Chapter 79 Samkiel
SAMKIEL
Mere moments earlier
Stones and dirt gathered at my feet as I continued to dig at that wall.
I’d told her I would, just as a precaution.
Taking a step back, I blew out a breath and placed my hands on my hips.
I curled my hand into a fist and kissed the shining ring encircling my third finger.
I was so grateful I was able to have it made before I lost Killium.
It symbolized our pledge to each other, committing ourselves to one another for all eternity, and I was grateful it allowed me to speak to her.
I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t still counting every second she was out of my sight, but then I had been doing that from the moment she had exploded into my life.
“I honestly thought you’d show yourself sooner,” I said, still staring at my ring with my back to the entrance.
“I was biding my time,” Umemri said.
My feet scraped against the stone floor as I shifted to give him my profile, tipping my head the slightest bit to look at him.
His towering figure consumed the space in the doorway.
His body twisted and writhed beneath his long, dark coat.
The pits of his eyes were bottomless and nearly as dark as the abyss he crawled from.
“Is this what you’ve been reduced to? The King of the Otherworld sends his tiny bugs to do his bidding?”
“Ah.” He smiled. “So you did see?”
“I have seen each and every one since we left the Otherworld,” I said, finally turning fully to face him.
“On every windowsill of every boarding house we stayed at, every railing post, every camping site. I just assumed you’d have the balls to actually show. I didn’t take you for such a coward.”
His huffed, deep laugh nearly obscured the sound of ripping fabric.
The shadows around him shivered, and long, thick, dark appendages tore from his back.
Dark, insidious power seeped from him as a crown formed on his head.
Sharp ebony spikes reached for the ceiling, and the band dipped to a point on his forehead.
Whoever wears the crown of Icnima rules the Otherworld.
That’s what Eryx had said, which meant he could summon the worst from the pits of the Otherworld if he wished.
From what I remembered of the books and stories of my childhood, that meant nothing good, and I couldn’t risk him bringing anything to the surface while Dianna was trapped behind me.
I needed a new plan. One that would keep his entire focus on me.
Dianna had taught me all too well, and it was time to take a page from her book. I was going to piss him off.
“I expected more from you, the powerful King of the Otherworld. The being that other gods avoided for fear of retaliation. Except you use insects to do your dirty work and keep tabs on us.” A low whistle left my lips.
“Maybe my theory was wrong. Maybe you didn’t kill Icnima.
Maybe she killed herself to be rid of the embarrassment that is you. ”
He swung a long, dark appendage at me as expected, but I was quicker. Silver flashed in the gloom, the glow barely registering with how quickly I summoned it. I leaned to my left and sliced. Umemri hissed as the fleshy severed appendage hit the cavern floor.
That small victory was short-lived. Tentacles flew at me, wrapping around my neck, midsection, and legs, binding my arms to my sides.
He whipped me through the air, slamming me against the ceiling.
My body hit with a thud, the air escaping my lungs in a harsh rush.
He threw me against the ceiling, walls, and floor.
My ears rang with each forceful impact against the stone, and I dropped my blade.
He took quick advantage of my disorientation and bound my hands before dropping me, his appendages racing back to him.
I landed with a huff and lay there for a moment, catching my breath. Well, it seemed the tentacles didn’t regenerate. Good to know. It meant that the rest of him probably couldn’t either.
“You’re a fool to come after me.” I spat and pushed to my feet, my body aching. I summoned another ablaze sword from the ether in my ring and held it parallel to my arm. “Nismera is your enemy, Umemri. It was her legion who kept your pet.”
His tentacles curled behind him, poised like snakes ready to strike, but he did not take my bait. “Am I? Nismera was going to return her to me when she arrived. You slaughtered her.”
I shook my head. “She was sold at an auction. She escaped her cage, rampaged through town, and tried to kill Dianna. I did what I must.”
His lip curled, the lines across his cheeks spreading and splitting, the creature beneath this facade aching to be let loose on me. “She escaped the King of Quinural, who kidnapped and forced her to remain a beast. Now he and his city rot, home to nothing but maggots.”
A long black tentacle snapped toward me, aiming for my head. I ducked, and a crack formed in the stone behind me. I raised my blade, but he had learned and was far quicker this time.
