Beside me three other Guardians were sucked into the ground. Debris fell and covered where they’d fallen. One disappeared into an eruption of flames. A skeletal figure leapt out and grabbed another one by the foot. It sucked him back down into the earth as he dug his hands into the ground in an attempt to fight back and ultimately losing. I’d never forget the sheer look of horror on his round, chubby face for as long as I live. Some competitors clung to narrow shelves of rock in the cliff face by the tips of their fingers. The steep rock faces crumbled and crushed their bodies. My stomach shot up into my throat while I continued to fall deeper into nothingness.
The cannon the Queens told us about boomed over and over again. Each boom signaled one Knight hopeful after another fell victim to the elements of the underworld. Are they all dead? Shit they’re dead. I’d been told this would happen, but nothing could prepare me to see the carnage. I wanted to shift and catch them all, I wanted to help them fight. But I couldn’t, I had to protect Niche, it was duty.
I tucked Niche closer to my chest. When I finally did stop falling it was going to hurt. My mind raced. I had to think of a way to save us both. At the bottom of the pit a dim red light glowed against the jagged bottom warned me I was running out of time before I landed. The mark on my neck burned hotter than ever before. The warmth moved through my body and centered in my back.
I forced the flames out of my back, and my plummet slowed to a drift. Out of the corner of my eye I saw what looked like wings made of fire flapping behind me. My wings? What in the hell? My pulse raced in my veins. I’d never heard of any phoenix half-shifting to use wings of fire. This was something new for my race. How was I going to explain this to Blackwing?
I let the power soar through me and out toward my wings. The cavern was too narrow to fully extend my wings and fly back up. All I could do was hold them out just enough to drift downward in the hope of a soft landing.
Green smoke seeped up from the cracks in the ground and heat licked at my face as my feet slammed into the ground. Not such a light landing. Where am I? I thought back to Nova’s power over death and Tabitha’s power over earth. This deep underground place seemed like a mix of their powers. Large dark cavernous walls, the stench of death hung in the air, and in the distance I heard wails of sorrow and pain. There was only one place I could be. The underworld. Evermore was made up of many different Kingdoms and supernatural beings. As a child I learned of the underworld where the supernatural Greek, Hades, prowled alongside Lucifer. So much power, and so much history took place here. I wanted to explore to see if all the tales I’d heard were true, of the battles between the Fallen and Lucifer were true and if Hades was indeed working for Lucifer, but I didn’t have time for that.
I had a task to complete and a Knighthood to obtain. But how would I get her back to the surface? In the darkness I couldn’t spot a way out. There had to be a way. As my eyes adjusted to the light I glanced around for a tunnel that would lead me somewhere. Anywhere. That’s when ice blue eyes caught my attention. A deep growl came from with in the shadows, I froze in place. It was a rumbling that came through sharpened clenched teeth, like a dog’s. I backed up to the cavern wall and gently placed Niche on the ground directly behind me. I summoned my dual flaming swords to my hands and the area around me lit up like midday. Sweat gathered on my forehead and ran down the back of my neck.
Glowing eyes reflected in the darkness and another competitor slipped from the shadows. His muscles bulged beneath large veins. Thick hair sprang out all over his body. His fingers sharpened into claws and, if it were possible, he grew bigger. Fangs extended down past his lips. Half wolf, half man. His eyes were locked on one thing…Niche.
“Give her to me, bird.” He took a step toward me.
I held my swords loosely letting my wrists move them as though they were an extension of my arms. “Not a chance in hell, dog.”
He lifted his arms wide and motioned to the cavern around us. “I believe we’re already there.”
Without another word the wolf charged at me. I stepped up so I could get a safe distance between the wolf and Niche, without leaving her open to be stolen from me. His stride ate up the distance between us. Halfway to me he dove and brought his claws straight toward my throat. I lifted my sword across my chest and met his swing blow. I stopped his claws a mere inch from slicing my throat. I threw my arms forward and forced him back, blood welled across his hands. “Birdie has a sharp beak.”
