Chapter 23 The Rune
THE RUNE
Kalypso
Ilove you.
Kaly was going to fucking murder him.
How dare Ozirax say such a thing and then leave?
He’d promised.
He’d fucking promised.
She let out a horrifying scream as she slammed her blades against the barrier again. It tore from her lungs, scraping her raw as she fought against the invisible barrier. Her insides were on fire, a bubbling inferno of fury that someone could say all those things and then leave her.
Everyone fucking left.
If she had known, if she had stopped being fucking emotionally attached, she could have seen what he was doing. Could have fought harder for a better solution. Could have begged him to stop.
But when had Ozirax ever listened to her?
Every time. Every time, except for now.
And when had Kalypso ever listened to him?
Not. Fucking. Once.
Stay. In Heck.
Fat fucking chance.
Ozirax thought he could say all of those things, make all those promises, and then leave? Without consequence?
Who the fuck did he think he was?
Who the fuck did he think she was?
The air still held a shimmer, a tear in the planes just out of reach, but it was getting smaller. And she was running out of time.
Her blade glanced off the invisible barrier, trapped by the city’s runes because of a stupid cuff and their fucking fear of her.
Well, if she lost Oz, they would truly know fear. They would tremble as she brought this entire fucking forest down around their precious city with her bare hands in an attempt to get him back.
Emotional attachments were not a weakness. They were her strength.
Kalypso stepped back, terrified as she pried her eyes away from where Oz had disappeared and sheathed a sword. Voices shouted for her, no more monsters or giant portal to hells to distract them.
But she was focused as she lifted her wrist in front of her. As she curled her fingers underneath the metal of her cuff.
As she yanked with all her strength.
There was a burning, first in her fingers and her injured arm as she pulled the cuff against her skin and bones. She screamed in rage and strain and…
Love.
The burning shifted. To her ribs. To the magic under her skin.
To the rune inked in her flesh, her own design she’d agonized over for weeks.
A rune to break runes.
To break her cuff, to keep her protected from a stronger demon trying to use one against her. She’d started working on it for Kat, kept working on it for some rooted fear inside her that she might still want to run. Need to run.
Not anymore.
The metal shattered in her grip, shards spraying as the pressing weight of being trapped disappeared.
“Oh, fuck,” Tonomoch said from somewhere behind her. “How did she—”
“Shit, Kaly!”
She ignored Garion’s panicked curses, Rand’s shouting.
There was no longer a barrier keeping her out of the Dreadmoor, but there was one keeping her from Ozirax. It was fading, now just a small sliver in the air.
Kalypso stormed toward it, swiping his sickle from the diseased purple grass of the Dreadmoor and attaching it to her belt.
Her sword was firm in her grip and determination fueled every step.
Because, for once, she was going to be selfish.
She was going to chase a happiness that had loved her when she was at her worst. A demon who had made her a better human.
The tears dried on her cheeks as she neared the remnants of the portal. Kat… She would be okay. Heck was her home, and that was okay. But Kaly had found her place somewhere else. With someone else.
And she was going to hold on with every ounce of her strength until they were both dust.
Kalypso wound back, shifting her grip on the sword in her hand—
Before plunging it into the last crack of the void.
An inch of her blade wedged into the tear, but that wasn’t enough. She could feel the portal fighting to close, Oz’s magic pushing against her strength.
Too bad his magic didn’t know how stubborn she was.
Kaly pushed harder, but it wasn’t out of control. No, this was a focused rage, a channeled strength, and soon the burn returned along her ribs. A rune, fighting to break the rune Ozirax had created.
“Fuck! Kaly, you can’t go through a portal—”
She didn’t know who said it, only drowned them out with her scream as she pushed, pushed—
There was just enough of the blade shoved in as she pried it open. A gap, enough for her to shove her fingers inside and pull.
Her body felt like it would burst, ribs on fire as the rune burned through the powerful magic. But still she ripped at that portal, tore through the opening until she could see through it. Kept tearing and screaming and pouring all of her fury and determination into prying the planes apart.
There Ozirax was—not in another plane after all.
On the ground. On the carved way. Hand pressed into his bleeding hip weakly.
Wide eyed and gaping at her.
Unharmed by his own portal because of course Ozirax would know how to create one that didn’t drive anyone mad as they traveled through space against the laws of physics.
And Dolgeraus, just beyond, dragging himself away.
Kalypso kept tearing, and then there were hands surrounding her, her squad gripping the edges of the portal and adding their strength. Pulling it apart until it was large enough to squeeze through.
Tonomoch swore, and she felt his gaze on the side of her face. “The fuck are you still doing here? Go get him, we’ve got this.”
There was no corruption bleeding into her as she stepped through, as if it really were just a door moving them from one place to another. But she did shudder, the slip of Oz’s magic against her skin a cool embrace compared to the heat of her body.
Free, free, free.
At her feet, a trail of black blood led directly to her target.
