Fortunately, one of the female cavali on the ground was brave enough to raise a hand and cast a whirlwind spell. This caught the gaseous fog and sucked it up into a swirling cloud of poison, giving the cavali below clean air again.
Benja! Good work! But she can’t keep that up forever.
The bentaforx swept its tail where the cavali lay for cover, and three men tumbled from the blow. Benja remained low, sprawled on her back, still spinning her arm to hold off the gas. The cavali who were able to breathe scrambled to fire at the demon, holding it back while the gagging cavali recovered.
Esme rose to a crouch, and she waved for Benja’s attention. “Throw the whirlwind! I’ll get rid of the gas!” She pointed to the field between their positions.
Benja nodded and stretched her hand to make the flicking motion that tossed the whirlwind away. As soon as the swirling cloud of gas left her control, it started to spread again. Esme immediately reached out her castorca and wiggled her fingers. Rain shot from her hand and sprayed the remains of the cloud, pelting into the gas. The rainwater absorbed the gas and splashed harmlessly to the ground.
The demon turned its massive head, and one red eye narrowed on Esme where she crouched in the weeds. With a flick of its tongue, the monster stretched on its hind legs and roared into the night sky. The ground shook, but Esme jumped to her feet with Owen and ran to join their stronger numbers.
The bentaforx stopped them. Its tail slammed into the dirt, cutting them off from the team. Owen grabbed Esme to stop her just in time. The tail lifted and whipped over the remaining cavali, making them hit the dirt to avoid getting their necks snapped. The bentaforx spun and unfurled one of its wings. Pointed spokes along the wings caught flashes of moonlight, but there was no time for warning before these hammered into the ground. A nymph cavali was unlucky enough to be in exactly the wrong spot, and the wing’s longest spoke…
Esme winced as the spokes lifted into the air again, blood dripping from the one that got the nymph. She examined the many cavali on the ground and realized now that most weren’t ducking for cover. They’d never rise again.
“Owen!” She waited until he had to reload from shooting at the bentaforx’s legs. When he could hear, she said, “We’re losing too many men! What do we do?”
After slapping in more ammo, Owen gave her an uncertain look and led her to their team. The cavali fired up at the bentaforx, but only an occasional shot hit between the scales. Esme followed close behind Owen, and she cast lightning spells up at the beast while the king gave orders to his team.
Shit. There are only two teams left…
Owen was shouting. “Split up so it can’t use that tail to knock us all out at once! Go wide and hit it from both sides!”
Right then, the bentaforx roared and thrust its neck downward, jaws snapping. Owen and Esme dove in one direction, the rest of the team in the other. Esme picked herself up and cast an ice spell at the demon’s snout, but the bentaforx stretched its jaws, shattering the ice to free itself. With a beat of its wings, a powerful gust of wind blew into Esme, making her totter before she was able to cast another spell. She saw Owen try a fire spell, but it did nothing against the demon’s scales. A barrage of shots from its other side drew the bentaforx’s attention back to the cavali.
What do we do? The kings and alterni that killed bentaforx in the past usually took hours to do it. And they had more men. More weapons. Owen’s father and his alterni used dynamite to drop the bentaforx in a quarry pit, then poured molten iron over it – nothing like that option here! We won’t last much longer!
Owen moved next to her and fired until his gun was empty. He holstered the useless weapon and kept his watch on the bentaforx. “Any ideas?”
Esme looked at both her hands. “Only one more. Stand back.”
Owen took a few steps back, and she lifted both hands in front of her face in a prayer pose. With her hands pressed hard together, magic swelled through her castorca. The magic wanted to be cast, but she kept pulling more into both hands until she held more magic than she’d ever felt. When she couldn’t stand the vibrations any longer, she whipped her castorca arm around like she was throwing a baseball. It was stronger than the magic she’d used to kill her first felicox, and a rippling wave of light lit the air and flew toward the demon.
The bentaforx turned at the last second and saw the spell coming. Its tail rose like a shield and took the blast instead. The force of the spell caused the bentaforx to stagger back, but the only damage was a slight crack in its tail. More dark blood dripped to the grass, but that was it.
