Dance of Ashes and Smoke (Age of Monsters Book 1) (26 page)

W
e poured from the bank, joining those who emerged from other buildings. The monsters scattered and surrounded us. I barked out orders, shocked to see them obeyed without question.

Liv emerged through the smoke and shadows, tension flaking away as she stood with her back against mine.

I grinned over my shoulder at her. “About time you joined the fun.” I brought down my swords on the neck of a growling wolf and sliced until the blades scraped together.

Her laughter shook us both as her shotgun boomed, followed by the clatter of a dying gargoyle. “I needed a little nap.”

I spun around at her grunt and together we took down a vampire.

Wrinkling my nose at the rotten smell, I got back to my feet. “Sorry we were boring you.”

“You had it under control.”

For the moment, the monsters gave us a break. “Have you seen Jax? Summer?”

“Jax is flying around somewhere. I don’t know about Summer.”

I grabbed her arm and gasped.

She whipped her head around looking for the reason I’d gasped. “What? What is it? Who do you want me to kill?”

My entire arm shook as I raised it to point. Liv frowned as she searched for what I saw. A feral grin to match mine spread across her face.

There they stood, the sorceress and her chimera familiar, under the glow of a street lamp. They didn’t fight, merely watching, detached expressions on their faces while the rest of us burned.

Liv and I moved as one, stalking them through the burning shadows. This was it. Our moment. Together. I yelled for one of our magics, needing them to cancel out her power or we wouldn’t get close.

Two of them came at my call, trailing behind Liv and I.

We didn’t even have to fight our way there; the magics swept them to the sides.

Tashia and her pet stared at us, watching us come, no hint of fear or worry in their faces.

But there was none in ours either.

The magics behind us muttered spells, binding Tashia’s powers. I hoped.

Tashia smiled. “I won’t play with you two darlings this time. I’ve had enough trouble out of both of you.”

“Should we be honored you remember us?”

“You should. Few humans make an impact on me. You are ants to be crushed beneath my feet.”

I didn’t even try to hold back the laughter. “You can’t help yourself, can you? You really love your precious clichés.”

The chimera snarled. “How dare you.”

I raised a brow and my swords in response. Tashia threw her hands into the air with elaborate movements, but nothing happened.

I was done exchanging barbs and nasty comments.

We attacked.

T
he chimera threw herself in front of Tashia before I could reach her, cutting me off. I wanted the sorceress for myself. The monster shifted into her chimera form, her skin rippling like an alien baby was about to burst from her. Most of her morphed into a saber tooth tiger except for the snake tail and the goat head growing from its back.

I almost dropped my sword in horror. I’d never seen anything so freaky and nasty in my life. How was I supposed to fight her? I bent my knees a little to keep them from knocking together and braced myself.

But instead of attacking, she ran away.

I froze. What should I do?

She headed towards the church where the townspeople hid. I glanced over at the triumphant sorceress, longing to cut her down where she stood.

Aria landed between me and Liv. “What do you want me to do?”

Why was it my decision? “Help Liv. Kill the sorceress. I’m going after her familiar.”

I ran after the monster, leaving bits of myself behind. But I trusted Liv and even Aria. They had as much to lose and as much right as I. And if I could take out her familiar, she’d lose some of her power.

Jax soared down and helped clear my way, but the fighting had gotten too thick. He landed in front of me and without a second thought, I leapt onto his back. My heart swooped with the relief he was okay. And then swooped some more as we rose higher in the sky than I was comfortable with.

He dove back down and it was like I was ten again on a roller coaster. From his back I switched back to my gun and fired at the monsters, praying I didn’t hit any of our people. The chimera was almost at the church. How did she know they were in there? My blood pumped icy hot through my veins and I forced myself to breathe.

From up here I could see the ravages of the battle. The streetlights and moon and burning buildings lit up the carnage. Monsters and humans lay dead and dying. Blood ran through the streets like a flood, splatters of it across the cobblestones. Screams, moans, begs for mercy. It was horrible.

