Page 60 of The Last Slayer
Nathanael picked Leh up, carried her inside the cottage and kicked the door shut behind them hard enough to make the walls shake. I crouched under a window and stared at the lake.
I don’t normally brood, and—as a rule—I try not to be pessimistic. But here, on this tiny patch of land in the middle of a lake that was so legendarily dangerous it intimidated a dragonlord, and surrounded by a forest that drained the life energy from every living thing, I couldn’t help but think that I would be very lucky to get out alive.
Somewhere owls hooted and wolves howled. They were probably undead or something. The herbs in Leh’s garden danced in the breeze and scented the air with mint, rosemary and thyme. The old legends say fairies love thyme, but I doubted I’d find one out tonight.
Nothing grew near the lake. Not even mint, that aggressive invader of gardens, crept anywhere close to the water. Its surface was tranquil. Of course, appearance is often deceptive, especially in the supernatural realm.
Why did I ever think I could get involved and not get hurt? I rested my forehead on my palms with a sigh. Come on, Ashera, you know the answer already. Despite everything, Valerie and all, I wanted to meet my mother. But I’d never expected this, and I had a feeling that Nathanael and Leh weren’t talking inside. There was something grossly disturbing about imagining a mother I hadn’t even met having sex with a guy who was out to kill me.
I lifted my head, drummed my fingers on a bent knee. How long did it take to do the act between two demigods? I didn’t have all night. The moon was descending from the sky into the horizon. Nahemah derived a lot of power from lunar energy. What would happen when the dawn came? Would her protective glamour vanish? I didn’t have any weapons with me, and the last thing I wanted was a battle against Nathanael. I crept over to the wall adjacent to the entrance. From this position, I would be able to see him leave. I couldn’t believe how nobody had thought to mentio
n that I might have to wait while Nathanael and my “mother” gave in to their libidos.
As I leaned back against the rough brick and stretched out my legs, my right foot hit a small rock. I watched in horror as it rolled down the slope and into the water.
The pebble didn’t immediately disappear under the surface. Instead it sank slowly, like something stuck in a tar pit. The water surrounding it started sizzling with an ancient malevolent magic, and pungent smoke rose in wisps. Tiny piranha mouths appeared, digging their tiny razor teeth into the rock. I pushed my back against the brick wall. No wonder nobody—and nothing—wanted to get anywhere near the lake.
The power grew stronger, so much so that it made my skin prickle. I glanced at the small square patch of land lit from the light from the cottage window. Would Nathanael and Leh notice? I hoped they were too busy to do so.
The door burst open. Nathanael rushed out half-dressed, a long sword—the same one he’d used at TriMedica—in his hand. The huge blade reflected the silver-blue moonlight.
I pressed closer against the wall and held my breath. Nathanael’s head turned, slowly, to the greedy mouths in the water before me. Soundlessly, he began walking around the cottage. In three steps, he would find me. Although Nahemah’s magic allowed me to blend in with my surroundings, if Nathanael looked hard enough, he would spot me. I didn’t doubt it for a second.
He turned the corner. The wind picked up dry leaves from the ground and tossed them into the air. His eyes sharpened and narrowed, categorizing all the details around him, searching for the one that had caused the lake to hiss. He blew out a steady breath through slightly parted lips. Then his sword winked in the moonlight.
I ducked and rolled.
The section of wall that had supported my head exploded. Bits of brick peppered my back. Dust clouded the air, making it difficult to breathe.
I would’ve killed for my katana. Without it I wasn’t much more than a fencing dummy, and a simple wall of containment wasn’t going to keep a dragonlord away.
He swung his sword again and again, the air shrieking with every slash. My body pumped adrenaline as I dodged. The heartstone in my mouth grew hot and cold at the same time, but it didn’t seem to help much. Still, I thanked whatever deities exist for Nahemah’s camouflage spell. Had Nathanael been able to see me clearly, I would already have been dead.
There had to be a way to fight back. I looked around for something I could use as a weapon and saw white stones bordering the garden. I threw them at him. He didn’t even blink. My aim was true, but none of rocks hit home. As soon as they got near him, they glanced away, tumbling across the ground.
Shit. I ducked, barely avoiding another whistling slash.
Now I knew how a cockroach must feel when a determined housewife stomps her feet all over the kitchen floor. How long could I roll, duck and jump? Escaping into the lake wasn’t an option. I trampled Leh’s garden in my desperate evasions. The scent of crushed mint and rosemary grew almost too pungent for me to breathe.
Finally, he backed me onto a small spit of land. It was him in front of me, and the fatal water to both sides and behind.
Why had I ever thought waiting for him to get finished with Leh was boring?
“Die,” he said, his voice passionless.
I had lived exactly twenty-seven years and one day. There was no way I was going out so young.
Nathanael raised his sword, the moonlight sliding along the blade. I gathered all my remaining magic for a death spell. Power pooled within me, amplified by the heartstone in my mouth. The spell worked on lower to midgrade demons, but I had no idea what kind of effect it would have on a demigod. Time to find out.
There was a sharp cry of “No!” and a blur of movement. I came dangerously close to releasing the spell before I realized Leh was standing in front of me. Nathanael’s sword tip floated at her neck. I blinked. How had she moved so quickly? And why had it taken her so long to help me?
Nathanael’s eyes narrowed as he regarded Leh. “Don’t.” And then his magic surged and crashed into her like an angry wave.
Instead of defending passively, she blasted her own spell back at him. I gritted my teeth against the residual forces battering me and tried not to slide into the lake. I had come too far to get myself killed by some possessed body of water.
Their spells, ancient and fueled by hundreds of years of bloody history, strained and pushed at each other. Tendrils of power extended from their cores and snapped and cut and stabbed. Magic ripped from its owner flew off into the air, and the strange forces of the Mystic Forest absorbed it and spat red death and misery into the atmosphere until the scene looked like Purgatory.
Neither of them had moved. Then, heedless of Nathanael’s sword tip, Leh took a step forward. Her alabaster skin opened and a drop of crimson blood beaded and moistened the tip of the blade. Nathanael took an equal step back, but didn’t lower his sword.
