Shattered (the Spellbound Series Book 2) by Rene Lanausse Page B

chunk out of the tree he was hiding behind. While he’s recovering, I pin him to the tree, and use a spell to dissolve the wood around his body, until he’s practically one with the tree, nothing but his face exposed.
                  Six contenders left.
                  My heart hammers against my chest as I scan the night for the other spellcasters. Surely, they haven’t turned tail and fled already… have they? No, a poorly aimed spell whizzes by my ear, and I fire one of my own back in the general direction it came from. A loud groan emanates from the darkness, but I’m not satisfied that my victim is down for the count just yet. Two dark shapes materialize from the trees on either side of me, and time seems to slow down as one of them aims a kick at my midsection.
                  Faster than I ever thought possible, my hand wraps around the spellcaster’s leg, and I bend it backwards with the intent to leave him incapacitated. Instead, a loud snap reverberates through the otherwise quiet woods, followed by a shriek as my opponent registers that I’ve snapped his tibia in half. I only let my shock immobilize me for a split second, taking advantage of the other spellcaster’s paralysis to swing her partner right into her, sending them both crashing to the ground hard.
                  Three down, four to go.
                  I look down at my hands, surprised at what they’re apparently capable of. Navarro did warn me; I can almost hear his quiet, pensive tone as his words repeat in my head: Like with some people that are bitten but not turned, you might enjoy the benefits of vampirism like agility and night vision under duress. And just like that, the world around me comes into stark clarity, what little light there is to be found growing brighter until it nearly looks like daytime. I can feel a slight tingle in my jaw, but I ignore it, hoping that my tiny excuses for fangs won’t show themselves this time.
                  Now I can see my four remaining attackers, rushing at me from their hiding spots between the trees. Rather than rush towards them, I let them come, even clasping my hands together behind my back as they approach. It quickly becomes clear that my newfound speed is too much for them to match; I successfully dodge each of their attacks, even ducking out of the way so that they’ll accidentally hit one another at least once. It’s become child’s play.
    As soon as I’m tired of toying with my opponents, I drop into a crouch, and jump as high as I can, landing up in the middle branches of a tree above us, much to my surprise. I’d only been testing my newfound limits, I had no idea that I could actually jump this high. I hesitate a little too long once I’m airborne though, and a spell from the ground hits me square in the chest. A cry of pain escapes my lips as I sail backwards, my body twisting in midair of its own volition as I crash through branches and leaves. I land hard on my feet, the ground beneath me buckling and cracking from the impact.
    It looks like Nick was right; as long as the vampire part of me is active, my body is also much more durable than normal. Such a fall would have broken a normal person’s ankles at the least. My heart sinks when I look down at the ground, though; I’m standing on what was once a memorial dedicated to John Lennon’s memory, the word Imagine inscribed in a circle surrounded by a black and white tiled design. Now several cracks and jagged raised sections plague the once beautiful attraction.
                  Luckily, the only people in the park at this hour are the homeless people hogging the benches, and even the sound of me slamming into the ground didn’t rouse them. The last of the spellcasters materialize around the memorial, noticing with awe that I’m still standing. And then fear spreads across their faces one by one when they notice my cold expression. I’m