by Linsey Hall
I’d almost relaxed by the time the shriek tore through the air.
My gaze darted around. “What the hell was that?”
Ares pointed right. “Sounds like it came from over there.”
“Off the path.” We weren’t supposed to deviate from the path. The directions were very clear.
The shriek sounded again—this time, clearly distressed.
I looked up, searching for the Pūķis. There were four above. Hadn’t there been five before?
Another shriek.
The hair on my arms stood on end. My heart raced. I turned to Ares. “Something is wrong.”
He stood alert, his body tense. He nodded.
The shrieks were clearly coming from the forest off the path. They weren’t part of my challenge. But I couldn’t just ignore them.
“Come on.” I stepped off the path, my feet crunching against the leaves, and hurried toward the distressed cries.
Ares followed, keeping close behind me as we wove through the silvery trees in search of the distressed sounds. My heart pounded as a I ran, worry fueling my pace.
Ahead, the forest cleared. There were no trees, just a mass of strange green vines. The pile was about fifty feet across and rose like a small hill. It looked like a plate of giant alien spaghetti.
Fates, the vampire realm was weird. “What the hell is that?”
Ares stopped beside me. “Acid vines.”
In the middle, something moves. A flash of red. Moments later, a surge of movement. A Pūķi!
“He’s trapped in the vines!” I pointed.
The Pūķi was struggling to break free, flying for the sky only to be grabbed by the vines and pulled back down. Another red dragon flew through the sky, diving and darting, blowing his flame on the vines to free his friend.
But every time he got close and shot a blast of flame, the vine shot a neon green liquid at him. The dragon hissed and darted away, as if the liquid pained him.
Ares sighed, sadness in the sound. “Acid vines are the number one predator of Pūķis.”
I turned to Ares, fear pounding in my chest. “What do you mean?”
“They’ll exhaust him by letting him escape, then catching him again. Once he can no longer move, they’ll slowly eat him.”
Horror opened a hole in my chest. “No.” I turned back to the pit of vines. “I’m going to go get him.”
“You can’t. They’ll do the same to you.”
“I don’t care.” I conjured a sword. “I’ll cut them off.”
Ares shook his head, eyes serious. Angry, almost. “Don’t. The vines are filled with acid. It’ll burn your skin right off.”
So if I couldn’t cut them and they’d capture me like that Pūķi, I was screwed. But the Pūķi shrieked and struggled, trying to escape.
“I’m not leaving him.” My mind raced. There was no way in hell I could just walk away and keep going on my task for the Vampire Court.
“It’s nature. The acid vines must eat, just like anything. Like a bobcat must eat a rabbit. That’s the way nature is.” But sadness glinted in his eyes.
He hated this.
I knew it as much as I knew that I hated it.
“I know it’s nature.” And he was right—hard shit like this happened all the time out in the wild. I loved snakes and mice both, but snakes couldn’t live without eating mice. Didn’t mean I liked it. “But the Pūķis are my friends.”
“There’s nothing you can do.” Ares’s voice was hard, but sad. “You must continue the task. Let’s go back.”
But there was something else on his face—something I couldn’t really identify. Encouragement? Expectation?
I didn’t have time to decipher his strange moods. That Pūķi was getting weaker and I’d wasted enough time already.
There were no trees near enough that I could tie a rope to, so I couldn’t swing my way to the Pūķi. Nor was I skilled enough to conjure a flying device other than a hang glider, and there wasn’t enough wind for that. I wished I could conjure liquid nitrogen to freeze them, but chemicals like that were time consuming to conjure.
My sword was the only defense I could think of, and I couldn’t let that acid debilitate me, so I quickly conjured a pair of tough leather pants, gloves, and a welding mask. My leather jacket and boots would protect the rest of me.
I hoped.
I tugged it on quickly, not sparing a glance for Ares, then raced toward the pit of vines.
Fates, this was possibly dumb.