We had to end it.

I couldn’t see how Liv and Aria were doing against Tashia, but I had to trust they had it under control.

I leaned down so Jax could hear me over the whipping wind. “Get me low enough I can leap on her back.”

He whinnied back at me. I smothered a giggle. It was so cute.

I traded back my gun for my swords and prepared myself to jump. I had one chance or splat and if I didn’t finish the familiar, Liv might not have a chance against the sorceress.

Jax flew lower, right above the chimera. I swung one of my legs over his right side and waited for my moment.

And didn’t take it.

I squeezed my eyes shut. We were still so high.

Jax huffed and got back into position. The chimera was almost at the church, no one had been able to slow her down.

I let out a silent scream as I forced myself off of Jax, the ground rushing at me. I landed on the chimera’s back with a yelp, staying on her back by grabbing the goat head around the neck. It tried to bite me, but I was able to strangle it before it could.

Her snake tail hissed and darted at my face. I swung at it with my sword over and over until the head flew off. The chimera roared and lurched beneath me. I’d lost focus on the goat head, remembering when its teeth sank into the flesh below my shoulder.

I screeched and spun back around, fighting to keep from being thrown off. She shook herself, trying to knock me off, her tiger head and goat head both reached for me with snapping teeth. I swatted at the goat head with my sword, but missed.

My sword flew from my hand when she jerked again.

I almost followed, ripping out handfuls of fur to keep from being thrown off to be trampled under her feet. Screw this. I yanked my gun from my thigh holster and shot the goat in the face.

The chimera roared again and fell to her side, throwing me off. I slammed into the side of a building, gun clattering to the ground. The world swam and tilted, everything going blurry. Something wet dripped down my neck, probably more blood.

I crawled on my hands and knees through broken glass and rubble towards my gun. My knife was useless against a tiger. She hadn’t yet gotten to her feet, still on her side, writhing in pain.

Jax made worried horse sounds from the sky as he flew towards us, but he was busy with a dragon. My face contorted from the pain shooting down my neck and back and the agony of glass and rocks digging into my palms and knees. The gun was so close. Just a few more feet.

Jax neighed a warning, and I threw myself the last couple of feet, scooping up the gun. I rolled to my back and fired at the chimera over and over until I emptied my clip.

She finally collapsed, landing on the bottom half of my body, turning back into a woman, no longer able to hold her monster form.

A scream of pain loud and filled with darkness spread across the town. It reached deep and ripped through me, bringing a darkness welling to the surface.

Tashia.

I scrambled out from under the chimera and searched the sky for Jax, but he wasn’t there. Malek soared above, his feathers pure gold in the moon’s glow. The sight of him banished the darkness. It gave me a last burst of strength.

Ignoring my tortured body, I raced for Liv and the sorceress.

And got back to them right in time to see Tashia blow out a wave of power, knocking down Liv, Aria, and the magics.

I didn’t make it to the sorceress before she disappeared into thin air.

W
e spent a day resting up in the church, treating our wounds. Malek slumped around exhausted and gray from the amount of tears he’d shed over the life-threatening injuries.

Summer was alive and fine, but still weak. I still handed out orders in her place while she regained her strength for the convoy trip to the army base.

Liv, Aria, and I finished our makeshift bath in the lake. The three of us along with Jax were acting as a scout team for the convoy, so we were leaving first.

Liv remained silent and glum as we dressed and left the lake for Jax to take his turn.

“It’s not your fault.”

She jerked her head in a nod, but still didn’t reply. She blamed herself for not taking out the sorceress when she’d had the chance.

“We’ll get her. Without the strength and magic kept in her familiar, she’ll be weakened, off licking her wounds. When we move on Austin, we’ll get another chance.”

Liv snorted. “That’s ironic coming from you. This whole time you’ve thought of nothing but killing her. If our places were reversed, would you cut yourself a break?”

