It was savoring this. The look on its face told me it would relish in the taste of my flesh.
My arms rose up. Right hand melded into the grip of the gun while the left steadied it. Breath syncing, I took aim.
A growl rippled from its throat. Another step closer and a stringy glob of saliva hit the floor with a splat.
“Messed with the wrong bitch,” Iseethed.
The creature exploded forward with terrifying speed. All restraint unleashed, red eyes locked. Froth sprayed from the corner of its snapping canines.
My scalp tingled. Every inch of me electrically charged.
Vines blasted from my skin, racing down my arms and wrapping around the gun like living circuits, fusing it to me like an extremity. Magic imbued into it, metal faintly humming with a slight glow.
I squeezed the trigger.
Bang!
The gunshot cracked through the air, a sharp, final sound. An enormous flash cleaved through the darkness, illuminating the entire quadrant in golden light. The bullet blazed, radiating with power as it sliced forward. Unstoppable.
It struck dead center. Burrowing deep between the eyes. The beast collapsed, sliding across the floor mid-charge. Its limbs shuddered.
With one final twitch, it stilled.
A silent glow pulsed at the wound, and from it spread tiny veins of light, thin and winding, like roots penetrating earth. My ability, my magic—taking hold.
I suddenly felt eyes on me. Multiple living souls watching from above. But no sound came. No cheer. No gasps. Just the deafening silence of awe.
From the husk of the creature, tiny stems began to sprout. Small and fragile buds formed, then blossomed.
Poppies. Vibrant, blood-red poppies. Dozens of them unfurled across its back and spine, dotting the body like sprinkled dirt on a grave.
I stared. It was ghastly, strange, and yet . . . unbelievablybeautiful.
But then, one by one, the flowers withered, turning to ash.
Boom!
The body ignited, spraying light and smoke in complete obliteration. The whole simulation flickered—then died.
The explosion sent me tumbling back. I landed hard on my backside, arms shielding my face as the blast rocked the ground beneath me. A quake rolled through the entire Snake Pit. Clouds of dust poured from the ceiling, small pebbles raining like hail.
Chaos erupted above. Shouts. Swearing. Hands clung to walls and railings, bracing against the trembling aftermath.
I slowly lowered my arms as the last tremor tapered off. Dust settled around like a quiet haze, revealing the fallout.
I cringed. The floor where the beast once lay was cleaved wide open, charred debris spewed across the grounds. Destroyed. Utterly destroyed.
Reality struck me hard, and my abilities snuffed out.
“How did she do that? That’s not possible!”
“A feckin’ Ancient—Luck be damned!”
Then, a quieter voice, low and honed, sliced through the havoc.
“It’s true then . . . about the prophecy.”
That had my gaze snapping up.