But the Pūķi’s cries drove me forward. I prayed the momentum would keep me going. I charged through the vines. It worked—for a while.
I dodged and raced and stomped, avoiding the biggest vines. Small ones wrapped around my ankles, but I broke through them by the sheer force of my run.
Acid sprayed from them when they broke, splattering on my pants. I could hear the acid hissing slightly as it burned its way through.
I was halfway to the Pūķi by the time the first of the acid ate through my leather pants and then through my jeans. The burn made my eyes tear and sweat break out on my skin.
I flinched and kept running, but the vines were becoming thicker as I neared the middle. I tried leaping over one that lay like a log beneath the rest, but another vine caught me around the thigh.
I sliced through it with my sword, watching in horror as thick green liquid spilled from the severed vine. I dodged away from it, but some splattered on my thigh. It was so much that it quickly ate through the double layer of fabric.
Shit! That hurt.
I struggled away, limping and clawing my way through the vines that were now up to my thighs. My lungs burned and my heart thundered.
The Pūķi was still a good fifteen feet from me. So far.
I twisted to slice at a slender vine that had wrapped around my waist. As I severed it, I caught sight of Ares. Despite my mask, his expression was torn but so clear. His tortured eyes, crumpled brow, fisted hands, and warrior’s posture. He even had his shadow sword gripped in his hand, though he didn’t seem to notice that he’d even conjured it.
He wanted to dive into the vines, but clearly felt he shouldn’t.
It was so weird, but I really didn’t have time to mull it over. A vine wrapped around my arm, squeezing tight. I hacked it away, flinching as a tiny droplet of acid hit my neck in the space where the mask joined my jacket collar.
The vines kept coming, more and more. Soon, I was slicing left and right, acid spraying. There were too many, and they were strong. One smacked the blade from my hand.
Fear stole my breath.
Before I could conjure another, a huge vine had grabbed me around the waist, twisting me around and dragging me down. Ares’s roar of frustration and rage rent the air. Through a gap in the vines, I caught sight of him charging in.
Would he fare any better than me, though?
Not that it mattered. I tried to shove aside the fear that tightened my muscles. I’d never waited for a guy to rescue me before and I wasn’t about to start now. I struggled and strained.
No way I could use a sword—not when I was nearly covered in the vines. I’d drown in the acid that they would bleed. And screw that.
My mind raced. What else could I use? My magic wasn’t second nature. Just the conjuring. Could I destroy the vine? Did that power even work on living things?
I doubted it—almost hoped it didn’t because I didn’t want to have a killing power, even though I needed it—but I tried anyway.
Calming my panicked mind enough to find the Destroyer magic was nearly impossible, but I managed. As I worked, I caught brief glimpses of Ares hacking his way toward us.
He was faster than me—massively so. But the vines were too much even for him. They dragged at his limbs, slowing him.
The vines suffocated any wind that I might be able to feel on my face, so I had to imagine it within me, creating it from nothing but hope and fear. I forced the Destroyer magic into the vines. I could feel it within me, flowing out int
o the plants.
But it didn’t flow into them. Almost like it was blocked. They kept crushing and writhing, encapsulating me evermore.
Suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. They were squeezing too tightly. There were too many. I struggled and strained, trying to break my way free.
It did no good.
A hand appeared around a vine, pulling it away from my chest. I sucked in a ragged breath, finally able to breathe. My head cleared.
Through the vines, I could see Ares face. It was strained, his brow creased.
“I can do—”
A thick vine twined around Ares’s neck, cutting off his breathing. Another around his head.
This was it. He was done for. I almost was.
But tearing the vine away from my chest gave me a chance. Enough breath that I could try this. I sucked in air, calling upon my Destroyer magic and forcing it into the plant. Again, it stopped dead, unable to penetrate.
Panic flared, whiting out my mind.
But the strangest thing happened.
I could suddenly feel the vines. Like I was connected to them. As if I’d opened a connection when I’d tried to force the Destroyer magic into them.
