Page 61 of The Fated and the Damned
With a clank, the grate pulled free and I kicked hard, letting momentum propel me forward. I opened my eyes as the surface drew closer and a light cut through the pitch black. So close now, just a few pumps away from precious air.
I should have known better.
Something wrapped around my ankle, yanking me back towards the pool outside the castle walls. I drew a sword and slashed blindly, unable to see my attacker. Fear sank deeper than the chill in my bones and I grew sluggish from the cold. The lack of oxygen tightened my lungs, causing my vision to darken with each passing second.
I thrashed my sword wildly, meeting something solid that emitted a piercing shriek of pain, even below water. The tentacle withdrew and I took my chance, surging through the water with arm and sword, aiming for that small sliver of light. I broke the surface eagerly, gulping down air and half choking as I found purchase on solid ground and made for the safety of the keep.
Two more slimy tentacles clasped around my ankles and I stumbled once again, my sword clattering uselessly to the ground as I was swept into the air. The thing screeched below me and at last I saw it through the hole I’d just climbed from.
A thousand lidless black eyes glared at me from a bulbous face, a slimy substance dripping like acid from its body. But the teeth … the teeth on the damn thing were like a million daggers in an endless spiral.
“Not today, you ugly fuck,” I roared, grabbing a sconce from the wall and hurling it into the creature’s eyes as it lifted me.
It shrieked louder this time—so loud I feared it would have every demon guard in the castle running to investigate—and dropped me into the water. Fear urged my legs to scramble out of the cess pool and onto dry land.
I wasn’t sure what summoned the power next. Sheer determination, a kind of panicked desperation to survive, or blind rage and a desire to kill this fucking thing. I could have walked away while it burned.
I chose violence.
Magic whipped out of me, black and red and hungry for a taste of death. I felt something unfamiliar unfurl in my chest and stretch, opening its jaws wide before chomping down. I raised my palms and, where moments before I saw an ugly-ass demon, I found nothing but ash, disintegrating and sinking slowly into the blackness whence it came.
I looked at my hands in awe, turning them over slowly as the beast inside me simply yawned and curled up, having fed on its meal.
“Istenanya’s tits.” If this was what Kitarni felt like when using her power, I wanted more of it.
Together, we were formidable. With the crown? We’d be unstoppable.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Kitarni
Mydreamswereplaguedwith stitched faces and burning fields, the scent of smouldering lavender acrid in my nose as I gasped awake. My body was slick with sweat, my temple feverish to the touch.
I yawned, swinging my legs off the bed and putting my face in my hands. Rest wouldn’t find me tonight. Perhaps a run would clear my head.
“Trouble sleeping?”
I jolted upright, snatching my blade from beneath the pillow and brandishing it before me, searching the shadows for the voice. I knew. I knew before she stepped into the dim moonlight, who it was.
“Sylvie,” I hissed, looking around the room for any other threats. When satisfied, I raked my gaze over her frame, noting the odd shimmer and distortion to her body. “You’re not really here, are you?”
Her full lips curved into a wicked grin as she drew closer and I held my blade higher in warning. If she’d been a vision when she was newly resurrected, she was devastating now. Her light brown skin gleamed and her cheeks flushed with colour. A gown seemingly made of smoke clung to her full figure and she watched with dark, catlike eyes lined with kohl.
“What you see is but an illusion. A little trick I learned from you.” She clicked her tongue, shaking her head in amusement. “A clever spell, but all it bought you was time.”
I smiled at her nastily. “Clever enough to fool you. And you’re wrong, it bought much more than that.”
“Ah, yes. A wedding for the ages. Covens and clans come from across the Kingdom of Hungary to support your cause, though I hear there is trouble in paradise.” She cocked her head and flashed her pointed teeth. “You never really know who you can trust.”
I turned my back on her—the ultimate insult, meant to show her I didn’t consider her a threat. A blatant lie, obviously. I could smell her power, feel it enveloping her frame. It was terrifying, but I wouldn’t tremble or shrink before her.
“Your little coup made no difference. Did you think to overthrow my cadre from within my own walls?” I shrugged. “My family are alive and well.All of them.”
A small hiss of annoyance came from behind me and I smiled to myself. “Just so you know, your cultists are all dead. It brought me great pleasure to incinerate them with my power. I’m short a High Witch, but it worked out for the best. The pledge was already made, Sylvie. The Blue Coven witches answer to me now.” I looked over my shoulder, lifting my chin with a satisfactory smirk. “They all do.”
Sylvie bared her teeth. “It changes nothing. My cultists will swarm your fields like flies, spreading corruption from your bloated bellies. Make no mistake, blood of my blood, I will have your power and I will have your city. The witches of this kingdom shall be wiped off the face of the earth and the world will bow before their Dark Queen.”
Her words dripped like poison into my ears, worming its way into my heart. I wanted to tremble at the hate rolling off her in waves, but I stood my ground, turned, and slowly stepped towards her until our faces were inches apart.
