Page 133 of The War of Wings
“You remember when you tried to teach me to fight in the forest back in Cabillia?” I fought the words out as I twisted and wriggled beneath his weight. “You wanted me to prove I could protect myself. Remember?” There was not a flicker of recognition in his eyes, not even a ghost of the man he was. Fuck, fuck,fuck! I finally gained enough control of my senses to conjure a spark in my palms, but my wrists were still painfully locked in his grasp. “Well, I can protect myself. I’m just sorry I couldn’t protect you.” I jutted a knee up, managing to land it against his lower spine, and he jolted enough for me to yank my right hand free.
A burst of fire rushed forward from my palm and collided with the leather stretched over his chest. Back he flew, his face unchanged but his hand instinctually moving over the charred material that quickly burned away to the skin beneath.
Tears burned in my eyes as flames burned my hands. I cast those flames through the air, catching Miles in the same spot once again. Still he wore that blank expression, even as he batted at the flames beginning to engulf him completely.
Malosym’s eyes were on Miles, enraptured as the flames grew larger, as if this were nothing but entertainment. My heart ached to summon a rainstorm to put an end to his suffering.This isn’t Miles, I told myself.Not anymore. Miles is dead.
But Malosym cast his own hand out, a bolt of blue flame landing against Miles’ chest, and my flames were extinguished like they’d never even burned at all. Miles’ leathers were singedand charred, the exposed skin beneath angry and bubbling. His face, however, was fixed in that same hardened, emotionless expression. A silvery-pink expanse of the scar Malosym had left across his chest in Eserene was distinguishable, even beneath the newly formed blisters.
With another nod from Malosym, Miles launched himself at me again, but I didn’t come to play this fucking game. Just before Miles’ body made contact with mine, I tapped into my storm, a gust of wind streamed from my hands so strong it was like he’d crashed into a wall. His feet slipped in the sand as he railed against the air. The same wind that had saved him from falling to his death in the Widow’s Sea was keeping him at bay now.
My teeth gritted, my hands shaking as I strained to keep the wall of air in place. Why the hell hadn’t I practiced this power more? But before I could chastise myself for that oversight any further, Miles was suddenly gone, the wind immediately dissolving the puff of black smoke left in his spot.
I loosed a breath as my hands fell to my side, the wind dying as I turned to Malosym, only to see two Occulti demons sprinting toward me from behind him. They were in their true form — their most powerful form, all snapping teeth and merciless strength. It took two bolts of fire each to send them flailing to the sand. I couldn’t revel in the small victory for long though, because two more demons materialized from nothing. Down they went, some obliterated by fire and others torn apart from the inside. Three more followed, then five, each of them meeting a brutal end.
I opened my mouth to scream that we were supposed to do this alone, but the barrage kept coming. It took little effort to decimate the swarms that were growing in number, but they simply didn’t stop. And all the while, Malosym stood to the side, enjoying the show.
A group of thirty came charging at me, each of them landing in a crumpled heap in the sand. My hands were raisedand ready for the next attack, but none came. I cherished the respite, knowing it would soon come to an end. “I can do this all fucking day, Malosym,” I taunted. “You want to capture me, you’re going to need a lot more than a handful of Occulti.”
“I thought as much. But if you want to kill me, you’ll have to catch me first.”
In a flash of that eerie blue light, he was gone. But I wasn’t alone for long, because a familiar sound echoed down the beach. I didn’t need to turn toward its source to know what I would see — a massive, insurmountable crowd of Occulti heading straight for me, about a mile away. I forced myself to face the oncoming horde, a small tide of relief rising in me when I saw there were no drivas.
Yet.
I’d believed Malosym. I was a stupid, foolish fucking idiot who thought he’d come alone. When had he ever been honest? When had he ever told the truth? Still, I believed him, and here I was with no weapons but what I could conjure myself, no army, nor aid. And Araqina and the entirety of the world was going to fall because of it.
Had Adorex gone back to Araqina? I’d asked her to stay close, but the silence on the other end of our connection was deafening. Was she… Could she be…
Nope. Not considering it.
My mind landed on the soulhags, summoning them forward, pulling their essence to me the way I did the drivas’.Crack open the earth. Crawl forth and tear the Occulti apart limb from limb. But there was nothing. The sand didn’t shift. No crevasse ripped across the shore. The only sound coming from the ground was the rumble of the incoming Occulti.
I reached for the kelpies next, but I was met with more of the same. Silence. The sea was no rougher and waves no larger than when I arrived. That unyielding fog didn’t stir. The kelpies remained wherever they dwelled in the deep.
No one was coming. I was on my own here, just as I’d agreed to be when I answered Malosym’s summons.
I was going to find him and kill him. And if I didn’t find him, if his Occulti fuckers managed to capture me, I’d kill him then. He was going to die.
The clouds churned above me as I tunneled into myself. The wind whipped over the beach, the wild, untamed trees that bordered the sand swaying and rustling.
We’d slain a dozen Occulti at the ball in Araqina. They were in their true form then, and it had been a bloodbath. This was the first time I’d taken on such a large number in their true form, and I was all alone. I could feel the dark surge of their essence from here, power that reverberated through the ground with an earth-shaking rumble that traveled through my feet, into my ankles and knees.
“Come and get me, motherfuckers,” I growled under my breath, taking a step in their direction.
Petra. Here.
Adorex’s presence slammed into my mind, and I whirled, scanning the horizon for any sign of her. “Where are you?” I screamed out loud, knowing it would also filter down the line to her. “Adorex!”
And there she was, silhouetted against angry clouds. Menacing and fearsome andbeautiful. Even all the way up there, I could see her slitted blue eyes focused on me. I waved my arms anyway, a hysterical laugh bubbling up at the sight of her.
Where had she been? Had she stayed close after all?
Adorex tucked those massive, leathery wings and dove straight for the ground, nose pointed and thick, scaled neck elongated. I threw my arm over my face at the sand that flew up when her wings flared and she landed, a horrible, thunderous roar ripping from her throat in the direction of the oncoming Occulti.
Help. Come. Petra. On.
No need to tell me twice. I clambered onto her back, and before I’d even found my seat, the ground was twenty feet below us, then fifty, then a hundred. I didn’t bother to fasten the strap over my legs. I stared out over the horde as they rushed down the shoreline, my eyes scanning for any sign of Malosym. The dense fog hanging over the ocean had suddenly shifted, rolling slowly onto shore.
