A Battle of Blood and Stone

by Sawyer Bennett

  “See,” Deandra says brightly. “We’ll have plenty of room here, no one to watch, and you can light up the sky if you want with that magic of yours, which we’re going to tap.”

  “Well, I actually can’t see much at all,” I reply, but she ignores me.

  “Ready to get started?” she asks instead.

  My senses are telling me that whatever is going to happen is definitely going to be different than anything I’ve tried before when it comes to tapping my powers, and because I don’t have a clue of what’s going on, I’m admittedly a little bit scared. Still, I try to sound nonchalant. “Yeah… sure.”

  I am not heartened in any way when I see a wicked gleam in her eyes that makes my stomach bottom out. “Then let’s begin.”

  Immediately, I’m surrounded in darkness so black I can’t see my hand right before my face. I drag my foot and it feels like I’m standing on dirt. I turn and immediately see Deandra and Carrick in the front row seats where I had just been standing with them, about forty yards from me, the floating light above them making the area outside its perimeter even darker.

  Deandra had transported me into the middle of the pitch-black pit and my heart starts to kick against my chest with apprehension.

  Carrick and Deandra are engaged in conversation. I’m sure he’s asking her what the fuck she’s doing, but despite the fact I know Carrick won’t let me be harmed, I break out in a bit of a sweat wondering what’s going to happen.

  They’re too far away for me to hear what they’re saying. Rather than use my super hearing skills on Deandra, I instead strain to hear anything that could be near me in the dark because I know danger is going to be part of this little experiment she has planned.

  I concentrate hard but it’s utterly silent, which actually scares me a little more than if I had heard something breathing heavily behind me. What if something is stalking me and being incredibly quiet about it?

  Whatever the conversation between Carrick and Deandra, it doesn’t last long as they both turn back to the pit and stare down into it. I don’t know if Carrick can see me or not, but I don’t move a muscle. He’s too far away for me to see the exact details of his face to know if he’s pissed or on board with what Deandra has planned, but I can tell by the stiffness of his body that he’s on edge.

  And that causes my fear to notch up just a little bit more.

  After I inhale deeply through my nose, I let it flow out slowly. I roll my shoulders, trying to loosen myself up. I’m missing my whip right now. In this darkness, I don’t know that I’ve ever felt more vulnerable in my life. I don’t know what’s going to happen, what might come after me, but I immediately start to concentrate on tapping my bubble shield.

  In other words, I immediately start thinking defensively.

  Suddenly, lights flick on and I’m momentarily blinded. I hold my hand up to shield my eyes, but once they’re accustomed, I take in the fact that just below where Deandra and Carrick are standing is a square opening in the wall covered with a gate made of thick bars. I can’t see what’s inside because it’s dark, but, instinctively, I know something is in there.

  I even take a few steps closer, chin jutting forward and eyes narrowing to try to see better. I make it no more than three paces when whatever is in that barred opening starts a low, deep growl that causes the hair on my arms to rise.

  Scrambling back a few feet, I look left and right, noting two more barred cages about twenty feet to either side of the original one. As if knowing my attention is on them, whatever is in those cages starts growling, too.

  Fuck.

  My mind is utterly blank on what to do, but while those cages are closed, I decide to take in the rest of the arena. I slowly turn around, note there are doorways in the pit walls as well as other cages. I have no clue if anything will be coming out, but when I get halfway around, my body locks tight as I see a large pole about a foot in diameter planted deep into the dirt.

  And tied to that pole with her hands behind her back is my best friend, Rainey. She’s gagged and can’t speak, but I can hear her cries of fear and pleading. Tears are streaming out of her eyes, only to soak into the cloth gag.

  Immediately, I’m filled with fury that Rainey has been brought into this, and my instinct is to run to her so I can release her from the pole. But then I realize that will be futile as I don’t know what to do with her. I can’t bend distance with her as it would kill her, and the pit walls are too high for us to scale or jump.

