Page 137 of Her Blood Revenge

‘And what does Athir want with her? Why father a child with a fucking blood witch?’ I ask.

‘I vote we don’t wait around to find out. We need to get to Pixie. Right fucking now. Shit!’ he whispers, gripping his chest. ‘Oh fuck. She’s scared. She’s angry.’

‘Pixie?’ I ask.

He nods.

Before he can tell me anything more, the ground around us begins to tremble.

‘Is that her?’ I ask.

Purple roots spring up from the ground and wrap around our waists.

‘ATHIR!’ Dorian yells. ‘It’s Athir!’

The form of a man made of slithering vines grows before us.

‘She needs you,’ hesays, his form already beginning to rot and decay. ‘Save my daughter from Hel. I am not strong enough to do it alone.’

He turns to dust, and we’re tugged down into the earth.

Dirt fills my ears, and the roaring as it shifts around me is unbearable. I’m going to go deaf! Trying to keep my mouth shut so my throat doesn’t get filled is hard. I need to breathe!

I can’t see anything. I have no idea if Dorian is with me or not, and I have no idea if I’m being dragged up, down, left or right.

I’m spat upwards and land back in the world. The rain hits me, as well as the cold, and I take in deep gasps of air.

‘Arrrrggghhh! FUCKING EARTH MAGIC!’ I yell, staggering to my feet and unsheathing my sword. I spin around, searching for the fucker who just dragged me miles underground.

All I see is Dorian calmly getting to his feet and spitting out clods of wet earth.

I stop slashing at the air when I see it.

Below us is the Shadow Valley coven.

The only other earth coven left in these lands.

Their stone houses and cobbled streets are set in a deep valley beside a great river. An enormous wooden dam holds back the water, placed there as a threat. Misbehave and we will destroy that dam and drown you all.

But it’s what we see in the distance that has our mouths agape and has the few earth witches living below gathering in their streets.

Beyond the dam, a great wall of water has risen. It roars as it moves and blots out the sinking sun. Horns begin to blast in the town below.

‘Shaw. What the fuck is that?’ Dorian asks, his head tilted right back to see the immense height of the great wave.

‘We need to move.’ I grip his shoulder. ‘NOW!’

The roaring triples as the water surges forward. The wind howls around us as we stagger back.

Never, not in my entire time of existence, have I seen such a thing. It almost screams. The ground shakes and cracks. The dam explodes by its sheer force, but it’s no better than a twig as the fierce water speeds towards the doomed town.

Towards us!

Trees and the hillside shatter as it soars forward, deafening us with its strength.

‘DUCK!’ calls a familiar voice.

We turn to see Archie’s great wolf form leap over our heads.

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