Page 116 of Bargain with Fate
“We can’t kill you with a weapon,” I said, “but from what I can tell, you’re quite capable of intense suffering.” I glanced over his shoulder. “Right, Mordred?”
“I wouldn’t describe it as intense,” Mordred replied. “It was only a flesh wound.”
My smile broadened. “Room for improvement, then.”
All the humor drained from Mordred’s face.
Urien stuck his fingers in his mouth and let loose a shrill whistle. I got the impression he was mocking Vale’s earlier signal.
Across the lawn, the sorcerers formed a crescent—dark trench coats, pale hands, strange sigils already burning faintly in gold along their wrists. Their magic tasted like copper and old storms. The fountain gurgled behind them, water catching the moonlight, oblivious to the rising tension.
“Last chance,” Vale called. His voice carried—commanding, ancient like his father. “Walk away.”
The demigod stood perfectly still, poised with the fury of a tempest. An ice storm brewed in his eyes, and his skin shimmered with faint traces of celestial light. He was ready for this.
And so was I.
My blade hummed, a low, resonant note that vibrated in my bones.
The fae answered with fire.
Sigils flared. The air fractured. A bolt of white-gold force tore across the lawn.
Everybody seemed to scatter at once. I dodged left. Vale clashed with Urien. I chose the faerie directly in front of me, one of the three we hadn’t fought in Reynolds Square. He was unnaturally tall, with a shock of white-blond hair that stood straight up, and he wore the same trench coat and boots as his fae friends.
“Did you get a discount on your matching outfits?” I asked. “Who am I kidding? You probably stole them with your fake money, just like you steal everything else.”
“Do you mean to insult me? I feel no remorse for our actions. We steal from the humans as they have stolen from us.”
“Humans aren’t your enemy.”
“They are the reason we were cast out of our home, forced to live as strangers in our own lands.”
“No, the Fates and the gods are the reason. Mortals were the excuse.”
I matched his energy, outwardly calm but with a predatory sharpness. My hair, now a mass of coiling snakes, hissed in anticipation. My appearance was so serene, I wondered whether the others sensed my barely restrained chaos.
My blade struck his magic shield. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Cowboy and Nina holding their own against a scythe-wielding faerie.
Forsyth Park was now a supernatural battleground.
With a wave of his hand, Urien unleashed a spell that split the air like a whip. Shadow energy emanated from the invisible line. I lunged forward, my dagger glowing bright in the darkness, and met the blast with a swift swipe that split the dark magic into shards of blackened light. They fell to the ground in jagged pieces and dissipated.
“That’s the best you've got?” I taunted.
Cowboy looked at me askance. “Okay, later you’re going to have to tell me how you did that.”
I’d revealed more of my powers than I intended, but that was a problem for later. Right now, the goal was survival.
Vale moved with impossible speed, as my serpents struck our foe with precision. I focused my mental energy on blocking the dark magic, but it poured through the holes in my defenses. I was painfully out of practice. It had been years since I needed to craft a magical defensive wall this strong.
Another blade slid into my palm as I pivoted—short, curved, silver. I sliced the bolt in half. Magic resisted, screaming againststeel, but my edge held. The blast split around me, detonating twin craters in the grass.
Cowboy disappeared from view—one blink and he was a smear of shadow. He reappeared behind a sorcerer and snapped his arm with a sound like a branch breaking. Cowboy’s fangs flashed at his throat. It wouldn’t kill the faerie, but it would sure as hell slow him down.
Gage charged straight through the center.
They hurled chains of light at him—binding spells, divine-warded. They wrapped his chest, arms, throat?—