The spell did more harm to Esme. Her non-castorca palm burning, she looked and saw her hand bleeding and shaking in spasms. She couldn’t straighten her fingers, and the vibrating burn brought tears to her eyes. Her castorca hand hurt, but the pain there was far more manageable.
“Esme!”
Owen knocked her to the ground. She heard a terrifying chomping sound and looked up to see the bentaforx pull its closed jaws back from where she’d stood. Esme rolled with Owen, then they jumped to their feet again, standing defenseless as the bentaforx faced them, spread its wings, and roared into the sky.
Esme looked over and saw even fewer cavali standing. Benja lay on the ground, holding a bleeding wound in her side but firing spells at the demon. Max and Dax were back to back, shooting whenever a part of the bentaforx came within range.
Get this monster away from them! I have to make it most pissed at me.
“Hey!” she shouted at the bentaforx. She held her bleeding hand to her chest but took a step forward.
“Esme, stop!” Owen grabbed her by the arm. He’d lost his helmet when he’d knocked her to the ground, and his eyes were wide. “What are you doing?”
“Well, I don’t have a spoon, so I’m trying something until I get a better idea.” She used her castorca to shoot ice at the bentaforx’s face, drawing its attention. “Hey!”
Owen shot a lightning spell at the demon to distract it from attacking her. “Esme, you-”
“My magic’s stronger than yours! If anyone’s going to-”
“You’re bleeding! Don’t be an idiot!” He waved his hand with a weak shockwave spell, which only made the bentaforx blink like someone was blowing in its face.
Esme took her eyes off the demon for a second to grin at Owen. “We made a deal, remember? Let’s be idiots together.”
Owen frowned at her but tapped his fingers in the air and swept his hand fast, catching the battered tail in a spell and shoving it away.
The bentaforx had had enough, and it rose on is hind legs again, preparing a final strike. Although this was what she’d wanted, Esme was terrified to see that the demon’s eyes now focused solely on her.
“Kich! Derererererer. Kee!”
Esme stepped over to Owen and hugged him with her bleeding hand’s arm. Holding him close, she lowered her castorca to point at the dirt beside them. She pulled magic into her castorca, drew a barrio, and created a bubble of magic to flick into the symbol. She did this five times, strengthening the spell so-
“Now! Now! Now!” Owen screamed.
Esme’s head snapped up to see the bentaforx’s gaping mouth closing down on them. The night’s darkness saved her from seeing straight up the demon’s gullet, but the rows of teeth and flicking tongue were terrifying enough.
Yet as the beast tried to bite, flickering light lit up around them. The barrio spell acted as a shield, and she clung to Owen in their cocoon of safety. The bentaforx lifted its head in anger and confusion. It snapped at them again but couldn’t penetrate the flashing barrier. Furious, the demon roared, narrowed its eyes, and breathed a cloud of gas at them. The gas sparked off the barrio shield and hung as a fog around their bubble, but none of it wafted inside. Esme and Owen breathed without issue, and they looked around to discover the barrio holding solid.
“Great,” said Owen, “but what now?”
“Hadn’t gotten that far. We-”
“My lord!” called
Dax as he approached. “Are you-”
Owen waved an arm, ordering Dax to stay back. Since no sound would escape the barrio, he used hand signals to communicate with his cavali.
“What are you telling him?”
“To gather the injured while we’ve got it distracted and get to the trucks.”
She swallowed. “Do you think it’ll let them go?”
“Yes.” Owen’s jaw clenched. “I think we’ve pissed it off enough that it’s after you and me now.”
Esme swallowed any other questions and looked back into the field.
Dax had relayed the king’s orders. The few remaining cavali backed away toward the trucks, and soon they’d loaded in. So many bodies littered the field…
But Dax and the others can get away from this monster. They’ll come back with reinforcements… Can we last that long?
Esme held Owen and looked up through the flickering shield. Alone with them now, the demon tilted its head and seemed to examine the problem. With another roar, it flapped its wings and rose into the night above them.
