Page 65 of Prisoner of Darkness and Dreams
That thought cuts through the fog of fear that’s frozen me in place. I slowly take a step backward, and the mortifus growls again, exposing the other side of its teeth.
Then Leon’s there, barreling forward to put himself between me and the beast, his sword drawn.
The mortifus snarls and bends its legs to leap. Leon gets there first,charging toward the creature and burying his blade straight through the bottom of its skull.
The creature doesn’t even flinch.
Instead, it begins to unhinge its jaw while Leon still clings to his blade. It shakes its huge head a few times, as if to dislodge a fly, then brings its canines snapping down, inches from his face.
For a second, I’m frozen in fear, terrified I’m about to watch the man I love get bitten in two. Then I scramble to draw my own blade. But Leon’s too quick for the mortifus. He dodges the huge teeth slamming down beside him, then wrenches his sword from the creature’s skull and rolls out of its reach across the floor.
The maneuver leaves us on opposite sides of the chamber, the mortifus standing between us. As it turns its head from me to Leon, I risk a glance down the corridor behind me, wondering if it leads to the council. Maybe I could make it—get help.
I meet Leon’s gaze, and without speaking, we understand each other.
Leon takes a running leap at the monster, driving his sword into its upper flank and using it as a handle to climb onto its back.
I break into a sprint down the corridor, screaming at the top of my lungs.
“Help! Help us!”
There’s a crash, a yell, and a thud, and I guess Leon’s been thrown from the animal. I keep running, praying that he’s alright but not able to afford the time to slow down and look over my shoulder.
The sound of huge paws thundering against the floor tell me I’m being followed, but I’m already at the end of the corridor. I collide with a door and throw myself through it, only to find another chamber almost identical to the one I just escaped. It’s completely empty. Why is this place built like a maze?
“Ana!” Leon’s shout is drowned out by a vicious baying as the creature crashes through the doorway after me. I spin around to face it, lifting my sword. But if Leon can’t stop this thing with his weapon, I certainly can’t.
Desperate, without even thinking, I reach for my magic.
And something answers.
I throw out whatever is there waiting for me, and a weak sun beam erupts from my palm, hitting the mortifus in the face. It leaves a smoking hole in its skull, which makes it hesitate for just a moment.
“Please,” I shout, not sure if I’m calling for earthly or divine assistance.
A deep rumbling shakes the ground beneath my feet.
“Stand back!” Leon shouts as the floor starts to split open. The mortifus swings its head around in agitation, tilting its single eye downward at the mixture of stone and earth disintegrating beneath its feet. I focus on throwing myself back against the wall, finding a wall bracket to grab onto as I’m almost flung off my feet by Leon’s magic.
Only when a huge section of the floor falls away does the creature understand the danger it’s in. It lets out a whine as its back foot slips into the dark hole Leon’s created, scrabbling frantically to get a purchase with its front paws. But it’s no use. The cracks grow as more of the stone floor crumbles away into darkness below. We’re on the ground floor, but there’s clearly a subterranean level to this tower, and whatever’s underneath this room is a long way down.
Just as the back half of the mortifus starts to slide into the abyss, it manages to get a hold on one of the remaining flagstones, using it to leap forward. My heart thuds in my ears for several long moments as I watch the remaining floor disappear beneath the mortifus, yet it keeps moving toward me.
Carried by forward momentum, its huge mouth opens, and I’m sure it’s going to swallow me whole. It falls short, but the very tip of its teeth catch the edge of my cloak and latch on. Leon’s watching me from across the room, his eyes widening. Then gravity catches up with the mortifus, and it’s pulling me through the chasm in the floor as it slips down into the darkness.
We tumble earthward. The mortifus is all around me—bones and wood and moss and sweet decay. I don’t know which way is up or down. Those few seconds pass strangely slowly, allowing me a beat to wonder exactly how fast I’ll die when I hit the ground far below.
Use your magic. It’s back. Use it.
That’s the second thought that passes through my mind, and I seize it. With all my might, I concentrate on how I want nothing more in this moment than to not hit the floor. I’m aware of thick walls around me and throw my magic out to them. I’m not able to move them, but the force of my magic trying to bring us closer counteracts gravity, slowing my descent.
The mortifus isn’t so lucky.
It plummets past me, hitting the floor below with an awful crunch. My magic is too weak to stop my fall completely. I have a few seconds to see the way the animal’s bones splinter and snap before I too have to brace for impact, protecting my head as I slam into the stone floor.
Something in my leg shatters, the impact running up my shin and into my thigh. I scream, and when I’m able to gasp in another breath, I find the words to curse a hundred different ways. But I’m alive. I survived the fall.
“Ana!”
