10. Clash of Stone and Steel #2
She came crashing back into the side of the balcony and the breath was driven from her lungs as her body hit the stone. She coughed and inhaled deeply, then cried out again as Samhail jerked her roughly upward.
Talyn grabbed her skirt with her free hand and pulled it up to get at the dagger strapped to her thigh.
As Samhail dragged her back over the banister, she unsheathed the dagger and plunged it into the top of his forearm where his leather vambrace ended.
His flesh was denser than she anticipated, and the blade only penetrated a couple inches.
Samhail yelled out in pain, but he didn’t release her wrist right away.
Instead, he yanked his arm back while still holding her, only releasing her a second later.
Talyn flew back across the balcony and hit the stone wall near the door where she crumpled to the ground.
She managed to avoid hitting her head, but her shoulder felt like it might be dislocated, and the side of her back had struck the stone hard.
Pain radiated up her body, and she was sure she’d felt a rib or two crack.
She tried to inhale deeply, but the pain in her torso allowed her only shallow breaths.
Talyn looked up from the ground to see Cyra and Bressen in the doorway of the balcony with the two bodyguards close behind them.
She was out of time. She needed to get away from Cyra and pray the distance helped return her powers.
Gritting her teeth against the pain, she forced herself to her feet as quickly as she could and threw herself gracelessly over the balcony railing.
Wind rushed past Talyn as she fell, her hair whipping around as she tried to gauge the distance she’d fallen.
Her back was to the ground, so she couldn’t tell how far she’d gone, but the pain from her cracked ribs kept her from being able to turn herself in the air.
She’d had hopes of being able to grab something on the way down, but her injuries now made that unlikely.
Above her, three huge forms with bat-like wings soared out over the balcony and dove for her, the largest form in the lead.
Talyn felt the surge of her power return, and relief flooded through her. She couldn’t tell how close she was to the ground, so she didn’t hesitate for a second.
She ported just as Samhail’s large hands reached out for her. She didn’t even know where she planned to port to until she hit the floor somewhere in the house and rolled.
Talyn groaned as her already-injured ribs and shoulder protested the additional impact.
She allowed only a couple seconds to collect herself before she looked up to see where she’d landed.
She was inside the ballroom on the first floor, but it was only temporary safety as she saw Samhail and the two bodyguards hovering just outside the large windows.
“Ballroom!” one of them shouted back up to the balcony just before Samhail’s giant form crashed through one of the windows.
Glass shattered inward, tinkling and skittering across the marble floor, but Talyn didn’t bother to avoid it as she hauled herself to her feet and ran for the door.
She got only a few feet before a percussive force hit her from behind, and she pitched forward, crying out in more pain as she felt a couple more ribs crack this time.
She looked back to see Samhail stalking toward her with the two bodyguards flanking him.
All three had huge leathery black wings splayed out behind them.
She knew Samhail had wings, but she hadn’t realized the bodyguards did as well.
Were they gargoyles too? She hadn’t had time to learn anything about them.
The woman had long white hair like Samhail, but the man had short silvery gray hair.
Talyn didn’t even try to get up this time.
She’d hoped to conserve her porting power, but she had to use it now or she’d never get out of here alive.
She ported into the hall outside the dining room, then used the wall to drag herself to a standing position.
Every movement was agony as her cracked ribs and dislocated shoulder screamed in pain, but she knew it wouldn’t take Samhail and the others long to figure out where she’d gone.
She hurried down the corridor as quickly as she could using the wall to steady herself, but it was only a couple seconds before the doors to the ballroom crashed open, one coming completely off its hinges as it fell to the floor.
Fear like she’d never known surged through her at the look in Samhail’s eyes as he closed the distance between them, the two other warriors close behind.
Talyn was prepared for the forcefield this time, and she flattened herself against the wall as it reverberated down the hall. She stumbled under its impact, and her broken ribs screamed in protest, but she was still standing when it passed, and she ported further down the hall.
As soon as she rematerialized, she was lifted off the ground and began to drift backward. She ported again, but she was gripped once more by the force as soon as she reappeared and was dragged backward. It must be some kind of summoning power.
She ported twice more, but each time she was dragged back as Samhail and the two bodyguards got closer and closer.
Exhaustion and pain hit her then, and Talyn stopped struggling to let herself glide down the hall toward them.
Her porting ability took a lot out of her, but now she was also drained from her injuries and from fighting to escape.
She had only enough energy to port a few more times, and it was senseless to waste that energy trying to get away when she’d only be summoned back.
She still had one dagger strapped to her leg, so she’d have to find a way to use it.
Talyn managed to twist herself in the air so she was floating forward rather than backward, and Samhail’s dark eyes bore into her as his summoning power brought her to him. Anger was etched on every inch of his face, and Talyn’s neck went straight into his outstretched hand as she reached him.
Her eyes widened as he squeezed his fingers around her throat, completely cutting off her air.
One of her hands clawed at his wrist as her other hand with the injured shoulder flew to her thigh to pull up the dress and grab her second dagger.
She swung the dagger up to stab his arm again, but he was ready this time.
He caught her wrist and twisted it so she dropped the blade.
She would have cried out, but his hand was still cutting off her air, and she was starting to see stars as her vision faded.
She had to port again or he was going to kill her.
Talyn ported behind the three winged beings this time and stumbled along the wall as she gasped for air.
She tried to run, but she bounced off some kind of barrier instead.
She looked around in panic and realized she was contained in a glowing bubble.
She tried to port outside of it, but she only planted face-first into the inside wall of the bubble as it allowed her no further.
She turned to Samhail and the bodyguards and saw it was the winged woman who had her hand out this time controlling the bubble.
“It was a valiant effort,” a voice drawled from Talyn’s other side, and she turned to see Bressen standing in the hall, having just come out of the ballroom. Cyra and the merman were right behind him, but Talyn didn’t feel her power die out this time. Not yet anyway.
“I give you points for style, and I admire your courage for jumping off a balcony without wings,” Bressen continued, “but that’s the best I can do. Now who are you?”
Talyn could barely breathe. Every shuddering inhale sent shooting pain through her ribs, so she just smiled and leaned against the wall before sliding down it to sit on the floor.
This did nothing to help her cracked ribs, but it was all she could manage at this point.
She looked up at the Lord of Hiraeth but didn’t say anything as she took shallow breaths.
Bressen crouched down next to the bubble, and she met his eyes.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” the lord said lightly, “but you’ll answer my questions either way.”
Talyn smiled again weakly and used her last bit of strength to shift herself into the Lady of Hiraeth.
Cyra gasped behind Bressen, and Samhail growled as he lurched forward, but the male bodyguard put an arm on his chest to hold him back.
Bressen’s face darkened, but he held up a hand to warn Samhail back.
His gaze was cold as he looked at Talyn.
“Do your worst,” Talyn said in Cyra’s voice a second before her power was again cut off and she shifted back into herself.