Page 96 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood
With enough time, I can heal. But if Lenore is torn to shreds, she’ll never find her way out. If she doesn’t get out, I’m trapped here too.
I take stock of my options. There’s a horde of some type of monster stomping around my shadow veil. Dropping it so we can escape risks the damn things falling in on top of us. If I don’t drop it, I can’t fly us out of here.
We can hide out until they lose interest, but the snake will likely have devoured us by then.
Damn, I really hate this place.
Without hesitation, I send a wall of shadows straight for the snake’s midsection. He’s bisected before he sees my attack coming. Jaws snap wildly as the upper half hits the garden floor. A few twitches and the snake goes still. I ignore the victorious tingling beneath my palms.
That was too easy.
“Harrow,” Lenore whispers, eyes darting from my face to the space directly behind me. A slight tilt of my head allows me to keep the skeletal snake in my sights while also assessing the new threat.
Bones are shuddering all around us. They slide toward the snake as if pulled by an invisible magnet. Piles and piles of bonesassimilate, latching on to one another like a ladder. The rattling tail is dragged through the dirt as the snake’s midsection grows long enough to wrap almost completely around the garden. When it finally stops stretching, its tail locks into place. It’s grown back even bigger than before.
A low, rumbling groan issues from the corpse. A ripple runs the length of its now-massive body. My shadows pool around Lenore and I, hovering in anticipation.
The snake releases another earth-shattering bellow. Flinging shadows out, I take the snake out just beneath its jaw and in a dozen other places along its slithering body.
The pieces drop to the ground, but begin moving shortly after. The snake grows again, lengthening as it mends itself and reminding me of a fucking hydra. Surely it will run out of bones to build with soon.
I send out my slicing shadows once more, hoping to extend the snake to its limit. It grows, consuming the perimeter of the garden. “Maybe you should stop doing that,” Lenore hisses.
“There aren’t any more bones. This is as large as it can get.”
“Well great, because it’s basically the size of this room. Now what?”
Forming my shadows into razor-sharp scythes, I send a dozen hurtling toward various parts of the snake. They hit their marks, cutting the oversized reptile into twelve equal pieces.
My assumption was correct. No new bones gravitate toward the snake.
Lenore touches my arm. “Is it dead?”
There’s a brief moment of silence before the bones begin to rearrange themselves.Damn. “It was dead to start.”
The bones on either end of the twelve pieces move, forming new heads and tails on each segment.Well, that’s not what I was hoping would happen. My powers are strong, but the shadows only seem to be feeding the skeletal beasts.
“Twelve snakes?” Lenore’s fingers dig into my forearm.
We need help. I’m not so naive as to believe that we’ll find any in the in-between. Everyone here is either fighting for their lives or fighting to take yours.
A howl sounds from above us. The shadows bow beneath the weight of whatever is walking across the top of my shield. There are more of them now. All pacing atop the shadowy roof of the garden. The twelve snakes react to the howls, hissing and snapping toward the sky. Whatever is above us snarls in return.
Interesting. The monsters appear to be territorial. An idea takes shape. It’s mad, absolutely mad, brilliantly so. Will it work?
Lenore’s fearful gaze finds mine. A silent tear treks down her cheek. It has to work.
Not wasting another moment, I set my monster loose. Lenore stumbles back, surprised. My claws hook out to grab her before she can move away.
Pulling her into my body, I murmur, “Do you trust me to keep you safe, little raven?”
She’s quick to answer, “Yes.”
“Good. When I tell you to go, you have to run to the nearest corner. I’ll shield you in shadows. Do not come out until this is finished. Do you understand?”
She nods, lip quivering.
“Ready”—I gather my power, drawing it inward—“set”—Lenore looks toward the nearest corner, readying herself to run—“go!” I drop the shadow barrier that’s surrounding us.