With a sigh, I squatted down to check the tires on my bike. “Probably not. But you were the one who made me see there was more to live for than revenge.”

She slammed her pack onto the back of her bike, tying it down with bungee cords. “I’ll try telling myself that when she kills again. When she leaves more orphans alone in the world.”

Aria hovered behind me, her voice hard to hear. “She just needs time.”

I nodded and forced a smile over my shoulder. “I know.”

Liv stalked off, Aria trailing in her wake, leaving me alone in the woods with our bikes while I waited for Jax. A chill breeze swept through the leaves, signaling a cold night. I shivered.

When Jax returned to our bikes, I shivered for a whole new reason. He hadn’t put a shirt on after his dip in the river and his chest gleamed with droplets of water, black hair soaked and in messy waves, jeans slung low on his hips. My face flushed when he caught how low my eyes had traveled and his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

He sauntered over to where I perched on my motorcycle as he pulled the shirt over his head. Heat licked deep in my belly when he cupped one side of my face in his hand and leaned in to kiss me. I scooted back to give him room, and he threw a leg over the bike and straddled it backwards, pulling me into his lap, my legs hanging over his. His kisses deepened, and I returned them with all I had, pushing away the doubts that still plagued me about the future. I gave myself over to his lips on mine and his hair in my hands and his chest pressed against me, our breaths tangling together. His hands moved from my waist and he rubbed under my shirt to my spine and back. I clutched him closer, and he groaned against my mouth.

His lips worked their way around my jaw and down my neck, his face scratchy as he nibbled down to my collar bone, his hands still stroking my bare back. My hands wandered and found themselves on his chest, still, letting the thump of his heart combine with mine.

Nothing else mattered at that moment but him. This sweet man and the comfort he brought.

Our kisses tapered off into tenderness, exploring and tasting, breaths calmed and heartbeats slowed. He pulled away and smiled at me, his eyes soft and warm. I snuggled into his chest, our legs still intertwined over the bike, his arms tight around me. Safe and happy for a few precious moments.

Liv and Aria returned with a few more weapons and we loaded up to leave. No telling what was between us and the twenty miles to the base.

Another shiver shook me, this time nothing to do with Jax or the chill in the air.

I opened my mouth to warm them and tried to grab my gun, but I froze. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even slide my eyes closed at the realization of who was here.

She sashayed over to us, a dark rage crashing in her eyes. She stepped close until we were nose to nose. “You killed her. But you didn’t win. Even without the power she stored for me, you can’t win against me.” She ran a trembling finger down my cheek where she’d marked me before. She wasn’t as strong as she’d claimed. Freezing us took more out of her than she let on.

“Don’t worry. I’m not going to kill you. But I am going to send you into a never-ending nightmare.”

Sweat slithered down my face from the effort of trying to break her hold on me. I met Liv’s eyes, and hers were frantic with terror for me. But it must happen this way. Her music needed to live on, spreading hope to the world. The world needed her light and strong belief in what was right. They didn’t need my fire and rage.

I couldn’t look at Jax. I didn’t want to see his laughing eyes ravaged with pain and worry. Wherever I was headed, I wanted to remember his eyes bright and merry and green. My chest ripped open. We would never get the chance to explore our new relationship. I’d never kiss him again or snuggle into his arms.

Adele. My entire body numbed with grief. I’d promised her. But Jax and Liv would take care of her. Keep her safe.

Maybe I’d see my family again.

“Your fight is over, dear.”

I snarled at Tashia, glaring into her eyes with defiance.

My fight was far from over. I would never stop fighting.

I would always rage against the dying light.

Refusing to back down, to take whatever curse she had prepared for me with begging and pleading, I breathed deep, preparing myself.

With a dark laugh, Tashia spoke a single word. Olivia crumpled to the ground, and the witch disappeared, her giggles trailing behind her.