Chapter 51
CHAPTER FIFTY ONE
Dark magic burned its way through my veins, my eyes watering and muscles cramping as I fought to hold the monster back. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep it at bay much longer but if I could only buy Everest enough time to do what she had to then that was all I needed.
A Reaper managed to get past Bastian, his yell of warning the only thing that saved me from taking a dagger to the back.
I threw myself at the gold-cloaked bastard, my fist colliding with his jaw and boot striking the side of his knee.
He crumpled with a wail of agony and my dagger cut his throat open a heartbeat later, the ether roaring potently in thanks for the sacrifice I’d offered it.
But no matter how much death I fed it, the power I could channel wasn’t enough to hold back the thing which was rising from the depths of that abyss.
I shoved the body down in front of me, dropping to my knees to use his blood to paint runes against the stone surrounding the chasm where the eschaton star fought to break free. My fingertips were raw from how many times I’d done it, the runes painted over the top of one another time and again.
My ears were ringing, my fingers trembling as I pushed my hold on the dark magic to its limits.
Ether roared in my ears, burning out of me, and I knew I was summoning too much of it.
A drop was all Moya had taught me to command.
But I was calling on a flood and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to withstand the force of holding onto it for much longer.
I blinked as bloodied tears slipped from my eyes, painting twin paths down my cheeks. The sound of fighting and the bellows of the eschaton star seemed further away with each strike of my pulse.
The sacrifice I’d given the ether would buy Everest a few more minutes at best. After that, I wasn’t sure what would become of me.
“You can do this, Everest!” I yelled, my voice a rasp that warned of my oncoming demise and how little time I had left. Time wasn’t on our side and the thing in that hole was going to burst free at any moment.
Metal rang against metal, the iron tang of blood coated my tongue and it was all I could do to maintain my grip on the ether for a few moments longer.
The rest was up to her.