Page 19 of Fate and Fury

Another demon fell beneath his teeth and claws. Blood spattered Katerina as she ripped tree after tree from the ground, impaling the Grigori and lighting them aflame. She spun in a circle, igniting the rowans at the treeline, burning the demons who snarled in pain as they fought to get through. She incinerated them where they stood, but there were still more and more?—

And then one of them was on her, slicing at her with its blades. She twisted, fighting to escape, but it was no use. A knife sank deep into her thigh, and the demon howled in triumph. Its fellows echoed it, and Niko raised his head, eyes catching hers in horror.

He ran for her, dropping the demon in his jaws to the ground like a ragdoll, but there were more of them now, descending on her, and she could barely see him?—

No,his mind-voice said, tight with terror.No! Katerina, fight!

She thrashed and struggled, heating her body with witchfire from within as the demons tore at her clothes. They wailed in pain as it scorched them, but didn’t let go. The Darkness sucked at her, as eager to devour her soul as the demons were to pierce her body, to claim her for their own. They were servants of the Dark, and the Dark was hungry.

Katerina rolled left, then right, dragging the demons with her. She couldn’t light them aflame, not when they were on top of her. But if she could drive them backward, into the fire…

Bit by painful bit, she pulled herself toward the flames. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Niko battling two Grigori, still in the form of his dog. He tore the entrails from one of them, but the other sliced at him, and no matter how he dodged and weaved, he couldn’t get free.

Katerina!

The fear in Niko’s voice almost undid her. Not for himself, she knew. For her.

She refused to die here. Not like this, and have him believe he’d failed her.

Katerina reached deep, deep into the well of her magic. She had never reached so far before, didn’t know what cost she would pay. But whatever it was, she would pay it, and gladly.

Sant Antoniya, help me now,she prayed.Give me your strength, lend me your Light.

Power burst from her, buckling the very earth. A flash of illumination turned the road and forest bright as day as the wind rose still higher, driving every Grigori back, ripping those whohad hold of her away. The demons shrieked, an ear-splitting sound that made the air quake.

And then, every single one of them burst into flame.

Katerina proppedherself on her elbows, panting, as the demons burned, taking the forest with them. Her leg ached where the Grigori had stabbed her. Their venom wouldn’t affect her as it did Niko—just as a Shadow’s bite could take down a Grigori, so a demon’s venom could fell a Shadow—but even still, it hurt like hell. She pressed her palm against the wound, staunching the flow of blood, as Niko knelt by her side, half-clad and in human form once more.

Dirt and blood streaked his face. His eyes were wide with shock and…something else. Wonder, maybe. “Katya,” he said, his voice hoarse. Taking his shirt from the ground where it had fallen when he shifted, he tore a piece of fabric from the bottom and set to binding her wound. She grunted as he pulled the tourniquet tight. “Talk to me. Is this the only place—are you hurt?—”

He fumbled at her shirt, trying to lift it, and she shoved his hands away. “I’m all right. But Niko, did they stab you?”

She didn’t know what she would do if he said yes. They were alone here, stranded between Rivki and Drezna, and Grigori venom was fast-acting. Katerina was trained in the art of healing, as all Dimis were, but the antivenin was in her saddlebag, and the horses had run off?—

But he shook his head. “Grazes while I was in the form of my dog, nothing more. See.” He raised his arms, showing her the defensive wounds there, doubtless acquired as he fought to protect his muzzle. “But you…Katerina, what did you do…?”

Together, they regarded the destruction she’d wrought. The road was buckled and broken, littered with the corpses of charred Grigori and burning tree limbs. Though they sat, untouched, in Katerina’s circle, all around them, the woods burned.

“Protected you,” she said, simply. “Saved myself.”

That look of wonder was still there in his eyes, and something else, too. Fear, perhaps. “You’ve never done anything like this before, against so many. I didn’t know you could.”

The idea that Niko might fear her sent a spike of dismay through Katerina’s heart. It made her voice tight as she said, struggling to sit all the way up, “Says the one who blazed with more Light than I’ve ever seen. Desperate times, my Shadow. Would you rather we died here, on a lonely road, at the hands of demons?”

He regarded her, his expression cross. “Of course not. And quit that, you’ll make it worse. Here, lean on me.” He pulled her back against his chest, his long legs encircling hers, careful not to touch the wounded one. “I just—what if you hadn’t been able to do that, Katya? I couldn’t reach you, I couldn’t get to you…”

The pain in his voice pierced her. She twisted, looking up at him. His eyes were haunted as he gazed at the ruins of the path to Drezna. “You didn’t have to. You shoulder too much, Niko.”

His arms wrapped around her, holding her close. She knew it was the simple protective instinct that a Shadow held for his Dimi, especially given the terrible danger they’d just faced. It was her fault, her flaw that she couldn’t help but wish for more.

Niko had wanted them to turn around. He’d warned her, again and again, and she’d been too stubborn and headstrong to listen. Too convinced that she could handle whatever came.

Because of Katerina’s arrogance, her Shadow could have been killed.

Guilt festering inside her, she peeled his arms away. “Help me up. Enough wallowing. They’re dead, but who knows if there are more? I’m not waiting on this cursed road like a sitting duck for them to find me.”

Without comment, Niko lifted her, setting her upright. He inspected her, assessing the wince she couldn’t suppress when her injured leg took her weight.

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