Esme didn’t take her eyes off the demon. “What’s it doing?”
“No idea. If it sits on us, will the barrio hold?”
“I don’t-”
The bentaforx continued to flap its wings, but a taloned, bony claw now reached toward them. Esme held Owen tight as the scaly fingers wrapped around their cocoon. The barrio shield sparked and flickered, but it held as the bentaforx squeezed.
“Not good,” Owen muttered. His arms around Esme tightened.
They were in complete darkness once the bony hand surrounded them. Esme jumped every time the barrio flickered like it might crack. The bentaforx roared its anger, and Esme’s teeth rattled in her head. Then there was more movement, and she realized the demon was using its other hand to claw into the dirt around them. And under them.
Shit. If it breaks the symbol in the dirt…
She thought of a solution and took a breath to steady herself. This was going to hurt. Before she could psych herself out, she positioned the fingertips of her castorca hand over her pant leg. Holding her breath, she drew the barrio directly onto her leg. The magic burned straight through her pants and into her thigh, but she bit back a scream and completed the drawing.
“What are you-” Owen shifted to look down between them. “Esme!”
She held her palm over the burned symbol and pumped magic through her castorca into the symbol. It flashed with a fresh burn, and now she did cry out. She forgot her other palm was bleeding, and she grabbed onto Owen’s arm to keep from falling to her knees.
But she’d finished just in time. The bentaforx’s claws tore up the dirt and broke the barrio symbol there, and the spell collapsed. The demon’s squeezing hand closed in, but the new barrio sparked to life, preventing its fingers from crushing them. Owen, holding her, was also surrounded in her new barrio.
Unfortunately, they were no longer tied to the ground. The bentaforx now held them and the whole barrio shield like an egg. With a yank, the demon lifted them off the ground and flapped its wings.
“Don’t let go of me!” Esme shouted as they fought to keep their footing.
“I won’t!” Owen squeezed her tight in his arms. “I promise, you’ll be okay. Even if it drops us, your whirlwind spells are strong enough to lower us safely. Then we can fight-”
“I meant don’t let go of me because you won’t be safe!”
“Oh… Yeah, that too!”
Esme turned her head against his chest and saw the barrio shield sparking and crackling around them. It appeared to be holding. That was good. She looked past her feet and saw the ground falling farther and farther away as the bentaforx flew. That was bad.
She put her face back against Owen’s chest and closed her eyes. “What will it do with us?”
He hesitated. “You’ve read the Chronicles of Kings. This is a first as far as I know.”
Esme searched her memory. He was right; a bentaforx had never done this. Then again, an alterni had never used her defense.
We’re fighting on my terms… I’ll take a false sense of control over nothing at all.
“Is it just me, or is it getting colder?”
The air was definitely chilled. Esme looked between their feet again, and the dark ground was out of sight below. She shivered, and Owen squeezed her tight.
“It has to land eventually.”
She sighed and saw her breath. “Why does that sound like wishful thinking?”
“It’s not.” His voice was low and serious. “When we land, I want you to put up another barrio around yourself. Then I’ll fight this thing, rip its wings off, anything I can do. You are not to lower the barrio. Do you understand me?”
“I won’t let you fight by yourself. We’ve had this argument.”
Owen paused and put his chin on the top of her head. “Look, I don’t like this either, but it’s what has to be done. You’re too important. I can’t let you die, but I… If I go down fighting, at least-”
“We’ve had this argument!” she said with more force. “Now shut up and let me think.”
Owen remained silent, but she knew she hadn’t changed his mind.
After a while, the barrio shield crackled. Esme looked at her burned thigh. The light was fading.
Owen’s teeth were chattering. “If you let the barrio down, can you cast any spell that’ll hurt this thing?”
“I don’t know. Nothing’s worked so far. And if we did somehow kill it while we’re flying up here… Well, I don’t have as much faith in my whirlwind spells as you do.”
