Vanquished Gods (Hallowed Games #2)

Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

T hat’s when I heard it, too—the guards’ shouts echoing through the halls. They’d clearly discovered two of the six corpses we’d left behind, and they were sealing off the exits. Sion arched an eyebrow and whispered, “Are you ready to kill some more people?”

“Always.”

We crept closer to a wooden door. Sion glanced back at me, his eyes burning gold. “We’re almost to the way out,” he said. “We just need to get through these guards. I’ll go first and take down as many as I can. You handle the rest with your touch.”

Still catching my breath, I nodded. The shouts grew louder, and my heart raced. Sion drew his sword, and with that, the air around us grew cold, darkening. Shadows crept over the stones, the guards’ cries intensifying in the dark. Night billowed around us as Sion wielded his shadow magic. The torches snuffed out, plunging us into a starless, moonless night.

“Stay close to me,” he whispered.

Unable to see anything, I reached out and touched his back. “Sion,” I whispered, “if you want me to help you kill people, I’m going to need to see a little bit.”

And gods, I really wanted to kill more people.

Some of the shadows receded, revealing his form and the faint outline of his sword. “If you were a vampire,” he said, “we wouldn't need to worry about you not being able to see in the dark.”

“Let’s just get out of here,” I snapped.

He pulled open the door and lunged. In the faint light, I saw his blade swoop. The scent of blood filled the air as screams rang out, echoing off the stone arches. Confusion erupted in the hall.

Maybe Sion could tell who was whom, but the soldiers were pressed so thickly around him, I had no idea of what was going on. I stepped into the hall, crouching low, brushing my fingertips across as many hands as I could.

Internally, I felt the unrestrained joy of a destructive child dancing through a garden, ripping the heads off flowers, trampling the petals into the earth.

Destroy…

A wild thrill coursed through me.

Bodies fell around us, and my thoughts danced with visions of crumbling bones, of blood flowing like claret from a king’s fountain.

Bow before the Serpent…

“Elowen,” Sion snapped, “let’s go.”

I didn’t want to leave it behind, my delightful garden…so many more blooms to cull.

Death magic took hold of my thoughts.

If they won’t kneel to me in life, they’ll worship me in death.

Sion practically dragged me into the night, and my thoughts started to clear a little. I turned back to the open door, aching to kill more. But what I saw instead was an archer loosing an arrow aimed directly at me.

Sion lunged in front of me, taking the arrow in his chest. His body jerked with the impact, and a growl rose from him as he fell back into me. Righting himself, he reached up, grasping the shaft of the arrow. With a snarl, he pulled it out, the tip slick with his blood.

It had nearly pierced his heart, and he staggered a little.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

I wrapped my arm around his waist to help him walk, feeling the warmth of his blood seeping through my fingers.

From the darkness, Maelor appeared, the air around him growing darker, colder. His inky magic spiraled from his body, shielding us completely in darkness. “For fuck’s sake, come with me.”

The next thing I knew, I was wrapped in Maelor’s powerful arms. I’d know him anywhere merely by the scent of sandalwood curling around me, by the protective way he was holding me.

“I’m okay,” I whispered. “Sion is the one who is injured.”

“Oh, he’ll be fucking fine. But you shouldn’t be near him when he’s injured. He’ll need to feed, and it won’t be on you.”

The wind whipped at my hair as he carried me away from the castle—away from Sion—in utter darkness.

At last, Maelor put me down, and I breathed in the scent of oak and moss from the forest around us. We were back where we’d started.

From the darkness, I heard Sion’s deep voice. “Give me your arm, Maelor.”

Maelor let out a deep sigh, holding out his arm, then asked, “What happened?”

“The Pater is in a weakened state,” I said. “It turns out he gets his strength from siphoning it off witches. He uses the trials to find the strongest among us, then he strips them of their power. That’s how he stays young and immortal.”

“But magic is banned during the trials.” Ivy’s voice pierced the dark.

“Yes,” said Percival. “Of course the Order doesn’t allow magic, but we all used it to survive.”

“So, without witches, he could die,” Maelor said.

“He’s falling apart,” said Sion’s. “But I don’t know that we can kill him yet. He’s ordered another witch-finding tomorrow morning in Lyramor. They’re planning a hasty trial to give him strength again. Elowen and I are going to ride through the night and disrupt it before dawn if we can.”

“Just the two of you against the Luminari?” asked Maelor, an edge in his tone. “You keep putting our Underworld Queen at risk. We need her alive.”

“It’s a walled city,” I said. “We don’t need to fight anyone. All we need to do is warn them and make sure the city’s gates are shut before the Luminari arrive.”

The shadows started to thin around us as Maelor’s magic faded. I could see the outline of his broad shoulders and his pale eyes piercing the dark.

Shouts rang out nearby, and I turned to spot the glow of torches piercing the darkness as the soldiers began to hunt for us. My pulse raced. “We should get the fuck out of here.”

“Maelor, my magic is depleting fast,” said Sion. “We need you to use your shadow magic to get everyone to safety.”

Maelor held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded, and a blanket of cool darkness fell over us once more.

“I’ll show you the way.” Sion’s hand slid into mine, and he pulled me away from the group.

Darkness pressed over me, heavy as soil. Its intensity was dizzying, and I tripped over a rock, but as I did, Sion caught me by the waist. As if I didn’t weigh a thing, as if he hadn’t just been shot by an arrow, he lifted me onto a horse, my dress riding up to the top of my thighs as I slid into the saddle. I gripped the pommel, and Sion mounted the horse behind me, his strong arms wrapping around my waist.

The wind rushed over me as we galloped off into the canopy of night, until the shadow magic faded and the stars bloomed in the midnight sky.