Page 114 of The Dagger and the Flame
‘I’m still standing beside her!’ Sera yelled.
Dufort’s silver gaze flicked to Ransom. ‘Finish her.’
‘Let go,’ demanded Sera, at the same time.
‘Ransom.’ The walls trembled and a plume of dust clouded the air between them. ‘Do your damn job.’
But Ransom didn’t move, didn’t tear his eyes from Dufort as the leader of the Daggers continued towards them, shadows billowing at his feet.
Silence. Defiance. Ransom’s fury turned him into a predator. It squared his jaw and simmered darkly in his gaze. It curled his fists and his lips, made his teeth seem sharper somehow. In that moment, it felt more powerful than even Shade.
Dufort sensed it, and paused. Sera’s fingers twitched on the hilt of her knife, and she wondered if Ransom had baited Dufort with his defiance, used his silence to lure him closer.
‘Bastian.’ Dufort uttered the name like a spell, and for a moment it hung between them, turning Ransom, this vicious, expertly honed Dagger, back into a ten-year-old boy. Bastian. Sera felt his hand tremble as he let her go, hissing through his bared teeth.
‘Go to hell, you prick.’
Sera flung the dagger straight at Dufort’s head. He jerked aside at the last second and it sliced into his cheek. Not a death blow, but she had drawn first blood. At least she would go down swinging.
Dufort lifted a hand to his cheek, and found it running with blood. ‘That was your first and last shot at me,’ he said, smearing it across his shirt. Shadows surged, the darkness coming at Sera like a swarm. But Ransom was quicker, grabbing her by the waist and swinging her off the table before they sheared her in two.
She landed on her hands and knees.
‘You stupid little bastard!’ roared Dufort.
When Sera looked up, the shadows had Ransom by the throat. He couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Dufort was choking the life out of him, heartbeat by heartbeat. Ten seconds was all it would take. Ten seconds and he would be dead. Sera was already moving.
One– Darkness plunged down his throat, tearing a silent shriek of pain from him.
Two –His eyes found Sera’s, and she read the plea inside them.Run.
Three –The barricade at the north entrance failed, and a stampede of monsters barrelled inside.
Four –Sera spotted something twinkling in her peripheral vision. It was her Lightfire cloak, which had been discarded in the chaos.
Five –Sera lunged for the cloak, as fresh screams echoed down the north passage.
Six –Ransom stumbled to his knees, his skin turning grey.
Seven –Sera threw herself at him, slinging the cloak around his shoulders.
Eight –There was a blinding flash of light.
Nine –Ransom inhaled in a sucking gasp, his eyes glimmering with Lightfire.
Ten –Dufort’s shadows shattered into a hail of darkness, and Ransom fell forward, into Sera’s arms.
She curled herself around him, sharing in the buzz of Lightfire. Dufort downed another vial of Shade as he came towards them, but he was too late. She met his silver glare over Ransom’s shoulder just as a swarm of monsters came crashing into the Cavern. ‘Look, Papa,’ she said, tossing him a cruel smile. ‘It’s a gift from Mama.’
And all hell broke loose.
Chapter 43Ransom
Ransom knelt, half-spent, in Seraphine’s arms, trying to gather the strength to stand and fight. She trembled against him as the monsters poured into the Cavern. They roared and thrashed, climbing the walls and smashing everything in sight. Some turned on each other, unable to tell the difference between the Shade inside each Dagger and the poisoned Shade in themselves.
Daggers rushed in after the monsters, bringing whatever weapons they could find in the tunnels. Shade was no good to them any more. The monsters ate through their shadows like air, so they hoisted swords and flung knives as they fought to defend their home.
Seraphine pulled back from Ransom, her eyes darting around. ‘We have to move.’