The symbol on her thigh faded further still, and Esme forced herself to reach down with her castorca. With a fresh bubble of magic, she reinforced the spell. This also created a new burst of pain. She cringed but held in a whimper. The one good effect of the cold was that it numbed the burn.
The bentaforx can’t stay in the air forever. By the time it lands, I need a plan.
Esme and Owen were stiff with cold. The rhythmic sound of the bentaforx’s wings was maddening. Esme had reinforced the barrio five times. She had no idea how much time had passed, but the sky had grown brighter between the cracks of the demon’s bony fingers. Below their feet now were snowy, rocky, tree-covered mountainsides. This ground was also closer, and Esme wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Owen’s breath was cloudy. “Get ready.”
The ground grew closer. The rhythm of the wings changed, and Esme felt the bentaforx shift as it prepared to land.
“Remember,” said Owen, “it’ll be tired from flying. We can use that to our advantage. As soon as we land, release this barrio and we’ll hit it with spells so it lets us go. Then put a barrio around yourself.”
“Yes, your royal lordship.”
No chance in hell.
With one more flap of its wings, the bentaforx moaned a tired roar and landed on its hind legs. Snow sprayed up from the ground on impact. The demon still clutched them in its hand, but in its weariness it lowered them close to the ground.
Esme looked at the burned symbol on her leg and held her castorca over it. With one last breath to summon courage, she spread open her fingers and dissolved the symbol. Ash rose out of her thigh’s burn and blew away in the wind.
Wind.
Suddenly the elements hit her that much stronger. The air was freezing. The sound of the panting bentaforx rushed into her ears, and the demonic reptile smelled terrible. Esme gagged.
More importantly, the bentaforx felt the barrio dissolve in its grip. It now knew it could crush them, and the frozen, bony fingers began to squeeze.
“Now!” yelled Owen.
They let go of each other and faced opposite directions, casting fire spells at the beast’s fingers. They tumbled as the spells startled the bentaforx, but an instant later the demon opened its clutches. Esme slipped out first and fell to the snowy ground. She heard Owen fall somewhere behind her.
The bentaforx roared and swiped at them. Esme rolled away
and lost sight of Owen. She took one look around and saw snow, rocks, and a forest farther down the mountain. They were high – she knew that from the view and the thinness of the air. The sun had risen in the east, creating enough light to reveal the bentaforx glaring at them as it folded its tired wings.
“Esme! Barrio yourself. Now!”
She watched Owen jump on a rock and aim a lightning spell at the bentaforx. The demon was recovering from its long flight faster than they’d expected, and it whipped its battered tail at Owen. He waved his hand to create a shock wave, pushing back the tail enough to let him jump clear. On level ground again, he got off a lightning spell that made the bentaforx recoil.
Esme extended her castorca and separated her fingers, then curled them as if gripping a ball. She pulled her arm back, thrust it forward, and the ends of her fingers shot out glass shards. These flew like daggers into the bentaforx’s chest. Only one made it through the monster’s scales.
The bentaforx roared in pain and anger, then reached up to pull out the shard, which dripped black blood, but only the tip had penetrated its thick hide. The bentaforx held the shard and paused. Its eyes narrowed with an evil, snaky grin at Esme, and then the demon spun the dripping shard in its hand, aiming the projectile at Owen.
Esme’s heart skipped a beat. Faster than she’d ever done before, she summoned magic in her castorca and pointed her fingers at Owen. His eyes widened as he realized what she was doing, but she ignored him and quickly drew the barrio on the front of his cavali shirt. The spell burned through the clothes and into the skin of his chest, and Owen opened his mouth to cry out just as she completed the symbol and threw a ball of magic.
The bentaforx released the dagger of glass, and it flew straight at Owen. He raised his arms to protect himself, but the barrio worked. When the shard struck the shield, crackling light flickered around Owen. The projectile shattered apart and fell into the snow.
The bentaforx rose on its hind legs and roared in anger. With a twist of its neck, it lowered its head and snapped at Owen, but the barrio held and the great demon’s teeth couldn’t penetrate. Once it gave up, the demon lifted its head, tilted to find Esme, and growled.
Alterni Page 20
