10
We run for an eternity through the cold and dark. By the time we reach the first peak, it’s close to midnight and the breath wheezes out of my lungs. Of all the challenges, running uphill is killing me.
“Rest.” Jasper drops his pack to the ground and retrieves a water flask. I’m stupidly pleased to see that his chest is heaving as much as mine.
I reach for my own water and gulp some down, taking it slow, waiting for my breathing to get back under control. Some time this century would be nice. I pace to the other side of the clearing, grateful for the bright moonlight. The snow cover is patchy and thin. The cold won’t get really bad until we descend into the valley at the base of Scepter peak.
“I think we should take this path down to the valley,” I say, pointing between the trees. “It’s more exposed, but I don’t like what could be hiding in the trees if we go through the woods.”
There’s no answer behind me.
“Jasper?”
I turn to find him on one knee, one hand reaching for his pack, the other held out to me:stop.
My gaze shoots left where he’s looking.
Two silvery eyes glow in the darkness at the edge of the clearing. For a moment, I’m terrified it’s another gargoyle, but no… this new beast can’t be reasoned with.
The creature slinks on four legs toward us, the largest cat I’ve ever seen, its fur streaked with silver, its claws like steel, and its teeth long and curved…Shadow panther.
I freeze, trying not to provoke it as Jasper’s hand slides into his pack. I hope he has an arsenal of weapons in there because I have none now that the gargoyle broke my wooden weapon.
Too late. The cat is a blur of silver as it speeds straight at him, leaping for his throat. He pulls a dagger from his pack a moment before the animal slams him to the ground. Luckily, he curled his knees under it and uses his legs to shove it backward.
The creature regains its footing, leaping back at him before he can get up. He slashes at it, but it swipes the weapon clear out of his hand, knocking him down again. As the animal snaps at his throat, he pushes against it, his own hands wrapped around its neck.
He isn’t going to win. The creature’s weight gives it an advantage and its sharp teeth only have to pierce his vulnerable neck in the right place to kill him.
And yet… he hasn’t looked to me for help. Not once.
I’m running before I know it, snatching up the dagger. The handle is wooden, but the blade is metal and it extends into the center of the handle. Electricity flows through me. Lightning that I couldn’t call on my own is suddenly out of my control with the touch of steel. My hand lights up and so does the blade.
The shadow panther senses its peril and tries to twist, but I plow into it with a scream, slicing cleanly through its neck with the electrified knife. At the same time, I shove the panther away from Jasper, knowing that the lightning could kill him if it flows through to him.
The panther spins backward, rolls, and comes to a stop, dead, ten feet away. I land neatly on one knee, the blade in my hand pointed at the ground. Electricity flows through my arm and shoulder, tingling through my neck and down my spine. It lights up the clearing, casting colors across Jasper’s face.
He leaps to his feet as I jump to my own. He can’t seem to stop staring at me, watching the lightshow curl around me.
I don’t exactly want to let the blade go. I’m shocked to realize that I miss the lightning. Having it near me is like regaining a strength I lost. It takes all my willpower to pitch the blade into the earth so that Jasper can pick it up. The light fades from my arm and so does the unwavering strength.
Jasper strides toward me, fists clenched, stopping at what I’d call a ‘Baelen distance’ away from me. Which means he’s far too close. I eye him warily.
“Where are you hurt?” he demands.
“What? It didn’t touch me.”
“Shadow panthers are only drawn by the scent of blood. They only attack wounded animals. I’m not hurt so that means you must be.”
I’m almost certain my eyes are saucers now. He’s right. The gargoyle drew blood when it grabbed me before. The site of the wound has been numb for a while so I’ve been able to ignore it. Reluctantly, I turn my back to him and reach to open the top of my torn suit at the back of my neck and between my shoulder blades.
I can’t see his reaction. There’s silence behind me.
I say, “I… fell against a rock and cut myself.”
His response drips with disbelief. “You fell? The elf who just now killed a shadow panther with one swipe and landed on her feet at the end of it? I can’t see you ever falling.”
I ignore his comment, knowing I can’t give him any real answers. “I don’t think it’s a bad wound. Is it?”
