Cursed: Out of Ash and Flame by E.C. Farrell (epub e ink reader .txt) 📕

Upper lip curving into a sneer, Yaritza pinches my wrist with her fingers, refusing to drop her crowbar. Resisting a groan, I mutter the spell quickly, transferring the spell once again. Blood rolls from a corner of my mouth as our tattoos warm with magic and my connection to Max snaps.

Instantly, Yaritza straightens. “Once I’ve taken care of this mess, I’ll be back to deal with you. If you’re wise, you’ll run while you still have the chance.”

In an instant, she vanishes from sight, taking Max with her, and leaving me broken and bleeding in the grass.

TERROR AND PANIC ROOT me in agonizing consciousness. My aching body begs me to fade out, but I refuse to let it. I have to move. Now. Dig my gun out of my backpack and reset. Not every bone is broken. Something has to work. Unfortunately, only my eyes move, and just barely. Yaritza got in a pretty good hit on the side of my head. I can barely keep one of my lids open as the skin swells. All around me, spells and gunfire crackle the air, slamming into the ground and kicking up dirt.

Multiple sets of boots pound the ground nearby. The hope rising in my chest takes a dive when a trio of strangers surrounds me. A small woman with short dark hair and gauges in her earlobes bends over me, mouth twisted in a sneer.

That’s a good sign.

“Where did she take him?” She asks, a very animal snarl garbling her words.

She must be some kind of animal shifter.

My laughter morphs instantly into a bloody cough and I wrap my unbroken arm around my middle. “What about our interaction makes you think Yaritza and I are on the same team anymore?” I ask, when the fit dies down.

The shifter drops into a crouch and grabs my jaw. “But you know who the buyer is.”

Pulse picking up with frustration, I spit blood, narrowly missing her arm. “If I did, why would I tell you? As far as I know, you’re just another rival hunter trying to get the bounty.”

I don’t have time for this. Every second sliding by is another second Yaritza has to get Max to Iris. At her level of power, she’ll be able to water travel him much faster and with less consequences. If I’m going to save Max, I’ll have to find a way to die and reset fast.

Another blast of magic shakes the ground. One of the other women lifts a hand and the air quivers, blocking a shower of rocks and branches. Battle cries fade a little as her shield envelopes our small group.

The woman bent over me growls again. “Calling us bounty hunters is an insult.”

Man, we have a trash reputation.

I let my lower lip protrude in a pout, seeing another way out of this. “Well now you’ve gone and hurt my feelings.”

Claws grow from the tips of the shifter’s fingers, slicing into my skin. “Tell me who put the bounty out, or I will tear your jaw from your head.”

“That’s going to make it really hard for me to tell you much of anything.”

Pupils narrowing to slits, the woman lashes out with a hand, dragging deep slashes down my side. A scream I can’t control rubs my throat raw. My brain fights back in spite of the pain. If I can get her riled enough, get her reckless with rage, she might kill me. Then I can die and heal and fight back.

I force laughter again. “I didn’t realize you knew my kinks. Blood is hot.”

“Do not mock me.” Her teeth shapen into fangs, and she lifts her half-shifted hand again.

“Stop!” Hank’s voice cuts through the blare of pain in my ears.

The women around me turn, springing back when he and Brynn fly into their midst. Wings sprout from Hank’s shoulders, clearly identifying himself as a gargoyle. He folds them up when he lands, the shield spell fading to allow him inside. Crouching in front of me, he uses the tip of one of his wings to shove the woman with the claws away from me.

I wave a falsely dismissive hand at him and lower my voice to a fake whisper. “You’re ruining my perfect plan. She was about to kill me so I could heal up.”

Standing back a few paces, the woman bares her sharp teeth at me, but doesn’t dare approach a gargoyle.

“Lookin’ pretty rough, kiddo,” Hank says, his features twisting.

“Really? Well, I feel great.” I give him the a-okay sign. “What was the ruckus out there? Having a party?”

“Rival hunters,” Hank says. “Brynn and I took care of them.”

“Brilliant.” I click my tongue. “Now let’s ditch these people and go save Max.”

“Wait,” the shifter says. “You’re trying to save him?”

I pop up a thumb, holding back a whimper. “Ding, ding, ding.” A cough racks my body again and tears streams down my face. Way to waste time on witty banter, Fee. When I can breathe again, I look up at her through blurred vision. “What do you want with him?”

The woman huffs, her claws retracting. “We’re Amazons. We’re attempting to save him as well. Aren’t you a hunter?”

“Can we sort through the details later?” I ask, barely keeping the whine out of my voice. “Time’s a wastin’.”

“You’ll need a healer,” one of the Amazons says.

“I need a gun, or cranky lady’s claws. Take me out and I’ll come back good as new.”

With one less life to spare.

I gag at both this thought, and the taste of blood. This might be true, but I will fulfill my promise to Max and do whatever I can to make sure he doesn’t have to suffer for his mom’s actions.

“You want us to kill you?” The woman with claws asks, upper lip drawing back in confusion.

“I have a condition.”

She presses her fists into her hip bones.

“I’m cursed to die and come back every day,” I say. “It works if I’m killed too. Now would