again, and again, taking joy in the destruction of whatever the thing was, my hand moving faster than I would have ever thought possible, fueled by whatever warmth seeped from my chest.
“Sasha!” Jared pointed, his arm next to my face.
As the last of the smoky thing wilted and vanished, I looked up into the middle of the magical net, floating on its own.
Fear coursed through me. I didn’t live through this much of my life to go down like this. And I certainly owed Jared a helluva lot more than what he’d been subjected to in the last few days.
Fear turned to anger. Anger boiled into determination. Determination dribbled into my chest, giving that warm blossom new life. Fresh blood. More power!
It surged and bubbled, filling me up and exploding over. My body was simmering, past joy, into an otherworldly plane. I reached farther, sucked in more. I pulled from the ground beneath me, from the walls surrounding me, from the charged air. I brought it in and lit it on fire.
As one of the monster’s swords reached past me to Jared, and the net drifted around my body trying to capture me, I threw out my hands with one thing on my mind, DIE!
From my palms materialized blackness darker than night, more potent than acid. It flashed through the net and into the beings. Rather than bouncing off like light, it soaked into them, filling up the holes in their design—because someone else’s design they were, like a constructed ni ghtmare. The monsters exploded into wisps of air, like a dust bomb. Power shimmered in front of me, a nightmare vanishing with the dawn.
As the room cleared, my body wobbled, strength having left me with whatever I’d blasted from my palms. I fell to the ground in a limbless slide, already trying to shut off my brain from glowing knives, walking nightmares, and flashing palms.
“C’mon Sasha, we should go!” Jared whispered in a terrified voice, clutching my arm.
I staggered up, completely depleted. Everything was dark, objects in the room hard to see. We ambled along, Jared basically leading, until we got to a door standing wide open, screams drifting through like fog on the ocean.
“This is the way they brought me in. There is a parking lot beyond here,” Jared hissed, plucking at my arm.
“That is very useful information, Jared. I only wish you’d said something earlier.”
I lurched through the door, hitting the door jam and careening off, landing on my face in the dirt. Jared hoisted me back up, practically dragging me along, until we got to a car. I had no idea how he opened the door, but I do know he shoved me in right before I saw black.
*****
A blood curdling scream pierced the fight right before every Dulcha in sight exploded, bursting outward like dirt clods, and then vanishing. The air electrified, as if great power had been unleashed in a wild, raw upsurge.
Warriors looked around, unsure of what just happened or what might’ve caused it. Enemies stared at each other across their swords. Suddenly, they realized the scales had tipped. No longer was the aggressing party winning. It was universally known and seldom disputed that the Boss and his men could not be beaten when it came down strictly to sword work.
That is what had the Eastern Territory running—fleeing down the street and out of sight.
“What the hell caused that, Boss?” Charles asked with panting breath and bleeding arms, stepping up beside him as they watched grown males sprinting to their cars or down the street.
Stefan shook his head. “I would’ve said their mage, but it was his creations that were destroyed.” He shook his head again, putting his hands on his hips and surveying the landscape. Small fires lit the grass and small shrubs. Bodies lay strewn in ragged clumps, skin slick with blood. This had been a grizzly battle with a lot of power—Stefan was afraid to count their losses. He lost good men tonight, not to mention friends.
“They’re getting bold, now.” Stefan looked back
“Sasha!” Jared pointed, his arm next to my face.
As the last of the smoky thing wilted and vanished, I looked up into the middle of the magical net, floating on its own.
Fear coursed through me. I didn’t live through this much of my life to go down like this. And I certainly owed Jared a helluva lot more than what he’d been subjected to in the last few days.
Fear turned to anger. Anger boiled into determination. Determination dribbled into my chest, giving that warm blossom new life. Fresh blood. More power!
It surged and bubbled, filling me up and exploding over. My body was simmering, past joy, into an otherworldly plane. I reached farther, sucked in more. I pulled from the ground beneath me, from the walls surrounding me, from the charged air. I brought it in and lit it on fire.
As one of the monster’s swords reached past me to Jared, and the net drifted around my body trying to capture me, I threw out my hands with one thing on my mind, DIE!
From my palms materialized blackness darker than night, more potent than acid. It flashed through the net and into the beings. Rather than bouncing off like light, it soaked into them, filling up the holes in their design—because someone else’s design they were, like a constructed ni ghtmare. The monsters exploded into wisps of air, like a dust bomb. Power shimmered in front of me, a nightmare vanishing with the dawn.
As the room cleared, my body wobbled, strength having left me with whatever I’d blasted from my palms. I fell to the ground in a limbless slide, already trying to shut off my brain from glowing knives, walking nightmares, and flashing palms.
“C’mon Sasha, we should go!” Jared whispered in a terrified voice, clutching my arm.
I staggered up, completely depleted. Everything was dark, objects in the room hard to see. We ambled along, Jared basically leading, until we got to a door standing wide open, screams drifting through like fog on the ocean.
“This is the way they brought me in. There is a parking lot beyond here,” Jared hissed, plucking at my arm.
“That is very useful information, Jared. I only wish you’d said something earlier.”
I lurched through the door, hitting the door jam and careening off, landing on my face in the dirt. Jared hoisted me back up, practically dragging me along, until we got to a car. I had no idea how he opened the door, but I do know he shoved me in right before I saw black.
*****
A blood curdling scream pierced the fight right before every Dulcha in sight exploded, bursting outward like dirt clods, and then vanishing. The air electrified, as if great power had been unleashed in a wild, raw upsurge.
Warriors looked around, unsure of what just happened or what might’ve caused it. Enemies stared at each other across their swords. Suddenly, they realized the scales had tipped. No longer was the aggressing party winning. It was universally known and seldom disputed that the Boss and his men could not be beaten when it came down strictly to sword work.
That is what had the Eastern Territory running—fleeing down the street and out of sight.
“What the hell caused that, Boss?” Charles asked with panting breath and bleeding arms, stepping up beside him as they watched grown males sprinting to their cars or down the street.
Stefan shook his head. “I would’ve said their mage, but it was his creations that were destroyed.” He shook his head again, putting his hands on his hips and surveying the landscape. Small fires lit the grass and small shrubs. Bodies lay strewn in ragged clumps, skin slick with blood. This had been a grizzly battle with a lot of power—Stefan was afraid to count their losses. He lost good men tonight, not to mention friends.
“They’re getting bold, now.” Stefan looked back
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