How generous. I felt something awaken inside me—a deep, burning rage. They thought they could do whatever they wanted to anyone unable to stop them. They had probably done so many times before. Today would be the last time they threatened anyone, though. I would make sure of it.
“Only one man is allowed to call me that. And you’re very lucky he isn’t here,” I said, letting the rope slide through my fingers. My breathing was slow and measured as I shifted my stance, grounding myself.
“Think he could protect you?” the leader asked as the Rakash moved forward in unison, tightening the circle around me.
“Who says I need protection?” A slight smile lifted my lips as my awareness sharpened in anticipation. “He would just end you a lot more slowly and painfully than I will.”
It was time.
Starfire flew up, the cloth concealing it fluttering down like a discarded veil. Its beautifully engraved steel caught the light, intricate patterns shimmering with a deadly elegance. Curved blades with razor-sharp edges adorned each end of the staff. Every gaze followedthe arc of the weapon as it spun through the air. My hands shot out, catching the handle with practiced ease, its weight settling into my grip as if it had always belonged there.
I moved the moment it was in my grasp. Blood spurted into the air in a vivid spray as one blade sliced through the throat of the closest Rakash. I didn’t wait for his twitching body to hit the ground, stabbing the staff backward to drive the other blade into the chest of the next snarling attacker. It cut through his leather armor like a knife through butter. A grunt escaped me as I yanked my weapon out, moving back into my fighting stance. Nacin reared up, his hind legs kicking out, sending a Rakash who had tried to sneak up on me flying.
The remaining attackers hesitated, small whines and growls escaping them. Their leader bared his teeth at me, all amusement gone now that I had proven I was no easy prey.
“A nice little stick,” he growled, lifting his clawed hand. “But it won’t be enough to get us all.”
They would attack all at once. It was the clever thing to do. Too bad I was prepared for it.
My grip on Starfire tightened as I reached out with my mind. Glowing Aurean runes ignited on the staff, thelyr-stone at its center blazing with a bright, unrelenting light. Three Rakash lunged at me from the right. The first arc of sizzling Light magic hit them, incinerating them in a blaze so intense the afterimage flickered before my eyes. I seamlessly slid into a crouch, a sword swishing over me from the left. Starfire tore through the wielder’s stomach from below as I brought the weapon up, his screams a wild howl as his guts spilled onto the ground in a gush of dark blood. Light rose around me in a radiant maelstrom as I sprang to my feet, disarming the next two attackers. A thrust of the staff took out the first, whilethe second went up in flames as I hurled a crackling ball of pure Light at him.
Maker! I could understand Noctis now. The feeling of my power pulsing through my veins was intoxicating. Every fiber of my being thrummed with raw energy. I needed more. I needed to punish these creatures for their insolent belief that they could harm a goddess. Thelyr-stone answered my call, shining brighter and brighter. Yes, that was it. I raised Starfire over my head, letting the magic rage through me.
A shrill yowl caught my attention. Bane was circling me, his fur standing up. I lowered the staff, my gaze shifting to my hands, a gasp escaping me at the sight of the glowing veins beneath my skin. Now I could feel the pain—the searing bite of using more power than this weak mortal vessel could contain. It was a wonder I hadn’t burned myself out completely. I drew a shuddering breath and shifted the staff in my grasp. Better to deal with my remaining foes without magic.
Two Rakash were left standing, their faces twisted in fear and hate as I advanced on them. The one on the left charged with a wild scream, his axe raised high above his head. An easy opening. I whirled to the side, Starfire cutting through the vulnerable flesh beneath his arm, then finishing him with a thrust to his back as he crumbled.
Only the leader remained, his yellow eyes wide with disbelief. “You—you…” he gasped, stumbling backward and letting go of his spear. When I followed, my own weapon raised threateningly, he suddenly pulled something sparkling out of his armor and smashed it onto the ground with a desperate scream. The crystalline object broke into a thousand smaller splinters, a thin, ominous trail of smoke rising from it into the air.
For a moment, nothing else happened.
Then reality ripped apart in front of us.
Nacin neighed in panic behind me. I retreated with a disbelieving gasp, my hands tightening around Starfire’s handle at the sight of the chasm opening in the middle of my courtyard. Something moved in the fathomless darkness pulsing within, something large and many-legged. It burst into this world in a devastating wave of raging Chaos and writhing shadows, the force of its entrance tearing apart the henhouse behind it in a whirl of splintering wood and flying feathers.
Razor-sharp front legs struck at once, impaling the Rakash leader, who had been too shocked to move away, and hurling him aside, his shrill scream breaking off abruptly when he hit the ground. Then the monster swiveled around, its many eyes eerily focused on me.
Kritak.A foe I had thought defeated long ago, captured within a sphere oflyr-stone magic, kept separate from reality until the stone that contained it was broken.
Artifacts of dark magical power, my ass. I would strangle Noctis for creating something that dangerous.
With a roar, the monster charged. Only a desperate roll to the side saved me from sharing the fate of the Rakash and my poor chickens. I jumped to my feet at once, Starfire raised to deflect the next attack.
Curse it, the thing was fast. My bladed staff was nothing but a blur as I desperately defended myself against the blade-like legs stabbing at me again and again. The Kritak had been dangerous even when I was a goddess. Now that I was a mortal, I had no idea how to defeat the beast. Ignoring the sharp pain radiating through my entire body, I called on the Light magic in Starfire’slyr-stone once more. Power seared through the air, hitting the creature in the side, dark blood exploding outward. It was not enough, though. With a furious shriek, it lunged at me again, one strike of those deadly legs knocking Starfire from my hands.
Out of options, I thrust my hand into the pocket of my skirt, my fingers closing around the Air stones within. A blast of magic sent the Kritak flying, the ground shaking beneath me at its impact. It only deterred the monster a little. It scrambled back to its feet, coming at me once more. I could not kill it like this; Air was a more defensive power.
Before I could draw the Chaosdagger, the beast was upon me. A scream tore from my lips as one of those sharp legs ripped down my calf, tearing my flesh. I collapsed on the ground, the Kritak looming over me. My fingers frantically closed around the hilt of the dagger. With one last panicked pull, I managed to get it out of my belt and up between us, thelyr-stone blazing to life as its magic awakened.
There was no time to fear the unpredictable nature of its power. Tendrils of Chaos instinctively burst forth as I plunged the dagger into the side of the beast’s head with a strength born of sheer desperation.
Acidic spittle rained down on me, burning my skin, as the monster tried to sink its pincers into me. I yanked the dagger out only to stab it in between its eyes again and again, a vicious growl falling from my lips, the Kritak’s dark blood slickening my fingers. “You shouldn’t”—stab—“have killed”—stab—“my chickens”—stab.
Somehow, it was enough. The Kritak reeled backward with a shrill shriek. My hand holding the dagger sank down, a ragged sob escaping me as I lay on the ground, staring up into the blue-gray sky, towering clouds chasing each other across it. I barely registered how the monster collapsed as well, shadows drifting into my vision, my leg, my entire body pounding with pain. Then unconsciousness claimed me.
CHAPTER
47
