by S. M. Boyce
Oh, thank goodness. She did not want to be the one to pummel through the opponent’s three goalies. She tossed him the creature, which he caught easily. He tore ahead, about to score fifty points for the Plits.
Victoria skidded to a halt, a broad smile on her face as she prepared for her second catch of the day. A green one. She really, really wanted to catch a green one in her first game.
Someone screamed.
At first Victoria thought someone in the audience had gotten carried away, but the second scream chilled her to the bone. It was bloodcurdling, the sound someone makes when they get stabbed. She paused and surveyed the audience, some of whom are starting to look around, too. A few sections of the higher bleachers began to evacuate, heads bobbing as people pushed their way out of the stadium.
Her breath caught in her throat as more and more of the spectators began to funnel out the stadium. One by one the players on the field slowed and looked up as well, but no one seemed to know what was happening.
Deep in her gut, Victoria knew something was very, very wrong. She looked at Audrey, who nodded.
Game over.
They raced toward the exit together without a word shared between them. After a moment’s hesitation, many of the players on her side followed suit, ground trembling as even the teams evacuated.
While many of the players retreated to the locker rooms, Victoria headed straight for the street. She needed to know what was happening, but in her gut she had the feeling she already knew.
Before they could reach the street outside, something roared. The grating screech was like nails on a chalkboard, and every fiber of Victoria's being cringed. She forced herself forward, tensing her arms as she prepared to use her dark magic if necessary.
Heels kicking up dust as she ran, she passed every type of creature she had ever seen in Fairhaven. Ogres, elves, gremlins, goblins—everyone ran in different directions. It was chaos. People screamed. Doors slammed. Glass shattered. But so far, Victoria couldn’t figure out what they were running from.
Whatever it was, it roared again, and Victoria raced toward the sound with Audrey in tow.
They rounded the corner of the stadium to find a massive creature in the street with several bodies littered around it. It roared a third time, teeth protruding from its mouth like fangs, claws reaching for any creature who came near it.
“Holy shit, it’s a snarx,” Audrey said under her breath.
True to Bertha’s word, it really did look like the ugly lovechild of a basilisk and a massive centipede. It screamed, and the windows in a house across from the stadium burst.
“Yay,” Victoria said, tensing. Her breath came in short bursts as she sized up the monster, trying to figure out a game plan.
“Victoria, wait,” Audrey grabbed her arm.
“We don’t have time—”
“The only way we have a chance against this is if you use your, uh, thing. But we’re exposed out here. Even if you kill it, even if you save them, they’ll be afraid of you. They’ll probably kill you. Even if we can escape, you won’t have Fairhaven anymore. You’ll lose everything.”
Victoria grabbed both of Audrey’s elbows, leaning her forehead against her friend’s. “According to Fyrn, no host has ever saved someone before. Maybe I can change the stigma, Audrey. I can show them there’s nothing to fear. Am I scared? Hell yeah, but when has that ever stopped me? It’s wrong to let the people in this city die because I’m afraid.”
“Oh, you’ll definitely die,” Shiloh said with a sigh, suddenly beside them.
Victoria flinched, grimacing. “Thanks, Shiloh. Good pep talk.”
Audrey sucked in a deep breath, nodding. At this point in their friendship, Audrey should know better than to try to change Victoria’s mind about something she cared this deeply about.
Audrey offered her fist. “To the end?”
Victoria grinned, bumping her fist against Audrey’s. “To the end.”
The creature snarled, its tail crashing into the stadium wall. Blocks of stone hurtled to the ground, coming within inches of crushing pedestrians who were still trying to get away from the monster.
“What’s the plan?” Audrey asked.
Victoria was looking around, mind buzzing as she formulated a strategy, when she saw a familiar tunnel not far away. She and Fyrn had used it once or twice to get to their training cave, to shake off anyone who might have been following them.
“Get it away from everyone else!” she shouted.
