Page 48 of Court of Evil

Great.

This is definitely the place.

Crouching on the grassy verge, I eye the water, hesitant to reach out and touch it. Is it a water creature? Maybe it’s a nymph, though I haven’t heard of them being able to drain a full monster, never mind take a grown one down. Maybe it’s a trapped siren or mermaid. The possibilities are endless and too many to account for.

I glance at the three men—erm, monsters behind me. “Sense anything?” I wouldn’t usually ask, but I don’t want to go in blind if I can help it. Whatever is hunting these monsters is strong enough to kill and drain them. I need every advantage I can get, so even though I hate relying on anyone else, I have to.

We are a team, or at least Shamus hopes we will be.

“Magic.” The fae shrugs, looking bored and uninterested.

“Obviously. What kind?” I snap.

He arches his eyebrow. “The knowledge will cost you.”

“Forget it,” I mutter, glancing back at the water.

“It’s a portal,” Tem murmurs, and I glance over to see him crouching a few feet away, which is surprising since he always seems to be attached to my hip. His hand hovers over the water, where droplets slide across his palm and fingers as he seems to test it. “I can feel it. It’s an old one at that.” He glances at me. “It’s not meant to keep anyone out, but to keep someone in. It has weakened, allowing whatever is inside it to slip free, but it would be drawn back before long. There is blood in the portal, chaining whatever it is, very similar to my own. It’s ancient magic.”

“Fucking great,” I mutter. “Which means it’s old and powerful, or at least getting there after all the feedings, so when it’s strong enough, it can break free of the portal shield.”

“Very likely.” Tem shrugs. “Or it could be freed by someone else.”

“Will us entering break the portal?” I ask.

“It shouldn’t. It seems things have gone through before—probably animals or foolish humans trying to swim. They didn’t stand a chance. That’s how it must have fed and become strong enough to escape it in the first place.”

“Brilliant.” Pulling my bag around, I tighten it so it stays on my front.

“What are you doing?” Ronan asks.

I glance at him with an incredulous expression. “Hunting, of course.” Without waiting for his response, I stand and dive into the pond.

I expected it to be shallow, but the water is so deep, all I see is darkness under me. My hands cut through the water on either side of me as I float just below the surface, sparing the three observing faces one last look before I swim down.

I need to get to the portal before I run out of air. Let’s hope it isn’t more water on the other side or I’m fucked. Things like this were not made for humans, and my body will only be able to hold out for so long. Fighting a monster underwater could mean my death, but it has to come onto land to hunt, which means it can breathe above, and that’s my only consolation.

Diving deeper into the murky water, I open my eyes and hold my breath as I swim. The closer I get to the bottom, the stronger the feeling of something sucking me towards it becomes.

It’s probably how monsters of lake myths were born—a portal like this.

The magic washes over me as my lungs begin to scream, the edges of my vision blackening, but I still push forward, swimming as the magic grows.

The darkness seems to part, a glow emanating below me, and I swim towards it desperately as my body starts to give in. The glow only grows, obscuring everything, and then I fall through it.

The pressure of the water around me is gone, and instead it feels like air. I take a gasping breath, still unable to see, but I choke on the air and then hit something hard.

Pain stabs into my side, and I bite back a groan.

The air is forced from my lungs in a huff, and I lie on something sharp, the agony in my thigh making me grit my teeth. When I can finally breathe, I push my wet hair back.

As I turn, I feel something crunch, and I freeze. My eyes finally adjust, and then I peer down and swallow my horror. I’m lying on a pile of bones belonging to birds and animals, although . . . some even look human.

With dawning horror, I glance down at my leg to see a small bone protruding from the side of my thigh, my blood seeping around the old shard.

I grit my teeth and wrap my hand around the bone, yanking it free. It hurts, but as I prod the wound, I realise it’s not deep, just a bleeder. Ripping a sleeve from my shirt, I tie it around the gash and then slowly get to my feet. I slip and almost fall as the pile of bones shifts beneath me.

Pulling a flare, I crack the tube and toss it, illuminating the space around me in red. Despite it being under a lake, it doesn’t look like it was carved into the earth. The walls are steel and covered in rust with wires hanging down. It looks like an abandoned factory or an underground lab. I can’t see much farther. The bones pile is higher than it is wide, but there appears to be a corridor leading deeper into the place.

---