Page 25 of Trial of Thorns
He blinks at me from behind his shield. But then he looks up at the dragon, and the moment I poof away from the dragon a fourth time, he sprints for the lake water, where the trail leads. It’s still far off, but if he’s lucky, he’ll make it without incident.
The Webbed Court girl follows suit with her dragon opponent stuck well and good in her webs.
I follow behind, reaching the black dragon, who isn’t as impressed or confused by my ability as the red dragon. But that doesn’t matter. I have a new plan.
I shoot forward, leaping up, and land on the black dragon’s tail. I call to the red dragon, and then poof away towards the water. The other two champions go wide-eyed, realizing what’s about to happen just a moment before it does. They sprint after me, the last one’s hood catching fire as he sprints away from the now battling dragons.
Mr. Black Dragon was not very pleased when the red dragon scorched him.
My little mini crew—who by the way hate me as much as the others—make it through the water quickly. I waste no time, unsure of what might be in the dark waves—kelpies or krakens, waiting for an unsuspecting champion to munch. I am the first of this small group to exit the water.
My chest is tight, eyes fierce, but I’m relieved I didn’t have to fight something in the water. And even more so that the stretch of path in front of me is open and clear, no obstacles or opponents to be seen.
But my relief is short lived because one step I’m upright and the next—I’m not.
A vine snaps around my ankle, pulling my feet out from under me. My head smacks the ground in a sickening crack.
A sinister laugh rumbles from the forest line as I hang unceremoniously by my ankle. My heart throbs as I realize this wasn’t random.
A dark form comes into focus as I twist, swinging in the stupid vine trap.
“Hello, Rev,” I say casually, crossing my arms.
Four other forms appear before him: the redhead, the white-haired fae, Prick-a something or another, and Rook, each holding a wriggling creature.
“This is only the beginning if you keep going,” Rev says, his eyes dark. Pain. He’s in pain. I swallow.
They release the water goblins—the worst! Sharp toothed with long claws that love to sink into warm human flesh. The creatures sprint to me, claws flying. I twist just before one of their sharp claws swipes across my face. The first digs into my back, searing my whole body in agony. I can’t hold back a pathetic scream as my focus narrows to only the pain.
Rev and his friends laugh and then march away.
I send a short blast of acidic smoke to my goblin attackers and they drop to the floor, hissing. They won’t be deterred for long though, so I pull my body up and pull at the thick vines on my ankle. It won’t come free with only my fingers. I could use my swords, but they aren’t exactly made for sawing rope-like vines.
A goblin leaps onto my back, his teeth sinking into my shoulder and I fly back down, my head just missing smacking the ground a second time. Dammit!
Three of the fae I helped with the dragons pass by me without so much as a glance my way as I struggle to get free again.Perfect. Glad I made such good friends.
Screw this,I think and curl my body as tightly as I can manage in this position, focusing on centering my energy, despite the rips and tears in my muscles. I have the magic to get free of this. It’s just magic I may need later.
But, what use is saving magic if my muscles are torn to pieces?
My magic explodes and shatters three of the four creatures into little bits. The last misses the full explosion, but one of its legs is torn open and splattering out black blood. It stares at me with wide fearful eyes.
Moments later, it huffs away into the forest dragging it’s wounded leg behind it.
Blood drips down my temple, warmth soaks my back. I take in a few long breaths before trying to free myself again, but then a set of boots are in front of me and someone is sawing away at my bindings.
I drop to the floor in a heap, only barely managing to catch myself and roll into a semi-graceful fall.
“Ow.” I grip my shoulder and back, the two of the worst injuries.
The dwarf-like fae drops a vial beside me. “We’re even,” he says and then sprints away.
I hadn’t expected anything from them for my assistance, but it’s nice to know I’d earned it from him, at least. I’ll keep that in mind for later in the trials. That is if either of us make it through this one.
I might have to expose more of my magic than I’d planned on in order to survive the first. He, however, is going to have to pick up the damned pace if he wants to continue on.
As he disappears down the quiet trial, I examine the vial he dropped. I pull out the cork and sniff it. I have no idea what is in it. Could he have given me a poison draft and later pretend it was an accidental switch up? He could have helped me just to ensure my death.
