My Ex From Hell (The Blooming Goddess Trilogy, #1)

A little carnage is a dangerous thing (Part 4)

She had emerged from between the laurel trees, also garbed in a white flowing robe, with a black tattoo woven around her upper arm. She held a wriggling snake.

Years of hanging with Hannah, lover of all creatures deadly, enabled me to instantly recognize the scaly darling as a small Python.

"Seems Bethany's been reunited with a not-so-distant member of her family tree. Cold blooded, tiny brain, so many traits in common," I said.

The others leaned in to watch as Bethany, a smug expression on her face, picked up a wooden cup from the ground and held it to Cassie's lips for her to drink.

"Whoa," Theo exclaimed. "Bethany is gorgeous."

"And then some," Kai agreed.

"Hannah, punch them for me," I said, looking to her for support. "Hannah?"

She was racing toward the tiny bridge. I shot my light out to yank her back, before she was seen.

"Let go," she said, struggling. "I want to be with Bethany."

"Are you all insane?" I glanced back at Bethany. On closer inspection, she did seem to be glowing with hotness. And a compelling confidence as she turned and strode back toward the laurel trees.

Hmmm. No boys, no luxuries, apparently willingly waiting on someone hand and foot? "Stupid cow wasn't abducted. Delphyne bought her support with those amped up looks."

"Good trade," Kai said.

I smacked him, then shook my shoulders out and psyched myself up. "Count of three. Keep an eye out for Bethany when we fire."

"Don't hurt her," Hannah begged.

"I won't." On purpose. I couldn't be held responsible for accidents.

"Theo and Hannah, you get Cassie."

Hannah nodded and pulled the scarves from her belt loops. She handed one to Theo. "Tie her legs. I'll do her wrists. She may struggle when we carry her, but at least she can't flail out and smack us."

"Smart," I commented.

"You thought I was just accessorizing, didn't you?" she retorted.

Guilty as charged.

I took a deep breath. "One, two, three." The second we bolted forward, Delphyne left her position at Cassie's feet and took to the sky with a screech.

Heavy purple wings unfolded from her back. The exact shade of her body, they'd been so cleverly folded against her that I hadn't noticed them until they unfurled. I was amazed something that huge could fly so easily.

No time to gape. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Theo and Hannah bolt for Cassie so I immediately sent my ribbons toward Delphyne in order to dust her into oblivion. They slid right off her scales.

Not a problem. Instead, I blasted wave after wave of green light at the dragon from my eyes and palms. I could have just destroyed her with my full-body shockwave but since that would have taken out my friends, too, I was limited to single blast combat.

The waves flew from my eyes and my palms, rippling outward like a sonic blast of slaughter. Delphyne was taking some hard hits. In her pain, she howled high notes I wouldn't have thought audible to the human ear.

But my barrage barely slowed her down. She barreled toward me, talons out, spewing fire, focused in her madness.

I narrowly ducked a swiping talon to my face. Why was this hulking creature so much harder to kill than the regular minions that kept after me? She must have been higher up on the Greek mythology food chain than those peons, and thus imbued with more power, because I wasn't even causing one teeny scale to turn white with age.

Lucky me.

I reached the narrow bridge. I could cross it, but Theo and Hannah didn't need my help tying Cassie up. She wasn't fighting them, merely continuing to chant.

Since Delphyne was more than willing to travel to me, I convinced myself there was no need to traverse something I'd probably trip off of anyway.

I had no idea where Kai had disappeared to. I tried to look for him between blasting and dodging but couldn't get a sense of his location.

Something slithered onto my neck. I screamed and swatted at myself, hard. Bethany's python fell to the ground. I blasted the damn snake to bits.

"Rosie!" My head was yanked back by my hair as Bethany wailed on me for killing her pet.

"You insane bitch! Let go." I want some applause at this point for not just killing her outright and putting me out of my misery. I was still trying to honor Hannah's stupid rules about protecting humans. Or Bethany.

"When are you going to learn you can't compete?" Bethany glared into my eyes and I realized that Delphyne was not the only insane creature on the block. "I am the human incarnation of Beauty in the universe and all are drawn to me."

Then she decked me with a pretty beautiful right cross. As I stumbled back from the punch, she grabbed me and dragged me toward the bridge.

"Hannah!" I shouted. "Can I break the damn rule now?"

I saw her look between Bethany and me and hesitate.

Screw that. Shooting a ribbon of light from my palm, I wrapped it around Bethany's ankle and yanked her upside down so that we were face-to-face in a weird parody of the Spiderman kissing scene. Her arm with the tattoo dangled limply by her ear.

A small figure of a dragon woven amongst the laurel leaves which ran around her forearm. I guessed the tattoo was how Delphyne had given Bethany her mojo. Maybe I could amputate her arm some day. That would be fun.

"Listen up, skankass," I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Delphyne land and raise her tail for a slashing of vicious proportions.

I'd fallen back into that same eerily calm center I'd been in when fighting the Infernorators and Gold Crushers. Or maybe I was just giddy at having Bethany where I wanted her.

Anyway, as Delphyne's tail whipped toward me, I jumped it like a skipping rope, then snapped my Bethany whip out to conk Delphyne in the head.

Bethany yelped. Delphyne roared and rose up on her hind legs. Gulp. She was really tall. I blasted the rock at her feet, causing it to crumble and Delphyne to fall backward. Her fire arced, useless, toward the sky. That ought to buy me some time.

Bethany screamed.

"Shut it," I snarled, as I swung her back for the rest of our quality time.

"Or what?" She postured. "I'm gonna tell Principal Doucette and you're going to be so expelled."

I blasted Delphyne with my right hand, knocking the dragon even back further, almost to the lip of the rock. "Quiet, wannabe. Beauty fades but awesome goddess powers rock forever." I shook the still upside-down-and-reddening Bethany to make my point.

She spewed out a bunch more meanness, invoking all sorts of colorful slurs on my person, personality, and descendants.

Okay. So done with her. I tossed her to the side where she fell in a crumpled heap and finally, blessedly, stayed silent.