“Ugh. There you go with the disgusting insects again. Your obsession is rather unnatural,” I said, dust from above sprinkling between us.
“It’s a pity your kind burns into light when you die,” Umemri said. “I would love to have your skull as my permanent trophy in my throne room.”
I flicked the dirt from my shoulder, unbothered by his threats. “Don’t flatter yourself. We both know you couldn’t kill me on your best day.”
“Your hubris will be your downfall, and I can’t wait to bear witness to it.”
“What do you want from me? Am I supposed to apologize for the death of your murrak?” The corner of my lips raised slightly as we sized each other up. We slowly started to circle the room. For every step I took, he countered, his eyes on my blade, unwilling to risk losing another tentacle.
“Her name was Sth,” he said it with such vitriol that if words were blades, I would have been shredded.
“I don’t give a fuck what her name was. She should have been more careful about whom she touched.”
“Of course you wouldn’t, oh great World Ender. How many lovers have you had throughout your life? I’m sure the names blur.” He sneered hatefully, his severed tentacle dragging along the cavern floor.
“More or less,” I said with a careless shrug.
“But her, the woman you fight and bleed for, her name is a prayer to the King of Gods, yes?”
I watched him. I knew he was herding me, but I didn’t know why or where. He hadn’t tried to strike out again, and it was taking every ounce of willpower and training I had not to react as he baited me with the only thing I loved.
“I intend to pay you back in kind, and I want to hear you scream her name as she is stripped from you.” His words and how he said them, as if they were already fact, had the hairs along the back of my neck standing straight.
“You’re stalling.” I stood to my full height, no longer concerned with defense. “You’re not trying to kill me. Why?”
He held up his hands, a cocky smirk twisting his alien mouth. “You caught me.”
My hand gripped the hilt of my blade so tightly that it should have cracked. “If you think you can send creatures after her while you keep me distracted here, you’re mistaken. You touch her, and it will be the last thing you do in this life, war or not.”
Umemri’s dark eyes glinted at me, and his smile spread wide, displaying far too many rows of teeth. His dark tentacles whipped, reaching the top of the cavern wall.
“Oh, my creatures aren’t the ones you have to worry about touching her.”
My grip on my blade relaxed a fraction, but it was too late. Umemri thrust his tentacles straight up, punching them into the cracks my body had formed in the solid stone of the ceiling. The mountain fell atop me, burying me alive.
Heavy stones pressed down on every part of my body, crushing and cracking bone.
I groaned and started trying to dig myself from the rubble.
Fuck, I had to get out. I had to get to Dianna.
I had no idea how many soldiers he had brought with him from the Otherworld.
If they touched her, I’d burn the Otherworld to fucking ash.
Fear and anger laced my veins at the very thought.
I had to get to her. Power coiled like a living beast beneath my skin at the thought of him touching her.
I punched and kicked until the stone broke and cracked, showering me with dust and pebbles.
A wet cough left my lips as I reached the surface. Being buried alive was one of my least favorite things and especially under a fucking mountain. Air rushed into my lungs, filling them as I cleared my vision. Nismera had shown up and leveled the place.
Dianna.
I pushed, throwing the rubble off me. The moment I freed my legs, I slid my thumb across my ring, feeling for our bond.
My body shuddered when I felt the familiar warmth of our connection.
Thank fuck. My relief was short-lived, my hopes drowning in pure, sharp agony.
I sat up, grabbing at my lower abdomen as phantom pain, hot and bright, shot through my gut.
“Dianna!” I screamed, knowing Nismera must have found her. My hands scraped across the broken stone as I pushed myself to my feet. “Tell me you are okay?”
Silence followed, and I strained, desperate to hear her voice and feel her essence along our bond.
Nothing.
Fuck.
My gaze searched frantically, trying to figure out how to dig my way back to her.
I wasn’t even sure where she was. The cavern looked as if it had imploded.
Half of the mountain was now gone, and the noxious sky was visible above me.
A loud boom rocked the ground, nearly sending me back to my knees.
I grabbed my ears and turned toward the cliff’s edge where we had entered the cavern.
Warships whirled to life, their cannons firing, shooting at the winged creatures as they took to the sky.
The ships disappeared behind the clouds in a blinding flash of light, and I knew she hadn’t only taken Dianna.
They had also taken Reggie. I had lost them both.