Page 32
My leopard doesn’t like this one bit, and neither do I.
I take point, despite the whispered arguments of the rest of my family. If this is a kill box, it’ll be me that the magic chews up first, and I’d rather die knowing the others had a head start. Fiadh is next—because she insists, of course—and Khol follows less than a half-step off her shadow with Dezi. Revelin is at the back, which I’m not fond of, but I know he can hold his own if needed. Getting Knuckles in the middle without too much fighting is the most important part.
The first twenty feet are uneventful, if you don’t count the way the light suspiciously bends inwards the longer we walk. We’re making decent time until a pulse runs through the bridge, warping it like a ribbon in the wind. I spot the buckle on the surface a split-second before it ripples up under Fiadh, and my warning is half a snarl, “Heads up!”
Knuckles stumbles, her arms windmilling with momentum so violent that for a sickening instant her whole torso is dangling off the side. Only Dezi’s reflexes—and the vampire speed behind them—keep her from pitching into the abyss. He grabs her by the back of the dress, yanks her upright, and nearly pulls her clean out of her skin.
“Fuck, that was close,” she pants, as her hand clutches her chest. “Damn, you can move.”
The bloodsucker doesn’t let go, his body tense as shit with fear he doesn’t want anyone to see. “I promised to always catch you. This is always.”
She nods, but she’s shaking as Khol looks her over. Revelin is behind her, one palm steadying her shoulder, but his eyes are locked on the bridge as if he can will it to behave. I notice the vampire’s expression is unreadable now—it’s got an odd, laser focus that tells me he’s running probabilities in his head. He’s trying to reason out this place, but Rev and I could tell him you cannot predict anything in Faerie but the unexpected.
“Fair trial, my ass,” Khol mutters, hauling himself forward with one hand still on Fiadh’s arm. “This is rigged to kill us, and they all knew it, even the two-faced criminal. If we get out, I’m stabbing the first motherfucker I see on principle.”
Fiadh laughs, bumping his shoulder as she says, “Me, too. I say we all kill one person to show them we’re goddamn serious.”
Sighing, Rev shakes his head. “Alas, you know Tier and I cannot. Perhaps Dezi will join you and we can avoid an inter-court incident.”
Sometimes, being his bodyguard sucks rocks.
The spiral ahead straightens, but the bridge narrows even further until I’m walking heel-to-toe and the others have to line up single file. The air grows thin and cold, with a taste like metal on my tongue. My body is built for the cold, but even I can feel the ache working its way into my joints.
The others have to be freezing.
Our woman’s breath comes faster, and she coughs, “It’s squeezing my chest.”
Dezi is on her in a flash, wrapping his coat around her shoulders and speaking so quietly I almost miss it. “You’re breathing too shallowly. Pull it from your gut—slowly and precisely.” He holds her up until the coughing stops, and then gives her a nod. Knuckles takes a trembling step, then another, and I wait until she’s good to move forward again.
Halfway across the damn bridge, the first shadow hits us. It’s not a monster, not really; it’s more like a cold void with hands and teeth. The shadow materializes out of the darkness, just ahead of us, and stands there twitching like a static image on a broken TV.
Great, these idiots think they’re directing a fucking horror movie.
Baring my teeth, I growl, “Stay behind me, Knuckles. The rest of you get as close as possible on this tightrope.”
Unfortunately, the thing lunges for Fiadh with a mouth stretching too wide for its head and eyes like two moons. She ducks behind Khol’s rapidly half-shifting bulk, but the creature is nearly on top of her when he starts the process. Her scream makes me whirl around, but I have to shield my eyes once I do.
The basilisk didn’t just shift physically, but he unleashed the stare. His power isn’t subtle; it’s an eruption that rents the surrounding air. Shadow monster guy freezes mid-scream, its black lips peeled back as it hardens to onyx in an instant. Its momentum carries it forward, but now it’s stone, so when it hits the bridge, it shatters into a thousand silent pieces that spill over the side and spiral into the void.
Holy fuckbuckets… that’s goddamn amazing.
“Fuck,” Revelin says, breathless. “No wonder you don’t do that shit very often. You’re a menace, Bedia.”
Khol’s words are hissed rather than spoken. “It could cossssst more than mosssst are willing to rissssk. I shouldn’t do it again before my shed cycle, if possible. I’m not asss sssstrong assss I could be at the moment.”
“Ah, but even not in top form you are a formidable, young basilisk. I am quite impressed by the show.” Dezi smiles at him and oddly, Khol turns red enough to show beyond the scales patching his face.
I’ll be damned, he wants Daddy Vamp’s approval.
“Uh, guys… Khol is definitely hot, but um…” Fi gets our attention by waving her hands frantically. It’s only then I notice the thin crack in the bridge where the statue hit. The surface is holding, but I can hear it ticking, the sound of tiny fissures growing.
“Not good,” I grimace as I look at them. “Not good at all. Let’s move.”
Dezi and Fiadh limp around the stress point, careful not to put weight on it. Khol leads Rev, but he doesn’t shift back even though he said he shouldn’t stone-ify anyone else. The path ahead dips, then rises at a sickening pitch, like a theme park ride built by sadists. At the crest, another shadow waits.
This time, they come in waves—three, then six, then too many to count.
I glance at the others, surprised when Dezi rolls up his sleeves calmly.
