Page 96 of Crown of Slumber

I closed my eyes, trusting my other senses. Trusting my Night Fae blood.

The disgusting stench of the ogres’ skin burned my nose, but it was a telltale sign of their location. Years of training to fight these beasts served me well. My nostrils flared, and the sting of their closeness seemed to singe my insides.

I slashed my sword. An ogre howled in agony. More warm blood oozed, drenching my arms, but I didn’t stop. From my left, the foul odor came nearer, and I ducked, dodging the blow of one of their fists, then stabbed one directly in the chest.

He fell, but more were coming. I couldn’t fight them off forever. Not on my own.

But I only needed to weaken them. I had a secret weapon at the ready, but I could only use it once. And it would drain me.

I had to save it for the perfect moment.

My body moved, my arm arcing with each thrust of my blade. The ogre’s screams filled the air, echoing around me. With each shrill sound, the remaining ogres began to tremble, their bodies quivering.

Silence was their domain. Their safety. It was how they stalked their prey.

Loud noises were distressing to them. And I could use that to my advantage.

I slit the throat of one ogre, then whirled to lop off the arm of another. He sank to his knees with a groan, blood gushing from his stump-of-an arm.

Sharp claws raked over my neck and shoulder, and I cried out, gritting my teeth against the burning fire along my flesh. I staggered back a step, and another ogre wrapped one meaty fist around my throat. I swung my sword wildly, trying to stab any part of him to release the pressure building on my neck. Spots danced in my vision. My lungs strained, and I choked, trying to breathe in.

My arm went limp. The sword fell from my grasp as darkness pressed in on me.

A shout rang out. The ogre released its hold on me, and I fell, gasping. Each breath was like knives in my throat. I gagged and coughed, struggling to clear the fog in my head.

Another shout followed. The ogres roared, and the sounds of a blade slicing through flesh filled the air. I opened my eyes, squinting, and as my vision cleared, I made out Aurelia, her cloakbillowing as she twirled. Her dagger flew as she gutted one ogre then stabbed another. She bent over backwards, ducking low to avoid the strike of one, while sliding her dagger along the belly of another. When she leapt, her legs stretched wide, forming a graceful arc, her movements more of a dance than anything else.

Massaging my throat, I staggered to my feet and retrieved my sword, beheading an ogre before it could snatch Aurelia.

“You were supposed to leave,” I said, my voice hoarse.

“I never agreed to that,” Aurelia said, ramming her blade into an ogre’s eye. “Besides, you need me. That beast would have killed you.”

Pain flared in my shoulder as I twisted my arm to block the strike of an ogre. Blood ran down my neck and arm, but it wasn’t black; it was crimson.

My blood.

I lost my footing, sinking to one knee. I barely managed to roll out of the way before an ogre swiped its claws for me.

“How are they doing this?” Aurelia cried, then swore as one of the beast’s claws grazed her shoulder.

“They are ogres,” I said. “They can move impossibly fast. You cannot match their speed, Aurelia.”

“Then how the hell do we fight them?”

I looked around, my heart racing in my chest. More creatures poured from the trees, converging on us like a swarm of insects.

It was time. I had to act now.

“Like this.” I sheathed my sword, stretched my arms wide, and bellowed as loudly as I could. My voice strained against my aching throat, the sound tearing painfully from me. My scream echoed in the forest, making the very tree branches sway.

With all the force of my power and energy, I shouted, “Leave us! Now!” The words ripped from me, carving out every last bit of my strength. But I repeated them again and again, drawing power from the earth, the air, and the stars. Pulling from my ancestral home, from the blood of my people.

This was my domain. My kingdom. My land.

And the earth responded to my call.

The air rippled with power, and the ogres were thrown backward from the force of my command and the shrill volume of myvoice. Some collided with tree trunks, their bodies lolling into unconsciousness. Others stumbled away, fleeing in obedience to my command.

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