Page 112 of Creatures of Chaos

“He can’t hurt me with this on,” I remind him.

“We don’t know that for sure.”

“I’m willing to take the chance.”

Finally he nods. “I’ll loop around the other side. Wait about ten seconds and then get his attention.”

Talon sprints away, blending into the ruins’ shadows in moments. I cringe as I have to watch Titus go through whatever hellish torture Damon is putting him through. I’ve just counted out ten seconds when Titus’ body goes limp, and he falls to the cobblestones.

“No!” I scream, and Damon’s head whips toward me. Shadows ring him as he lifts his hands to launch an attack, shooting his dark magic right at me.

I lift my arm to thwart the attack and the magic explodes before it reaches me.

Damon’s face skews with confusion until his gaze drops to my forearm, then understanding dawns.

“That’s not going to protect you,” he says, taking determined steps forward. “I can best you without using magic.”

I stand my ground, loosening up my stance in case this comes down to a physical fight. Part of me is even hoping that it does because hand-to-hand combat is one of my strengths, but I don’t get the chance before Talon appears seemingly out of nowhere and tackles Damon.

The pair hit the ground, and the first thing Talon does is rip the enhancer from Damon’s hand and chuck it off to the side.

I don’t wait to watch the battle but rather rush over to Titus. He’s face down on the cobblestones, and when I flip him and try to wake him, it doesn’t work. His chest rises and falls though, so at least I know he’s still alive.

“Come on. This isn’t over yet,” Talon calls to me, and when I look over he’s standing over an unconscious Damon. His hair is a little mussed, and he swipes at a trickle of blood on his lower lip, but he doesn’t even look winded. The enhancer is now in his hand, and considering how powerful Talon already is, I can only imagine that he’s virtually unstoppable now. I’m unsure if that gives me comfort or fills me with worry, but I don’t have time to analyze my own feelings right now.

With one final look at Titus and the bodies of the other competitors scattered around the ruins, I get up and join him.

Talon is tense as we rush toward the crumbled cathedral that’s glowing at the end of the cobblestone street. Even though the other Chaos competitors have been defeated, Talon’s gaze is bright and alert as he scans the shadows, the enhancer clenched in one fist.

I stop when we reach the entrance to the ruin. A foreboding feeling crawls up my spine, leaving goose bumps in its wake. I don’t know why, but I don’t want to go in there.

Talon brushes back a curtain of vines and starts to duck under them, stopping halfway when he realizes I’m not following him.

“Go on without me,” I say. “You don’t need me to claim the dagger.”

He shakes his head. “Something doesn’t feel right. I’m not about to let you out of my sight.”

I can’t disagree with Talon when I have the same instinct that something is off. Part of me screams not to go into that ruin, but the only way to end this living nightmare is in front of us. It’s time we end this, and in truth I want to do that together, so rather than dig in my heels I follow him into the ruin.

The first thing I notice when we enter the cathedral is Shadow Striker, placed on a pedestal within a ring of white light at the back of the ruin. It sits there so innocently, representingeverything I thought I needed—but no longer want. If Chaos was good for anything, it taught me I’m enough just as I am. If anyone can’t accept me for my lack of magic, then that’s their problem, not mine.

I follow Talon as he takes careful steps forward until he’s standing right in front of the blade. He’s close enough that all he has to do is reach out and take it and the dagger will be his, but he hesitates.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s too easy,” he says, and I choke on a laugh.

“Too easy? Do you not remember what we did to get here?”

He glances over at me, a frown on his face. “Yeah, maybe you’re right.”

He reaches for it, but when his hand breaches the ring of light the floor beneath our feet vibrates. Talon’s eyes go wide, and he tries to snatch the blade, but his hand passes right through it as the floor gives way, and then we’re falling.

Thirty-Seven

I cometo coughing and find myself lying on an uneven stone floor covered in stone dust and small bits of debris. There’s a clanging noise that makes my head feel like it’s going to split open as I force myself to sit up. The air is thick with a haze of dust, but as it starts to clear I realize we dropped into a pocket under the cathedral, a cave that’s probably been beneath the ruin all along. Maybe a catacomb of some sort? I can just make out the edges of the crumbled floor we fell through. The opening is probably ten or twelve feet above, so it wasn’t too far of a drop. Besides the sore spot on the back of my skull and a monster headache, I think I’m okay.

I push to my feet and turn toward the noise, spotting Talon in a large cage, the enhancer lying uselessly on the ground beside him. He’s repeatedly kicking one of the bars, trying to bend it.

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