Victoria charged, waving her hands to get the beast's attention. Beside her, Audrey followed suit. The creature zeroed in on them, its front legs crashing to the ground. The ground shook underneath it. Victoria lost her balance for a second and stumbled and the snarx charged, immensely faster than it should have been. Victoria recovered her balance and raced toward the tunnel.
Side by side, she and Audrey ran as fast as they could. The beast would snap at them now and then. It missed Audrey by inches. As she ducked the attack, she fell, rolling. Dust kicked into the air. She regained her balance and jumped into an alley seconds before the creature’s tail flattened her.
“Audrey!”
“Go! I’ll get my sword and follow!”
Victoria bolted, heels almost kicking her butt as she ran with everything she had. The monster snapped, its saliva splattering her hair.
It was close. Too close.
The snarx roared. Adrenaline, panic, and a little bit of regret blended together in a raging cocktail that fueled Victoria. She just had to make it to the tunnel, and then she could draw her weapon. Just a little bit farther.
A searing pain ripped down her back. She screamed and fell, rolling. The rough cobblestone bit into her arms and shoulders, bruising her. Her sleeve caught on a loose shard of metal embedded in a chunk of debris.
The fabric ripped, exposing her entire right arm.
Though most of the street was empty, many were watching from the buildings. She could hear them gasp through the broken windows, and looked down to find her Rhazdon Artifact completely revealed. The smooth metal and rubies glistened in the light from the crystals overhead.
Her secret was out. No reason not to use it.
She summoned her sword, focusing her attention on making the tip as sharp as possible. The creature neared, something in its throat clicking like a rollercoaster car on its initial ascent as it raised its head to strike.
It bared its teeth and dove for her, and she swung her sword. The blade sliced off a bit of its tongue, and blood spurted into the air. Anything it hit sizzled, as though the blood were acid, and Victoria was careful to duck and roll out of the way. The beast screamed, striking at her with its tail, and she dodged again with only a second to spare.
She had to get it out of the city.
“Victoria!”
Only fifty feet away, Audrey waved. She had a sword of her own now, and pointed it toward the tunnel. Victoria nodded and raced toward the entrance, shoulders aching and legs throbbing. It didn't matter how much pain she was in—she had to get this thing away from the people it was actively trying to kill.
She just hoped it didn't kill her in the process.
Chapter 28
Standing on one of the balconies in the palace, Luak couldn’t believe his luck.
Below him, a small war waged between the Rhazdon host he wanted dead and the monster he had smuggled into the city’s caves. For the most part his monster was winning—or it had been until the girl revealed herself.
But this was perfect.
He didn't care about the creature, since his plan from the beginning had been to kill it and become the town's hero. But now she had shown herself to be a Rhazdon host. That meant he would not only save the city from the terrible monster lurking in its depths, but also from the Rhazdon host their king had so foolishly allowed into their midst.
Luak grinned, popping his collar as he retreated into the guest suite. In a few moments he would race to the city’s rescue, and incidentally retrie
ve the Rhazdon Artifact which was rightfully his.
Chapter 29
Victoria raced into the tunnels, the glow of the thousands of crystals embedded within the rock whizzing by like tiny green blurs in her peripheral vision. The creature's body banged against the rock, loosing a torrent of pebbles from the ceiling.
It took everything in her to remember the way while being chased by a creature that wanted to eat her alive.
Right. Left. Left. Left. Shit, no, other left.
She raced through the tunnels, desperately hoping she could remember the correct path. She and Fyrn didn't come this way often, and she wasn't usually in a state of panic when they did.
Phase One of her spur-of-the-moment strategy had worked: get the beast away from the city. Phase Two would be trickier. The fact of the matter was that she couldn't fight the beast in the tunnel; there simply wasn't enough space, and it would pin her easily. She wouldn’t be able to run or dodge or duck as she preferred to do in a fight. She desperately needed to find that cave and its meadow, and she needed to do it soon. Hopefully Audrey had kept up with them and was still on the beast's tail because she could certainly use the help.
