Page 3 of Awakened Ash and Alchemy

“Put her down.” The deep male voice cut through the alley.

The cloaked being paused.

Its grip loosened just enough for Angela to draw in a breath. She spotted a man standing at the mouth of the alley, half-hidden in the spill of the streetlights.

He was dressed in thick black leathers, worn and scarred as if they’d seen too many nights like this. Topped off with a heavy black coat that opened, not to reveal a gun, but…

Silver blades.

His eyes caught the light. A pale sea-glass blue like a crystalline teal, too bright and too clear to be real.

How was any of this real?

Angela’s breath hitched. The hand around her throat tightened, crushing her windpipe before she could scream. She slapped at it as she tried to kick out and get herself free. “Help.”

“Shh, my lovely, won’t be long now.” The cloaked being crushed her throat and all hope of air.

The man stepped into the alley, carrying a wave of dry heat that seemed to roll over them, making the air shimmer. “Put her down. Now.”

The cloaked thing laughed, still holding Angela aloft. “Captain Zarek, Sworn Exarch of the Vanguard, it is an honor. Even if you are too late.”

Captain Zarek moved. In less than the blink of an eye, he appeared closer, the way lightning flashes. One moment distant, the next he was right there, followed by a flash of silver. The cloaked being’s arm was severed at the elbow with an impossibly clean slice.

Angela hit the concrete hard. Her breath exploded from her chest. Pain flared through her shoulder and hip as she coughed, dragging ragged lungs full of air through her burning throat.

Above her, the cloaked being shrieked in a way that wasn’t human or animal, but something that belonged in horror movies.

Zarek didn’t flinch. He just stepped into the shriek, raising his blade.

The cloaked figure lashed out with nails like black talons, slicing for Zarek’s face.

Zarek twisted aside with impossible speed as heat cracked through the air, unleashing a flame that flared out in a sharp burst to catch the black fabric of her attacker’s cloak. In seconds, it smoked and burned, forcing the creature to stagger back. Its shrieks echoed within the alley’s shadows so loudly it hurt her ears.

But Zarek kept moving, driving the silver blade straight into its chest as the entire thing ignited into a violent, raging red fireball that exploded outward in a sudden sphere of heat.

Angela threw her arm up, shielding her face as the blast washed over her.

And then…

Nothing.

The fire vanished like faded fireworks disappearing in the sky.

Angela blinked as her eyes adjusted to the darkness. Zarek had buried his blade in the creature’s chest, which had hardened into gray stone as a furious network of cracks spread outward from the blade.

Zarek removed the blade, and the statue shivered, then collapsed into ash, hitting the ground like a shower of dust.

Angela stared as her brain struggled to catch up.

Monsters didn’t turn to stone.

Stone didn’t turn to dust.

And people didn’t carry swords and set the air on fire.

A breeze threaded its way through the alley, scattering the remains of what had tried to choke her moments earlier. She pushed herself up on shaky hands. Her throat ached, and her eyes still stung from the pepper spray and shock. It was a struggle to stand.

Zarek turned toward her. The moment his gaze met hers, her world tilted. His sea-glass eyes held too much depth and power, along with a pull that should have made her want to look away.