Page 117 of Bargain with Fate
—and then Vale’s sword came down.
The impact split the night.
Light shattered like glass. The shock wave rippled the fountain water outward in a violent ring. Two sorcerers were thrown off their feet.
I ran left.
One of them pivoted toward me, chanting fast, hands weaving tight circles. The air thickened—gravity twisting. My knees buckled as the ground tried to swallow me.
“Not gonna happen,” I muttered.
I hurled my dagger low. It sliced through the faerie’s focus, embedding in his thigh.
Then I was on him.
Blade across his palm first to disarm the spellcaster. Then across the throat. Hot blood. The spell collapsed, and the pressure vanished.
They were down but not defeated. Death wasn’t an option for them, only for us.
A blast of heat roared past my ear. I ducked, rolled, came up with the longer sword in hand now—steel forged for monsters, runes etched faint along the fuller. A sorcerer stood near the fountain, the tips of his hair rustling in the breeze, eyes glowing molten.
He lifted both hands, ready to crush me with a spell.
Gage appeared behind him, but the sorcerer was ready. He whirled and slammed a palm into Gage’s chest. Light exploded. He flew backward, skidding across grass, smoke rising from his body.
Rage sparked in my veins.
I sheathed my sword and pulled the chain from my belt—silver links weighted with hooked blades at either end. I snapped it once, twice, feeling its balance.
The sorcerer sent a wave of force.
I greeted it with a kiss of steel. The impact stole my breath, but momentum carried me through. I spun the chain wide; one hooked blade caught his wrist mid-cast. I yanked hard. Bone cracked. His spell misfired, blasting harmlessly into the sky.
I closed the distance and drove another dagger up beneath his ribs.
His glow sputtered out.
Behind me, Gage bellowed.
Two sorcerers combined their magic, weaving something darker now—shadows pooling at their feet, rising like tar. Not elemental. Not clean.
Possession magic.
The shadow lunged for Gage’s sword arm, trying to crawl inside him.
He faltered; the weapon fell.
I sprinted, but Vale was closer.
“Vale!” I shouted. “Gage!”
Gage dropped to one knee, muscles locking as the shadow crawled over his skin like oil.
The Coranians chanted faster.
Vale’s celestial blade cleaved through both sorcerers at once. Flames rippled over darkness, forcing it back.
Gage was free.
