The Shadowglass (The Bone Witch, #3)(110)
Lord Fox avoided the beast’s long arms as she swiped at him. He feinted to one side, waiting for the blighted to snap at him, then dodged right, shoving the tip of his blade forward. It sank deep into her chest, where her heart should have been, but the creature only yowled. When the man removed his blade, it had melted from the strength of her poison. He now carried only a hilt. He swore.
“Keep her distracted,” Lord Kalen grunted, still slashing at her tail between the daeva’s flurry of assaults. The thick scales were as hard as the finest armor, and he left little more than nicks and small cuts in his wake. “Tea, fall back!” His voice was raw. “Let us…”
“There’s no time! Tea can’t keep this up!” Lord Fox discarded his sword and barreled toward the blighted, runes protecting him as he climbed up her legs to her waist. She shrieked and scratched at him, but his hands were already digging deep into her stomach, seeking the heartsglass encased within.
“No!” ripped out of the Dark asha’s throat, and the earth shuddered beneath us. The ground rose, a tsunami of dirt and soil, and as I stared at the crest of a sand-wave, I realized that the dead around us were rising along with it. The Drychta men who had served Druj were turning against the Faceless; undead hands grabbed at her, ignoring the hiss of acid as it burned through their rotting flesh.
Still wailing, the Dark asha raised her palm, and the daeva attacked. The Druj beast attempted to fend them off, but they were too many, even for her.
Lord Kalen abandoned his assault and rushed to his brother familiar’s aid, but a flash of the blighted’s tail put him back on the defensive. I heard Lady Zoya panting, struggling to extend her shield toward the two familiars.
The dead soldiers distracted the blighted woman, but her tail was unguarded. It sang through the air, dripping black, aimed toward Lord Fox. None of the compelled soldiers were close enough to stop her blow.
There was a blur of red and gold, then the tail struck the ground harmlessly, missing its target. The Dark asha had dashed forward and dragged her brother to safety, but not without a price.
Another howl cleaved the air, but this time it was from Lord Kalen when he saw her stagger and fall. The soldiers surrounding the Faceless stumbled, a few disintegrating, but Lady Zoya was quick to take advantage. Despite her earlier warnings to Lord Kalen, Wind curled around Druj’s tail, forcing it deep into the sands to keep it from seeking out another target.
The daeva hesitated, and while I could tell the asha remained linked to them, she no longer had a hold over them. For a moment, they twisted their heads to and fro in confusion, not used to the lack of Compulsion that goaded their actions. The Faceless shrilled, shaking off the rest of the undead Drychta.
The azi attacked the Druj beast first. Its three heads sank down, heedless of the poison and its own pained roars. The decision made, the rest of the daeva joined in, teeth snapping and limbs flailing as they fought to defend their mistress.
Part of the Dark asha’s hua had dissolved, and she was clearly in pain. The flesh on her shoulder had been burned off, and I had little time to see how deep the damage went before Lord Khalad appeared, blocking her injuries from my line of sight, frantically working to heal her with the Deathseeker.
Druj’s bile stripped the Drychta of their flesh and charred their bones, but despite the agony, the daeva hung on, grips tightening. For now, with the daeva attacking all at once, the creature was immobile.
“You idiot.” Lord Fox’s face was a wreck; the poison had eaten into his cheekbones and the curve of his jaw, showing more bone than skin.
The bone witch’s quiet laughter was tucked in between soft mews of hurt. “No more than you.”
“Hush,” the Heartforger instructed, ripping cloth from his own robes, mopping up as much bile as he could and tossing the remnants away as the poison burned through the fabric. He ripped more strips.
“C-can’t,” the Dark asha gasped, gently pushing herself out of Lord Kalen’s embrace. “Khalad, see to Fox. I have to end this, as I promised.”
26
I continued to sing for what seemed like hours, long after Kalen’s body turned cold. The azi had quieted, watching me with golden eyes, tired of taking so long to die. Its body continued to spasm, and it wept.
As my song drew to a close, the beast drew a deep, warm sigh. Good-bye, it whispered into my head, and then it crumbled into ashes. All that remained of it was the bezoar at my feet, shining a bright, immutable silver.
They found me shortly after that, exhausted and weak, Kalen in my arms, with Likh and Khalad still unconscious nearby. “We could arrest you,” Hestia said. Their retinue was a small affair, a cluster of old women bereft of bodyguards. During the chaos of Mithra’s Wall, they had left Ankyo unannounced to hunt for me themselves. I did not know how they achieved this without Empress Alyx knowing, but that didn’t matter anymore. “We could bring you to Ankyo and charge you with murder.”
They intend to keep this a secret like they do everything else, I thought, and a sudden urge to giggle overcame me. “Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”
“Princess Inessa, however, is a hindrance. She and her mother do not wish you dead, as to spare your brother’s life. I will be honest, Tea. When you fled Ankyo, we had intended to kill you the next day. We have had time to discuss the matter and recognize that would have been a rash decision. To carry out your execution will invite hostility and retaliation from she who will one day become empress.”