out of his mouth. “Hold up,” Drax says, bits of chip flakes bursting into the air. “Why are we the ones doing this? The Council of Elders has its own army.”

I point at Rachel with my nose. “But we have her.”

“Why didn’t you tell the Battalion people, or whatever they’re called?” Drax asks. But then he catches a glimpse of Rachel’s fake ring and snaps his fingers. “Oh, I get it. Don’t know who you can trust, right? For all we know, someone’ll kidnap her and kill her to stop her from—”

“Drax,” I hiss, and he stops talking.

His yellow eyes dart at Rachel. “Sorry, kid.”

Rachel doesn’t seem too bothered by it. From where I’m standing, it looks like she’s ready and willing to give this a shot.

I pause, my stare lingering on the carpet floor. If only I could get ahold of Veerka. She’s the one who sent me on this wild goose chase to begin with. So where is she now? Is she even on our side? If she isn’t, why send me to the Battalion? It doesn’t make sense. I’m surprised that this is the first time I think about her in hours, which I suppose makes sense given the fact that a dragon swallowed me and all.

“Are you ready?” I ask.

Rachel nods.

“Once I go in, close the portal. So long as I can get to Zerachu, we’ll be able to get out.”

“What?” Ace says. “You’re the one going in?”

My eyes narrow on him. Is he an idiot? Who else is supposed to go in? Rachel may be the one opening the portal, but no way in hell am I letting her go in there. There’s no telling what’s waiting on the other side, which means the right candidate is someone who knows how to defend themselves.

“I’ll go,” he says.

I scoff, though I don’t mean to. “I don’t need a hero, Ace. I’m a strong, independent woman who’s quite capable—”

Something slithers around my ankles and I let out a high-pitched shriek. The moment I jump backward, I realize it’s the iguana from earlier. Well, the dragon.

“What the hell is that thing doing in here?” I snap.

“Leave Spike alone,” Rachel says, bending down to pick him up.

“Spike,” I repeat. “How original.”

She pets the little spikes on the lizard’s head and its eyes turn into black lines.

“You plan on keeping that thing?” I ask.

She scratches him between the eyes. “For now.”

I’m about to say something mean, so instead, I wiggle a finger at the blade she’s holding. “Let’s get this over with.”

Chapter