Just a little more.
The elemental swarm caught up to me, having crumbled into baseball-sized pieces with no limbs, just a helluva lot of sharp teeth. Their bodies flattened vertically as fins developed. They became stone piranha veined with magma, eyes like crimson stars. Terribly hungry, they snapped at me, chewing into my nothingness. Several swam into my body, and out again. One hit the golden fire at my core and exploded into gravel. Another tried to swallow my black-star core and was also blasted into rubble.
That’ll teach ya.
Unable to hurt me, the demon-fish rammed the crystal tie, trying to jar it loose from my grasp.
I broke the surface and rose into the air.
The demon-fish followed.
Fed by the shadow brand, the dark current around my hand intensified with less induction to drain the energy. I lashed out with a back fist. A rainbow of darkness flew from me, slicing across the elementals. Multiple detonations bloomed, giving me breathing space and a chance to look around.
The forest in this mirror valley was in flames on my side of the river. I watched my dragon body thundered up through the smoke, spewing golden lightning freely.
Her wings batting the smoke, Kinsey shadowed him. I saw no sign of fey warriors attacking them. The delaying troops were probably well-roasted by now.
I flew my shadow-shape toward the dragons. As I arrived, my dragon body swung his head my way, his hungry gaze on the crystal heart. I knew of only one way to keep the crystal safe, and to free us all up for combat.
“Here!” I heaved the stone at the dragon’s face. Instinct took over. He did what I expected, swallowing the crystal. It vanished, a lump I could see sliding down his throat. He gave me a what-the-fuck-did-you-make-me-do look.
And then we slid together. I looked out of dragon eyes, back where I belonged—just in time. The ground surged up under us with a much larger version of the elemental monster. No longer damaged, his earth shell had filled in and now bristled like a porcupine with burning trees for spines. Its roar pounded through the sounds of the devouring flames.
The Nightmare Court magic-user that had raised this was damn good, but I didn’t think he could control the beast from too far away. He was probably here, using the terrain to cover and hide him.
I called to Kinsey. “There’s a fey with earth magic around here somewhere controlling that. Find him while I keep the monster busy.”
In human form, my Dragon Vision tattoo let me find hidden spells and magical artifacts, assessing their power and nature. I didn’t need the tat to do this in dragon form. Kinsey had the same ability. She beat leathery wings, climbing higher for a better view, spiraling like a top to check all directions.
I stared down at the animated dirt pile. Its eyes burned, pits of bubbling magma like its mouth. I realized that the roar I heard was coming from its whole body. Only a hundred feet? I wondered if that reflected a limit on how much earth the hidden fey could control. The monster reached for me, its golem arm well short, until the creature’s girth compressed and the arm lengthened.
I spewed gold lightning.
Stone and dirt fingers fell, severed from the hand, but the hand kept coming, growing new fingers as ribbons of lava bled across the palm.
Shitshitshitshitshit.
With the crystal in my stomach, I willed the falls of this valley to collapse, yanking down a rock slide so the climbing fey were crushed along with those that waited to climb. I also reached back to the great lake I’d formed, causing a land slip that let all that water spill in here, while sealing off the other valley where the rest of the fighting was going on.
I should be back there, commanding my forces, but no, I have to fight this dumb-ass monster here.
Diving for speed, I swung wide of the hand, spiraling around the monster’s overgrown arm.
It just opened its mouth wider, ready to swallow me whole if it could.
The flood waters crashed past us both, uprooting trees, drenching the fires. The monster stood against the force like it was nothing, but real damage was being done. The monster’s legs were absorbing water, going muddy as hell, losing strength and cohesion. The large boulders in its body were slipping loose, sliding out of the slush it crapped all over the place.
I spat lightning across the creature’s knees, exploding them. Great chunks sprayed away. The remaining craters bubbled, steamed, and filled in, but the elemental tilted to the side. Its rough-hewn arms flailed, but balance was not recovered. It continued to fall, a slow, drawn-out affair. If this were a movie, there’d be dramatic music playing.
