Chapter 31 #2
My sword vanishes on command, but I conjure another stream to wrap around its throat and throw it off me.
It doesn’t stay down for long, hopping right back up like all I did was give it a light shove.
Blade returning, I take my stance, letting the smile of destruction play on my lips.
The creature lets out an inhuman snarl, screeching so loud I’m surprised my ears don’t bleed.
My headache returns with a vengeance, prying at the walls of my skull, threatening to break my focus.
I grind my teeth, hoping to keep the pain at bay, but it’s relentless. The Demicrogen runs full force at me, so fast it’s nearly impossible for my eyes to track. It attempts to go sideways, but I mirror its direction, not willing to give him an edge.
That same familiar pulse beats inside me, the same one I felt moments before killing the one in Nefarium.
Panic seizes me, not wanting 306 to see the light I can’t even explain myself.
But it’s too late. There’s nothing more I can do, because one second, it’s fifty yards away, then the next…
I’m plunging my sword deep into its chest cavity.
It wails, flinging its limbs, stretching its bony, finger-like talons toward my face, trying to get one last swipe in before its untimely end.
There it is. That tingling sensation moving through my body. I beg for this blasted creature to die from the blade, to not force me to expose something I know nothing about. But the gods aren’t on my side.
The tiny ball of light travels up through the hilt, getting lost beneath the belly of the beast before exploding with blinding rays.
Body parts fly, brain matter smacks me across the face, and I fight the urge to puke.
Finally, the torso lands with a wet flop, immediately soaking the surrounding grass in blood.
Chest heaving, the sword disintegrates, the rest of my shadows recede, and I’m left feeling absolutely exhausted. What the fuck was that? I’ve never heard or seen anything like it. The first time, I thought it was a fluke, but a second time?
Wiping tissue, skin, and whatever else off my clothes, it flings onto the ground with a sickening smack.
“What was that?” 306’s voice sounds behind me.
I take my time facing him, the anger I harbored this morning threatening to breach the surface. “Your guess is as good as mine,” I respond smugly. “Care to explain why the fuck you ran off?”
“I thought there were more over that way.” He hikes a thumb over his shoulder. “Thought I’d check it out. You seemed to have everything under control.” What a piss-poor excuse.
“Yeah, right. Let’s go with that.” Irritation bubbles to the surface, and I can’t find it in me to care.
His eyes squint briefly, head tilting to the side as if analyzing me. “You feeling okay?” I know that look, that tone. It’s the one he gets right before the needle pierces my arm. My eyes dart to the bag he’s been keeping close this entire trip, never letting it out of his sight or out of reach.
Until now.
There’s a standoff, neither of us moving. But then he stomps his foot down, causing the ground to shake and creating a crack between me and the bag. He bolts toward it, his arms outstretched, commanding vines to wrap around the handle.
But I’m faster.
I throw three shadows in his direction. One wraps around his legs, tripping him, and I relish in the sickening crunch his nose makes when he lands. Another makes quick work at tearing the vines off the bag, and the last snags the handle, carrying it safely over to me.
“Callum?” My eyes blow wide. Kallie’s cautious voice soothes all the wounds too deep to see.
“Yes, Princess?” While I wait for her response, I secure the bag and drag 306 high in the air by his ankles.
“Nefarium,” is all she whispers. But I want more. More of her voice, more of her words, more time. But that is all I get. Not even a chance to say goodbye.
I drop 306, uncaring what he does now that I have the serums. As he rises, he releases a manic laughter that causes my hackles to rise.
“You almost had me,” he says, shaking his head.
“You don’t give me enough credit.” My eyebrows pull together with confusion, but in an instant, he vanishes out of thin air.
Shadows take their mark, ready to attack when he shows his face.
There isn’t even a shift in the air as he appears behind me, and I only know he’s there once the needle pricks me in the side of my neck.
I catch sight of the liquid in the tube before it’s all gone. Blue. “What is that?” I snarl, dropping the bag and ripping the syringe out of my flesh.
“A contingency plan. You don’t think I was stupid enough to keep all of them in a bag, do you?”
“Yes, actually.” Whatever he gave me acts fast, but not nearly as fast as the green.
He takes a few steps closer, and I try to fight off the poison. “Where are we headed next?”
I manage to push out a choked laugh. “Why would I tell you?”
“Because I asked so nicely.”
“I’m not telling you anyth—”
“Where are we headed next?” he repeats, cutting me off.
The word almost slips out, but I hold it in. He repeats himself over and over again, chipping away at the barrier. “I’m not—”
“Where are we headed next?” For some unknown reason, that’s the one that breaks me. Maybe it was exhaustion fanning, the working of the serum he served me, but I come undone at his question, my tongue loose, freely giving out information.
I mutter the one word I knew would destroy her, the one that would obliterate any remaining trust to bits. But it was against my will, not of my choosing, and I pray that she’ll understand. Pray that she’ll forgive.
“Nefarium.”