Page 60 of Tales of a Monstrous Heart
‘William !’ I cried, ducking under Emrys’s arm and dropping to help the boy up.
‘I think something is wrong with Mr Thrombi,’ he groaned, rubbing his neck. Emrys came to my side, quickly assessing that William was all in one piece.
‘Are you all right?’ I worried.
‘Just need to catch my breath.’ His face was pale as he tried to drag in a deep breath while clutching at his side.
‘You should go and—’ My words died on my lips as something changed in the air. A horrid cold tension, a strange whistling as the bells silenced. Strong arms were around my waist and I was wrenched around, my feet leaving the floor momentarily only to stumble into the panelling the other side of the study entrance. A horrid crash and the splitting of wood filled the air along with another startled cry from William.
My back pressed against the wall, Emrys’s arms caging me in, his breath brushing against my cheekbone, one arm braced on the wall next to my head, the other still around my waist.His head was dipped, dark hair falling across his brow, and his eyes were so dark even the whites weren’t visible as he looked at me. I was suddenly unsure if it was justhiminside there. My hands pressed against the bare warm skin of his chest where his shirt had parted.
‘Bloody saints !’ William cried, fracturing my thoughts, and I yanked my hands back and rose to my tiptoes to see over Emrys’s shoulder.
Three ceremonial swords from one of the display cabinets at the back of the study were now embedded in the wood panelling. Right where I’d been standing.
‘I don’t …’I began breathlessly, holding onto Emrys’s arm, trying to find the answer to what was happening – only to see him looking down at me, his eyes nothing but darknessswirled with grey like a storm on a winter’s night. A chill ran over my flesh from the volatile nature of the magic seeping from his skin.
His brows were creased, fighting to understand something before he pushed away from me. The air was colder in his absence as I ran my hands over my arms, checking that I was indeed all in one piece.
‘Whatever it is, it’s really pissed off,’ William offered as the study door continued to slam. The crashing carried on inside those bells chiming wildly.
Emrys reached into his trouser pocket, pulling out a round metal contraption no bigger than an apple, rusted and engraved with long strokes of a craftsman’s tool.
A containment orb. An object I’d only ever seen in a history tome. A piece of ancient technology made to stun dark magic into remaining in one form for a short period of time.
‘Did you stitch an endless charm into your trousers?’ I accused, confused by how else it could have fit in there with how snug they fit against his muscular thighs.
‘We can discuss my trousers later, Croinn,’ he commented dryly, turning sharply towards the study doors.
‘It’s not going to like that,’ William warned with a grimace, looking down at the containment orb, but it was quite clear Emrys was beyond caring. He twisted the metal orb twice, a clicking of gears began as he waited for a gap in the doors and tossed it carelessly into the study.
There was a moment of silence in the chaos before bright white light burst through the gaps in the door, forcing me to avert my eyes. Then the screeching began.
The study doors were thrown open, spots dancing in my vision as I leant around Emrys and there in the centre of the library was Mr Thrombi.
Or what had once been Mr Thrombi.
His body was hunched and convulsing. The crack of bone sounded with each jerked motion. His limbs longer than natural, with taloned claws, the fur around his hoofed legs peeling away, skin unnaturally trying to shed.
Dark foam dripped from a mouth filled with too many sharp teeth as the creature continued to scream, clawing at its eyes as if the light had injured it. Tendrils of smoke rose from its greyish flesh, evidence of its dark power.
Books and papers lay across the floor in disarray, all the destruction leading to the shelves where the portium door was hidden. Where he’d come from.
‘A tallet,’ Emrys said.
A tallet. A curse come back to life. A formless being that possessed weakened prey. Stronger than death, as it sunk into the victims very bones.
Emrys turned to me, his lips thin and face drawn. ‘Did you use magic in that healing?’
‘Only a spark,’ I replied, confused as to how that would cause this. But before I could contemplate it further, the tallet dropped its hands, its beady black eyes focused on us, and roared. The bells on the chains guarding the darker texts began to jangle furiously, books slid across the room of their own accord towards the beast.
‘It’s trying to open the books !’ William lurched forward, catching three of the tomes and pushing them under his body so they couldn’t move towards the creature.
I shook my head. A tallet was a lesser demon. It wouldn’t know how to feast on the remains of dark magic.
‘It isn’t clever enough for that,’ Emrys replied, opening his palm. Appearing there in a wisp of smoke was a thin, sharp blade.
A shadowsbane. A magical blade forged to contain the demonic.