I winged away, not wanting to be caught by its muddy splash, and climbed for altitude. I flew a turn and saw that the earth elemental lying in the water, its magma veins hissing, cooling. Steam clouded it. The mass dissolved, leaving its last rocks sinking in muddy water.
Turning my attention to Kinsey, I saw her diving at a cliff face, at a ledge with a very ugly pile of boulders. I gave the rock more of my attention, zooming my focus as I altered course toward it. What looked like an oval stone on a bigger boulder became a naked man, his back to me. He didn’t look too human since a gray coating of rock dust colored his skin. His head was shaved bald to help his camouflage.
He stood and turned, wearing a kind of thong that kept his private parts private.
I was thankful; I’m not into naked guys.
He gestured. Needles of rock stabbed out of the cliff face.
Kinsey’s lightning turned them into rubble. She flew through the dropping rock, showing dexterity that had been years in the building.
I felt my dragon-side well with appreciation and envy. He said, If you let me out more often I could do that, too.
I said, “If wishes were bitches, and bitches were worth anything at all, you’d own the world.”
I’m not sure what you mean by that, but I feel vaguely insulted.
“Only vaguely? I’m losing my touch.”
I back-winged to lose speed. Kinsey didn’t need any help at all. Streaking by the fey magic-user, her head speared in. She chumped on him, tossed him up in the air, caught him with another chomp, and ate him.
I felt off balance; I hadn’t thought she had this in her. “Cannibalism?”
Of course not, my dragon side said. She didn’t eat another dragon. That would be wrong.
“But she has a human form.”
But she didn’t eat the fey while in that form, so it doesn’t count.
“Fine. I don’t even know why the hell I’m arguing.”
Kinsey flew a curved path around me. “We’re done here. Let’s get back to the party.” Without waiting for an answer, she set a course toward the real valley. I followed her up and over the stone ridge that separated the two.
Hunger set in. I fondly remembered the horse tartare I’d eaten.
We should have grabbed a couple more, my dragon-side said.
“There’s still time.” I angled down into my real valley, scanning to assess the situation. Fighting was everywhere. My demons were scattered, moving in packs, spraying automatic fire into enemy fey. The werewolves avoided heavy conflict, picking off stragglers and the wounded, since they had to be careful around the fey silver. Other shifters mauled Autumn Court fey in diseased areas of forest that drooped, withering, shedding leaves. Tree boles were pocked with fuzzy white rot.
I felt the desecration of my land as an ache in the bones. I fed golden magic into my crystal, strengthening it. New life flowed back into the forest. The trees lifted their heads, proud, fresh green buds broke out. The rotting bark fell away as fresh bark formed.
My dragon-side said, Magic. Gotta love it.
“I do.” Gliding high, I watched Shadow Court cavalry riding in a thin mass down my white road along the river. They didn’t seem to notice that the “logs” along the shore weren’t logs at all, having hungry eyes. They were Gumbo’s relatives, and dinner was about to be served.
A rider crossed one of the spots where I’d poured my shadow magic. A c
olumn of darkness shot up, as though shadow could beam like light. That blackness divided into serpentine coils. The rider and a dozen of those around him were pulled down into the shadow pool. Others were driven off the road, seeking safety. A few riders thundered into river.
I laughed my dragon ass off. “Gator time!”
THIRTY
“There’s nothing like violent
murder to warm the heart.”
—Caine Deathwalker
I beat golden wings, swinging toward the high rim of the falls. Kinsey flew ahead, not waiting. My dragon eyes scanned the valley, picking up details. Chaos reigned. There wasn’t any hope of a neat, not-quite-polite affair with two sides lined up opposite each other like in Brave Heart. No opportunity to show our asses and scream taunts. No rattling of shields and swords. This was bloody melee in all its raging glory.
More of my shadow traps flared darkly, devouring enemy fey. Small battles littered the valley. Pockets of white-out blizzard showed where Winter Court fey fought for my realm—for Izumi really. Elsewhere, various types of were-critters stalked prey in the woods. The flamingoes I’d seeded along the river were long gone, a distant cloud of panicked pink. The lip of the falls was lined with our own magic-users, those with an affinity for air and water. Under their influence, long lashes of wind and slashed into enemy soldiers, sawing through arms and legs, taking heads here and there.
