Savage Magic by Judy Teel Page A

guess at the expected response.  
    "You're either the stupidest human I've ever met or the bravest," Deg said as he faced me, and I didn't think it was a complement.  
    I opened my mouth to launch another taunt at him when a blazing rush of agony slammed into the top of my head and drove me to my knees. The forest around me lost focus and a wave of nausea bulldozed over me. Sweating, I clutched my stomach and bent over, gasping for breath.
    Noah dropped to his knees next to me and grabbed my shoulders to keep me from falling over. I jerked in a ragged breath and the sweet scent of moonlit meadows filled my lungs. My heart beat faster, and then burst with a bright warmth like the first rays of Spring sun after a long winter. Then, as quickly as it had come, the onslaught was gone.  
    "Cooper," I whispered. An explosion of joy rocketed through my body as our bond drenched my soul. I never wanted to be without him again.  
    Noah tensed, his fingers digging into my biceps as he pulled in a sharp breath. He shook his head and then looked at me like he was seeing me for the first time. Holding me down, he stood up and faced Deg. "She's sick. She can't continue."
    "No." I pushed his hand off of me and got to my feet as strength poured into me. My vision sharpened, taking in Deg's uncertain expression and the mixture of worried and contemptuous faces in the gathering crowd. I grit my teeth. "I owe Cooper the respect of his Clan." I tightened my grip on Wolf's Blood and rushed at Deg.
    He dodged to his left to avoid me as I expected him to do. Not a bad move if my goal had been to stab him. Instead, I turned and sprang at him, hitting him in the side with my shoulder to push him further off balance. Pivoting, I swiped my knife horizontally across the small of his back, cutting through his leather shirt and deep into his muscles.
    With a roar, he spun around, leading with his fist in a swiping blow that would have cracked my skull if I hadn't ducked under the swing. I reached up, grabbed his wrist and spun like a dancer, twisting his arm as I went. The pain of certain dislocation forced his body into the turn and as he came around, I rammed the blade of my knife into his stomach up to the hilt.
    Blood pumped over my hand as he staggered back and I lost my grip on the slippery handle. In disbelief, Deg stared at the knife sticking out of him, then reached down and yanked it out. Blood spurted from the artery, fanning out over his shirt and pouring down into the waistband of his jeans. If he'd been human, he'd only have a few moments to live before he bled out.
    But as a paranormal, he wasn't in danger. The wound across his back had already closed up and my latest strike would soon follow. If I hadn't lost my knife, I would have gone for the iliac on his thigh or the carotid if I could get to it. He'd then have lost enough blood to be too weak to bother me and I would have walked away from the fight without a scratch.  
    As it was, all I'd accomplished was to piss him off. Worse, now he had something to prove.  
    I pulled up the left leg of my jeans and went for my second knife that was strapped to my calf. Before I could get to it, Deg sent Wolf's Blood clattering against the border of stones and charged at me.  
    I sprinted for the discarded weapon, my need to reach it before Deg caught me grinding against the need to keep my speed at human levels. I dodged when he made a swipe at me and ditched that idea. Life before subterfuge. I dove for the knife.  
    Deg slammed into me from behind, tackling me to the ground as his fist smashed into my right forearm. A crunching crack of sound rang through my head as the bones broke, and Wolf's Blood dropped from my grip. I went down, the furious Were on top of me, his fists pounding into my body like jack hammers.  
    A storm of torment erupted from every strike and the instinct to shift gripped me, pushing against my will as darkness edged my vision. The beast in me churned and heaved,