  I’m sure I’ll be ashamed later, but my next instinct is to turn to Carrick for help. Sadly, there’s no time as I hear the screeching of metal and realize those cages behind me are now starting to open.

  I wheel back around to face them, putting myself between whatever is going to come out and Rainey. It’s up to me to protect her.

  Three of the barred doors are slowly rolling horizontally. I do a quick glance around the rest of the arena, but I don’t see any more cages opening. There are doors and something could be coming out at some point, so I’ll need to keep that in mind.

  From the tarry black interior of the first cage where I had heard a low rumbling growl emerges a creature that has to be of Nimeyah’s making. It resembles nothing like what we have on earth, but it seems to be made of different parts of recognizable animals. It’s four-legged with a hunched back and low-slung hips and there’s a ridge of bony spikes running from the base of its neck between its shoulder blades and down to mid-spine. Its tail is that of a scorpion’s, arched up and over the creature with a sharp spike on the end from which drops of something yellow drip. The top portion of its face is squashed inward with bulging eyes, but the lower jaw juts forward with huge canines. Saliva drools from the corners of its mouth as it prowls out of his cage.

  At first, I think it sees Rainey and I and intends on coming our way, but incredibly it looks left and then right, eyes peering around for its quarry. It doesn’t seem to see us and I wonder if it’s blind.

  From the other two cages, the same type of animal emerges. Rainey makes a tiny sound of distress and I look over my shoulder at her with a glare, giving a shake of my head.

  The message is clear. Right now, they don’t know we’re here so be quiet.

  I look back to the animals. The first one lifts its head and starts to sniff the air. I don’t feel a breeze at all, and I hope to god our scent is stifled.

  But, of course, we wouldn’t be that lucky.

  The animal catches a whiff of something and throws its head back, letting out a horrendous howl that sounds like fingernails scraping on a chalkboard. I grit my teeth, resisting the urge to clap my hands over my ears.

  My blood runs cold when the other two animals start howling, too, and then as if they were synced into perfect unison, all three of their heads turn our way and lock onto me. Lips peel back and they snarl as they start prowling slowly toward us.

  “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I mutter under my breath.

  My first instinct is to yell to Carrick for help, and I hate myself for it. I am a strong, accomplished woman who is deadly with a whip and six other types of weapons. I don’t have those weapons now, but I haven’t lost my spirit or ingenuity.

  The first creature starts moving a little faster until it’s into a trot, the other two following suit.

  Think, Finley.

  Think.

  The monsters get closer, loping now with confidence. Rainey squeaks in terror behind me.

  Instinctually, I feel the power of what I know will be a solid bubble shield welling up within me. I think it will be big enough to cover Rainey and me both, but I’m not sure about that damn pole she’s tied to and I don’t know how long it will last against three attacking monsters.

  It doesn’t take much thinking to figure out that Deandra put me into a situation where I can’t use my defenses.

  Or at least I can’t use them with confidence as I don’t know they’ll protect Rainey.

  I have no choice.

  I am absolutely without choice
.

  I have to attack.

  The realization of what I have to do—as well as what will happen if I don’t do it—flows through me with confidence. I remember Sarvel telling me that as long as I believe in my powers, they are mine to use as I want.

  I do believe in my powers, but Deandra was right about one thing.

  I’ve been afraid to use them before in all the other times I’ve tried to develop them.

  Afraid of failure.

  That’s just not an option right now because Rainey’s life is on the line.

  A zap of warmth moves along my extremities and I feel a tingling sensation in the palms of my hands. I don’t question what it is or what I should do with it.

  Instinctively, I throw my hands outward toward the advancing creatures—looking just like Elsa slinging ice and snow—and a bright light erupts from my palms.

  It streams out in a white beacon tinged with blue and strikes the first creature in the face. It hits with such force, it’s blasted backward where it hits the ground and tumbles several times before stopping on its side.

  It doesn’t move while the other two slide to a stop, now understanding its prey isn’t going to be easy to take down.