Over by the treehouse, just outside the garden wall, I saw Gloria and Vivian armed with broadswords. They were supported by the were-kitties and Vivian’s slayer grandfather who wielded a two-edged battle axe and a colt revolver. Vivian and Gloria appeared at random moments, slowing down from speeding blurs to reorient on fresh prey. Every time they burst into motion, dozens of enemy fey dropped dead, usually in big chunks. I actually saw Shadow Court fey backing off from the battle, going to find easier opponents.
Used to fighting only other fey, the enemy was taking heavy losses. Of course, my demon shock troops—with their automatic weapons and grenades—roamed freely, having a hell of a good time. I expected the enemy survivors to withdraw soon, and not in an organized manner.
It was time to become me again.
My dragon-side said, This IS the true me, you shaved ape.
Ignoring him, I descended to the edge of the pavilion, clawed feet catching the rock, my legs easily taking the shock of landing. I folded wings and went in under the high roof. Kinsey was in the process of sloughing off extra mass, turning human once more. The rest of our dragon-force had already shifted form and dressed.
I went over to where I’d left my clothes and began the transformation that was painful just to me. It seemed like I was being consumed by acid, my wings and tail falling off as golden ash and embers. My stomach spasmed. Choking, gasping, I spewed acid-stewed horse sludge from my earlier meal. Amid the steaming glop, I saw the crystal heart of my land. It seemed to have cleaned up nicely in my stomach, but might have lost a little size.
As the change dragged out, my bones melted and reformed. Muscles went soft as over-cooked pasta, then tightened, restringing along with my ligaments and tendons. The pavilion swelled bigger as I dwindled. At last, I lay there, human—sorta—naked, covered with my own blood.
Still aching, I fought to my feet, unwilling to wallow in weakness with my family pretending not to watch.
“Here.” It was Angie, in a red top and black jeans, her feet in white sneakers. She’d approached while I was distracted, and had a beach towel thrown over one should. She carried a bucket of water. As I stared at her, she swung the bucket, throwing the water into my face and chest. “You’ll want to clean up before getting into clean clothes.”
Icy cold water from the falling river shocked my senses. I could feel my body temperature falling as well. “Sonuva frigid bitch!”
She headed off with her bucket. “Be right back. Gotta get your backside.”
“So very helpful of you,” I snarked.
While I waited for Angie to come back and sluice my ass, Kinsey came over, a grin pasted across her face. She stared after Angie. “I don’t know who that is, but I like her.” Kinsey’s nostrils flared. The space between her eyes creased. “She smells like wolf.”
“She is a wolf, the temporary Alpha of the L.A. territory.
Kinsey lifted an eyebrow. “Someone made her the boss of those chest-beating chauvinists?”
“Someone did.”
“Then it’s good you killed the last one. Girl’s rule, guys drool.”
I looked at her. “Are you ten-years old? Next party I throw, I’ll sit you at the kid’s table.”
Her eyes flashed golden fire, but a smile stayed on her face. Her gaze slid down my body, looking for something to insult. Her eyes widened. “Your penis didn’t go back to human scale! I’ve never seen anything that big on a human.”
“You weren’t paying attention when I first undressed. This is normal—for me. Uh-oh. Angie is back.”
Kinsey hurried to get some distance.
Angie turned me and splashed water down my back. Blood-tinted water puddled under me, slowly seeping off to the edge of the pavilion. Apparently, the floor wasn’t perfectly level. Angie handed me the towel. I made quick use of it, and handed the towel back. My feet splashed, and then I was treading dry rock. I picked up my clothes and dressed without haste.
Not like I’ve got anything to be ashamed of.
‘Course not, my cock agreed.
“Okay,” I muttered, “I hear voices. It just makes me special.”
Dressed, I turned to Angie. “I’m surprised you’re up here.”
