I try to keep hold of the leg I’ve got, but in the chaos, I lose my footing, and the jacket. Acid sprays wildly into the air. I dodge a splotch, then get peppered with the splash. Icy agony spreads up my back, disintegrating the material of my shirt. I rip it off, throwing the contaminated thing aside.
The skreet is free of the bola trap and uses its wings to flip itself right side up. Its black eyes lock on me, the runic wards scribed across the expanse of my naked skin, and all the damage I can do with them.
I reach out for the next trap, detonating a satchel of white flour. The air is clouded in a second, obscuring me and everything else from view. I hold my breath as the skreet makes growling wheezes.
Run!
I can’t. This beast won’t let the town be if I go.
I find a rock in the whiteout that’s larger than my fist. Enough to do real damage with. I activate the strength rune on my other arm and come at the skreet’s back leg with an overhand strike. The rock smashes into its joint with a sickeningcrack. A spray of purple blood surges through the air and sprinkles my chest.
The monster roars and its massive wings beat against its sides. The flour eddies and flurries, disappearing in the gust the creature has created.
It whirls on me, and I gasp at the incoming strike. I curl in on myself and activate the steely rune on my ribs. It’s all I can do to weather the inescapable attack.
The leg hits my side with blinding pain. I lose track of my body as my astral spirit surges for the next trap. The sparks explode out of the next lantern, ripping flames across the flour-covered ground.
My spirit is sucked back into my body when I hit the ground.
It hurts.
I open my eyes to see pine needles, purple-speckled orange leaves, and flames.
It hurts everywhere.
I take a gasping breath full of smoke. My arms are weak, and my ribs are broken, but I crawl my way up to my knees. This isn’t the first time I’ve had broken ribs, and it’s not going to stop me this time, either.
The overlord flaps its wings again, fanning the flames that surround it into the trees.
Oh.
Fuck.
We’ve just set the forest on fire.
Ace. He’s in the car just a quarter mile away. Did he leave? Did he call the police?
The skreet roars and whirls around, seeking its enemy. Its skin is blackened with purple boils. Its eyes constrict and track across the clearing until they land on me between the trees.
I stagger to my feet. Pain lances through my gut, but I take up first stance and activate the runes on my legs: power and speed. My breathing is restricted, but I flow as much as I can, keeping my awareness on what little air I can pull before it’s painful.
The heat of the fire roaring through the trees batters my skin, but it doesn’t hurt. No, it’s my companion. My friend. The discomfort of the flame is a boon for me, one I’ve experienced so many times before. One I’ve found solace in.
With Rhazan.
My mate.
My love.
I breathe in the pain and cycle it into my qi, letting the fire fuel me, feed me, sate the dire hunger for power in my gut. Flames build in my chest, popping my ribs and expanding my lungs. I inhale deeply once more and the spirit energy flows with ease.
I can feel it.
His magic.
I hum his tune on the last of my exhale and take a deep breath, pulling the flames into me. The fire coalesces in the trees, siphoning into a torrent of energy that flows to my body. I raise my arms, strengthening myself with the heat of destruction until it’s all within me.
My skin glows orange, the runes along my arms and down my stomach pulsing with unrestrained heat. Rhazan’s mark burns bright on my wrist and I know it’s my connection to him that’s given me this strength. I kiss the mark and hold my hand out toward the skreet.
