Page 78 of The Dark Rises
I take a deep breath and step forward. Bright flames circle around me, then tighten around my calves, burning through the layers of skin and muscle. Gagging, I concentrate on keeping my food down. The wind blows through the gauntlet, and the cool night air brings a new level of excruciating punishment as itsweeps across the charred flesh. My legs weaken, but I lock my knees and thighs to keep myself upright.
Lasso of fire. I know who wields that weapon. Big, bald asshole.I picture myself wrapping it around his neck and tying it to the nearest tall tree. Fury fills me, eclipsing the pain.
Inhaling, I hold my breath, then slowly release it and step forward.
A large swoosh of air and pain explodes in the back of my head. Everything blurs. Stumbling, I fight to not step forward or go down.
Number fucking five was a bitch.My shoulders slump as the thought of five more hits like that one, or worse. Breathing in and out, I think of all I have endured to get to this point. Three thousand years in a pitch black hole tormented by my fellow inmates. Why? Because I was born to be king.The best rulers always have the hardest paths.I remind myself. It makes them a better leader. Look at Lucifer. Meri.
Straightening, I breathe in and take the next step. Water pours down on me in a deluge, stripping the air from my lungs, splaying my cuts wide open, running into every wound on my body, and driving nails into the burns with its piercing coldness. I wait for it to stop, but it doesn’t.
Breath running out, I step forward… into a shredding machine. Or at least that’s what it feels like. Hundreds of small cuts appear across my body. Jaw and fists clenched, I arch my back, trying to get away from the pain, but it’s everywhere, and all at once. Blood flows like a river to the ground at my feet.
“I’ll take the next hit,” Cormal’s voice rings out across the gauntlet.
Everything falls silent.
Odin’s booming voice rings out. “Madoc must run the gauntlet.”
“He is, and he will continue his walk to the end of the line, but nothing in the rules prevents me from taking the next one in his place,” Cormal argues.
“Let us confer,” Odin says, a note of irritation in his voice.
Voices rise and fall to my left. Swaying back and forth, I wait. At least the knives have stopped cutting.
“This is unprecedented, but you’re right, we didn’t make a rule against it,” Odin concedes gruffly. “Why are you doing this for him?”
“The bastard is family,” Cormal drawls. “I sure as hell didn’t pick him, but Meri did, so there you go. How is this going to work?”
Odin chuckles. “Meet him on the gauntlet. You step forward first and take the hit. He follows.”
Fury rises as he moves to stand next to me. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Playing by the rules,” Cormal retorts. “Kind of surprised me, too. I’m usually looking to break them.” He takes a deep breath. “This is going to hurt like hell, isn’t it? Got any tips?”
“Why?” I press.
“Because you would do the same for me,” he states confidently.
He’s right. I would. “Don’t brace.”
Muscles loosen, and he steps forward.
I watch twin swords pierce each of his sides, skewering him in the middle. Veins pop out of his neck and colorful curses fill the air. He rises on his toes, as if to escape the pain. They retract, and he clamps a hard hand on each side as if he’s trying to hold in the pain.
I step to his side. “Brutal. You’re right. If I had to watch that six more times, I’d have stepped in too.”
Cormal’s voice is strained. “Honestly, not as bad as I thought. The scythe and club were much worse.”
“Is that what hit my head? Almost took me out,” I admit with a pained chuckle.
“I’ll take the next hit.” Rivan’s voice rings out in the night air.
“Mother fucker,” Cormal and I say in unison.
Odin curses. “Fuck me! This is the first gauntlet we’ve had in thousands of years, and you’re ruining it. We need to make stricter rules. Somebody write that down. Damn it. Go on.”
Rivan steps up beside us. “Can’t have you two taking all the glory. Plus, the big fucker taking the next hit appears entirely too happy.”