“It’s our job to defend her, you heard the Queens. Protect her, not fight over her.” I kept my stance loose and ready for his next attack. He tried to circle around me, but I kept him by changing my footing each time he moved.
Blood seeped from the wounds on his hands and dripped onto the cave floor. He shook them out. “I don’t care, it’s my job to protect her and I will.”
I motioned between the two of us. It didn’t have to be like this between us. “If you insist.”
I extinguished my swords and gathered a ball of fire in the palm of my hand. I wound up and threw it at the center of his chest. The ball exploded, covering his upper body in flames. The werewolf dropped to the ground and howled and rolling in the dirt. He smacked his hands over his chest trying to pat out the blaze clinging to his hairy body. I stood back to watch the flames continue to burn. “Enough of this. Do you concede?”
In his deep, gravelly voice he howled, “Yes! Yes.”
I raised my hand high above my head and opened it wide and called to the flames with my mind. I sucked the ball back in reverse, they left the smoking wolf and gathered into a sphere at the center of my palm. “If you come at me again I will not take them back next time.”
With heaving breaths, he rose to his feet, glowering at me from hooded eyes. Smoke billowed from his charred skin. “This isn’t over.”
“Oh, I bloody think it is, lad.” Grayson, the vampire, melted out of the shadows. “I’d say the wittle wuppy got spanked.”
The wolf turned toward him. “Stay out of this, leech.”
Grayson shook his head and gave a toothy smile. “Words hurt, pup.”
I didn’t know what the hell was going on or who I could trust. I kept that swirling ball of fire in the palm of my hand, ready to toss it at a moment’s notice. Then, to my left, the wall started shimmering, as though it consisted of a pool of water rather than hardened stone.
A well-polished designer boot stepped through it, followed by tailored pants, and then Beckett popped his head in. His blond hair fell into his face as he unfolded himself to join the three of us in the cavern. “We’ve got a bird, a dog and a leech. Sounds like a bad joke waiting to happen.”
Not another one. I enhanced the flames in my hands, they grew brighter and bigger. “I think we had all better go our separate ways.”
“I disagree, Phoenix.” Grayson leapt up onto a small overhang about fifty feet above us all. His eyes locked on Niche’s sleeping form. “There is power in numbers. And who knows what obstacles you may face down here. Our priority ought to be her. Don’t you think?”
Yes, I do. I stepped to the side, blocking his view of her. “And how do I know you won’t betray me the first chance you get?”
He shrugged. “You don’t.”
Directly behind the wolf a set of feline eyes appeared in the darkness. My flames reflected in the yellow of his eyes. Brax, the tiger shifter, slipped from the shadows, a staggering six feet eight inches of pissed-off feline. He wore only a low-slung pair of camo pants, his bare feet dug into the ground beneath him. I saw the faintest hint of stripes across his pale chest. “Yes, let us be done with this.”
Russian? “I think we’ve got enough contenders at this party.”
The wolf charged at me. “Mine.”
I stifled the urge to roll my eyes as I tossed another ball of fire in his direction. This time it caught his pants, lighting them on fire. Yet he didn’t stop. He flew at me with his claws extended and fangs bared. Then, there before me, a portal opened up, swallowing the wolf who
le. He had vanished from sight. Everyone froze, looking toward Beckett.
He glanced around the cavern. “What? I was tired of dealing with him. Clearly, he didn’t listen to the rules of the game. The first challenge is to protect her, not try to steal her from one another.”
Even I had to admit he had a point. “Then we are in agreement. No stealing the little witch from me until we figure out what exactly we are up against. Can you portal us to the top?”
He shook his head. “No go. My portals are being tampered with. The magic of the Trials is severely limiting their capabilities. I was lucky to make it to you. And with Niche in tow, I wouldn’t risk it. We could end up hanging over a lava pit.”
“Fair enough. Then we have to get out the old-fashioned way.”
Once I got a nod from each of them I turned to scoop her up into my arms. If I hadn’t known she was under the influence of a potion I’d might’ve thought she’d died. Her head lulled back and those long, fire-engine red locks drape so low they almost touched the ground. Her features were so soft. All my life I had older brothers, and now holding her in my arms I felt as though she were a little sister in need of protecting.
