Biting Cold: A Chicagoland Vampires Novel (CHICAGOLAND VAMPIRES SERIES)

must have been right.
    “Is she controlling the weather now?” I wondered aloud.
    “It’s not a real tornado,” Todd said. “It’s magic.”
    Visible magic, just like Tate could do, which did not make me feel any better.
    Ethan winced, squeezing his hands closed as, I assumed, he battled Mallory back mentally.
    “You okay?” I asked him.
    “I’ll manage,” he said, but as a harsh, magical wind that smelled of smoke and sulfur began to pour across the land, I wasn’t exactly confident he was going to stay that way.
    I looked down at our new ally. “What’s the plan, Todd?”
    Todd adjusted his small, conical hat. “We stop this. There are more of us than there are of her.”
    His confidence was surprising . . . and not entirely believable. I couldn’t imagine the three of us were going to be much of a match against a woman who had the power to move heaven and earth.
    “Three to one aren’t great odds,” I said.
    Todd laughed mirthlessly. “No, but they aren’t the correct odds, either. Guys?”
    The forest floor erupted into a carpet of gnomes. They emerged from open splits in nearby trees and what looked like burrows in the ground, and spilled out around us, probably a hundred in all, all in the same primary-colored uniforms and white caps, long beards extending nearly to their belts.
    The ground looked like the overstock aisle at a garden accessory store.
    Todd put his fingers between his lips and made an ear-shattering whistle. Like troops before a flag, they gathered to attention.
    “The witch is nearly here,” he said, “and we know what she’s going for.”
    The gnomes nodded in agreement, and there were whispers of “the book” across the sea of them.
    “Across the woods and stream is the door to the silo,” Todd said. “She must not reach it or the book. She must not cross the stream. We cannot allow it, or for the evil to fly across the land again.”
    Todd pointed at a gnome who was wearing a particularly garish pair of plaid pants. “Keith, take the left flank. Mort, take your crew down the right. Frank will cross the stream and keep an eye on the rear, and I’ll lead my crew head-on.”
    Those orders given, Todd began discussing specific strategies with his troops. It was an amazing thing to behold, and I was ashamed I’d doubted him and assumed he was any less of a soldier because of his stature. He ordered his troops around with the aplomb of a seasoned general and the adeptness of an expert tactician.
    Unfortunately, not even Todd was entirely sure what Mallory would do—and I wasn’t, either. I knew she could work a spell, and I knew she could throw orbs of magic that hurt like hell when they made contact. (I’d had orb-avoidance training with Catcher.) We all knew what she wanted, and we knew she was intent on doing whatever it took to get it, regardless of how many people she hurt along the way.
    When the gnomes began to take their positions, I looked to Todd. “What do you want us to do?”
    “What can you do?” He didn’t sound confident he’d be impressed by my answer.
    I tapped the pommel of my sword. “We’re both good with steel. Also, I know her. I could help with distraction.”
    “How so?”
    I looked around. “If the goal is keeping her on this side of the trees, maybe I can distract her so your troops can surround her? It might help your flanks get better position.”
    “That’s not a horrible idea,” Todd said, but Ethan wasn’t impressed.
    “You will not use yourself as bait,” he gritted out.
    I hadn’t thought about it in those terms, but he probably wasn’t too far off base. And I knew he meant it protectively, but my safety was secondary. Our first—and only—priority was keeping Mallory away from the Maleficium .
    I faced Ethan. “I still stand Sentinel of Cadogan House,” I reminded him. “I’ll do what it takes to keep you safe.”
    “Merit—”
    “Ethan,” I quietly, but sternly, interrupted. “ I have to do this, and you know it. I can’t stand around and let other people fight this battle for me. I have more honor than that. You wouldn’t have let me stand Sentinel otherwise.” But was it honorable? I was helping set up my best friend for an ambush. Sure, I wanted to throttle her and scream at her, but I didn’t want her hurt.
    “How exactly are you going to stop her?” I asked Todd.
    “We’re gnomes,” he said. “Skilled warriors.”
    “Could you not kill her? Please?”
    Todd blinked at me, that