Kalypso’s steps were purposeful, powerful. She let every ounce of emotion rise to the surface as she prowled the carved way and drew her second blade. No breeze rustled the trees, no monster cried in the distance, as if the Dreadmoor held its breath.
“No,” came the desperate plea. Dolgeraus scrambled back as best he could, wide eyes on her. Blood leaked from his useless leg, something sharp lodged in his thigh and a daze in his eyes that told her perhaps not everyone who stepped through the portal was unscathed. “Please. Don’t.”
His sword hung loosely in his grip, trembling as he raised it.
The sword he had held against Ozirax’s throat.
Her blades spun in her hands, a dance that felt natural as she stalked her prey. His whimpers fueled her rage, her fire, and when she was within reach, she wound back—
The blade pierced Dolgeraus’s tail, right through the thick muscle and nerves, and deep into the ground.
His scream of agony was beautiful and short lived. Hand now free, her fist snapped forward and smashed into the bridge of his nose.
The wailing cut off as his body fell limp to the ground.
There was a hum of satisfaction in her ears as she stepped away from him, yanking her blade free from his tail. Gods, how she wished she could have planted it right between his legs, but she feared that was a target too small for even her aim.
She needed to bring him back alive, didn’t she? Have him pay for his crimes? Though it was tempting to drag his pathetic ass to the edge of the carved way and kick him off the path. See if he ended up as food for a sarthisci.
“Kaly.”
That voice pulled her out of her murder bloodbath daze.
Kalypso turned toward the broken rasp and settled her glare on Ozirax. He’d been propped up by Rand, hanging heavily on the warrior whose hands still glowed a gentle healing light over his hip. But the purple demon didn’t wince. Didn’t so much as blink as he stared at her with wide eyes.
“Kal—”
“How fucking dare you,” Kalypso snarled, and then she was prowling toward him, a sword aimed at his heart. “How dare you say those words to me.” Each step, the words became more painful. “How dare you not give me the chance to say it back. How dare you make me stay anywhere that you won’t be—”
Ozirax shoved Rand away the moment she was in reach, smacking her sword point away from his chest before both hands were gripping her cheeks and yanking her into his kiss.
It was sloppy, uncoordinated, and she didn’t fucking care. Both her swords clattered to the ground as she threw her arms around his back. She was kissing him and he was alive and oh my gods—
“I love you,” she panted, then her teeth were clashing against his fangs as she dove back in. She tasted blood. Tasted his tongue and his moans and his tears. Or perhaps those were hers as she leaned back to breathe, “Don’t you ever leave me again.”
Ozirax huffed out a breath, maybe a sob. “I knew you had it in you, my spicy human. Are you ready to admit emotional attachments aren’t a weakness?”
Kalypso shoved weakly at his chest, lower lip trembling. “I hate you.”
But there was a grin on his tired face as he squeezed her cheeks. “Feeling’s fucking mutual.”
A throat cleared, and there was Rand, standing awkwardly next to them. “So, hate to ruin this very adorable moment—congrats, by the way, on this weird love confession—but…”
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder, where Garion and Tonomoch were still holding the portal open, though with shaking arms.
“I mean, if we’ve held it this long,” Tonomoch began, “I’d rather you come this way instead of the carved way that’ll spit you out across town? Seems kind of pointless if we kept it open for nothing.”
“What are we doing with that?” Garion grunted, gesturing with his chin toward Dolgeraus.
Kaly shrugged, adjusting her hold on Ozirax as his strength waned. “We could close the portal on his middle, bring the top half to the council?” When only silence greeted her, she glanced over at the demons staring at her with varying looks of horror. “What? I’m mostly kidding.”
Rand took a slow step back from her. “Blazes, no you were not.” His gaze darted between her and Ozirax. “That’s definitely your soulbonded.”
The purple demon went stiff in her hold, some hissed curse rolling off his tongue audible for demon ears only.
Another day, she’d refuse ever saying the words, but exhaustion was setting in for all of them, and maybe they deserved something good out of the day along with their victory. “Not a blightspawn heart, but I did promise you the bleeding heart of a sworn enemy.”
Ozirax’s gaze snapped to hers.
Kalypso shrugged. “Oh, please. You were acting so fucking shifty, changing the subject on me. I asked Diaran what it meant, and she told me you were a sappy sack of shit. I agreed. We laughed at your expense. Then she told me the truth.”
“Fuck, I love you.”
Before his lips could brush hers again, Tonomoch let out a frustrated groan. “Okay, seriously, I’m going to let go—”
“Don’t even think about it,” Garion snarled.
And while the two bickered, Rand joined Kaly and Oz over Dolgeraus’s limp, ugly form.
“You sure we can’t just kill him?” Rand muttered. Ironic, coming from the healer.
“Not until after we make him sing in front of the council,” Kalypso said, toeing the bastard who only groaned. Probably a good thing she didn’t have brass knuckles, if her punch had knocked him out this well.
There was just one glaring problem.
“So…” Kaly blew out an exhausted breath. “Who’s carrying him back?”