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I glared up at the creature that had stolen Valencia’s face.
“What have you done?” I exclaimed, wincing as my hand throbbed.
“I have followed my king’s orders, of course.”
“What does that mean?”
“He needed your blood. I collected it for him. Should anything happen during the rest of the journey, at least I have that. He will be pleased.”
“For what?” I asked shakily.
“The Dark King does not share his reasons with me,” she answered simply.
I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye, and I turned to see a group of nearly three dozen monsters circling all around us. Some of them were hooded and others had their faces covered by a mask, so I couldn’t identify what species they were. Despite that, there were several with their hoods down that I could see. There were humans, orcs, and several other mysteriously evil-looking creatures, but the most alarming one of all was the winged monster perched atop a rock watching me from above as though it was debating whether or not to eat me.
The menacing creature had an alarming combination of both dragon and demonic features. It possessed large, powerful wings that when fully stretched spanned more than thirty feet wide. The spindly veins glowing through its dark, sinewy flesh seemed fueled by the flames of the underworld itself. Its body was covered in smoldering, obsidian scales that radiated intense heat, and its eyes glowed with a malevolently evil infernal fire.
Mais must have saw me anxiously regarding the monster before she cleared her throat, her amusement obvious.
“That’s an infernal drakewing, and it answers to me. Come. We must get moving. The rest of the journey will need to be on foot. The drakewing cannot fly at these high altitudes due to the cold. If we get moving now, we will make it to the rift by sunset. The Dark King will be waiting. He’s expecting us. You especially,” she sneered, her mouth edging up into an evil smirk.
Instinctually, I slid my hand down my thigh, needing to quiet my snarl of fury at finding my knife gone. She must have taken it, knowing I would kill her the very first chance I got.
Mais chuckled and I had to stop myself from flipping her the bird. Fully ignoring my rage, as well as my deadly intent, she strode over to me, grabbed my upper arm far more roughly than necessary, and yanked me up to my feet.
“You’ve rested long enough. It’s time for us to move,” she grunted.
I moved to twist out of her grip and suddenly, her knife was pressed clean against my neck as she slammed me against the tree trunk behind me with superhuman speed.
I cried out as the edge of the blade cruelly nicked into my flesh.
“I’m not afraid to hurt you, Ella. The king only wants you alive. He made no mention about you arriving with all your parts stillattached,” she warned, leering over me.
I nodded, only enough to ensure the blade didn’t nick me any further. Her warning was clear.
A roar sounded in the silence, and Mais gritted her teeth, looking upwards into the sky. My gaze followed hers, and out of nowhere, Nykor swooped down between the treetops towards us. A chorus of howls echoed in the near distance, and suddenly an entire pack of snow wolves ran into the clearing at the same time.
All at once, everything erupted into chaos.
The group of monsters leapt to their feet, every single one of them drawing their weapons. The drakewing leapt off its perch and flew directly at Nykor, and I watched in horror as the two massive creatures collided in the sky. The drakewing breathed a spiral of blazing hellfire, and Nykor roared, fighting back with freezing ice fire of his own. Then they flew towards each other in a violent clash, and I cried out, running for cover as they hurtled into the treetops. I covered my head as broken branches rained down all around me.
On the ground, several of the wolves snarled and viciously attacked the orcs and hooded creatures. The soldiers fought back, but the wolves brawled their way to one victory after another.
The one with ice blue eyes met mine right before it took a leaping bound right at Mais. She rolled her upper lip in a monstrous snarl and spun away from me, narrowly avoiding the snow wolf’s attack. She glanced from me to it and laughed. The sound of it was true evil incarnate.
Mais smirked and tossed her knife in front of me. I made no move to grab it, instead choosing to watch her for signs of deception. I didn’t know what she was up to, and I wasn’t going to wait to find out.
“Your knight in shining armor may have arrived in time to rescue you, but I have what I need. There will be others like you to come.”
She slipped her hand beneath the collar of her shirt and pulled at a chain clasped around her throat. There was a glass pendent attached to it, full of blood.
My blood…
Her other hand reached into her pocket. I watched in silence as she pulled another glass vile free. When I focused on the contents, I could see swirling purple clouds inside, and a sinking feeling raised in the pit of my belly. Without warning, she threw it against a rock, shattering the glass and releasing the contents. With a loud pop, it expanded and whirled outwards, faster and faster until a hazy purple sphere appeared. Once the magic stabilized, I could see through to a whole other world where there were dark, shadowy mountains rimmed with an ominous dark purple glow.
She’d created a portal.
“Good luck. Don’t try to follow me. The magic will only allow one through,” she sneered.
