Haunted Moon Read Online Free Page B

trying to evade my attacker, a blur roared past me, and the goblin went flying. I squinted, trying to see what the hell had just happened.
    And there, standing between me and the goblin horde, was Smoky. And he was
pissed
.

Chapter 2

I didn’t interrupt, just pulled back and let my dragon do his thing. I turned as Shade and Vanzir swept past me, joining the fight. Delilah was right behind them, holding an extra dagger. She tossed it to me. I caught the hilt, grinning at her. Six months ago, I would have dropped it, but I’d been learning a lot of tricks during my workouts.
    “Thanks! Mine’s stuck in a goblin’s skull.”
    “Help Chase while I take your place.” She pushed past me and I willingly gave way. My sister was six one, athletic as all hell, and with her short golden shag and sentient silver dagger, she was a deadly opponent. She winked as she passed by. “I actually think I’ve missed this.”
    Chase was reloading and took aim at another goblin coming at us. He fired, but the bullet—though it met its mark—ricocheted off the metal epaulettes on the goblin’s shoulder. The crack of the gun ripped through the air as the smell of burned powder singed my nose.
    “Fuck, I’m out of ammo.” He growled, putting the safety on. He slid his gun back into the holster. I glanced around,looking for something that he could use as a weapon. Then I saw it—one of the dead goblins had a sword and it was near enough for me to grab. No doubt the blade was poisoned, but if Chase was cautious, he should be able to use it with no problem.
    I darted into the fray—which was now a mishmash of movement in the twilight—and picked up the sword, careful to touch only the hilt. “You have gloves, Chase?”
    He nodded, pulling out a pair of latex gloves. “I always carry a pair just in case we run into evidence.”
    “Here, don’t touch the blade—ten to one, it’s poisoned and goblin poisons can absorb through your skin. But it will give you something to keep the bogies at bay.” As I handed him the sword, hilt first, he hefted it and nodded at me. I quickly turned my back to his, so we weren’t caught unawares from either side.
    The battle was fully under way. Delilah had engaged two of the goblins, spinning and ducking as she darted in and out of the fray, Lysanthra—her dagger—shimmering in the dim light. Like a cat on her feet—no surprise since she
was
a werecat—Delilah was sturdy and steady in her movements. I envied her that, but our bodies weren’t the same shape, and I would never have her abilities. But then again, she didn’t wield magic. We each had our own talents.
    She kicked one of the goblins in the stomach as she thrust her dagger under the chin of the other and with one smooth movement ratcheted the tip up through his jaw. As he fell, she neatly withdrew her blade, keeping it in hand. The other goblin landed a nasty blow on her knee, and she wavered for a moment before launching a renewed assault on him. Within minutes, he was on his back, against one of the graves, and she landed a clean, quick jab, impaling him through the heart.
    As another came at her, I glanced over at Smoky, who was racing—a blur of motion, his nails grown into talons. He never got dirty, never got muddied or bloodied on his clothes, even if he took a hit that cut his skin. My mother-in-law had told me it was a dragon thing, and if I could havebottled the ability, we could have made a fortune and put the laundry detergent companies out of business.
    Smoky barreled through the line of goblins as they spilled to the sides, diving for cover when they saw the fury in his eyes and the blood flying in his wake. Vanzir was also embroiled in a fight and doing a damned good job. He had taken on one of the bone-walkers and was smashing it to bits. The skeletal limbs would continue to twitch until the animation spell wore off, but they couldn’t do any harm.
    As for Shade, he had engaged a pair of bone-walkers. As a purple