The Shadowglass (The Bone Witch, #3)(84)
A blast of trumpets sounded below, and my thoughts spurred the azi into action. It swooped, and a fireball cut down a swath of soldiers in its path before most were even aware an attack had commenced. Desperate, they turned, fleeing the burning ground, many of them running straight into the Deathseekers’ line of fire. The flames they channeled from their hands were smaller than my daeva’s, but enough to accomplish their aims. Kalen’s Wind runes gleamed, mapping a constellation across the sky that goaded the fires into spreading among the demoralized Drychta. The Odalian army marched forward, fresh and eager to join the fight with the Yadoshans converging, cutting down enemy stragglers too slow to move out of their way.
A terrible rumbling came from the direction of the mountains. The azi’s heads huddled together and hissed, its mind prodding gently at mine, asking for control. I relinquished my hold, and it landed on the ground, sending troops from both sides scattering. Danger, it whispered to me, dangerdangerdanger.
“Tell the Odalians and the Deathseekers to retreat!” I barked at Kalen. “Something big is coming their way!”
“You heard the lady!” Kalen yelled back at the troops, amplifying Wind so that his voice carried clearly across the battlefield. “Stay back if you value your lives!”
The Odalians were quite willing to obey, the Yadoshans a shade more reluctant. “What is the azi telling you?” Kalen asked me tersely.
“I don’t know yet, but it feels foreboding.”
As soon as I said the words, I had a vision of scaled claws fighting their way up through the surface of the ground, dripping black, acid-like vomit in their wake. I clutched at Kalen’s arm. “The indar.”
“I don’t see any—”
My words proved prophetic. The ground moved beneath us without warning, a terrible earthquake that threw allies and enemies alike off their feet, as if the whole world trembled with fury. A fissure appeared before us and widened, the soil breaking apart as something black and malevolent scratched its way to the surface. The azi sneered, all three heads breathing contempt, as the new daeva cawed at the air with a high-pitched cry that I swore could be heard all the way to Istera.
“Back, men!” Knox shouted. This time the Yadoshans yielded, widening the distance between them and the terrible beast, which climbed out of the bowels of the earth. The indar was a tar-soaked abomination, and the ground underneath it sizzled as its foul-smelling secretions spread across the soil, burning the land with every drip. It was a monster with feathers and wings, if feathers and wings could be carved from stone. I knew that, like the azi, it could fly, though its heavy body ensured its flight was limited. And like the savul, its weapon of choice was poison secreted in heavy sacs underneath its limbs, serving as both projectile and armor.
“Keep away!” General Lode snapped. “Archers only! The rest, retreat and protect the king! Deathseekers, keep it busy!”
The azi and the indar circled each other. Kalen focused on channeling Shield runes in the air, and I added my strength to his as I burrowed the rest of myself into the azi’s movements. The indar’s mind was a swamp of putrid, undecipherable emotions, all of them hungry and sluggish, but I could detect the faintest human presence, nestled deep within the bog.
Druj. Who else could possess such skill? But while Aenah and Usij were quick to confront me head-on, using their force to barrel into my mind, overwhelm me, and take control of the azi, Druj’s thoughts slid away whenever I drew too close, evading my prodding with ease, much to my mounting frustration. The azi was the first to attack, all three heads lashing forward. The indar was quick, despite its bulk, and evaded the attempts. Like its possessor, it was content to move out of the way rather than attack, though its poisonous sweat still presented a danger. The azi growled as some of the poison spattered its skin. Pain flashed through our shared link.
“Hold on,” Kalen said through gritted teeth, and I felt him expand the Shield. I watched with amazement as his runes crept over the azi and covered it, a makeshift armor forged from spells.
Kalen was taking power from our Heartshare, I realized—and through me, the azi’s strength. I had linked with other asha before, but they had never been able to share the azi’s strength. I heard the fighting resume behind us; the other Deathseekers had banded together, attacking the indar with their own volley of spells and runes, though they distracted more than maimed. Some of the braver Odalian archers sent arrows bouncing off its hide, but the Yadoshans, more keen on inflicting genuine injuries, were busy sinking their swords into every Drychta they could reach.
I cursed quietly, wading through the thick mental mire to reach the indar’s core. Though the Deathseekers’ spells had little physical effect on the daeva, they were successful at diverting some of its attention away from me, allowing me to pinpoint the center of its thoughts. I sensed a faint struggle, some independent, reptilian aspect of its mind resisting Druj’s control.
But then the indar’s thoughts shifted. It turned from the azi, no longer interested in an offensive. It turned its attentions to the Odalians, toward the circle of soldiers protecting Kance, Likh, and Khalad.
“Protect the king!” Kalen snarled, even as I ordered the azi to block the indar’s path. But the indar threw its head back and brought its wings down in one violent motion. A fountain of black bile spewed out, arcing forward like a sickly rainbow, showering its surroundings with its poison. I saw some of the Deathseekers switch to the defensive, forming Shield runes of their own, protecting a bulk of the army from the acid. But I watched, sickened, as some were not as lucky.