She couldn’t afford to think about any of that. Shock and adrenaline warred in Fi’s muscles, enough to get her out of here. When she tried to stand, every joint protested. She pulled a current of energy out of trembling abdominal muscles, hissing as she Shaped molten silver over scraped hands and chin. Nota pretty fix, but enough to cauterize the bleeding and kickstart her natural healing. She shed the heavy attendant cloak, eager to breathe again, though the dust in the air sent her coughing.
Those shouts in the plaza were guards, guiding evacuees to the exit gates. Either Fi had to slip out with the crowd, or cut another Curtain. The cold in her muscles, a sign of magic depletion, made the second option less attractive. Neither did she trust her ability to relax and spot a proper connection point while the world crumbled around her. She limped toward the nearest voices, ears still ringing from splintering rock. Shifting rubble rumbled in the gloom.
Then, the deep notes of a growl.
Fi froze. The sound was heart-stopping. Otherworldly. Clearly, some type of shock-induced hallucination.
It sounded again, a growl like no human or animal she’d ever heard, low enough to rumble her ribs. She spun in a circle, scanning the dust-shrouded air. She’d already dragged herself out of a collapsing building, what else could possibly…
Atop the wall, something moved.
Something hideously large.
Fi’s mouth fell fully open as a pantherine creature slunk across the red battlements, twenty feet long at least, white skin like a ghost behind the haze. A long tail swayed behind it. The head tapered like a horse, but too skeletal, skin pulled tight against bones and jaws filled with jagged teeth. Black antlers curved into a gnarled crown.
The guards atop the wall screamed when they spotted it.
The beast fell upon them in a flurry of teeth, batting away crossbow bolts like gnats.
Fi couldn’t move. Couldn’t tear her eyes away. Her father had spun countless folktales of forest beasts, exaggerated stories where monsters grew more hideous with each retelling. She’dseenSummer Plane prairie eagles rip men off their horses, packs of Void hyenas prowling Curtains in search of prey.
She’d never seen a creature like this.
When corpses riddled the wall, the beast’s blood-spattered gaze fell on the plaza. On Fi.
It leapt, too fast for a creature that size, taut sinew propelling clawed limbs with feral force. Fi didn’t have a single rational thought in her head as she scrambled for her sword. Nothing more than a shout and raw survival instinct as she cracked an energy capsule into the hilt. The mouth, the eyes, the neck—no matter the size, every animal had vulnerabilities.
When her swing glanced off thick hide, the beast swatted with one giant paw.
A flail through the air, then her back struck stone with enough force to drive the breath from her lungs, a crack to the back of her skull.
Skulls weren’t supposed to make sounds like that.
Fi slumped against a wall, stars blooming over blurred vision. Too hard to keep her head up. Too hard to even lift her sword as the beast approached with viscera-stained teeth. It regarded Fi with pupil-less red irises, hollow and hungry, the sclera pitch black. A Void-touched creature.
Before it could strike, its attention latched onto other prey.
A group appeared across the plaza, crossbow-armed guards encircling a core of politicians. One of them stood out: a midnight suit with shiny buttons, silver sash across his chest. The territory governor.
The beast moved like no dumb animal. It left Fi and lunged for the group, dodging the first volley of crossbow bolts when the guards spotted it, too close by the time they reloaded. The governor reeled in terror as the beast leapt over his retinue.
A scream, as claws sank into his chest.
Fi tried to move. She really, truly did.
Her head throbbed as she watched an impossible creature rip the governor of Antal Territory into pieces. Vision blackened at the edges as the beast fell upon the remaining retinue.
When a hand settled on her shoulder, she slumped deeper against the wall.
By the black pit of the Void, Fi should have charged double for this.
Then, she didn’t remember anything more.
6
Are you lying to me?
Fi hadn’t had this nightmare in a long time.
