Bone Crier's Moon (Bone Grace, #1)(102)

She’s not going to give up now. She needs a fighting chance to finish ferrying.

I take a steeling breath, roll to the balls of my feet, and lower my candle to the trail of black powder.

A brilliant flame ignites. It rapidly snakes toward the nearest cask.

I bolt for the forest and send a prayer to Ailesse’s gods.





46

Ailesse

MY MUSCLES BURN AS I wrestle the last of the three Chained close to the swirling black dust. The man has an unrelenting grip on my shoulders. I slap the back of his elbows to stun him, and his hold on me weakens. I quickly hook my foot around his ankle and try to sweep out his legs. He doesn’t budge. My pulse throbs through my head.

He grapples for my shoulders again. I twist before he can grab me, and shove him backward.

He loses his balance, but doesn’t fall. I grit my teeth and shove him again. He finally tumbles through the Gate.

I lean my hands on my knees and struggle to catch my breath.

Chazoure flares from the hole of the mining shaft. My stomach tenses. I straighten, tightening my fists. The soul drops to the ground. No, no, no. Not him. Not yet.

He leers at me. “I thought I’d find you here.”

It’s the man with the broken nose, thick arms, and chains crisscrossed over his chest.

The one I fought in the quarry. The one who invaded Jules’s body.

I swallow hard. I’m too sapped of strength. And he’s too vicious and powerful. How much Light did he steal from Jules?

His nostrils flare, but his brow twitches when he looks past me to the Gate of dust. Its lure brought him here. “You can’t make me go to Hell. I don’t belong there.”

I lift my chin and square my shoulders. I won’t let him see my weakness. “Prove it. Take off your chains.”

He growls. He knows very well they’re irremovable. “I’ll kill you first.”

He launches onto the bridge.

I tense to spring over him with my falcon grace. I’m standing right in front of Tyrus’s Gate. If I’m quick enough, I can roll aside and he’ll barrel through.

In mere moments, he’s upon me. But he’s veering toward Elara’s Gate. I dive to block him, but even with my graced reflex, I’m too slow. He catches my leg. The sudden stop throws him off balance. He’s going to fall and pull me with him through the Gate. I kick and thrash. Adrenaline pummels through me, but I still don’t have the strength to overpower him. He doesn’t let go. He steadies himself and drags me up to my feet. His meaty hands have a vise grip on my arms.

“You’re the one who doesn’t deserve Paradise.” His breath is rancid. Chazoure spittle flies from his mouth. “Would you like to meet your own Hell? Look below.” I don’t. I know what I’ll see —a torturous drop into nothing. He sneers. “I’ll send you there.”

He moves to hurl me off the bridge. I fight to anchor my footing with my ibex grace, but he’s too strong. I fumble to unsheathe my knife. Just before the Chained throws me, I stab him in the stomach. He roars out in pain and releases me. I land ten feet back on the bridge, just shy of falling off the edge. My sixth sense weakly patters a warning, and I scramble to stand. The Chained is already running for me, his face ferocious.

“Goodbye, Bone Crier.”

I’m going to die.

A deafening boom splits the air. The force drives me to my knees.

Boom! Boom!

The middle of the ceiling shatters apart. A storm of dirt and splintered wood rains down on me.

I cover my head with my hands. Chunks of debris scrape my arms and back.

The bridge shudders beneath me. Fissures crack along the limestone. I frantically crawl forward, trying to reach the safety of the ledge.

The Chained hasn’t fallen off the bridge. He shields his eyes from the settling dust and rubble and rises to his feet. A deep fissure snakes toward him, but suddenly freezes as the bridge stops quaking. Everything silences except my ringing ears. The Chained charges at me again. I scramble backward. My mind is still rattled with shock. I don’t know what to do.

The last of the rubble clears. In that instant, a cool rush of energy sweeps into me. It radiates from the crown of my head to the tips of my fingers and the soles of my feet. My lungs expand. My heartbeat steadies. My blood surges with strength and Light. The sky has opened. The power of the moon and the stars reaches my bones and fires life into my graces.

I jump to my feet and bolt for the Chained man.

My fist connects with his jaw as we collide. His head jerks sideways. His hands grope out to strangle me, but I shove my knee into his gut and force him back again. He’s the tiger shark in the lagoon. He’s the bridge in view of Beau Palais. I welcome the challenge.

For every hit he gives me, I give him three. I leap over him and strike him from behind. When I receive a blow, I stumble back farther than I need to. It’s a ploy. I’m drawing him closer and closer to the Gate of the Underworld.

He’s so furious he doesn’t notice. I play on that rage. I laugh when I dodge him. I prod instead of punch him. He’s seething when I’m a yard away from the Gate. Energy pulses across my back, deeper than my sixth sense. The powerful lure of Tyrus’s realm. I clench my jaw and refocus on the Chained.

“Ailesse!” A distant shout comes from above. My heart seizes. Bastien. I can’t spare a moment to look at him. The Chained man is lunging at me.