The Alchemists of Loom (Loom Saga #1)(59)
So, Petra had been hiding this unpolished gem all along. Cvareh was rough, untrained, and generally timid. Underneath it all was true power. The closer they neared land, the more she realized her grave error in underestimating him. He was the younger brother of Petra’Oji and Houyui To, of course he had strength.
Camile rejoined her in the sky as Leona let out a cry of frustration. She was done toying with them. “We head to land,” she declared. “Cut them off there.”
Pushing her magic under her, Leona sped ahead of the boat, keeping in line with its course. She was done fighting over the salted sea and its dangerous depths. On land, she would have the upper hand. She wouldn’t underestimate them a third time.
The secondary boat was close enough to open fire, but Cvareh’s crew seemed uninterested in engaging. They pushed onward, ignoring all other distractions and opponents. Like a beam of sunlight, they penetrated the inky blackness with speed and certainty. But nothing was ahead of them. A wall of tall bars connecting the sea with the Underground canals and sewers blocked their path.
They were going in hot and fast on a straight collision course for the giant grate, suicidally determined to outrun their pursuers to their deaths. Leona pulled back, unwilling to follow to that watery grave. If Cvareh wanted to kill himself, she’d let him.
The White Wraith turned, watching Leona as she fell away. Leona could feel the woman’s eyes on her from underneath the gleam of her magically enhanced goggles. She raised an empty hand and gave a wave, as though bidding farewell to the world.
An explosion ripped the sea apart. The boat turned and zigged, fighting against the currents and waves that pushed against its bow—keeping on course in a display of driving mastery. The rusted iron bars of the grate shattered into pieces, hot molten metal glowing like the jagged teeth of a giant beast in the darkness.
The ship allowed itself to be swallowed whole by it.
“Where are they going?” Camile called. “What do they hope to find under the city?”
And then it hit her. Leona screamed as she realized she’d been thwarted again. This Chimera was making a fool of her. The woman was two steps ahead, preempting Leona’s every movement. Leona thought House Xin exhausted the depths of her hatred. But no, this was a rage unlike anything she’d ever felt. It was bitter and rough and raw, and coursed through her like swallowed rocks.
“The Underground,” she snarled, panting, worked into a frenzy. “We pursue!”
The moment they crossed into the back thresholds of the Underground, they would be lost. Leona knew better than to follow into that tumultuous blackness, a place where the sun had never shone and true wretches made their home. Even as a Rider, there were some things she had to admit bested her.
The tunnel was narrow and getting smaller by the second. The boat was forced to dock inelegantly, as half its side was smashed in against a narrow walk. Leona skidded her glider against the surface of the water, evading a shot from the Wraith.
“Go!” the Chimera called to her companions.
Leona’s eyes fell on a Fen girl with long black hair. She was just as the tiny man in Ter.5 had described. Tiny enough for Leona to pick her up and snap her in two as though she were a wooden doll.
She jumped onto the walk, letting her glider sink into the water. She’d recover it with magic later. Stable ground had never felt so good, and Leona wasted no time in launching herself for a deadly attack. The Wraith thought she’d be aiming for her, but Leona’s claws sought a different foe.
The woman in white was fast. She changed from bracing herself to charging forward in a mere instant. But she wasn’t fast enough. Leona’s claws sunk into the tiny Fen’s shoulder, ripping through muscle and sinew. They missed the lethal mark, but the message was clear as the Wraith threw her away with a cry of rage.
“Flor!”
Yes, yes that sound of anguish was what Leona lived for. It sent the previously calm Chimera into a frenzy. The woman charged Leona in a blind rage.
“Arianna!” Cvareh called after her, as he locked claws with Camile.
Leona dodged as the woman threw a golden dagger at her, then ducked when the Wraith pulled it back, hearing it whistle by the side of her head. This “Arianna” was a force unto her own. Like a thorny whip, a second dagger shot out from her hand, tethered to a golden line. Fearless, with complete disregard for her own well being, she launched at Leona headfirst.
“We have to go!” A man’s voice—not Cvareh—called from farther down the hall. “We can lose them in the Underground!”
The flurry of attacks didn’t stop.
“Arianna!” Cvareh kicked Camile in the chest, sending the other woman scrambling to avoid landing in the water.
Arianna ignored the Dragon. She continued, relentless. Leona grinned at her, and grabbed the dagger rather than dodging. Golden blood streamed down her wrist and elbow.
“If you don’t kill me now, I’ll hunt down your little pet. I’ll kill Florence,” Leona swore, wriggling as far as she could under the woman’s skin.
The Wraith inhaled sharply the instant she heard the name. The Chimera’s attacks were becoming sloppy, worked into a fever pitch. It was only a matter of time before—
Leona saw her opening. Her fingers tensed, and she jabbed her hand forward for the Chimera’s chest.
And they sunk into the side of Dragon flesh. Cvareh’s arms wrapped around the Fenthri woman as he grimaced aloud in pain. Arianna screamed at him in frustration and the sound was cut short as another piercing flare of magic assaulted her mind.