Page 30 of Heart of Dawn
ORION
“Miko!” I cried, collapsing onto my backside. I was winded and a little dizzy, though there was no more yeti song messing with my system.
Overwhelming dread took over, along with a sprinkle of bemusement.
“Orion?”
Had I really removed Dawn from Miko’s body through our connection? And what had it been doing inside him in the first place?
Wow. I clutched my chest and took steady breaths, trying to bring my heart rate down.
“What are you doing?”
The yeti’s voice forced me to look up. She loomed over me, Wendy dangling from her little finger by her gold chain and swinging like a pendulum, the digital bee still sleeping on the screen.
“Who is Miko?” she demanded, her eyes wide and terrifying.
I slid my hand across the floor, my fingers finding a bone shard. I shaped my dread into strength, ready to fight again.
“I asked you a question, fae.” Erna huffed, a huge gray tongue running along her upper lip.
Gripping the bone tightly, I took the opportunity to stab her in the thigh, driving the pointed edge through fur and flesh with everything I had until it burst out of the other side.
Erna roared and staggered backward.
I got to my feet.
“You bastard!” she screamed, trying to pull the shard out. She dropped Wendy in her struggle.
Yes! The queen bee bounced across the floor, landing at my feet as if guided by the stars.
Thank you!I yelled in my head, quickly picking her up.
The yeti hunched over, blood trickling down her furry leg. She couldn’t get purchase on the shard—her fingers were too big. “How could you do this to me? Gah! Get out of me!”
I slipped Wendy into my pocket, then found myself another bone shard. Erna being injured wasn’t enough. The sounds of her breathing offended my sensibilities.
“Traitor. User. I should’ve let the undying ones kill you.”
She didn’t hear me coming, only realizing it was too late as I drove the shard into her neck. It went straight through the soft point I’d been hoping for.
The yeti blinked at me as I jumped back. She reached for the bone, her big hands trembling as much as my entire body. Sweat poured down my face, my spine, my chest on fire.
Who did I ask for a time-out?
Erna tried speaking, coughing up blood instead. A nasty gurgle came out of her mouth as she staggered to the wall, clawing at her neck.
I struggled to breathe, to do anything but watch this play out.
She slammed into the wall, pawing at the mud. Her arm knocked into a torch. It wobbled, then fell from the sconce, landing at her feet. Her fur went up in flames with awoosh.
Stars!
She slid to the floor without a sound, the fire swallowing her in bright ball. Her body slumped to the side, flames spreading outward into the chamber.
Oh, pixie balls. Apparently, this place was a lot more flammable than it should be.
Time to go.
