Before the Sluagh could swing again and hit me with whatever magic lay within, I stabbed it right in the gut. Black blood oozed onto my blade as the creature fell into a bonyheap.
The distant clang of steel met my ears again. Frowning, I took a step down the left path. A muffled grunt echoed toward me, and a strange scent filled my nose. Fire and something like pine cones, drifting along the musty wind. I cocked my head. Someone else was down here, alright, butwho?
A loud screech shot through the darkness. I whirled on my feet to find five Sluagh now bearing down on me. They must have heard me fighting the others. And every single one of them hadblades.
Gritting my teeth, I slashed at the first. It fell to the ground within seconds. I ducked low as the next rushed toward me, its vacant eyes staring right into my soul. They continued on. And I kept fighting. One after another, I sliced. Up ahead, in the distance, the tunnel on the right speared with light. I could see the doorway. I’d finally madeit.
There were just ten bloody Sluagh in the way ofsafety.
I slowed to a stop, chest heaving. As I’d fought, I’d somehow made it into a domed room. Black blood caked the walls. Grime seeped into my boots. The exit door out of this hell sat on the opposite wall, light seeping through thecracks.
The Sluagh stared me down. Their mouths were opened wide, their clawed, bony fingers clutching tight to various blades. Some held daggers, carved in elaborate designs. Others held up swords, rippling with magic anddanger.
I sucked in a deep breath and focused. More than ever, I needed my gift. Curling my hand tight around the golden hilt of my sword, I let my eyes drop shut, just for a moment. The steel sang to me, a brilliant sound that lit up every vein in my body. Adrenaline surged through me. Electricity shot through mycore.
I opened my eyes. The Sluagh were coming for me. But I wasready.
I slashed through the first, and then the next. My body became a whirlwind, spinning so fast that I didn’t even know the moves I made. I trusted in my gift, my magic. It would carry me through, even if nothing else could. I didn’t think. I didn’t evenbreathe.
All I did wasfight.
Soon, all the Sluagh were dead. Chest heaving, I sucked in a deep lungful of blood-soaked air. I wiped the gunk off my blade and shoved it into the holster around my waist. Up ahead, the exit door practically glowed like a beacon. I’d taken on this damn trial. And I’dwon.
I tried not to look at the ground as I toed my way through the bloody pile of bodies. Some were merely crumpled heaps of bones. But some were far more than that. I didn’t want to look into the eye of anyone who looked even remotely like the humans they’d oncebeen.
When I reached the door, I let out a relieved sigh. This whole thing had sucked some serious ass, but it could have been a lot worse. I hadn’t died, for one. And I hadn’t lost a limb. A few scratches and bruises were nothing compared to what could havebeen.
I reached for the door and screamed. A fleshy hand had wrapped itself around my ankle, squeezing so tight I swore my bone would pop. It yanked with a terrifying strength, pulling me to the ground. I fell hard and my teeth slammedtogether.
It took a second for me to get mybearings.
A second too long. The Sluagh scrabbled on top of me and pinned me down on the stone. I writhed, twisting and turning and trying to knock the thing off. It stank of rot, and Igagged.
As I threw my weight upward at the Sluagh, it barely budged. This creature was strong. Too strong. The only way I was going to get out of this was with my sword. Gritting my teeth, I twisted my arm toward my holster, but the scrabbling Sluagh made it impossible for me to do anything but claw at thedirt.
I stared up at its hollow eyes. There couldn’t be much intelligence in there. Time to try a differentoption.
I reached up and grabbed the back of its head. Sucking in a deep breath, I slammed my forehead against the Sluagh’s. Pain licked through my face, but I’d achieved my mission. The Sluagh stilled, swaying back and forth like a lifelessdoll.
I grabbed the Sluagh and flipped over, straddling its gruesome form. Now, there was nothing standing between me and my sword. I reached for it, but another bony hand closed around my skin. Another Sluagh had appeared. It wrenched me away from the one I’d trapped and threw me toward the wall with a frighteningforce.
I hit the wall hard. My head smacked against the stone. I fell into a heap, legs twisting beneath me. Several more Sluagh stormed into the vaults. And they were heading right forme.
The one who had thrown me jumped on top of my reeling body and pinned me to the ground. Another joined it. And then another. Soon, I was stuck, and bony hands wrapped around mythroat.
I thrashed and thrashed but it was no use. I couldn’t move. I definitely couldn’t breathe. I choked against their fingers, gasping for air. Darkness crept into the corners of my vision, threatening to pull me under. Tears stung myeyes.
I was going to die here. Down in the filth. All alone. The way I’d always feared I would go. Pinned down, trapped, with no one butme.
My consciousness slipped away until all I could see was the rage-filled face of the Sluagh who was killing me. And then the silver-tipped spear that sliced through itsskull.
* * *
Coughing,I rolled over and cracked open my eyes. My throat was on fire. It felt like a million tiny daggers had raked down my oesophagus. I lifted my hand to my skin and felt the indention of fingers. Memories suddenly flooded my mind. The Sluagh choking me. The spear that had slammed into itshead.
I was on my unsteady feet within seconds. My hands found my sword. I raised it before me. The half dozen Sluagh who had pinned me to the ground now lay dead all around myfeet.
My heart thumped hard as I glanced around me. What the hell had happened? Where did that spear disappear to? And where the hell had it comefrom?
