Page 84 of To Ashes and Dust
The beast slammed into the concrete, sparks lighting where its claws scraped asphalt as it slid to a stop. It crouched low, head turning in various directions as it hissed. God, it was massive, reaching easily seven to eight feet. I froze as it seemed to search.
It couldn’t see us. I opened my mouth to speak, but immediately clamped it shut.
Damien! It can’t see!
Damien’s eyes snapped to me before looking back at the creature. Its head turned slowly, scanning the area. He glanced at Barrett and Zephyr frozen against the brick wall opposite the alley from us. He pressed a finger to his lips, and they nodded.
My heart hammered, adrenaline pulsing through my body as I watched it. The creature quieted, the air falling dead silent, and its head jerked in my direction. I froze, my blood running cold. How strong was its hearing? Could it pick up something as quiet as breathing? A heartbeat?
The gravel ground into the bottom of my boot as I stepped back, and the creature locked onto me before lunging. I shoved Damien out of the way and dropped beneath the creature as it crashed into the brick wall, ramming my dagger up into its chest.
The blade met nothing. Its body wasn’t physical.
“Fuck,” I breathed, head pressed against the brick as my eyes lifted, pinned beneath the creature, trapped. The creature’s head tilted down to face me—
And I met death’s gaze.
Something grabbed hold of my feet, and I was dragged between the creatures’ legs and out from under it. Its head slammed into the pavement where I was a split second before. Damien and Barrett grabbed my arms, hoisting me to my feet. Before I could think, we were running. Darkness swirled around us, the Lupai rising from the depths, and they surged past us to attack the creature. Their glowing blue eyes turned red, their jaws widening and splitting as they bared their teeth.
“How the fuck are we gonna take that thing down?” Barrett barked as we rounded the corner.
I glanced over my shoulder, the creature’s shriek ringing out behind us. The Lupais’ growls and whimpers filled the alley in response as they fought the creature.
“I don’t know,” Damien said.
“Its body isn’t physical,” I panted, my boots slamming into the asphalt as I quickened my pace to keep up with them.
“Like the Lupai?” Damien asked.
“Almost, but I couldn’t even touch it. My dagger went into it, but there was just... nothing. Do you think Melantha summoned it, like how you summon the Lupai?” I said through short breaths.
“More than likely,” Damien answered.
Melantha had the same abilities as the members of House Skiá, and Damien had told me the types of creatures a user could summon were dictated by the power of their magic.
We came to a halt around another corner, Zephyr tight on our heels, and I collapsed against the brick, panting. I winced as a sharp pain shot into my ribs.Fuck. Not now.
“You ok?” Damien asked between breaths.
“Yeah.” I swallowed back the pain, forcing a smile. “Just winded.”
God, I hadn’t realized how much Eris had been helping in keeping the pain at bay. Would it have been like this always? If I couldn’t stand up against a creature like this, how would I ever be able to face Melantha?
Zephyr glanced back around the corner, checking to see if the creature followed us before asking, “Well, if physical attacks won’t work, how are we going to take it out? I don’t know if the Lupai will be able to take that thing on their own.”
“We may have to use your flame to fight it,” Damien said.
“Flame Stoicheion is effective against darklings. Maybe it could work.” Barrett ran his hand through his hair, his jaw working furiously as he thought. “Shit, this is gonna make it difficult to keep from drawing human attention.”
The sounds of the distant fight quieted, and I froze as Barrett and Damien continued to discuss ways to take this monster down. “Guys—shh—listen.”
Silence. I clamped my hand over my mouth as I tried to calm my heavy breaths.
Damien scanned the area as we listened for a hint of what happened, but there was no response, no sound, no sign the Lupai might return to us.
Zephyr inched to the corner, shifting his weight to check the alley. The creature slammed into him, pinning him face down on the ground. Barrett didn’t hesitate, slamming a blast of fire into the creature. A painful screech peeled from its lips, and I grimaced as the horrible sound pierced my mind again. It flailed off Zephyr, retreating to a nearby wall and climbing it with ease.
The creature whirled, head snapping in our direction, and bits of brick crumbled and clattered to the street beneath it as its sightless gaze locked on us from the wall. Its jaws peeled open as it shrieked at us, furious at the damage the flames had done to it.
