The Heart Forger (The Bone Witch #2)(117)
Twelve of the elders had undergone differing anomalies, though all resulted in the same kind of horrors: a bison-like creature with an armadillo’s armor; a snake that stood several yards high with a long forked tongue, six hoofs, and a spiked horn that grew at the end of its tail; another with the jaws of a crocodile and the wings of a dragon; a praying mantis ten feet tall, with eight legs that ended in hooked talons.
Mistress Hestia was gone, and the ripped remains of her hua were the only evidence she had once been a woman. In her place was a nightmare: a terrifying beast with a beak and the facade of a rooster but with lion’s arms and a sentient tail of snake heads. Her wings fluttered, growing several feet on either side of her body, and three-pronged horns adorned her head in a terrifying mockery of a crown. Like the others, her silver heartsglass was fused to her chest, shining faintly.
“Impossible!” Lady Mykaela cried out. “They’ve been blighted!”
The horned rooster crowed, laid its beady eyes on the bone witch, and opened its mouth. Something that looked like blue fire erupted from its beak, lancing straight toward her.
Fox leaped for the Dark asha, as did the Deathseeker. Magic sparked around Lord Kalen, and Lord Fox pulled Lady Tea to the ground, shielding her body with his own. But it was the savul that moved quickest, throwing itself in front of its mistress, shrieking as the intense fire burned through its skin. It sank to its knees.
Red-hot flames blazed atop Lord Kalen’s hand, arching toward the hideous asha-beast. Almost at the same time, Lady Mykaela lifted her arms and lightning rained down from the sky. But the creature simply ducked its head, and both attacks glanced harmlessly off its hide.
“They are invulnerable to magic, just as daeva are!” I gasped.
“Send the rest of the soldiers back!” Fox all but snarled to his men, lifting himself up. “Protect the empress and the princess at all costs, but do not engage in this fight! Asha and Deathseekers, to me!”
“Fox,” the bone witch said softly. “Thank you.”
“Habits are hard to break,” he said shortly, helping Lady Tea back to her feet.
“See to Inessa’s safety first. Whatever you say, we both know I am no longer your priority. As it should be.”
“Tea—”
“Go to her, Fox. If I die, then I will not deny you any minute you can spend with her.” The rest of her daeva raced forward, teeth and claws bared, and when the first blows came, the world shook.
The daeva had been waiting long to fight. The nanghait drew first blood, savage fangs ripping into one of the snakelike asha-beasts, and the latter roared out its hurt, proof they could still be harmed.
The aeshma rolled itself into a large ball of metallic spikes and plunged through the monsters, tearing skin and bones as it went. The asha-beast that was once the Elder Hestia snapped at the taurvi, its beak sharp and poisonous, and the taurvi collapsed, whining. The savul and the akvan rushed to its aid.
Both Lord Kalen and Lady Mykaela had abandoned all attempts to fight the asha-beasts and began their retreat, though the Deathseeker stayed close to the bone witch. “Leave, Mykkie!” the Dark asha shouted at her mentor. “This is not a fight you can win!”
“I will not leave you, Tea!” The older woman raised both her hands and the asha-beasts paused, reeling as if dazed, struggling to shake off her control.
“Fox, take the bard and get out of here!”
The familiar obeyed, grabbing me and lifting me up on his horse with little effort. I looked behind me and saw the winged serpent shake free from the enchantment Lady Mykaela had cast. Already it was leaping toward the woman, its mouth horribly agape. Tea screamed once, and then I saw nothing else as the azi bathed my vision with more fire, obscuring my view as Lord Fox’s horse broke into a dead run away from this battle of titans.
30
They knew. Those were the words running through my head over and over, even as Aenah stepped past us toward King Vanor. They knew we were coming to the crypts, and they had planned for it. There were wards around the royal tombs, which were dormant until Aenah had activated them. Now her compulsion was strong enough to batter our defenses.
Frantic, I sought out the azi still on a rampage around the city. For a moment, its thoughts touched mine—only to be wrenched away as Aenah severed our connection.
“No, little lady. We wouldn’t want that.”
I had lost my hold on King Vanor, but he remained upright, no doubt now under Aenah’s influence. His eyes stared unseeingly at the wall before him, paying the Faceless and his brother no attention.
“Father?” Khalad quavered.
“Surprised?” Aenah asked, smiling. She bent down and slipped the protection stone off my neck. “You should thank Lady Mykaela. It was she who told Telemaine that you were skulking about the catacombs, hoping he would station a guard there. As you can see, Telemaine took Mykaela’s advice to heart. And doing so has gone better than expected, my Tea. Usij was an eyesore. I had hoped to imbue you with runes and point you in his direction so I would have one less rival for shadowglass, whichever of you won. You have performed your task admirably.”
“A liar, as always,” I hissed.
“I spoke no lie. My offer to join our cause was genuine. You have always been a true child of the Dark, Tea. I knew it the instant our minds first touched.”