And now I could feel them. Like they were part of me, almost.
Release me. I forced my will into the vines, commanding them to loosen their grip. They resisted for a moment, pushing back at me. I could feel it in my mind, as the plants tried to force their will on me.
I focused, strengthening my resolve. They would not win.
The cries of the Pūķi helped give me strength. I couldn’t let him down. Or Ares. Or myself. I didn’t want to die in the vampire realm, eaten by acid vines.
Release us. I repeated the thought, envisioning the vines following my will.
Eventually, they relaxed, slowly loosening their grip.
I scrambled free, climbing over the biggest vines and frantically searching around me.
To my left, the Pūķi shot out of the vines, flying high for the sky. They didn’t follow him.
I whooped with joy.
A rustling sounded from behind me. I spun. Ares climbed out from beneath some particularly huge vines. His neck burned red with an acid wound and his forearm looked like it’d been splashed badly as well.
“Are you okay?” I climbed toward him.
“Are you?” Worry colored his eyes, fear stark.
“Yeah. Let’s get out of here.” I scrambling toward the edge of the acid vines. They lay still and dormant beneath me, like the limp green spaghetti they’d first reminded me of. High above us, the Pūķis swooped and dived happily blowing fire from their noses.
By the time we stumbled away from the vines, my wounds were really hurting. I dragged myself far enough away that the vines couldn’t bother me if they woke again, and sat at the base of one of the silver trees.
Ares stumbled down next to me, turning and taking off my mask, inspecting the wound at my neck. Worry gleamed in his eyes.
“How is it?” he asked.
“Fine.” My wounds burned as I pulled off my leather jacket, gloves, and the extra pants that I’d conjured. The movement made pain flare, my acid wounds twinging as my skin pulled.
“Let me help you.” Ares raised his wrist, as if he’d bite it.
“No.” I held up a hand. My wounds hurt, but I did not need another connection to him.
“Let me.”
“No.” I dug the leftover Arrowreed out of my pocket and squeezed the gelatinous insides onto the wound on my thigh, which was the worst one. Immediately, the pain faded. The skin began to heal—not as well as it did when I used my special potion, but it would get me through the challenge until I could get a healer. I used the rest of the Arrowreed on my smaller burns, then shifted, still able to move fully. I could keep fighting on like this. It was a little painful, but fine.
Ares sighed. “You were impressive. How’d you get the vines to release us?”
“I don’t know.” And it was the honest truth. I had no freaking clue. I’d never used my FireSoul gift to take a plant magic from someone before. Hell, I’d never even heard of this kind of magic. I turned to Ares, whose neck and arm wounds were already healing.
He’d risked his life for me. Had he known he was doing that? That the vines were so strong? I stuffed the thought to the back of my mind, more concerned with the ramifications of what had just happened.
“Was that part of the Vampire Court challenge?”
He frowned, anger in his face, then nodded. “It wasn’t supposed to be.”
“Wasn’t?”
“I insisted they not use this idea. Not sacrifice the Pūķi. But they did what they wanted.” His voice vibrated with tightly controlled rage.
“What was the purpose?” I hadn’t been able to use my Destroyer magic there. And Ares had had no idea I’d possessed a plant magic, so they couldn’t be testing that.
Ares looked up at the Pūķi. I followed his gaze.
“You can’t guess what they were testing?” Ares said.
I watched the Pūķis, frowning. They looked so happy. I hated the idea of them in trouble. Understanding dawned. “They wanted to see what I would do when one of my friends was in danger.”
He nodded. “You formed a bond with the Pūķi. They helped you at the volcano. They wanted to see if you would help them.”
“And if I did, then I’d help you, my allies.”
“That was the idea.”
I frowned, not liking where this was going. “But what would have happened to the Pūķi if I’d failed? This challenge was nearly impossible.”
“Exactly what you dreaded.” He scrubbed a hand over his face, anger fading to ire. “I did not like this challenge. But Doyen and Magisteria insisted. I thought I’d talked them away from using it at all.”