The wall behind Brax rumbled. Small stones tumbling off of it and dust rising up around us. Brax turned and stumbled back to stand next to me. “What is this?”
Definitely Russian. I took a step back and felt the cool press of the stone against my skin. We were between a rock and a hard place. Grayson hoped down to join us and Beckett came to stand beside Brax. In a straight line with our backs to a cave wall we faced whatever was about to come at us.
The walls exploded inward sending boulders, dust, and shards of rock flying at us. I turned away and threw my body over Niche’s to protect her from the debris. Rocks pelted my back and bare arms covering me in stinging cuts and scrapes. When it settled an eerie silence fell over us.
I glanced at the hole opposite us, wonder what would come next. “Is that—?”
A deafening roar echoed through the tunnel, I fought the urge to cover my ears. The mark on my neck smoldered, warning me of danger headed my way. My pulse raced and I summoned my sword. Pounding footsteps surged forward. I held my ground and sucked in a deep panting breaths. A tide of bodies swarmed forward, each of them reaching out their decaying hands ready to grab at whoever or whatever they could.
I gritted my teeth. “I hate Reanimants!” I’d seen them in my studies and they’d always made my skin crawl. In person they were worse than I could ever image.
Each corpse was more disgusting than the next, and we were surrounded by dozens. Their skin hung loose from their bodies. Limbs and facial features were missing. Their disgusting frames were barely concealed by strips of dirty clothes. A low hum of muted groaning hung in the air. The stench of rotting flesh was something I’d never get out of my mind.
“Bloody zombie bastards.” Grayson reached into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out two ninja throwing stars. He gave me a sideways glance. “You ready, Phoenix?”
I nodded. “I’m ready, Vamp.” I gestured with my chin at the stars. “Those only good for one throw?”
“Do I look like an amateur?” He held one of them up, the flames from my sword glinting in the shiny metal. “Mystically-enforced to return when I command it.”
“Very nice.”
On the other side of me, Brax, the tiger shifter, grew incredibly bigger. His muscles filled out and a coat of striped orange-and-black fur covered his body. The claws tipping his fingers lengthened to long, black daggers. “I am in.”
As the tide of Reanimants came closer, I held my sword up. Out of the corner of my eye I saw blue light gathering in Beckett’s palms. With the flick of his wrist he threw the sphere at the first Reanimant. It burst into glittering dust which floated to the ground.
I looked on in shock for a moment. “That work on Evermoreans too?”
He shrugged. “I wouldn’t know.”
Scary.
Like a burst dam, the Reanimants surged forward. Brax leapt into the fray and slashed with his claws. Dark brown globs of our attackers dripped from his claws all over the floor. One came toward me, his hands extending for Niche. I swung my sword and two hands dropped to the ground. But he wouldn’t stop. With what was left of his arms he charged forward. I spun out of his path and slashed his body clean through. His torso slid off his legs and both pieces collapsed in a heap of decaying body parts. When I moved to attack from another angle, throng all turned toward me.
I ducked to the other side again. They turned with me. “They’re locked on to her.” Fire pumped through my veins
Grayson stood at my side, tossing and catching those stars as though they were frisbees rather than sharp blades. “What’s your plan?”
I surveyed the cave. My gaze landed on a small hole of light at the top. “Up and out.”
“What about those fire wings I just saw? Can you fly out?” Beckett threw sphere after sphere of magic in all directions.
Still they poured in, so many that they crowded themselves. They knew that they had us cornered, and every one that we took down was replaced through the opening. With our team surrounded, they crept closer.
I saw that the higher the cave went the narrower it became. “Not sure there’s enough room for my wings to flap that high up. Gliding down was easy, but up? Not so much.”
“Then we climb.” Brax leapt to my side, covered in gore.
I nodded and tried to catch my breath. “Agreed. I’ll need cover fire.”
