Page 21 of Blaze

“Put me down! We can help!”

“Not this close we can’t,” Draven growls. “When we’ve put some distance between your body and that thing we’ll talk.”

“My sentiments exactly,” Ransom says, watching our opponent warily. He’s already moving without ever turning his back on the star beast. The press of his body against mine is absurdly exciting and settles my nerves. I should be gibbering in panic, but with his hands around me, I can’t feel anything but desire for him. It’s distracting, but it doesn’t lock my limbs into immobility.

“We can’t lose Maddox,” I say.

I spy Ransom’s face out of the corner of my eye when he sets me down. His face has creased down into a thoughtful scowl. He’s crossed the distance quickly. The path has sloped upward, giving us a good view of the fight going on below. Maddox and Axion have cornered the beast, coming at it from opposite angles, forcing it to remain on the defensive. Each close call makes me cringe, as though it’s my flesh the beast is trying to tear into, not theirs. Strange as it is, I care about them in my own way. Maybe that’s bleedover from Ransom, who regards both as family. I can’t help but care about them because he does. Yes, that has to be it.

“Lady Death could give us a talisman that would give us a one-way trip into Lycaon’s world, but we’d be trapped there even after Cyllene is freed from her bonds. Our people will be able to buck Lycaon’s control, but we’ll live out the rest of our days in that realm,” Ransom says.

“Fuck that,” Draven says, pulling a crossbow from the interior of his coat. Huntsmen seem to have interminable pockets. This is the fifth weapon I’ve spotted on his person since we set off. “We’re getting back to Ascor.”

Carmine smiles faintly. “Damn right, we are. We can’t let Titus run the place for long. He’ll turn my kingdom into a collection of gambling dens and whorehouses by the end of the year.”

The two share a secret smile, enjoying some inside joke I’m not privy to. A prickle of envy runs over my skin. I’ve never related to someone so well that we have our own in-jokes and sayings. I don’t have long to contemplate it though. Draven lifts the crossbow, sights down the weapon briefly, and then lets the arrow fly. It hits the star beast in one dark eye socket. I expect the bolt to pass through as if it’s hit open air, but the arrow sinks into the fletching with a squelch. The beast roars, rearing up onto its hind legs.

Axion uses the opportunity to go for its soft underbelly, ripping a gash the size of my forearm in the flesh. Something luminous spills out of the opening. I can’t tell if it’s a stream of blood or a fat loop of intestine. Do ghosts made of stardust even have intestines? Maddox circles the beast and then lunges, biting deep into one of the haunches. He comes away muzzle dripping silver, a hunk of muscle dissolving into nothingness when he drops it onto the bridge.

As I watch, plants and thorny vines of all shapes, sizes, and colors burst along the surface beneath the star beast’s feet, blooming as though the bridge is fecund earth, not some form of glass. The vines whip through the air, looping over the star beast’s back. With one tug, it flattens the beast to the bridge’s surface. It howls as the blooms brushing its side begin to eat at its fur. They must be corrosive, spitting acid or venom like a predatory plant from Wonderland. I realize with a start this is Carmine’s doing. When I turn to face the Queen, her face is screwed into an expression of effort.

“Blaze,” she says, voice strained. “Blaze, finish it!”

Whatever the star beast breathed into my face really has made me slow. I should have thought to use my powers immediately, but its sudden appearance, combined with my worry for my hellhound companions has rooted me to the spot, unable to struggle out from Ransom’s arms. He releases me unwillingly when I push against his hold. I summon my will, the flames kindling to life inside my chest when I shake myself free from my stupor.

“Stand clear!” I cry, hoping Axion and Maddox will have time to throw themselves out of my way.

Then I let loose, flame pouring out of me in a torrent so strong and unexpectedly large that it takes even me off guard. Maddox and Axion flatten themselves to the bridge, narrowly escaping the inferno. The jet hits the star beast full in the face and it rocks back, stunned for a moment by the flames consuming it. Its scream is otherworldly, echoing into the vastness of space all around us and I fear the doomed cry of the animal will draw in more. I pour more heat, and more power into the blast until it’s withered, even its voice dissolving into nothing under the onslaught. When I’m through, I’m panting, lightheaded from the effort it took. I need more rest and some food. I’m nearly spent and we’ve only faced one enemy so far. It doesn’t bode well for the future.

Ransom stares at the cracked and blackened section of the bridge, nonplussed for a second. His arms shoot out to catch me when I sway, keeping me from tipping over the edge and into oblivion.

“You caught me,” I say with a woozy grin. It seems to amuse him. Those magnificent eyes sparkle with laughter when he stares down at me. He brushes his lips over my temple briefly.

“I always will, little spitfire.”

I can’t say why, but the nickname warms my insides. I curl closer to him, all my bitter feelings forgotten for the moment. Ransom’s face softens. He looks almost... touched by the gesture.

“We need to leave before another of those things sneaks up on us,” Draven says.

“Agreed,” Axion replies, voice rough. Speech still doesn’t sound natural coming from a canine throat. “Lady Death’s domain isn’t far now. If we run, we can make it there before another day passes in your world. We don’t have time to dally.”

Draven seizes Carmine by the waist, and she lets out a girlish gasp. But this time, she doesn’t argue. She wraps her arms around Draven’s neck when he pulls her securely into his chest. Axion lopes forward, taking the lead with Maddox in close pursuit. Draven follows after them, and Ransom and I take the rear. He’s the slowest, stuck in human form. That’s my fault, but I don’t want him to pull away. I like having his arms around me.

“Sleep,” he says, breaking into a gentle run that manages not to jar me. “You’re going to need it for the fight ahead.”

I nod wearily and pull out my shard of the bridge. If I’m going to doze off, I might as well do something useful and keep track of what’s going on elsewhere. I see two chosen reflected in the glass before I topple into a waking dream. A faerie in flight and a woman with sable hair facing off against a swarthy man inside a lush room.

I close my eyes and let the visions take me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

NEVA

“I have to admit,” Hassan begins, glancing around at the interior of the room with mild curiosity. “This isn’t how I expected it to end.”

This wasn’t how I intended for it to end either when we first set out on our journey to defeat Hassan. I always envisioned a bloody battle full of shifting forms and a never-ending chase. The omnifarious, who can take all shapes and sizes is chaos personified, untethered by rules. A djin is a sort of cousin from a far-flung world, but unlike me, they have rules that must be followed. I quickly found I could not beat Hassan in a battle of shifting. He’s much older, much more practiced, and arguably cleverer than I am. A byproduct of so many centuries of life. Pity those years couldn’t have eroded his sharp edges, dulling down the bastard he turned out to be.

No, the plan ended up being much simpler than I imagined. Though simpler does not mean it was easy. It’s taking most of my concentration to keep this magic stable long enough to do what I must.

---