her safe from dozens of giant swamp serpents.
Setting his jaw, he tensed, then lunged. Midleap he knew they would fall short of the island. A serpent surfaced beneath him; at the last instant, he alighted on its back, using it to vault to his target. They landed safely.
—Serpents are not stepping stones!—
He could do without her critiques. “You have no tongue, yet you won’t shut up. ” He locked his gaze on his destination. As he’d spied before, there were two mountains bordering a plateau atop an enormous shelf of land. It ended in a sheer cliff face, as if a giant had cleaved its edges, halving the mountains in the process. Lava oozed down their sides, like glowing orange waterfalls.
The plateau was hundreds of feet above the swamp. If he missed, there’d be nothing to stop them from plunging into serpent-infested waters.
The storm was worsening. Wind gusted with the pounding rain. But this pile of rock had a little more room, so he could at least get a runningstart. Though the winds carried ill-omened scents from that plateau, he had no choice but to continue.
A horn rang out, echoing from one mountain to the other.
A battle call?
Bloodthirsty yells sounded, metal clanging against metal. Moments later, the night sky lit up, Lorean powers blasting.
He saw fire grenades, ice bombs, and swirling battle magics. Had to be demons. But how many factions of them could there be? “Well done, Melanthe. You took us from one war to another.”
—I think I know where we are. Supposed to be a myth. The source of all demons.—
The source? Realization. “You brought us to bloody Pandemonia?” Plural of pandemonium. Because it was the fabled home plane of hundreds of demon species.
Another hiss sounded behind him. The water continued rising at an alarming rate. No other option but forward. He had to hope that they could skirt the edges of the conflict.
As he backed to the far end of the island, she wrapped her arms tighter around him, digging her gauntlets into his skin.
He took off in a sprint, waiting till the last second . . .
With a bellow, he lunged for his target. Airborne. Three heartbeats later, he knew he wouldn’t make it in this headwind.
Too short, too short.
—We’re going into the drink, Vrekener!—
When the green serpent crested, Thronos worked his wing as hard as he could to reach its back. Ha! Heading for a perfect serpent touchdown; he was getting handy at this.
He landed just as the beast thrashed. The momentum sent them hurtling toward one of those mountains as if they’d hit a thirty-ton springboard.
Thronos heaved his wing, fighting to right himself. The mountainside loomed, rushing at them.
He thought he spied a small cave opening between two lava flows. Could he hit that tiny target? Such a risk! He steered with his wing, down and left.
Down and left, down and left . . .
Left, left!
They bulleted through the opening. He dropped his legs, reversing his wing, touching his feet down.
The momentum had him barreling toward the back wall; he twisted to his side, leaning away, feet sliding sideways in the dust.
They stopped inches from the wall.
THIRTEEN
L anthe had been certain of death, convinced their momentum would slam them into the side of a mountain, crushing them or giving them a lava bath.
Instead, Thronos had hit the bull’s-eye, then slid home. She drew back to face him. — Okay. That was a pretty cool move. Way to thread the needle.—
She thought it took him a second longer than usual to scowl down at her. He set her to her feet, steadying her with a big palm over her shoulder.
—Thanks.—
He jerked his hand away, looking angry with himself. Then he turned to survey the area.
Thanks to the glow of the lava flows just beyond the cave mouth, there was enough ambient light for even Lanthe to see clearly. Each of the cave walls had been hewn smooth, as if to create a canvas for a multitude of etched hieroglyphs. There were pillars to support the
Setting his jaw, he tensed, then lunged. Midleap he knew they would fall short of the island. A serpent surfaced beneath him; at the last instant, he alighted on its back, using it to vault to his target. They landed safely.
—Serpents are not stepping stones!—
He could do without her critiques. “You have no tongue, yet you won’t shut up. ” He locked his gaze on his destination. As he’d spied before, there were two mountains bordering a plateau atop an enormous shelf of land. It ended in a sheer cliff face, as if a giant had cleaved its edges, halving the mountains in the process. Lava oozed down their sides, like glowing orange waterfalls.
The plateau was hundreds of feet above the swamp. If he missed, there’d be nothing to stop them from plunging into serpent-infested waters.
The storm was worsening. Wind gusted with the pounding rain. But this pile of rock had a little more room, so he could at least get a runningstart. Though the winds carried ill-omened scents from that plateau, he had no choice but to continue.
A horn rang out, echoing from one mountain to the other.
A battle call?
Bloodthirsty yells sounded, metal clanging against metal. Moments later, the night sky lit up, Lorean powers blasting.
He saw fire grenades, ice bombs, and swirling battle magics. Had to be demons. But how many factions of them could there be? “Well done, Melanthe. You took us from one war to another.”
—I think I know where we are. Supposed to be a myth. The source of all demons.—
The source? Realization. “You brought us to bloody Pandemonia?” Plural of pandemonium. Because it was the fabled home plane of hundreds of demon species.
Another hiss sounded behind him. The water continued rising at an alarming rate. No other option but forward. He had to hope that they could skirt the edges of the conflict.
As he backed to the far end of the island, she wrapped her arms tighter around him, digging her gauntlets into his skin.
He took off in a sprint, waiting till the last second . . .
With a bellow, he lunged for his target. Airborne. Three heartbeats later, he knew he wouldn’t make it in this headwind.
Too short, too short.
—We’re going into the drink, Vrekener!—
When the green serpent crested, Thronos worked his wing as hard as he could to reach its back. Ha! Heading for a perfect serpent touchdown; he was getting handy at this.
He landed just as the beast thrashed. The momentum sent them hurtling toward one of those mountains as if they’d hit a thirty-ton springboard.
Thronos heaved his wing, fighting to right himself. The mountainside loomed, rushing at them.
He thought he spied a small cave opening between two lava flows. Could he hit that tiny target? Such a risk! He steered with his wing, down and left.
Down and left, down and left . . .
Left, left!
They bulleted through the opening. He dropped his legs, reversing his wing, touching his feet down.
The momentum had him barreling toward the back wall; he twisted to his side, leaning away, feet sliding sideways in the dust.
They stopped inches from the wall.
THIRTEEN
L anthe had been certain of death, convinced their momentum would slam them into the side of a mountain, crushing them or giving them a lava bath.
Instead, Thronos had hit the bull’s-eye, then slid home. She drew back to face him. — Okay. That was a pretty cool move. Way to thread the needle.—
She thought it took him a second longer than usual to scowl down at her. He set her to her feet, steadying her with a big palm over her shoulder.
—Thanks.—
He jerked his hand away, looking angry with himself. Then he turned to survey the area.
Thanks to the glow of the lava flows just beyond the cave mouth, there was enough ambient light for even Lanthe to see clearly. Each of the cave walls had been hewn smooth, as if to create a canvas for a multitude of etched hieroglyphs. There were pillars to support the
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