As she rounded the bend, light streamed from a familiar source. She grinned. Thank goodness. She had found it.
Shoes squishing a bit on the soft mossy ground, she sprinted into the purple meadow grass as the crash of the waterfall almost drowning out the monster’s thundering footsteps. It roared again, the sound echoing in the cavern, and she skidded on her heels.
It snapped at her, but she jumped out of the way. The wounds on her arms and back still bled heavily since she was focusing all her attention on her sword, but that was fine. They weren't bad enough for her to wish away the sword yet.
She scanned the beast's head, neck, and underbelly—the stereotypical weak spots. Since she had never fought this kind of creature before, her weak understanding of Dungeons & Dragons was all she could draw on to defeat it.
No way that would fail.
Okay, time to focus. She hesitated, hair on her arms standing on end as her body buzzed with fear and anticipation.
Step one: get rid of that damn tail.
The creature’s tail flailed around the cavern, breaking crystals as it pummeled the walls and kicked up a heavy spray of mist any time it smacked the lake. She kept her distance, looking for a pattern to the tail’s movement. When it curled around the beast again, ready to strike at her, she took the opportunity to attack. Sword raised high and with all her strength, she swung the blade and it bit deep into the base of the tail. The flesh gave beneath her sword like butter, and her blade clanged against the rock beneath it. The monster screamed, blood spraying against the wall. It bared its teeth, hissing, and she suddenly had a great view of its neck.
One more blow should end this.
Victoria seized the opportunity, lifting her sword over her head and jumping, blade aimed for the creature's exposed throat. She swung with all her might, her sword getting bigger and growing heavier as she leapt through the air. Her Rhazdon Artifact must have been tapping into her deep desire to kill this thing, but damn was it getting heavy.
Because of the added weight, she missed her mark. The blade sank into the creature’s shoulder, embedded deeply, and for a second she hung there, unable to wrest her sword loose. The snarx screamed and turned on her, teeth bared to strike. The sword wouldn’t budge.
Victoria quelled the rising panic with a deep breath and a plan: she focused all her energy on healing her wounds. Her attention shifted from the sword, and it disappeared on cue. She dropped to her feet seconds before the creature lunged.
“Victoria!” Audrey shouted. She stood by the entrance, sword raised and ready.
“Let’s try that again!” Victoria said.
Audrey nodded and rolled out of the way as the creature lunged toward her, then swung for its throat. A slit appeared in the flesh as a river of blood shot out.
The monster screeched, tongue flickering in and out as it stared down at Audrey. And though she hadn’t intended to use her friend as bait, by happy accident the creature’s neck was now completely vulnerable.
With all her energy and all her might, Victoria prepared to attack again. She lifted her sword over her head, her eyes zeroing in on the wound Audrey had made at the base of its throat. She willed her sword to be as sharp as possible, and the reflection of the light off her blade hit the wall in front of her.
As the creature screamed one more time, she swung.
Chapter 30
Fyrn hadn’t felt this anxious in years.
He stood on the road nearest the royal balcony, where the king surveyed and tried to calm the mob that had descended upon the palace after the creature’s attack. Twenty were dead, but it would have been far worse if not for the Rhazdon host who had also descended upon their city.
Granted, no one knew quite what to make of the situation. No one had heard of a Rhazdon host helping a city before, much less saving its people from a monster’s attack. Feelings in the crowd ranged from panic to fear, neither of which boded well for Victoria. He had to do something, smooth this all over somehow.
Too bad he was a shit public speaker.
On the balcony, Luak leaned toward the king. Fyrn grimaced. He had to hear what those two were saying.
He tapped his staff twice on the ground, focusing his magic and muttering a few words under his breath. A ringing sounded in his ear, and he pointed his staff toward Luak. Like a radio settling on a station, the elf's voice slowly faded in and out until it became clear.
