CHAPTER FIVE #2
The chimera released a nightmarish howl, one that sent chills down my spine and twisted my stomach. My vision blurred. That was all it took. I was gone, my mind no longer in the tavern, no longer able to focus on the destruction and chaos surrounding me.
It was winter. I was in the woods with my mother, traveling by carriage to Eskalon to once again try to negotiate peace.
We never made it past the border. We were ambushed. King Tirian’s guards had appeared without warning, slinking out from the shadows of the trees, their swords drawn, the sigil of House Lafir on their cloaks.
The blue moonstag. Red flames behind its wings.
That sigil still haunted me.
Two of our guards survived the ambush. But then the chimera came, older and larger than anything I’d ever seen.
A true beast of the old world. A demon who’d lived for centuries.
It had the body of a bull covered in black bear fur, stripes of silver to show its age.
Two heads sat atop it. One of a lion, the other a fire-breathing cobra.
And for a tail, a long black snake with a poisonous bite.
Our surviving guards were killed within seconds. Trampled, then burned.
And then the beast charged straight at me. But its eyes were on my mother.
The chimera before me was just as large.
Its fur was black and thick, striped with silver.
As ancient as my last foe, likely as powerful and deadly.
For its heads, on the right was the skull of a goat with smoky white eyes, chomping its teeth.
And on the left, another lion head, this one blowing smoke from its wide nostrils, preparing to breathe fire.
To burn Cecelia alive. The poisonous snake poked its head out from behind where the tail was meant to be.
I ran and hoisted the torch above my head, aiming for the beast. My eyes affixed to it as I pulled my arm back and sent the fire flying like a javelin.
The torch struck between its heads, the flames blazing and burning. The goat bleated out a bone-chilling shriek of pain. The lion’s eyes glowed red with fury as the beast rose onto its hind legs.
I leapt onto the ruined stage, pulling Cecelia up into my arms.
“You’re okay,” I said quietly, not spotting any major injuries. I tried to hold her closer to me, but my arms were already strained from her weight. This body hadn’t been made for this—the arms had been toned enough to dance, and thin enough to appeal to the men.
“S-S-Samara?” Cecelia asked, her face pale.
My calves burned as I hoisted her up again.
I breathed into my magic stores, pushing it into my arm muscles, my arms thickening into limbs that did not fit the body I wore.
The material began to stretch as my newly made muscles pushed against my tunic.
But I didn’t care if I looked ridiculous, as long as my arms continued to hold her.
“I’ve got you,” I said, cradling her to my chest, another burst of dizziness washing through me. I’d already shifted more than I was used to.
“No, no, no,” she cried.
“We have to get outside,” I said. The chimera was going to attack us at any second.
I took off, leaping back onto the tavern’s floor, then dashed around an overturned table, almost crashing into a set of broken chair legs. A second later, a torch fell on another table. The wood burst into flames. Soon, this tavern would be nothing but ash.
Where was Finlay? Was he safe? Had he gotten out? Thomas? Our waitstaff? The cooks? And what about Brennan? Where was he? Had he found Rowan and Kienan?
I silently begged the Gods, both the old and the new. Begged that he was already outside, that he and his friends were on their way home. That he abandoned the idea of fighting, and that no harm came to him, not until his strength returned. Not until he regained the energy I’d stolen.
“No, no, no,” Cecelia continued.
“You’re going to be okay. Once we get outside, we’ll get help,” I said. “We can get away from here.”
“No, no,” she cried. Then her eyes widened, looking up at me. “We won’t.”
Another howl blasted across the room. The howl of a wolf. Not a lion, not a goat.
I nearly heaved my guts up on the spot.
We weren’t just facing one adult monster. We were facing two.
I spotted it hiding in the shadows, surrounded by a dozen men, their blades drawn, swords brandished. Each one was trying to corner the beast. Fuck! They didn’t know the chimera wanted to be there. That it was herding them together, lulling them into an attack.
Behind me, the half-lion, half-goat slammed its heads against the tavern wall, extinguishing its flames. Wisps of smoke rose from its neck. The pungent scent of burnt flesh prickled against my nostrils. Four eyes blazed with hunger and fury, staring right through me.
It pulled its bull-like leg back, its hooved foot stomping against the embers of my torch, preparing to charge. I knew the look it wore. I’d seen it before.
“Hey!” Finlay yelled. “You! Brute!”
My heart stopped as the monster’s eyes moved to my friend. He raced forward, carrying a spear as tall as he was. And by his side ran a redheaded man brandishing a sword. Rowan.
I set Cecelia down at once. “Run,” I told her. “Run now!”
“No! You’re—you’re coming with me? Aren’t you, Samara?” she cried. “Please!”