Page 60 of The Iron Vow

A surge of glamour, a powerful pulse of magic, drove away everything else. Opening my eyes, ignoring the instant burning sensation, I found myself floating beneath the surface of the pool. Keirran hung suspended beside me, his eyes still closed, his silver hair a bright cloud in the water. Faces swirled around us, a miasma of dark, roiling glamour. I extended a hand, opening myself up to the magic, and absolute rage and despair lanced through me. Was this what Ash had felt when he was tempted by the Nightmare glamour? This sensation of wanting to lash out, to take this power and use it to destroy everything in my path?

The scream of the Wailing One echoed above me. I clenched my fist, and glamour rippled along my veins, hot and powerful. I was the Iron Queen again, and this Nightmare had tormented us long enough.

I raised a hand and sent a surge of energy pulsing in all directions.

The marble pool cracked, then exploded as the energy strands slammed into it. Water and stones went flying as the pool disintegrated, draining in an instant and dumping me to the rocky floor of the tower.

I rose from the remains of the pool, gazing around. The blast of energy had not only shattered the pool; it had blown off the roof of the tower and torn through the walls, so I now stood on an empty platform high above the castle grounds. The Wailing One hovered a few feet away, leathery wings beating the air, two sets of eyes blazing down at me. The faces in its wings seemed to have vanished, though the female head still opened her mouth and screamed her sorrow and rage, buffeting me and making the very tower tremble.

Behind me, Keirran stirred, coughing, and pushed himself to his hands and knees. I saw his hands clench into fists, and the water beneath him crinkled, turning to ice.

I turned back to the Nightmare, feeling glamour surging through me once more. Raising a hand, I gathered that power to me. A glowing ball of crimson grew in my hands, the light flickering and dancing off the stones.

The Wailing One howled a challenge, and I hurled the ball of light. It crackled as it instantly became a strand of lightning and slammed into the Nightmare’s chest, exploding into flickering ribbons of energy.

The Nightmare reeled back with a scream. Tendrils of darkness coiled from its chest and writhed into the air. The female head lowered, jaws gaping, and I braced myself for another ear-splitting wail. Instead, a stream of clear liquid shot from her open lips, hurling toward me. I dodged, and the stream struck the remains of the pool, which steamed and bubbled as the liquid melted through it.

Okay. Did not know she could do that.

The head sobbed and disgorged another stream of acid, spewing it over the stones toward me. I scrambled back and hurled a quick bolt of lightning, but the head twisted out of the way. The male head swept down, jaws opening, and a tornado of flame roared through the air.

It met a sudden blast of ice that stopped it in its tracks, and steam billowed as the two elements slammed into each other. Heart pounding, I looked back to see Keirran on his feet, eyes hard and one hand outstretched as he directed his own glamour at the Nightmare.

The female head whipped around, lips curling back as she spotted Keirran. She took a breath, but something streaked through the air from the side, slamming into her. A long spear of ice, the point punching through the other side of the monster’s neck. She wailed, and my heart leaped in my chest.

A black cloud of screaming ravens descended from the sky, swarming around the male Nightmare, which was still breathing fire. Its flames sputtered out as it reeled back, shaking its head and snapping at the birds. Keirran raised his other arm, and layers of frost spread across the Nightmare’s scaly body, solidifying into sheets of ice. The Wailing One screamed, staggering in midair. The female head swung toward Keirran again and met a spinning crescent of light that struck her in the eyes. Two more followed, hitting the Nightmare in the face, and she recoiled, blinded and reeling.

I took a deep breath, drawing the dark glamour from the air, feeling it crackle as it rushed into me. I let it build, a churning mass of power, anger, grief, and despair. My eyes blurred, poisonous tears streaming down my face. I looked up at the Nightmare, seeing exactly what it was, knowing there was nothing I could do to help it or the ones it grieved for. I raised a hand, releasing all that energy, power, emotion, and magic into the air. Above the Wailing One, the skies churned with clouds, a dark swirling vortex that flashed with crimson light.

“Everyone, get clear!” I shouted, and saw the flock of ravens disperse, scattering to different parts of the castle. The barrage of ice and moonlight blades ceased, and behind me, Keirran took a few quick steps back. Left in peace for just a moment, the two heads of the Wailing One shook themselves, glared down at me, and snarled. For a split second, the Nightmare was bathed in a sullen red glow...

And then the rain of lightning struck it dead center, trapping it in a web of flickering energy. The Wailing One jerked up as the lightning tore through it, shredding it apart. It gave one last scream, both male and female voices rising as one, before it unraveled into writhing tendrils of shadow. Ghostly faces emerged from the cloud, trailing darkness behind them as they flew into the sky, their mournful wails growing ever more distant, and vanished into the wind.

23

THE FOREST OF MIST

Istaggered back and sank to one knee on the stones, my breath coming in short gasps. The anger and grief of the Elder Nightmare still raged through me, and my eyes burned with tears. I clenched a fist on the floor and willed those emotions into check, breathing deep to find my calm. The Nightmare glamour pulsed in my ears, tangled up with emotion, but I forced it down, turning it into raw determination. With a deep breath, I rose, glancing at Keirran to make sure he was all right. He leaned against the broken wall, breathing hard, but I saw the ice spread out around him and felt the chill of his glamour in the air.

“Meghan!”

I turned as Ash strode across the floor, and a moment later his arms were around me, crushing us together. Closing my eyes, I relaxed against him, listening to his heartbeat and letting my guard down for just a moment.

“Is everyone all right?” I whispered, and felt him nod.

“We were able to keep the Nightmare distracted for a while,” he murmured, still holding me close, “but then, whatever you and Keirran did caught its attention. It abandoned the fight and went charging off toward the tower. We followed it, but none of us could fly, so we had to take the long way around. A few minutes later, there was this pulse of glamour that went through the air. I assume that was you, destroying the essence or soul jar or whatever the Nightmare was guarding up here.”

“Regret,” I said softly. “The king’s regret.”

Ash’s embrace tightened. “In any case,” he murmured, “we were able to rejoin the battle, with magic this time.”

“And man, lovebirds, let me tell you how nice it is to be able to fly again!”

Puck dropped onto the edge of the tower and stood, shaking feathers from his hair as he grinned widely at us. Reaching up, he plucked out an ebony pinfeather and twirled it between thumb and forefinger, shaking his head. “How did I ever go this long without annoying a giant monster with a really irritating flock of ravens? No wonder I wasn’t feeling myself.” He gave a dramatic sigh and released the feather, letting it spiral into the wind. “A Puck with no magic just isn’t the same.”

“You should try not to waste it, Puck.” Our Nyx appeared, sliding out of a clump of shadows. “There’s not a limitless source like in the Nevernever. We’re going to have to make it last until we reach the Nightmare King and... What are you doing?”

Puck took a few quick steps toward the assassin, pulled her close, and kissed her. Nyx stiffened, but after a moment she relaxed, either in resignation or acceptance, and slipped an arm around his neck. Against the wall, Keirran rolled his eyes, but he was smiling, too.

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