Chapter 34 #3
Dagger in hand, I shot toward the closest Gyrm.
I dipped low as it swung its sword. Popping up behind the creature, I thrust the blade deep into its back and then jumped back to avoid the inevitable gross poof.
I whirled around as Delano relieved a Gyrm of its head with his sword.
An Unseen rushed from the trees, weapon held high.
I waited and then snapped forward, twisting as I kicked out, catching him in the knee.
Bone cracked and gave. A muffled scream came from the man as I spun, slamming my dagger into the side of his neck.
I jerked, dragging the wickedly sharp blade as I did.
The man toppled forward. I turned, scanning those still standing and seeing none in a silver mask or any that carried the bone chain with them.
It was clear that they had no intention of taking me alive.
Another rushed from the trees. It wasn’t a Gyrm.
He was smarter—darting to the left and then the right.
He swung the sword around as I danced to my right, slamming the blade into a nearby tree.
“If I get blood on my new clothing,” I warned as I sprang forward, shoving the dagger into the man’s chest, “I’m going to be very upset. ”
“I’ll get you new clothing,” Casteel said, gripping an Unseen’s shoulder as he thrust his sword into his gut.
I jumped back. “But I like this tunic.”
“Holy shit,” Emil grunted from several feet away, facing the woods.
Turning around, my stomach dropped. At least two dozen attackers drifted from the thick shadows of the trees, half Unseen and half Gyrms. The wolven and the others were making quick work of the ones on the road, but there were many, and one of ours was likely to get hurt or worse.
And I didn’t want that.
There would be time later to wonder how the Unseen had learned that we’d be on the road to Evaemon.
And at some point, I might think back on how easily and quickly I’d decided to tap into the hum of power building in my chest. About how I didn’t stop to fear whether or not I’d be able to control myself.
I just reacted, allowing instinct to take over.
Maybe later, I would even think back to the conversation I’d had with Casteel—the one where I had said I’d give those who stood against me a second chance, and how this was the exact opposite of what I’d said.
Then again, these men and creatures were actively trying to kill me, so maybe not.
I opened my senses wide and let the other side of my gift out, the half that took life instead of giving it.
It was a lot like when I healed someone, but in reverse, I realized.
My skin began to vibrate as the taste of metal filled the back of my throat.
The hot, acidic burn of anger from the Unseen and the stark, frightening nothingness from the Gyrms reached out to me, and I took it—the hatred and even the void, letting it enter my veins and pour into my chest where it joined the eather.
Under me, I felt the ground begin to faintly tremble as my gaze swept over those in masks.
The primal power of the gods invaded my every sense.
My flesh sparked.
Silvery-white embers erupted over my skin, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Casteel step back, and the wolven retreat. “Get ‘em, girl.”
I smiled as wispy, crackling cords stretched out from me. Someone gasped, likely an Unseen as glistening spiderwebs of light stretched out from me, crawling across the ground in a network of radiant veins. Several Unseen whirled, started to run, but they wouldn’t make it. I would ensure that.
In my mind, I saw the webs of light falling upon the Unseen and Gyrms, their bodies breaking and crumbling, their weapons dropping and falling to the ground. I focused on that image as I took all the hate and fear and nothingness I held in my chest and fed it back through the many cords.
The rush of power swept over the trees, rattling the leaves until several fell. The webs of light lifted and then dropped over the Unseen and the Gyrms, those standing in the road, the ones running toward us, and even those who’d fled.
Bones cracked like thunder, arms and legs snapping and backs twisting.
Bodies of inhuman creatures collapsed into themselves, shattering and sifting like dirt.
One after another, they either broke or crumbled until they were just things on the ground, and then I pictured the remains turning to ash to match the piles of dirt.
After all, it seemed unsanitary to leave the bodies behind.
Silvery-white flames erupted over the still, twisted things on the ground, swallowing them and fading until all that remained was ash. The silvery webbing thrummed as the ancient, raw power pulsed through me.
“Poppy.”
Static crackled through the air as I turned my head to where Casteel stood on the bank of the road, his chin lifted and hair tousled. What I felt from him wasn’t acidic or empty. It was warm and sultry, spicy and sweet.
“That was incredibly hot,” he remarked.
A husky, echoing laugh left me. His comment—as twisted and wrong as it was—helped me pull all that power back inside. I pictured the shimmering web fading, and when it did, I shut down my senses, and the silvery-white glow faded from my skin.
I stared at what was left of the attackers, searching for any sign of remorse, but all I found was a sense of sadness for a life wasted.
These people, the members of the Unseen, could’ve chosen anything for themselves, and they had chosen this—actions based on one-sided beliefs of bloodlines and a fake prophecy.
“You okay?” Delano’s soft question intruded on my thoughts.
I looked over at him and nodded. “You?”
His pale eyes searched mine. “Yes.”
“Gods.” Emil’s lip curled as he dragged a hand over his face, wiping away the greasy blood as he stared down at the ashes and piles of oily dirt. “What did they really hope to accomplish?”
It was clear to me what they wanted.
Seeking out Casteel, my gaze locked with his. His eyes, like vibrant chips of glacial topaz, held mine. “They don’t want me to take the Crown,” I said. “They failed. So will anyone else who thinks they can stop me.”
A razor-thin smile appeared on Casteel’s face. “Damn straight.”