  I prepare to blast the other two, but the first creature stirs. It rolls to its feet, shakes its entire body as if throwing off the effects of my blast, and then turns its head slowly my way. Its lips rise, revealing teeth intent on tearing into me, and it snarls so viciously I almost pee my pants. Its two cohorts do the same, and then they start yipping at each other. I recognize it for what it is—they’re communicating. This is confirmed as the animals spread out and start to circle Rainey and me.

  They’re going to surround us, then attack from different angles. I’m not going to have time to blast them all, despite the fact I still feel the power tingling in my hands.

  It’s not enough to knock them backward.

  It’s not going to be enough to hurt them.

  There are too many to keep at bay.

  I draw my elbows to my ribs, as if summoning my power to curl inward. I feel it coalesce and gather behind my breastbone, burning, but not in a painful way.

  In a powerful way.

  I throw my hands out toward the first animal again before it can even advance another step. The light that radiates from my palms is much brighter. Within the stream of energy or magic or whatever it is, I can feel that it contains death. It’s a distinctly sharp, focused feeling, and I know when it hits, that it will kill whatever it touches.

  The blast hits the first creature, but it isn’t thrown back like before.

  It’s obliterated into a burst of white sparks that zing outward and leave trails of sparkling dust in its wake. I vaguely hear a cheer of excitement from Deandra, but I ignore it.

  Instead, I face the next creature, who just stares at me warily. The other one starts to back up. I don’t underestimate their intentions or their abilities, throwing one hand at one creature, and the other hand at the other. Two streams of death rays simultaneously blow them into a million sparkling fragments, which float to the ground and eventually disappear.

  The excitement of my accomplishment is too much to contain. I jump in the air, punching a fist up in victory and yelling out to the creatures who are nothing but a memory. “And that is how you do it!”

  Whirling to Rainey, giddy with excitement to have shared this important milestone with my bestie, my smile slides off my face when I see the pole and Rainey are gone.

  I waste no time, not even bothering to turn back to Deandra and Carrick in the stands. I pull them toward me in my mind, bend distance, and step right into Deandra with fury. “Where’s Rainey? What did you do with her?”

  Deandra laughs and waves a hand. “You’re silly. She was never here. That was just a magical image of her.”

  I should be relieved that she never put Rainey in danger, but instead, I’m pissed at her audacity. She preyed upon my fears and with the hum of power still burning in my chest, I throw my hands out.

  A white light doesn’t emerge, but I didn’t intend it to. I only intend to knock her on her ass. An invisible wall punches into her, tossing her back a good fifteen feet where she bounces off one of the marble benches before falling to the floor.

  She’s not hurt but her ego is bruised. Deandra jumps up, one high heel she’d been wearing missing, and circles her hands, muttering some language I don’t understand.

  I do realize that she’s calling forth magic, so I ready a shield to protect myself.

  “Enough,” Carrick roars, and it’s not just a regular roar. It sounds like it’s broadcast over loudspeakers and it booms around the entire arena, stopping Deandra’s motions and causing me to warily move a few feet away from him. He lowers his voice to a normal tone. “Enough.”

  “That bitch put me in a horrible situation and used Rainey against me,” I complain, and I know I sound pathetic.

  “How dare you call me a bitch, you bitch,” Deandra snarls back. “And besides… it worked, didn’t it?”

  “When I was terrified that my friend might die,” I point out. “That was a very specific scenario.”

  “And yet you called forth an attacking power you’ve never been able to do before.” Deandra crosses her arms over her chest smugly. She manages to look stylish and haughty, even missing one heel. “Try it again without the fear.”

  Tipping her head to the right, she nods toward the middle of the arena. Planted in the middle on a large tripod is a circular bullseye she must have conjured.

  Her gaze comes back to me. “Go ahead. Blast it.”

  Dubiously, I glance at it, to Carrick who watches me impassively, and then back to Deandra. Clearly, my confidence has started cooling.