Something simmered within me, hot and angry. “The challenge was nearly impossible.”
I’d defeated it only by using a magic I had no idea existed—which was insane. New magical talents didn’t just pop up. You were born with them or you took them. You didn’t spontaneously develop them, like growing a second head. And without him—I may not have managed it at all. “Did Doyen and Magisteria really expect me to succeed?”
Ares scrubbed a weary hand over his face. Suddenly, it was easy to see how this role tore him in two. He clearly did not like the machinations. He was too upfront for that.
“So they didn’t expect me to succeed,” I said.
“It’s the reason I tried to convince them—threaten them—away from using this trial. It’s the fact that you tried to save the Pūķi that counts, but sacrificing an innocent like that…”
“Monsters,” I hissed.
“Yes, sometimes.” His gaze met mine. “But when you went in to save the Pūķi, I knew you’d succeed. I didn’t know how, just that you would.”
“It’s why you waited before coming in—” I remembered how torn his gaze was, how he’d so clearly wanted to charge in “—to give me a chance to win it according to their terms.”
“It’d serve them right,” he said. “It’s part of a power play. You’d pass the test, but know that they could threaten those you love. We’re allies, but there are still power games.”
“The kind you don’t like.”
He scrubbed a hand over his face and nodded. “Exactly. But when you saved the Pūķi, you got one over on them.”
I sat back against the tree, stunned at how twisty and dark their minds were. These games…
“And you broke the rules when you thought I was going to die under the vines. So you helped me.”
“Technically, I failed.”
“No, you didn’t. If you hadn’t pulled that vine away, I’d have suffocated before finding my power.” I swallowed hard, meeting his gaze.
It was finally time to put my distrust to bed. He played both sides of the fence. He was on the Vampire Court and there was no getting away from it. But when it’d come time to declare an allegiance—he had. To me. When he’d
entered the challenge and torn that vine away, he’d made himself very clear.
I reached for his hand, squeezing. “Thanks. You saved me.”
“You saved yourself. I just helped a bit.”
I could feel the small smile tug at my lips, but I forced it away. I didn’t have time for happiness or tenderness. We needed to finish this.
I stumbled to my feet. “Let’s go. I want to get this over with.”
Ares stood, his wounds nearly closed.
I turned. “Come on.”
I started through the forest, heading back to the path. Ares followed.
As we walked the Pūķis flew overhead, following us. They flew lower now, just over the trees. In the moonlight, they glinted red and bright.
They were our guardians.
Which proved to be true, when the trees began to whip their branches at us, slicing through the air and colliding with my arm.
“Shit!” I jumped away, clutching my injured arm.
Another branch whipped out, but a Pūķi dived, shooting fire at the tree. The branch retracted, not striking.
I smiled at the Pūķi. “Thanks.”
The words had barely left my lips when two more branches struck out. But more Pūķis dived, shooting their fire at the trees. Soon, the Pūķis were on all sides, defending us from the attacking branches
“It looks like your friends appreciate your effort,” Ares said.
“I appreciate theirs.”
Getting through the forest was easy after that. The Pūķis defended us from the trees and then from the Night Terrors, who launched an attack from the branches.
I looked up when I’d heard a rustling branch. A fluffy black Night Terror was about to land on my head when a Pūķi roared. I swear the Night Terror wheeled in the air and turned, landing on the ground and streaking away.
The other Night Terrors—there were at least a hundred of them in the branches around, ready to leap upon us—hissed and darted away.
“Thanks, Pūķis.” I gave them a thumbs-up. I did not want to fight a hundred little Night Terrors. No doubt a few of them would get their teeth into me, and no doubt they’d aim for arteries.
Man, I hoped these trials were almost over. I was exhausted and burned and I still had a stolen magical beaker and mob boss to deal with. At least I hadn’t gotten sick from my Destroyer magic since I’d last used it.
