Page 80 of A Heart of Crimson Flames
His words were cut off by another brutal slap.
Rasil lifted his fist for a third punch when Navin leapt up and vaulted over the balcony railing, landing squarely on the boardroom table. Unsheathing his knife, he pointed it straight to Rasil. “No one is allowed to punch my little brother but me.”
“Finally.” Sadie was on her feet in an instant. “Time to stab some people,” she said, looking at us with a wink. “Good luck,” she added as she launched over the railing to join her fiancé.
Another sharp crack of magic echoed from behind us, and I grabbed Grae and pulled him back the way we came. “Let’s go,” I said as more Songkeepers vaulted over the railing and into the melee below. “We’ve got to draw Nero out and away from Briar.”
Grae unsheathed his weapon and nodded. “Agreed.” He looked at me and raised his eyebrows.
“Ready?” I asked.
He shot forward, pulling me into a burning kiss, one that would have to say everything. Leaving me momentarily reeling and breathless.
“Ready,” he said, his smile a source of light and warmth on this too-dark night, and he swung open the portrait.
Sadie
THE INSTRUMENTS WERE LONG ABANDONED FOR FISTS AS SONGkeeper battled Songkeeper. Blood sprayed, the magicians’ training truly showing now as they grappled with one another. Even the ever-gentle Ora was walloping someone over the head with a massive tome from the shelf behind them. But there was one person I wanted to see go down above all else and Navin already had him cornered.
I leapt from the table, fighting my way through the chaos around me to get to him. Navin clocked Rasil with a punch to his chin, snapping Rasil’s head back as he collided into the far wall. The Head Guardian grabbed the slender metal tube around his neck as he fell.
“No!” I shouted but it was too late; he’d already blown into it, releasing an earsplitting trill.
Navin fell backward as if punched, dropping to one knee and holding his bleeding nose. Rasil flashed a bloody smile at Navin as he started to sing. Scarlet dribbled from his lips as Rasil sang.
I pushed through the crowd faster, shoving one Songkeeper into a bookshelf and kicking in the knee of another, trying to get to Rasil.
No, no, no.
I knew this song. It still haunted my dreams. I’d heard this deep, guttural chanting once before, right before the world cleaved in two and a red dragon appeared.
Rasil was trying to summon another monster.
The air around the Head Guardian seemed to warp as I hacked my way through the last stretch. Navin’s expression was outraged as he scrambled to his feet. As one, we launched at Rasil, Navin choking him and silencing his song as I drove my knife into his side. I twisted the knife, but Rasil’s cry of pain was cut off as the bookcase behind us exploded. Wood splintered, pages flew through the air as my eyes tried to find the source of the explosion through the fluttering debris.
I heard it before I saw it. Screams erupted as that sickening chittering sound started. The cloud of pages cleared to reveal Rasil’s beast. The beetle-like creature must’ve been summoned by his whistle, coming to defend its injured master.
It barreled toward us to get to Rasil, easily tossing Navin and I to the side with its armored body. I lost the grip on my knife, dropping it in the ankle-deep stacks of books that littered the ground. I quickly unsheathed another, though, driving my blade down toward the creature’s wing. But my blade glanced off the hardened obsidian shell as if it was made of stone.
“Fuck!” I aimed for the creature’s legs, but they were just as impenetrable.
Its body was so large, it filled the entire room. At least it couldn’t maneuver quickly in the tight space, but even if we avoided its mandibles, we might be crushed against a wall if the creature turned swiftly. And the behemoth stood between us and the library exit.
I spotted one flash of white beneath its jaws, the narrow joint where its head attached to its abdomen. Ostekke fucking gut me! Of course the only part of the beast that was vulnerable had to be right next to its claw-covered mouth. I’d have to dodge the serrated knives that this creature called a face to kill it.
Navin began singing and chanting beside me, and I lookedat him as he sang the familiar song, one to control beasts. Ora joined in a shaky harmony. But the creature seemed impervious to the song, not even stalling as it twisted and grabbed Timon in its mandibles. Timon’s eyes bugged in horror for a split second before the beast began shredding him apart.
Svenja screamed, running forward as Ora doubled over and vomited onto the carpet at the sight of their mutilated friend. The creature spun toward us, its pinchers snapping the air, searching for its next victim. It lumbered through the tight space, knocking down shelves and crumpling chairs under its weight as it moved. It wasn’t swift or nimble, a battering ram if ever there was one. When it finally squared itself toward us, it advanced.
Rasil sat crumpled in the corner, a bloody hand to his side, his face draining of color as his chest rose and fell in belabored breaths. It wouldn’t be a killing blow to a Wolf, but I hoped it would be enough for him.
If not, I’ll finish him after I deal with this... thing.
Navin ran down the stacks of books behind us, herding the other Songkeepers to the far wall and shielding them with his body, but I knew the truth: we were trapped. Either we’d be shredded apart or trampled if we didn’t do something—ifIdidn’t do something.
I stayed put, facing down the creature and blocking the path to the others with my body.
“Sadie!” Navin shouted but I didn’t move. I’d only have one shot at this...
