Page 161 of A Baron of Bonds
I glimpsed a shining light of green behind the massive beast. The portal to the next trial had appeared. I just had to get through this creature without dying. I knew I couldn’t really die here, but based on the throbbing in my knee, I knew one snap of her jaws around me would definitely hurt.
I just needed to get past her. I was agile and fast, two things I knew about myself and two things that could possibly save me.
I couldn’t move her kittens. She’d most likely pounce if I even attempted to touch them at all. All three of them stilled, hunched close to the ground, watching their mother stalk her prey.
I kept my eyes on her coppery ones and thought of everything Figuerah had ever taught me about wild creatures. I knew hunters like this were more likely to sprout wings and fly than back down from protecting their young, and for all I knew, she had wings anyway.
I needed a distraction, something to take her focus off me just long enough that I could sprint past her and make it to the portal.
What did I know? What creature knowledge did I have that could get me out of here?
I knew lumens. And I knew quiphits. Both creatures were abundant in Felgren, and I had seen enough of Parvus chase a quiphit to know what their long ears and sleek, furry bodies looked like as they ran.
My decision made, I formed my green tendrils into the shape of a quiphit born in the summer, as green as my magic was. I formed tall ears, a narrow face and long green fur, its ears twitching in a patch of grass nearby.
I watched as one of the kittens perked up, raising its head to focus on my pretend quiphit that jumped from one patch of grass on the stairs to another.
The kitten bent low to the ground, stalking forward, just as I had hoped. My quiphit caught the eye of the mother cat but only for a split second as she returned her focus to me, taking another step.
A second kitten, then the third, caught sight of the seemingly unaware quiphit, all three of them stalking it as it jumped further away from me and closer to the other end of the room.
By the time the beast took one more step toward me, her kittens were out of her line of sight, chasing the green quiphit down the stairs and into the dark.
I stood very still, making sure not to lock eyes with the black beast as she bared her teeth and turned her head to see where her babies had gone.
I saw the opportunity and took it, racing off to her other side, headed to the portal just behind her gigantic spiked tail.
The long black plates lashed out my way as she returned her attention back to me, and I ducked, feeling the whoosh of air over my head, inches away from slamming me back and breaking bones.
Her roar was great in the disintegrating room, but I did not hear the end of it as I avoided her swinging tail once more and dove through Revich’s second portal.
Chapter 69
Karus
THE LAPIS TRIAL
I splashed into a stream,not unlike the one where I had left Revich. Its cool, clear water trickled over hundreds of green gems which cut into the palms of my hands.
I pulled myself up, seeing my skin indented and wiped my hands on my wet skirts.
I was in a glen, golden blossoms swaying in the breeze and the sound of the trickling water catching in my ear.
“Clever, Little Sprout, to distract her with her own litter.”
I gritted my teeth and turned, finding the dark form of the Blightress hounding me here, too. “Please go away.”
I turned back to the stream, bending down to inspect the gems.
As I sifted through the water, I realized they weren’t just gems. They were replicas of my conduit ring which itself was missing from my forefinger.
I sighed and followed the path of the stream, brilliant emeralds shining under the shallow surface of the water as far as my eyes could see.
Now, I understood why hardly any channeler passed this trial. I was going to have to find my real conduit ring out of thousands.
I sat on the bank to rest a moment, pulling my skirt up over my knee, a dark crimson stain expanding across the fabric, my skin a broken mess of fresh and crusted blood. I tore a strip of my skirt and wrapped it around the wound, pulling the makeshift bandage tight and tying it off.
I stood and sighed again, glad to be out of danger, but not looking forward to going mad searching for my ring.
