Page 102 of The Last Wish of Bristol Keats
“This is it,” Bristol whispered. The others nodded their readiness and drew their swords, ready to be her ears, eyes, and shields so she could concentrate only on the Abyss. Bristol landed on the ledge, a fair distance from the portal in case any tentacles reached out. She stared at the towering rock and felt its corrosive darkness reaching out to her already. Instead of bees humming in her chest, she felt the loud drone of misery, the pounding and screams of centuries. A suffocating gloom clutched her throat.
She stepped closer, eager to get it over with, then gave a last glance at her palm, smooth and unburned, and wondered if she would ever see it that way again. She punched her hand into the portal before the wretched drone could consume her. Her hand sparked with brilliant dark light. Purple and black tendrils twisted around her arm, traveling up to her shoulders, lashes, and hair. A powerfulwhirrbuzzed over her skin and blinding sparks flew from her hand. It was intoxicating in a different way from the other portals, a thrilling fear streaming through her like the light was inviting her in.Join us. Instead, her grip tightened on the light. It tugged back, the dark power of the ages, but then she knew she had it. She controlled it. She saw demons within screeching, writhing, knowing the power she had over them, and they clawed their way toward the portal. She closed her fist and yanked hard on the buzzing light, saying,Duseen o duras nay tulay—may this portal be no more.
And just like that, the screams, the demons, and the Abyss portal were gone.
She looked down at her palm, and there wasn’t a single blister.
She blew out a cleansing breath. Tyghan was right.It’s all going perfectly.
CHAPTER 78
This time when dawn arrived, it was greeted with bleak silence. There was a new addition to the landscape. Tyghan and the Danu contingent looked down at the valley.
Melizan cursed. “I don’t think that’s part of the traditional pageantry.”
“Doesn’t trust us much, does he?” Eris said.
Tyghan’s nostrils flared. “Now who’s beating his chest?”
Below them, Kormick’s warriors, witches, and wizards stood shoulder to shoulder, five deep, creating an impassable circular wall around the tall stones that made up the Mother Ring, ensuring that no last-minute contenders got past them and entered the sacred grounds.
Dalagorn dragged his hand over his knotty cheek. “There must be a thousand of them.”
“Eight hundred forty by my calculations,” Eris said.
“Is that all?” Cully said. “I feel much better now.”
Tyghan eyed the circle, already contemplating changes to their plan. “We’ll need to adjust our timing.”
Quin cracked his knuckles. “Fuck. Look up.”
They were so busy looking down at the valley, they hadn’t noticed a small black cloud looming in the distance.
Cosette squinted one eye. “Think it’s rain?”
They reconvened in the main tent, Esmee and Olivia casting fresh wards to keep their words within.
“We can get through their wall. Divide and scatter,” Tyghan said. “That’s not a force meant to scare off a whole army. It’s meant to scare off kingdoms that only came with twenty witnesses.”
“Fast and quick. That’s our strategy,” Eris said. “Kormick has this orchestrated down to the last breath. We’re going to jostle his applecart. Take them by surprise and don’t give them a chance to regroup.”
Tyghan agreed. “Once we’ve thinned their numbers, we can bring out Cael.”
Officer Ailes shook his head. “But he likely has an army of more warriors standing by, possibly thousands, only a few hills away.”
“Sure he does,” Eris said. “But so do we, and ours are far closer.”
“What about that cloud on the horizon?” Officer Perry asked.
“I don’t think it’s any bigger than the one we beat back at the palace,” Sloan said. “We can handle it.”
Sage Jarvis cursed under her breath, the leaves on her head stirring. “One cloud maybe, but there could be a lot more on the way.”
More. The small word tripped through the silent room. More restless dead that could put an end to all their well-laid plans.
“No more.”
A new voice rose from the back of the tent. Every head turned toward it.
