Page 50 of Leviathan's Song
Rousing them now made my skin prickle a little bit, partly due to how dangerous they were, but mostly because of the immense amount of magic flowing between us as I began to change Leothen’s directive.Come with me. Obey.
Dust began to fall, followed by abandoned bird nests and other debris as Leothen began to right himself in what sounded like a slowly grinding avalanche. I skittered out of the archway, followed closely by Levi, who was sticking to my side like glue. His face wore a mixture of excitement, awe, and horror.
Leothen ducked low under the arch and stepped over the short row of stairs, straightening to his full height on the nearest open patch of grass to the crypt. I felt a little drained, almost winded, but that had come easier than I expected.
Now for the fun one, I thought wryly.
Chapter 19
Domm’s magicalmost seemed eager when I touched it this time. There was something tricksy in the undercurrent, though it was difficult to describe. It reminded me of the slippery playfulness of the fae, almost as if the stone itself had retained some of their magic as well as whatever distant ancestor had poured his or her power into Domm.
I narrowed my eyes at the construct and focused my magical grip more tightly on the heartstone. There was more going on here than just “watch and defend.” It felt like he had other connections, similar to how Ryo was set up to interface with various magical objects around our house. Maybe that was where my father had gotten the idea?
Shrugging off the weird echoes resonating in the magic, and trying not to let my mind drift to the construct I’d powered up in college that had damaged the campus, I strained harder to feed more of my magic into his heartstone. Perspiration beaded on my skin as I fought to change the instructions imprinted on the golem. It felt like I was sitting atop a wild mustang, unsure if it would obey my commands or fling me from his back.
The two vertical slits in Domm’s faceplate lit from within, glowing a deep ochre color as he began to animate and turned his head to face us. I startled, stepping back a bit, and noted Levi had done the same and was swearing a blue streak. When I glanced back, he had his hands raised slightly toward me, as if he were planning to grab me and run.
I pushed harder at his heartstone with my magic, suddenly nervous that maybe I wasn’t strong enough to call him with us. I felt myself begin to pant slightly with the exertion and dipped into one of my power amplifiers to add more energy to my commands. As I did, though, I noticed there were places in his energy that felt immovable.
I could probably layer more commands on top of his previous ones, but removing his old directive felt impossible. I ground my teeth and pushed everything I had into weaving my will in around the currently placed instructions. They definitely had something to do with fae magic, but I couldn’t pinpoint the specifics.
Come with me. Obey.
My skin crawled a little bit as I felt his power respond to mine, and more slits on his body began to light up from within. Some lit and some didn’t, causing patterns that looked like runes to glow from his chest and arms, all with the same strange ochre cast as his ‘eyes’.
I realized I had both my arms raised, and I was breathing heavily as if I had run a distance. And though I was suddenly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to take a breather, I had to scramble out of the way again instead.
Dust rained down amid the deafening roar of hundreds of boulders grinding against each other as Domm unfurled himself and crawled out of the room. The spiked protrusions on his back barely cleared the archway as he stepped over the staircase and onto the grass.
I half expected the ground to shake with the golem’s movements, but other than the stones in their feet (and in Domm’s case, his fists) most of their bodies were actually levitating. As they stretched to their full height the sounds of the stones clashing occurred less often, the gaps between them increasing to allow for better movement.
A glance at my mother on the balcony showed her fists both pressed to her mouth, in what I assumed was anxiety. But other than my unease with some of Domm’s unknown previous programming—and my power exhaustion—I felt pretty good about my control over the golems and the trip ahead. I waved to show her all was well and got a tentative wave in return.
Levi had an entirely different reaction. I turned to find he had the backs of his fingers pressed over his mouth, only he was trying to hide a huge grin and his eyes were excited and sparking with heat.
“That—” He pointed at me. “—washot. Why was that so hot? I’m pretty sure I just discovered a brand-new kink, and I don’t really know how I feel about it.”
“I… what?” His magic was so forceful that I just blinked repeatedly as my cheeks heated, and thanked my lucky stars my mother wasn’t in ear-shot. Even with my ward, the enchantments felt seductive and sultry, and when paired with his sudden words I was left a little stunned. But…pleased.
I wondered what my face looked like and decided it was probably best not to know.
“I’m strangely aroused right now, and I don’t think I could explain it if my life depended on it.” My eyes started to drift down to see the evidence of his admission before I caught myself, and I jerked my gaze back up to meet his. His smirk looked like a dare.
We stared at each other in silence for a moment while I briefly fantasized about what it would feel like if he—nope, mom is totally staring at us from the balcony right now. My glance toward the house served to remind Levi as well, and he shook himself out and braced a hand against the stone column next to him.
He glanced behind him toward the back of the crypt. “So, what’s that one?” he asked, changing the subject. His enchantment hadn’t lost much of its lure.
“That’s Raald, a fire caster. Not much use underwater, which is why we’re leaving him, but our records say he has a casting range of at least a kilometer.” I barely made out Levi’s low oath as he turned to stare at the fire golem, with its windswept hair and feathered wings, looking as if it had simply been frozen in stone.
“And these guys?” Levi gestured to the activated golems waiting for me on the lawn.
“These are juggernauts.” I gestured to each as I spoke. “Leothen is purely melee. I thought Domm was as well, but he seems to have some fairy magic layered into his heartstone, and I can honestly say I have no idea what it’s for. I can modify it, but I can’t replace it, and I’m a little uneasy about that.”
Levi’s eyes narrowed at Domm. “Do you know what the runes say?”
“Nope. They’re not elvish, or anything I recognize. You?”
He shook his head. “Could be a dead language, perhaps. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He frowned and glanced between the three constructs. “These things could crush an entire army. Or, leading an army, could conquer an entire nation. And they’re just sitting here, collecting dust at your family’s estate.”
