City of Thorns (The Demon Queen Trials #1)(38)

I took a deep breath. My eyes stung a little, but that was it.

I pulled the gas mask all the way off and took a few breaths, then quickly slipped my night vision goggles back on. Backpack hoisted, I started to run. I was closing the distance now, only a half mile or so to the river.

As I zoomed between the trunks, a chill rushed through the air, and the trees became hazy through my night vision goggles. Before I could figure out what had happened, I slammed into a wall of ice. A jolt of pain shot through my skull as the force of the crash cracked my goggles. I ripped them off and stared around me at a large sphere of ice.

Nama had already trapped me in here, and I didn’t know how far away she was. But just as Orion had said, the ice was thin as glass.

As quickly as I could, I sprayed the ground around me with gasoline, then reached for the glass-breaking knife in my pocket. It didn’t look like much more than a bit of plastic, but hidden within the plastic was a blade that popped out on impact. I slammed it hard against the ice, and it shattered around me.

With a thundering heart, I grabbed my flamethrower. I flicked the lighter on, pressed the deodorant, and blasted flames at the ground. Fire erupted around me, and fear twisted my heart. I hated fire.

But Nama was still running for me, and I blasted flames in her direction using the Super Soaker and the homemade flamethrower. In the distance, I stared in a sickening sort of horror as her hair and clothes caught fire from the flames on the ground. She screamed, the sound curdling my blood.

My pulse raced out of control. She’s a demon, I reminded myself. She’ll get better.

I only had a half mile left to go, and I checked my watch.

Ten minutes.

I just had to survive ten minutes.

I started to run again, but this time, I couldn’t see the trees. I flicked on a light on the Apple Watch—which wasn’t ideal, since people might see it. But it was the only way I could see to avoid running into an unyielding trunk. I ran with the flamethrower in one hand, pumping my arms hard as I headed for the river. The backpack bounced behind me, and I bounded over roots and stones. I was sweating hard in my suit as my body overheated.

As I moved closer to the city, I could turn off the light on my watch, as the lights from the town square illuminated the forest.

Suddenly, I heard Lydia’s husky voice cut through the forest. “Demons, hear me! I’m following her trail! She’s by the river!”

So that’s how they’d been finding me, even through the stench of fox piss. They were tracking me through the woods, looking for the broken branches I’d left behind. And broken demons, too.

And now, Lydia was trying to summon all the demons to attack me at once.

Four minutes left.

Through the forest, I heard the bellowing of demon war cries—a deep, malignant sound that slid through my bones and sent my heart racing out of control. The ancient part of my brain was telling me to panic, that predators were coming for me. And for once, that anxious part of my brain was fucking right.

Get to the river, Rowan. Get there now.

The demons were coming to her call, bellowing for my blood. They were all heading for the river, closing in. Their otherworldly cries turned my blood to ice, and panic scraped up my spine. But I could see the river now through the trunks, glimmering in the lights from the Tower of Baal.

Three minutes left.

And what’s more, I could smell the scent of gasoline I’d poured out two hours ago.

It was time for the pièce de résistance—my real shock and awe.

When I reached the riverbank, I pulled out the flamethrower and flicked the lighter. As I touched the arc of flame to the ground, a wall of pure fire raced out from either side. I’d created a mouth to hell.

I leapt through the fire into the ice-cold Acheron River and swam down to the bottom, deep into the murk. Turning, I swam east for a moment and then I unzipped my fire suit. My lungs started to burn as I held my breath and stuffed the suit and tools into the backpack. I zipped it up and let it sink to the bottom, and then, my secret hidden, I swam to the northern bank.

And as I pulled myself out, I heard the sound of the klaxon blaring. There they were—the king standing by Orion’s side, waiting for me. My little victory party. A small crowd stood behind them, staring at me.

Holy fucking shit.

Holy fucking shit. I’d made it.

Joy surged through me. I’d survived. Maybe everything was going to be okay after all. Had I really done this?

Soaking wet, I hoisted myself onto the bank, trying to hide exactly how exhausted I was.

I saw the king raise his cocktail glass in a toast to me, and Orion’s pale eyes shone brightly in the darkness.

Under my fire suit, I’d been wearing a sleek black outfit—fitted black pants and a corset. If I weren’t soaked in river water, I might actually look pretty good right now.

As I stepped into the stony esplanade before the Tower of Baal, I raised my arms in victory and surveyed the demons around me. No one was exactly cheering at my survival, which seemed a bit rude. In fact, they looked a little pissed off.

And as the klaxon continued to blare, I felt a sharp tug at my wet hair, dragging me back onto the stones. I slammed down hard on the ground. The next thing I knew, Lydia was on top of me. She wrapped her hands around my throat and squeezed, fangs bared and a maniacal look in her eyes. Then she raised one of her hands, and gleaming claws burst forth.