Page 63 of Poison Nights & Twilight Alchemy

Still unaware that right behind him, the sorcerer’s captives had been set free, Aldrich stalked toward Reed, his robes billowing in the night breeze.

“Did a slobbering worm such as yourself actually believe you could fightmeand win?” he said with a sardonic laugh. “Why, it’s almost tragic…”

Reed raised his hands over his head as the sorcerer approached him, and, pretending to cower, he peered at Dulce from behind the safety of his fingers. She and Marguerite were frantically working on somethingbetween them, Dulce emptying her pockets onto the thick rug.

A crowd of magical creatures gathered on silent wings, their glowing eyes eerie over the rippling water as they alighted along the stone, prowling ever closer to their prey.

Reed needed to stall Aldrich, keep the craven barnacle’s attention on him, give Dulce more time.

He lowered his hands and smiled up at the sorcerer, who halted, frowning at his victim’s sudden change.

“I’ve been wondering since you arrived, is that robe drafty?” Reed asked, pointing. “Or have you got a bunch of woolen knickers underneath?”

The sorcerer blinked, opening his mouth, then closing it again. “What?”

“I mean, really,” Reed continued. “I imagine wool undergarments are quite itchy, especially on your sensitive territories. Is that why you’re so ill-tempered, andcrotchety? I’ve heard a cold-water soak with white vinegar can do wonders.”

“You seem to want to die slowly,” Aldrich seethed, his fury distorting his features to comical levels. Reed grinned wider.

“Now, silk, on the other hand.” Reed scratched his nose absentmindedly as he ate the dried fruit Dulce had lovingly placed in his pocket. “Quite soft on the bits and bollocks, isn’t it? Though I daresay no match for the winters you must get up here. Fur lining might be a solution.” He wiggled his hand around, gesturing. “Though it would hardly give it thatvillainous flarewhen you strut about, would it?”

With a roar, the sorcerer lunged at Reed, but like anangry mob, the creatures closed in on him, their claws tearing at Aldrich’s robes. Reed thought perhaps the fight was over, until he noticed the object of their disdain had dissolved into thick gray smoke.

Appearing on the opposite side of Reed, the sorcerer at last noticed Dulce and Marguerite. They stood side by side, whispering while mist filled the ground between them, blue sparks passing along it, mimicking a tiny storm. As the sorcerer raised his hands, light bathed the night, blinding Reed for an instant, and when he opened his eyes again, all three alchemists lay on the ground.

Half of the creatures had fled en masse, apparently deciding this fight wasn’t worth their long-awaited freedom.

“Dulce!” Reed rushed to her, gathering her into his arms. She was pale and still but breathing. “You can’t die on me now, Highness. Not after everything we’ve faced to get here. I still haven’t heard you play the piano, you know.” Forgetting everything around him, he kissed her lips softly. “Please, Dulce. You have to wake.”

“I always wondered what it was like to be kissed awake,” she whispered, her eyes fluttering open. “Just like in the storybooks.”

Reed didn’t hesitate to kiss her again.

“Aldrich’s magic is trapped,” Dulce said against his lips. “I don’t know for how long…”

The remaining creatures closed in once more on the unconscious sorcerer, but in a flash of sparks, Aldrich roused, holding a stone above him while sneering in triumph, and they retreated in terror, fleeing.

“Temporarily taking away my magic will donothing,” he growled.

“What’s happeni—” Reed fell silent as an otherworldly howl pierced the night. He stared, dread gripping his heart, when the sky above them glowed red as blood, akin to a distorted sun rising from the north.

There the blood is… This can’t be good.

Marguerite was on her feet, her eyes wild with fear.

“No!” she screamed, rushing to Aldrich, dropping to her knees, and clinging to his robes. “Don’t do this! Please!”

With a harsh kick of his boot to her chest, the sorcerer sent Marguerite sliding across the stone in a heap.

Reed didn’t need to wonder for too long what she protested, because the next instant something crept out of the shadows.

A monster stepped into the light. It was the most grotesque thing Reed had ever seen, and he’d once watched the Leper eat a Paralithodes camtschaticus. Standing tall as two men, covered in matted hair and scales, the thing lumbered into the garden, its gleaming eyes wild above a cavernous hole for a nose and a mouth impossibly full of shard-like teeth. Numerous horns atop its scalp shone in the gathering light.

The monster opened its mouth, and it was as though death surrounded Reed when its jaw opened wide enough to split its hideous head nearly in two. Its knees a tangle of bones, it spread its arms wide, fingers like shining blades, and screeched, the sound sending a jolt of pain through Reed’s head.

“Leave Percy alone!” Marguerite no longer lay on the stone but stood tall, focused solely on Aldrich. Reed had to admire her concentration as the monster leapt to its gruesome feet, the tentacles squirming like snakes alongits middle, making Reed regret eating anything at all.

The witch held blades in her hands, each one magically replaced by another as she threw them at the sorcerer, who dodged them with easy grace. It seemed magic was not his only gift.

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