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Submit, Quinn. I can save Duncan. You won’t make it on your own.
“No,” I say through gritted teeth.
The wind and lightning stop. The world is eerily silent as I stand up. Hundreds, maybe even thousands, of twisted, demonic monsters are arrayed around me, and in this moment it seems like they’ve all stopped to stare. At me.
Great. The tingle is on the back of my neck again, so I turn, and my stomach drops when I see a deformed giant.
The creature looks like a composition for three or more beings, smashed together like a preschooler making a monster out of Playdough. It’s eight feet or more tall, as wide as a car is long, with a massive chest.
Its face has three sets of eyes in different places. The creature’s entire visage has been melted, the eyes are not level with each other but at odd angles and direction. It opens its mouth and roars, and the sound is echoing. Then I see that there are two more mouths, one on its chest and another on its massive thigh.
Worse, as if looking at the thing isn’t bad enough, its absorbing magic. Drinking it in and growing bigger as it does. It takes a step towards me. When its foot hits, the ground rumbles, and I bounce into the air.
“Lovely,” I mutter.
The thing bends at its waist, reaching for me with those massive hands which are big enough to squish me. Backpedaling I get out of its immediate reach, but all this does is make it angrier and it roars again.
A ball of glowing light streaks over my head and surrounds the creature’s face. I’m too busy dodging to notice right off that the ball of light is a group of Fae who are attacking the creature. One of them darts out of the ball, zipping over to my ear.
“Run, Destroyer,” he or she whistles. “Run, we can’t hold it.”
The giant slams it’s hands together in front of it and several of the Fae don’t get out of the way in time.
“I can’t leave you,” I say.
“You must,” he or she screams. “You’re our only hope.”
It tears at my very soul, but I turn and run. I make it three steps before the ground undulates and I’m thrown into the air. I shout in surprise, expecting the pain of impact, but a massive hand grabs me midair.
The fist clenches and breathing becomes a distant memory as it compresses my rib cage. Lungs burning, my vision blurs as I struggle to inhale. Blackness creeps in and any moment I’m going to pass out. I try to focus and fight.
Fight. For Duncan. He’s alive.
And in that moment, the pain of his loss becomes too much. If I lose him, I lose everything. Power surges and explodes. The massive hand gripping me tight disintegrates and I fall to the ground in a heap as I scream.
The scream tears my throat. Rage, pain, loss. The explosion blasts out like I’m the epicenter of a nuclear bomb. The closest creatures are gone, blasted to atoms, those further out are scattered, and then I’m out of breath with nothing left.
I grip the grass, panting and shaking. Empty. I rise to my feet, knees quivering, and only now do I look. Dugald is running in my direction, waving his arms and pointing wildly. Exhaustion makes me feel dull, I can’t understand what he’s trying to say.
“Quinn, look out!” he screams, and the sound penetrates the ringing in my head at last.
I turn in time to see the creature is still standing, missing a hand, but its massive foot is coming down on my head.
ChapterTwo
I throwmyself forward and shoulder roll. The monster’s foot slams the ground where I was, causing me to bounce as the earth itself reacts to the stomp. I’m tossed up and then bounce again before rolling to a stop.
“That’s it,” I growl, climbing to my feet.
I whirl towards the monster, and I don’t care that magic is tainted. I’ve had enough. I grab all the power I can and run at the thing. Electricity crackles across my skin as I ball my hands into fists. When I’m within reach of the monster I punch it in the gut with all my magic enhanced strength.
“Awrooph!” The creature’s breath blasts out from its multiple mouths.
It’s lifted off the ground by the force of my punch, then lands and stumbles backwards. I don’t let up, chasing after it and hitting it again. And again. This thing becomes the focus of my rage, as if it alone is responsible for taking away Duncan. I whale on it, and it tries to strike back but I’m faster than it. I punch it over and over as fast and as furious as I can possibly manage.
I land an uppercut. Its head snaps back and there’s a disturbing crack, then the thing falls over and lands hard, but I still don’t stop. The rage hasn’t left, it’s consuming, so I continue beating on its lifeless body.
“Quinn, stop, you’ve won.” Dugald puts his hands on my shoulders and pulls me off the creature.