Her eyes went gold. She smiled with a hint of fang. “We’re all here. My wolves are fighting in the woods, showing support for the Fenris and for you. You gave us permission to live in the L.A. territory, breaking the long ban. William turned his back on the debt we owe you. I will not.”
I looked in her eyes for shadows of doubt and pain. All I saw was strength. I nodded. “About time you bounced back.”
She growled low in her throat. “Sorry my being raped with cock and knife inconvenienced you so much. I’ll try not to let it happen again.”
The area over the fire pit remained normal, but the rest of the pavilion dimmed. Shadows gathered that defied explanation. I yelled a warning. “Shadow magic! We’ve got incoming.”
I heard Kinsey’s jewel-hilted rapier scraping free of its sheath. The sound was repeated among the rest of our family. Angie’s face darkened with facial hair, her limbs twisted, and her body fell, bucking, flailing in the throes of change. Like me, she needed time for this—time I’d have to buy her because fey bodies were forming out of clots of darkness. A dozen warriors in black chainmail appeared swords in hand. They carried miniature round shields in their opposite hands. The black shields had curved lines of silver on them, a pattern suggesting black roses. A memory surfaced in the back of my mind. I’d heard of these guys from Selene. They were an elite guard of the Shadow Court, the black rose order.
I sent a thought out to my armory, linked to it by one of my tattoos. Two PX4 Storm Berettas popped into my hands. I fired at once, before my family could rush in and block my shots. Not that it did any good. My shots went through the heads of four different targets, doing no damage. Some weird kind of magic was being used. The enemy were real shadows, though their swords would probably strike with lethal finality.
I returned my guns to my armory, calling my demon sword out of thin air. The straight katana was black steel with a haze of demonic red energy along the blade. I evaded left, striking right against a shadow sword coming at my head. I felt no impact, but the haze of red stopped the enemy blade. The warrior coming at me widened his eyes, seeing I could block a shadow weapon.
While his what-the-fuck moment stalled him out, I took advantage of being inside his guard by turning my sword’s edge toward him and slashing across his neck. His head came off, hit the stone floor, and exploded into black mist that thinned and was gone. His headless body also exploded int
o nothing, reminding me of a vampire in sunlight.
By then, I was onto another warrior who’d seen Angie changing, and was moving in to kill her before the wolf appeared. My blade severed his wrist. His sword and hand hit the stone floor and burst apart. I stepped in close, spinning so that I gob-smacked him across the face with my right hand—the hand with the shadow brand crackling with black lightning. I made contact with solid flesh, wrenching the man’s head around so hard, I heard neck vertebrae shatter with multiple cracks.
While he was down, I finished him off with a stab from my demon sword. With my sword embedded in the warrior’s heart, he exploded into more black cloud.
Dammit, my sword bitched, I’m not getting any souls from these kills.
“Yeah,” I said, “life’s a bitch.”
The rest of the shadow men were targeting my family; a number of duels were taking place and only Drake and Kinsey seemed to be holding their own, channeling their golden lightning into their swords. The other family members saw this and used the same technique, rallying.
Angie whined like the wolf-bitch she was becoming, writhing in pain as she pushed her transformation speed to an all new high. From the sound of her, it hurt like hell, but it must have been cathartic because the killing spirit in her eyes was a joy to behold. As far as I knew, this was the first she’d gone wolf since her rescue from William.
Long overdue.
Not being pressed, I had time to notice two enemy warriors hanging well back from all the fighting. Both had strung bows in their hand and black arrows under pressure, dark mirror images of each other. One of them was targeting me.
So, of course, my sword had to give me crap. What the fuck, man! Shadow souls? Really. I can’t eat that shit.
“Suck it up or not, it’s not my problem.”
Not your problem? I’ll make it your problem.
I held my sword in front of me as the arrow sped my way. Having plotted the angles and allowed for wind, I expected to deflect the arrow with well-trained reflexes and the demon aura of my blade. The red haze vanished from the black steel. The metal of the sword gave no resistance to the arrow’s shaft. The point dug into my left shoulder. The arrow black-misted away, but I could feel some of it inside my body becoming a crackle of black fire.
Demon Lord 5: Silver Crown King Page 23