Just as the words left my mouth a volley of arrows took down the Reanimants closest to me. A pebbled tumbled down smacking me in the shoulder. When I glanced up I saw a being I’d never thought I’d encounter, a noble elf. I’d always pictured them in tights and thatched vests. I knew I was wrong the second I saw her skinny jeans and black long-sleeved shirt. Though I hadn’t seen her in the competition before, there she was. Her long, sandy blond hair was plated into braids that hung beside her pointed ears.
She drew her bow back and fired off the arrows so quickly that her hands were a blur of action. “Your cover fire. Move.”
I leapt up to sit next to her on the rocky overhang. “Thanks.” I adjusted Niche in my arms. Though she was slight, the muscles in my arms were tense with the effort of holding her for such a long period of time.
When the elf looked at me with forest green eyes, I felt like she saw straight down into my soul. She canted her head to the side in a small bow. “A pleasure, Prince.”
Prince? I hadn’t been called a prince in over ten years. Hearing the title made me inwardly flinch. Prince was never something I’d be. Especially after the Trials became a priority. “Call me Tuck.”
“I am Ashryn.” She motioned to the Reanimants, which were crawling on top of each other to form a pile to get to me. “And I think it’s time to go.”
Grayson leapt up onto a shelf only five feet higher than ours and pointed. “Look, they’re struggling.”
Brax and Beckett were falling back from the mountain of scrambling undead. In seconds they were pinned to the walls with hands tearing at their throats. People die in the Trials. Beckett’s hands were pinned to his sides, not letting him create a portal or any magic. These two helped me. I’d be damned before I left them to die under a mound of bodies. Smothered to death.
I shot to my feet. “Gray! Catch!”
I jumped up then tossed Niche into his waiting arms. I twisted my body in mid-leap and extended my arm to shoot flames at the corpses pinning down Beckett. They disintegrated to piles of ash around him. Beckett shot up and created a portal at his feet. With a single step he dropped through and was gone.
“Over here.” He called out from another ledge ten feet higher than Grayson.
“I thought you didn’t want to portal?” I shouted.
“I don’t mind risking myself!”
The pile shifted toward Gray, each stinking Reanimate trying to claw its way to Niche. “I can’t leap with her!”
I caught myself on the shelf just below him, hanging by my finger tips. I planted my feet against the wall and shoved back to leap over the cavern once more. “This way!”
He threw her toward me and I snatched her out of the air. One Reanimant jumped up with its hand extended toward my shirt. Its fingers brushed against me. Before it could take hold an arrow protruded through its head from the other side, knocking the Reanimant back. I landed on a ledge at the other side of the cavern just above the noble elf. “Thanks, Elf.”
She pulled her bowstring taut and let another arrow fly. “It’s Ashryn or Ash, whatever you like.”
Beckett was just above Gray, yet still higher than me. He waved his arm to draw my attention. “This way.”
I froze. “We can’t keep doing it this way. We’ve got to have a plan.” I glanced around, spotting all the small shelves in the rock face that would bring us closer to the top. “Beckett, I’ll toss her to you first, then I’ll get Brax. You three leap as high as you can. Pass her back and forth until we reach that hole up there. Keep the Reanimants from building up too high at any particular point. That way they can’t make progress so quickly.”
I pointed to the small beacon of light at the top of the cave then glanced down to where Brax was trapped from the waist down by a pile of severed limbs. Even now he struggled to keep the corpses at bay. “Ready and go.”
I hoisted Niche higher in my arms and then hurled myself forward. At the last second, I tossed Niche into Beckett’s waiting arms. I leapt forward as I forced the blazing wings from my back and drifted down toward Brax. I flung balls of fire all around him, taking care not to burn him. When his legs were freed I landed next to him. “You ready? Can you jump?”
He gave me a wide-eyed nod then tensed his muscles the way a house cat might, a second before he shot up into the air. Above me the others were leaping from one side of the cave to the other while they wove their way to the top. I smiled to myself, I’d saved Niche from these Reanimants. The Trial no longer mattered, I’d done what I was trained to do and it felt amazing. I leapt up behind Brax and followed him quickly toward the group. Soon we were all at the top, clinging to the edge of the hole.
Wicked Trials Page 6