“You will burn for that,” Gathrriel hissed, flames gathering in his throat as he spun, searching for a target but not finding one. Unir struck again, and Gathrriel’s scales burned from the blasts.
With another scream of pain and rage, power erupted from his mouth, fire biting and chewing through anything it touched. His aim was the annoying god and his hateful, burning light, but only buildings and mortals crumbled beneath the flames. Two shadowy figures rose from a nearby roof and jumped, disappearing as the structure crumbled beneath them. Smoke encased Gathrriel, constricting and suffocating. He thrashed, his head swivelling, looking for the threat, but blinded by his rage.
Gathrriel shuddered, forcing his beast back under his control. He took a long look around, his lungs working like bellows, pushing air in and out of his enormous body. The hazy, destroyed town taunted him. Rain pelted from the sky, turning some of the flames into smoke. He slowly scanned, realizing that the town had gone quiet. It was as if every person here had disappeared between one moment and the next. He could no longer hear the thumping of hearts, and the stench of fear was gone. A roar ripped from him, his beast ripping at the reins. His stomach ached, and his mouth watered. He needed to feed, but he had already burned everything to dust, and there was nothing left here for him.
His clawed feet stomped across the cobblestone, crushing and warping it with my weight. He balanced with one clawed wing in front of the other, his tail whipping behind him in agitation, leaving even more destruction in his wake as he hunted.Feed, seal, kill them all.It repeated like a mantra in his head. It was his purpose, his reason.For her, for them, I would be fire. I would be death. I would be ruin.
Horror swamped me, and I could do nothing but stand in stunned silence. My mind reeled as I watched Gathrriel leave no stone or building standing. But it was the raw pain and grief I felt from him that shook me to the core. What had happened to make him nothing more than a weapon of death? What had erased his empathy and compassion, leaving only pure blind hatred?
Gathrriel inhaled deeply, searching for any sort of life. A whistle rent the air, and his long reptilian neck jerked to the side, smoke curling from his flared nostrils. A lean, lithe shadow figure dressed from head to toe in all black stood outside one of the empty taverns. She raised her hand high, black smoke curling on her palm. Gathrriel launched at her, jaws opened wide. Wood, stone, and metal hit his tongue as he clamped down on half the building, but there was no flesh or warm blood from the shadow woman who was there seconds ago.
He shook his head, scattering the pieces as he spat them out. Another whistle came from behind him, and he turned in a slow stalking circle. This shadow form was taller and broader around the shoulders. He held the same black smoke above his head. Gathrriel’s wings spread, and he roared, swiping at the shadow man. This same scenario played out over and over across the devastated town. The shadow people baited him again and again, and each time, he ended up with nothing but a mouthful of rubble. He roared once more, surrounded by nothing but his own rubble and rage.
Something erupted from the ground with his next step. Silver chains wrapped around his neck, legs, tail, and the base of his wings before pulling taut. His head reared back, and he roared. The grates embedded into the streets began to vibrate, black mist curling from them in dark clouds. They gathered, growing thick, heavy, and far denser than the smoke produced by my flames. His fire burned at the back of his throat, but flickered out on a harsh cough as the mist overtook him.
Gathrriel’s eyes burned, and he blinked rapidly, weakness invading his body as he pulled and tugged at the restraints. He managed to get to his feet before collapsing back into a heap, the chains binding him to the ground. His breath came in thick pants, a cracked roar tearing at his throat as he tried and failed to breathe. The black mist made everything hazy, but he could still see the shadowy forms that had trapped him. They formed a loose circle around him, seeming to wait for something. A silver light filtered through the black smoke. That fucking god again, so familiar, yet so not.
Gathrriel struggled to keep his eyes open as Unir approached and kneeled before the bound beast.
“I will,” Gathrriel rasped, his drugged beast gargling his words, “end you.”
I expected Unir to react in violence, but instead, he reached out and brushed a comforting hand over his scaled snout. “I am truly sorry for what happened to Vvive and Dhihsin,” Unir said, his voice flooded with sorrow.
Gathrriel snapped his jaws groggily and said, “End … you.” His lips drew back in an attempted snarl, but the smoke pressed deeper into his lungs and lulled him into unconsciousness.
33
DIANNA
GATHRRIEL
“If we move her toward Herrbet, it’s closer than where we are now,” a man said.
Voices filtered in through the darkness. The words came to me in spurts; some I caught, but others rushed past me so fast I couldn’t catch them. It felt as though they were coming to me from the other end of a long tunnel.
“True,” a feminine voice said.
It took a moment, but recollection hit me. It was Faye, the woman from the auction months back. Everything came rushing back. She was the one who had fled with the green sword, and she had thrown that damn smoke at me back then, too. It seemed she was not alone this time, and from what I could remember, she had hundreds of shadow figures with her.
My body jerked, but it was a movement I had no control over. What the fuck?
“I don’t know when Unir will make it back. Maybe Death drew too close. He may be out of commission for a while,” the same male voice said.
“I’m more worried about the god who is undoubtedly searching for her,” Faye said, her words clipped and tinged with genuine concern.
“I don’t like being out in the open like this,” he replied.
“Okay,” Faye said, and I heard her boots scrape against the ground as she walked closer. “She’s still out from the last bit of gas. We can move her downstairs and get her ready for transport. Then we’ll smoke her out on the ride to Herrbet.”
“Sounds good to me,” the man replied. “Let me grab a few more chains, just in case she wakes up on the ride.”
Faye chuckled. “Always so cautious.”
“Hey, it has saved us time and time again.”
No other words were spoken, but I heard the door click behind him as he left. I waited a few more seconds, listening hard. I took a few more breaths before my eyes shot open. My arms were raised above my head, tangled and bound in heavy silver chains. My hands flexed, but it wasn’t me who had control of the movement. I can see through my eyes, but a haze edges the corners like I’m sharing my vision. My heart thumps wildly. What the fuck?
“Calm yourself.”Gathrriel’s voice flooded my head.
