Page 90 of The Light Falls
Cormal grips my arms. “Whatever happens, don’t let him take you into the water. It’s his domain, and he’ll dominate. Take him out quickly.” He runs a hand through his dark hair. “I wish I could fight him for you.”
I lay a hand on his arm. “Cormal, if I can’t fight him and win, I don’t deserve to call myself queen. Besides, you used to throw me in the ring with every crazy demon you could find. Have some faith. I’m trying to.” Placing a sweet kiss on his lips, I change into a crop top, sports bra, and shorts. Last, I oil up my skin. It was a trick I learned in the ring.
Walking to the center, I feel a presence nearby.
“I’m here.” Madoc whispers. “Remember your shield. Cormal was right. Take him out quickly. He won’t tire easily.”
Is it wrong to get turned on when he whispers in my ear like a dark predator stalking my every move? Blushing, I glance around, but don’t see him.
Quietly finding the threads nearby, I wrap them around the core of power inside me. Buzzing high, I clench my teeth together to keep the extra boost under my control.
Hyne cracks his knuckles and saunters to the middle of the field to meet me. He reminds me of the demons back home for some reason. Maybe it’s his less-than-civilized, bordering on neanderthal manner. The Fae are always so damn proper, I constantly worry I’m committing some damn faux pas.
Hyne reaches his hand out for me to shake, but I refuse to fall for that trick. Instead, I flip him off.
“Stop flirting with me. I can’t let you win,” he admonishes me. His eyes are gleaming with challenge. Fighting the queen is an honor. He’ll give it everything he’s got.
Fisk raises a hand. “This is not a fight to the death. Do you hear me, Hyne?” He waits until he gets a grunt for an answer. “Match is over when one of you cries ‘mercy.’ Go!”
With a roar, Hyne charges straight toward me. I watch him for a second to pick up the timing in my head, then I run straight toward him. Surprise lights his face, but it’s quickly replaced by determination. Just as we’re about to meet in the middle, his arms open wide, and I fuse an extra dose of power in my right hand.
At the last second, I slide between his legs. He tries to close them, but the oil on my skin helps me keep my momentum. Power punching him right in the crotch, I spring up on the other side.
A tentacle wraps around my ankle, and I conjure a knife out of ice and slice it off. I do the same to the next one that reaches for me. When the first one regenerates, I realize this is futile and get rid of the sword. My feet slosh around, and I look down to see the tentacles are secreting water.
Missiles hit my shield and bounce off. I look up to see a windmill of tentacles throwing rocks, trees, and everything else at me.
Safe for a second, I build a circle of fire next to me. Then, I begin to siphon the water from the ground around us, the air, and his tentacles, and stream it across the fire. The liquid evaporates, leaving only steam behind. He roars. Tentacles drop to the ground like wrinkled husks. Dehydration is a bitch. I smile.
A huge whirlpool appears between us, and it starts sucking me toward the middle. Panicking, I look around for a tree or something to hold on to, but the field is barren now. The edge is about two feet away. If my body touches it, I won’t have the power to pull myself out.
“Fly,” Madoc whispers urgently. “Pull from the bird.”
Bird? I glance around and see Rivan. My feet move another foot closer to the whirlpool’s edge. Closing my eyes for a brief second, I picture flying with Rivan and the movement and magic he deployed. Air caresses my face, and I open my eyes. I’m not exactly flying, more like hovering a couple of inches above the ground, but the whirlpool has lost its grip on me. Wobbling, I hold my arms out for balance. This needs practice.
A splatter of something hits my shield. Smoke rises, and a burning sensation starts crawling over my skin.
“Fuck. Acid,” Madoc curses. “You need to rinse it off with water. Quickly.”
I look around at the arid dryness around us. Shit. The only thing with water is the whirlpool, and since I don’t know where that goes, there’s no way in hell I’m jumping in it. I glare at Hyne, who is laughing with glee and pointing at the lake. His domain.
Another splatter hits the shield, a huge hole appears, and the acid drips onto my arm. Burning like fire, I grit my teeth and race to the lake, Hyne on my heels. As I get close, a huge wave rises up. He crashes into me and closes his arms and tentacles around my body. The wave scoops us up and carries us down into the deep.
My skin instantly stops burning, but my lungs are getting tighter and tighter. I look around for a weapon but find something worse. His tentacles are releasing an ink cloud. Soon I won’t be able to see anything. It will be utter darkness. Fear rises, and I try to swim for the surface, but I can’t get away from him. Remembering the forest, I close my eyes. My panic recedes, and I smile. I know what to do.
The second it’s pitch black, I throw my arms around Hyne and jerk him into the darkness. This is trickier than riding the shadows because there isn’t even a modicum of light, but I think it will work. I use Cormal’s power to open a portal directly to The Pit.
Upon our arrival, terrifying sounds greet us. I drop him in the middle. “Try not to die while you’re here.”
Seeing one of the monsters move toward us, I take the portal back to the lake and swim up to the surface. Everyone is on the shore, peering down into the lake, except for Rivan, who’s flying above the surface. I swim to the edge and walk out.
Fisk’s face is priceless. “Where’s Hyne?”
“In The Pit,” I tell him.
His eyes widen. Guess he knows what it is.
Waving a hand, I dry my clothes. “Let’s give him a few minutes to get acquainted with his new friends.”