“...but my offer still stands,” Luak said.
“And you'll kill them both? The girl and the creature?”
“You have my word.”
King Bornt seemed to wrestle with the thought, and Fyrn wondered what the price was. Luak had both wealth and influence, so there wasn't much he could want. Unfortunately, Fyrn didn't know the elf well enough to know the man’s ambitions. Whatever was, it couldn’t be good.
The king nodded. Luak smirked and disappeared through the open doorway. Fyrn tensed. Whatever had just happened, it was bad.
“It's the host!” someone said from the crowd.
For a brief moment, Fairhaven was silent. No one spoke. No one moved. No one even breathed. Every citizen present focused his or her attention on the tunnel into which Victoria, Audrey, and the monster had disappeared.
Victoria emerged from the shadows, nothing but a silhouette at first, but the light slowly illuminated the features of her face and the blood smeared across her cheek. She and Audrey dragged something behind them, grimacing as they struggled.
The creature's head.
As they neared the crowd, Victoria slowed and surveyed them. She carried neither the sword nor the shield, likely because she had to focus all her attention on dragging the monster.
In that moment, it clicked for Fyrn. This had been Luak, all of it. He had set up the creature to force the king to accept his proposition, and had perhaps even set up Victoria to expose herself.
Fyrn had to get to Victoria. This could all implode and everything, including the powerful young woman he had helped to create, would be destroyed.
***
Victoria stood by the entrance to the cave, poised to run if she had to.
Truthfully, she didn't want to. She was tired of hiding, tired of being afraid to share what she really was. This was a city filled with ogres and gremlins. Surely if they could accept each other, they could accept her.
A single person buried deep within the crowd began to clap. It was slow at first, almost silent, but it was joined by another, and another, and another until the entire audience erupted into applause. The mob cheered, and some even approached her with smiles on their faces.
On the palace balcony overlooking the road, several men and a few women huddled together, heads leaning in as if quietly discussing something. One, a man, wore a gilded crown. Beside him stood Diesel, and she grimaced a little inside. But even tha
t pompous wizard clapped for her. In fact, the only one not applauding was the king.
The king snapped his fingers, and Victoria’s stomach churned. Though she had been standing on the ground a moment before, she now knelt before him, about to be sick.
“Nonsense, no need to bow.” Diesel gently grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet, apparently not understanding why she had knelt in the first place.
As her nausea faded, she was able to meet the king’s gaze. He glared. He watched her as if he was waiting for her to attack, and his face twitched ever so slightly. It was almost as though he was afraid.
Victoria frowned, but the king grabbed her wrist and lifted it into the air, presenting her to his subjects. “I give you the Hero of Fairhaven!”
The crowd roared louder. Victoria smiled, grateful. She might have been covered in blood and bruises, but at least she didn't have to hide anymore.
The king leaned in, his mouth by her ear. “If you ever threaten my control over the city, you will be dead before you can do anything of note.”
She glared at him over the shoulder of her raised arm. If she were in his position, she would have been more concerned with the people in her city than her power over it. “I have no intention of stealing your crown.”
He pursed his lips and returned his attention to the crowd, forcing a smile where there had been a grimace a second before.
“She’s no hero!” a man shouted from behind her.
Victoria spun on her heels, the familiar voice like slime in her ear. Sure enough, Luak stood behind her, only a few feet separating them.
On impulse, Victoria summoned her sword.
The crowd and everyone on the platform gasped. All backed away except Diesel, who grinned. “Now that, my love, was incredibly attractive.”
“Enough.” Luak shoved the wizard aside and stalked toward her. Victoria settled into her stance, her energy focused on sharpening her sword. It polished itself, gleaming like a lighthouse in the glow of the crystals above.
Luak pointed a long finger at her. “She's a Rhazdon host. She carries illegal dark magic within her. By law, she must be destroyed.”
