Seized: An Urban Fantasy Novel (The Thrice Cursed Mage Book 4) by J.A. Cipriano Page B
Authors: J.A. Cipriano
Tags: Action & Adventure
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zapper. I have to say, jumping into a bug zapper filled with what had to be a sixty-foot-tall monster wasn’t at the top of my bucket list, but staying here certainly wasn’t an option either.
“I think we need to follow them,” I said, getting to my feet as bones continued to bounce off my magical shield. Each one made my vision darken around the edges, and if this kept up, I wasn’t going to have much left in me.
“I don’t need your help, Mac,” Jenna said, glaring at me as I wrapped my arms around her. I wasn’t quite sure how close I needed to be to her to get my shield to cover her, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
“If you want to walk to that door by yourself, have at it,” I growled, pulling her along with me as a skull struck me in the back of the head hard enough to make me wobble forward. I couldn’t even imagine how it’d have felt without my magic protecting me. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have felt it at all because I’d just be dead. It was a sobering thought.
“Fine,” she snapped. “But don’t think this means I forgive you for getting a girlfriend behind my back.”
“Oka—” the rest of my words were cut off as the mound of bones directly between us and the doorway burst outward like a dynamite blast. The shockwave threw us from our feet, and we smashed into another pile of bones. My vision went hazy as the magical shield around me flickered and died.
“Are you ready?” asked a voice that boomed across the wasteland like a wrestling promoter about to announce the main event. “Because Sepulture is rrrrready to rrrrrumble!”
A skeletal dragon took a step forward out of the slowly dissipating cloud of bones, and as it did, the bone-storm stopped. It stretched its forty-foot tall form in a way that reminded me of a cat as skulls fell from the air and clattered to the ground around us like a macabre xylophone.
“Is that a fucking bone dragon?” Jenna asked, her eyes wide with shock. Her hands shook so hard as she pointed her gun at the creature, I wasn’t sure she’d even be able to hit it.
“I think you’re going to need a bigger gun,” I said, getting to my feet and grabbing a femur from something that had once been huge. It seemed like such an inadequate weapon, I nearly dropped it in disgust, but then again, Luke had used bones to defeat the rancor. I just needed to wait until it stepped under a heavy gate.
The dragon snorted a gout of blue flame and bent its monstrous head toward us. “You smell like you’ll make a fine edition to my garden.”
“Pass,” I said, holding up my fist and calling upon my magic. My tattoos lit up, casting crimson shadows across the ground between us as I got ready to fling Hellfire at the monster.
“Fail,” the dragon replied, opening its toothy maw and inhaling. My vision went spotty as something inside me snapped and broke. My magic came rushing out of me, slipping through my blackened fingers like sand and heading toward the creature’s waiting mouth.
The beast slurped up my power like it was eating spaghetti, and as it did, I stumbled and fell to my knees. I managed to catch myself with my hands before I crashed face first into the ground, but it was a near thing. My stomach lurched into my throat as nausea overtook me. Everything inside my belly came rushing out in a torrent that left me dry heaving on the dirt wracked by shivers.
The dragon took another step toward us, and as everything faded to inky blackness, I tried to raise my right arm to defend myself. There was just one problem with that. My tattoos and black skin were gone. My arm was completely normal.
Chapter 12
Something warm and gooey splashed across my face. As my eyes fluttered open, I found myself staring into the enormous Nurse Ratchet bosom of the nun looming over me. She grinned at me, revealing a mouth full of sharpened teeth and the ragged edges of her tongue before pursing her lips and allowing a gob of saliva to fall and splatter on my
“I think we need to follow them,” I said, getting to my feet as bones continued to bounce off my magical shield. Each one made my vision darken around the edges, and if this kept up, I wasn’t going to have much left in me.
“I don’t need your help, Mac,” Jenna said, glaring at me as I wrapped my arms around her. I wasn’t quite sure how close I needed to be to her to get my shield to cover her, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
“If you want to walk to that door by yourself, have at it,” I growled, pulling her along with me as a skull struck me in the back of the head hard enough to make me wobble forward. I couldn’t even imagine how it’d have felt without my magic protecting me. Actually, I probably wouldn’t have felt it at all because I’d just be dead. It was a sobering thought.
“Fine,” she snapped. “But don’t think this means I forgive you for getting a girlfriend behind my back.”
“Oka—” the rest of my words were cut off as the mound of bones directly between us and the doorway burst outward like a dynamite blast. The shockwave threw us from our feet, and we smashed into another pile of bones. My vision went hazy as the magical shield around me flickered and died.
“Are you ready?” asked a voice that boomed across the wasteland like a wrestling promoter about to announce the main event. “Because Sepulture is rrrrready to rrrrrumble!”
A skeletal dragon took a step forward out of the slowly dissipating cloud of bones, and as it did, the bone-storm stopped. It stretched its forty-foot tall form in a way that reminded me of a cat as skulls fell from the air and clattered to the ground around us like a macabre xylophone.
“Is that a fucking bone dragon?” Jenna asked, her eyes wide with shock. Her hands shook so hard as she pointed her gun at the creature, I wasn’t sure she’d even be able to hit it.
“I think you’re going to need a bigger gun,” I said, getting to my feet and grabbing a femur from something that had once been huge. It seemed like such an inadequate weapon, I nearly dropped it in disgust, but then again, Luke had used bones to defeat the rancor. I just needed to wait until it stepped under a heavy gate.
The dragon snorted a gout of blue flame and bent its monstrous head toward us. “You smell like you’ll make a fine edition to my garden.”
“Pass,” I said, holding up my fist and calling upon my magic. My tattoos lit up, casting crimson shadows across the ground between us as I got ready to fling Hellfire at the monster.
“Fail,” the dragon replied, opening its toothy maw and inhaling. My vision went spotty as something inside me snapped and broke. My magic came rushing out of me, slipping through my blackened fingers like sand and heading toward the creature’s waiting mouth.
The beast slurped up my power like it was eating spaghetti, and as it did, I stumbled and fell to my knees. I managed to catch myself with my hands before I crashed face first into the ground, but it was a near thing. My stomach lurched into my throat as nausea overtook me. Everything inside my belly came rushing out in a torrent that left me dry heaving on the dirt wracked by shivers.
The dragon took another step toward us, and as everything faded to inky blackness, I tried to raise my right arm to defend myself. There was just one problem with that. My tattoos and black skin were gone. My arm was completely normal.
Chapter 12
Something warm and gooey splashed across my face. As my eyes fluttered open, I found myself staring into the enormous Nurse Ratchet bosom of the nun looming over me. She grinned at me, revealing a mouth full of sharpened teeth and the ragged edges of her tongue before pursing her lips and allowing a gob of saliva to fall and splatter on my
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