  She tips her head again toward the bullseye, and I turn my attention back to it. Now in the middle of the target is a picture of Deandra’s face, and I can’t help my smile.

  I look back to my enemy, the woman I hate most in all the world, to find her smirking at me.

  And reluctantly, I realize I don’t hate her at all, though I still dislike her very much.

  I call the power inward, but, this time, I give it some specific instructions. I throw a hand out toward the target, but rather than light or an invisible blast, an arrow shoots forth. It whizzes through the air toward the target, then plants its tip right in between Deandra’s eyes.

  “Bravo,” Deandra drawls, clapping her hands slowly. I can’t tell if she’s truly congratulating me or herself for getting me to break through.

  “I wonder what else I can do?” I ponder, looking at Carrick.

  Deandra snorts. “Use your imagination, lowly human.”

  An idea strikes.

  Without glancing at the infuriating princess, I toss a hand toward her over my shoulder. I hear a muffled sound of shock, pivoting to see that my magic didn’t fail me.

  She has a ball gag in her mouth.

  Carrick chuckles but admonishes me. “Okay, Finley… you’ve had your fun.”

  When I wave my hand, the ball gag disappears. Deandra is furious again, though, and she raises her hands to throw some magic back my way. I fully face her, squat low, and hold my hands out, palms toward her with one poised just a bit higher than the other.

  Our showdown is ruined when Carrick steps in between us, effectively causing us to lower our arms as he’s not the object of our ire.

  With a pointed look at Deandra, Carrick says, “Give that one to her, Deandra. You’ve made her life hell on more than one occasion with that mouth of yours.”

  “Or she could merely say thank you,” Deandra snaps in irritation. “I accomplished in a matter of minutes what no one could do for months.”

  “I think the ten million dollars you’ve just earned is thank you enough,” Carrick points out coolly.

  But Deandra has a point. I am grateful to her.

  I lean to the left to see her more clearly past Carrick. In a very genuine voice, I say, “Thank you, Deandra. What you did pissed m
e off, but it was highly effective. I owe you one.”

  “And you can bet I’ll collect one day,” she replies haughtily. “Now, I have a date tonight with a hot exiled Light Fae who is extremely endowed, so if you’ll excuse me.”

  With that, Deandra blinks away as she bends distance to her well-hung lover.

  “Fuck,” Carrick mutters, and I glance up at him.

  “What?”

  “She just left, and while I can move back and forth between the veil to Faere, humans can’t.”

  That’s a true statement. Stan has had to bring me through my past two trips here.

  “But I’m no ordinary human,” I point out. “I can bend distance, and now I have all these crazy, cool powers I’m able to use. I’m sure I can go through on my own.”

  “Not really willing to risk that, Finley,” he growls, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration.

  “Oh, come on,” I cajole, stepping into his body and putting my hands at his waist. I tip my head back. “It was a risk the first time I bent distance, and that didn’t kill me. And since I’m destined to play a key role in the prophecy, I doubt I’m meant to die by getting shredded in the veil.”

  “Maybe not,” he replies darkly. “But I’m not sure if I’m willing to risk it. We can head to the castle and ask Rebsha—”

  I step away from Carrick and turn slightly away, envisioning the kitchen in his condo—our best gathering place for meals and meetings, which makes it my favorite—and imagine myself dragging a knife down the invisible curtain that separates our realities.

  There’s no tingling in my palms like when I throw magic, but the warmth is behind my breastbone. In my heart, I know this will work.

  “Finley,” Carrick warns, but he’s too late.

  The air seems to split in a V-shape as if a zipper were being dragged down in the air. As it opens, I can see Carrick’s condo.

  I shoot him a quick grin and jump through, wincing slightly as he yells at me in frustration.

  Carrick is right on my heels as we step into his kitchen, but rather than congratulate me on mastering travel between alternate realms, he grabs my elbow and jerks me around to face him.