Page 73 of The Iron Raven

“Come on, ice-boy, I can’t be the only one doing all the work. So far, the score is two–zero in my favor.”

He gave me a brief, half-annoyed smile as glamour started swirling around him. “Stubbing its toe counts for nothing, Goodfellow,” he returned.

I dodged a swat from a giant talon that swooshed over my head. The musicians danced around us, continuing to fill the air with song, the melody rising to fever pitch. “Well, it’s better than you’re doing, prince!” I challenged, and pirouetted away from the second swat. “I’m still waiting to be impressed. When are you going to start stabbing things?”

“Right now.”

The creature bellowed. Tendrils rose up, surrounding me in an inky black forest, but the air turned frigid a moment before ice froze them all in place. The Monster smashed down with its claws, and I danced out of the way as the blows shattered the tentacle forest into tiny pieces.

I grinned, seeing ice-boy on the Monster’s other side, hand outstretched as his glamour turned the air frigid. There was a streak of white, and Meghan darted past him, sword upraised. She sprinted at the monster, and with a gesture from the Ice Prince, a series of frozen pillars appeared in front of the Iron Queen, each taller than the last. Meghan bounded up these icy steps, leaped at the Monster just as it was starting to turn, and brought her sword slashing down across its face.

The Monster screamed and reeled back, one hand going to its eyes. Unlike the wisps of shadow from before, dark liquid oozed between its fingers and dripped to the ground. The Iron Queen landed and rolled away as the creature’s claw hammered down, shattering flagstones and sending ice chips flying.

“Ooh, nice one, princess!” I grinned as the Monster growled and turned on Meghan, its one remaining eye blazing in fury. “Okay, fine, that was impressive, you two. Now, let’s see if you can bring it home.”

The Monster took a menacing step toward the Iron Queen. I darted behind it, drew my arm back, and stabbed the point of my dagger into its rear haunch, right below its buttocks.

“Oh, that wasn’t nice of me, was it?” I grinned as it whirled with a yelp. “You know, there’s still time to work this out—sit down, have a cup of tea, cry on each other’s shoulders. No? How about a dance, then?” I danced a little jig, dodging a couple vicious swats, as all the while, the music continued to play, filling the air with emotion and triumph. I laughed again, just because I felt like it, hearing my voice echo over the battlefield and join the rising music.

“You know,” I told the creature, smiling as I backed up and it loomed over me, baring its fangs, “you may be one scary mofo, but you’re not very bright. Anyone of average intelligence would know that I’m very clearly the obnoxious decoy, and you’re about to get your ass handed to you by the real powers. So, yeah, have fun with that.”

For just a second, it seemed to understand my words, for it paused and turned its head to where Meghan and Ash had stopped a few yards away. The Iron Queen stood with her eyes half-closed, palms turned up and glamour swirling around her like a whirlwind. Behind her, Ash stood with his hands on her shoulders, adding his own icy power to the mix, and the storm of magic around them caused the air to flicker and frost to spread out over the ground.

The Monster gave a snarl of what almost sounded like alarm and turned, intending to charge the pair, just as the sharp clatter of hooves over stone rang over the courtyard.

With Nyx on his back, Coaleater charged around a broken wall, barreled toward the Monster, and slammed his powerful iron body into a thick hairy leg. The was a crack, and the fiend staggered with a roar, as Nyx leaped from the Iron faery, vaulted off the Monster’s thigh, and brought both moonblades slashing down across its neck. The Monster gave a shriek, flailing wildly, and Nyx sprang away from the lashing tentacles, landing on Coaleater’s back like they had practiced this move for decades.

I grinned as my heart soared with relief and pride. “When did you guys decide to join the party?” I called as Coaleater spotted me and galloped over, snorting steam. On his back, Nyx smiled down at me.

“About the time the music started,” she replied. “We were letting our host chase us around the courtyard, but when the music started playing, it was like he remembered who he was again. Or at least, the Monster’s influence started to fade.”

“Where is he now?”

A massive shadow leaped to the top of the courtyard wall, eyes blazing. With a roar, the beast sprang at the Monster, landing with his full weight atop its back and driving it to its knees. And at that moment, the rulers of Iron unleashed their glamour.

The ground trembled, and enormous roots erupted from the earth, breaking through flagstone and shattering the stones around them. The roots coiled around the Monster, thickening and tightening, becoming as gnarled and tough as tree trunks. They also radiated cold. Even from my perch, I could feel the icy waves, see the tendrils of mist and frost in the air as the roots continued to coil around the Monster like massive pythons. The creature snarled and thrashed, raking the ground and causing several roots to snap, but with a shimmer of glamour, the roots turned to steel cables and the cold grew even sharper.

A coating of frost crept up the Monster’s legs, turning to ice as it rose higher. Ice covered its bottom half, freezing it in place, and continued to climb with sharp crinkling sounds.

I saw what was happening, and an evil, Puckish grin spread over my face.

“Puck.” Nyx saw my expression and immediately held out a hand. I grabbed it, and she pulled me up behind her, balanced on the Iron faery’s broad metal back. “Where to?”

“Right at it,” I answered. “As close as you can get.”

We charged. Coaleater’s hooves rang against the stone as he cantered toward the looming mountain of Monster, still thrashing against the web of ice and iron holding him down. Snorting fire, the Iron faery dodged a flailing claw and swerved close, leaping over the tangle of tentacles sprouting around the Monster. At the peak of his jump, I sprang off his back, landing on the slippery, ice-covered slope of the fiend’s shoulders.

Farther up the back, the beast turned and gave me a look as I sprinted toward him, dodging the final few tentacles as I reached its head.

“Hey, beastman, give me a lift!”

He scowled in confusion for half a second, before understanding dawned in those blue eyes and he crouched, opening his paws for me to step into. I sprang onto his palms, and he rose, hurling me straight into the air and over the Monster’s head.

Throwing back its muzzle, the Monster let out a final bellow of fury before the growing layer of ice reached its skull, flowing over its head, covering its antlers. And suddenly there was an enormous frozen statue standing in the center of the courtyard. Right underneath me.

Pulling my daggers, I grinned down at it. “Checkmate, big ugly.”

I plunged toward the Monster, bringing both daggers point down on its skull, and the creature shattered.

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