Page 40 of Urban Gladiator

I wouldn’t get another chance. I knew it in my bones. “Okay, keep an eye out. If you see him approaching, say something.”

“Consider it done, lass.”

Shaking the lethargy off, I rose to my feet. Focusing on the bars in both cells, I drew on fire and air.

Maiden, Mother, Crone, aide me in fight. Help me flee the giant tonight. As I will it, so mote it be.

I gathered my power, and it pulsed through my core. Then from my palms, witch fire spilled forth in a heavy stream. And I was right; I could feel the dense thickness of the metal. Funneling my energy, I poured it from my hands.

“Bloody hell, it’s working, lass. Keep it up.”

His encouragement fueled my power. It turned brighter. Hotter. The glow of the blue witch flame illuminated the cavern. If the giant came back, he would notice it. I just had to be faster.

But it took forever. Metal dripped on the ground, forming a puddle. Finally, a hole appeared in the bars. I pushed even more energy into the flames.

“Lass, hurry. I hear movement near the door.”

“Fuck.” I poured even more energy into the spell, gathering every ounce of power in me. I knew I wouldn’t get another chance at this. And visions of a monster dick as long as my thigh spurred me on.

“Sums it up nicely.”

I’d laugh if the situation wasn’t so serious. If I didn’t succeed, I’d turn my powers on myself and end it here and now. I wouldn’t allow myself to be raped by a fucking giant. I wouldn’t survive it. I knew it in my bones. However much I wanted to go on living, there were worse things than death.

Being some giant’s concubine topped the list.

And while I would normally magic my way out of a tight spot. The amount of energy I was using presently to melt the bars was depleting my energy. I’d need time to rest and replenish before I could use my powers again. By then it would be too late.

The giant neared. The hole in the bars grew incrementally larger. But it wasn’t fast enough.

“Hurry, lass. He’s coming.”

“I see him. And I can stall him and still bring these down. But I will need your assistance to get out. I can’t use this much power without depleting my energy completely.”

“You have it, lass. Just tell me where you want to go, and I will get you there.”

“The border between Avalon and the outside world.”

“Good enough.”

The giant neared our prison cells, his face scrunched in displeasure. He roared, “No! Bad female.”

Whispering quietly, I diverted a portion of my magic toward the giant. Huge chunks of the mountain speared up around his body, and the rock rumbled beneath my feet. The giant roared his frustration. His bellows echoed.

Holding him prisoner, I blasted the rest of my power into melting the bars. “I won’t be able to hold him for long once the bars come down. The moment the bars are down, you need to get us out of here.”

“Just don’t be shocked by my appearance, lass.”

“Not a problem.” Just because I’d never seen a griffin before didn’t mean squat.

“Almost there, lass. You’re doing it,” he encouraged.

The bars glowed orange as I heated them from the inside out. The metal spilled like lava until there was a hole large enough to escape through.

And then Ian stood outside my bars, his violet gaze on me. He was beautiful in his griffin form, with ivory silver feathers. I wondered what the man beneath looked like. My body wavered with the strength it took to hold the giant prisoner.

Ian noticed and leapt through the hole in my cell, then crouched low. “Come on, lass. Climb aboard.”

Not wasting another second. I gripped his fur and scrambled onto his back.

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