Page 144 of A Dance With Fire
The earth was telling. One could always know its secrets based on its silence just as much as its noise. Like Weylyn’s booted feet scraping against the bark of trees as he climbed for a better vantage point from a distance away.
Other than that, the night was quiet.
Too quiet.
Assuming a defensive stance was almost instinct. He’d lived out in the woods enough to recognize the sounds of animals rushing through the wood. Of deer, birds, squirrels… But there was nothing.
His nostrils flared, and he tilted his head up to the air and inhaled sharply. Earth. Dry leaves. And something else. Something that didn’t belong.
It was then that the groaning pierced his ears, the groaning and whirring of cogs like a well-oiled machine and rumbling, heavy steps that shook the ground. He’d only ever felt something like it once before in the lands that used to be home.
Iron monsters.
As soon as the thought broke through his mind, the monsters burst through the trees, splintering them like twigs. They fell towards his direction, and he could feel the earth shriek in protest.
Six monsters molded and bent into the jagged image of a bulky elephant. Atop sat human soldiers, working at cogs and knobs to propel it forward.
A beast so big shouldn’t have been so fast, but it was.
It charged, and Ryker barely had time to shout a warning to the others as it neared. Ryker jumped to the side, narrowly missing the iron tusks, as sharp as swords.
The others burst out of the rotting cabin, brandishing their weapons, eyes taking what they’d been sure had only existed beyond the Ley Line.
Ryker’s sword slid through his sheath and in a mighty swing, it collided against a metal monster. Sparks shimmered and the monster jerked against him, shoving him away.
The close proximity was already making Ryker breathless, his knees shaking and barely able to keep him upright. But still he fought. Strike. Dodge. Duck. Strike.
His sword sawed through iron, barely making a dent. Above the machines, the humans laughed, the sound maniacal, a singing promise of death. Metal trampled through the wood of the cabin, tearing it apart like it could somehow tear apart what it stood for as well.
Ryker’s breaths came out of him painfully. Iron collided against him and the agony that raced up his body made his vision blink in and out. He was shoved back, his back making an impact with the ground, the sword flying from his grasp.
His vision cleared in time to look up at the machine hovering above him and the human soldier laughing. Just in time to see his companions faring no better than him, iron weakening them, blood dripping from their faces. Just in time to see Weylyn drop from a nearby still-standing tree and run into the fray, sword colliding against a tusk that threatened to impale Valerio. Just in time to see wisps of faerie lights dancing through the pathway of destroyed trees and disappear just as quickly.
Just in time to see Shula Azzarh follow right behind, her brown skin glowing like molten lava.
Fire bursting from her fingertips.
Revenge in her eyes, and anger bursting past her lips as her magic shot out and consumed a machine. Licks of fire kissed the sky as her gift consumed, melted.
Destroyed.
And it was at that moment that Ryker thought with certain clarity that Shula Azzarh had never looked more beautiful.
47
A Wanted Mate
Destiny came in many forms.
It came in the form of death, heroism, sorrow, agony.
And it came in the form of melting iron.
The will-o’-the-wisp had led her down the path of destruction. Trees tumbled towards the clearing where the little cabin was destroyed and the Fae were fighting for their lives. And when Shula saw them bloody, exhausted yet determined, she exploded.
Fire shot from her palms, and her feet began moving, running. Her toes barely touched the ground as she ran, no,flewacross the earth, finding momentum to jump. Her body vibrated with pain as she landed on the edge of the thick tusks of the machine. She ignored the pain, fueled by her rage and all the sudden overwhelming realization of what she was and what she could do.
The human screamed as fire trailed against the iron behind her. She tip-toed along the metal like a dancer along a tightrope. And when Shula came face-to-face with the human, she didn’t give him another chance to scream before she incinerated him from the inside out.
