Fused in Fire (Page 44)

Demons hurried toward us or moved with us, glancing up in panic. One crashed into Darius and careened to the other side of the corridor, scraping against the rock.

Its eyes hit mine as it pushed away. A rare helpful demon, it said, “Go back the way you came! They only bring in dragons to burn the place out!”

He scurried toward the river.

We ran forward into a cluster of demons, all equally panicked. Another roar made everyone flinch. Someone grabbed at Darius’s satchel, a thief taking advantage of the distraction.

Thieves should know better than to get grabby with a vampire.

Darius snatched the demon and swung it around, bashing it against the rock. Then he flung it to the ground and kept going as though nothing had happened.

A hollow of creatures opened up around us, giving us more room. That probably wasn’t good.

The black dragon drifted overhead, and I looked up through my eyelashes, trying to see if anything or, rather, anyone rested on its back. Empty. Thank holy buckets of goo.

“Maybe dragons can’t sense power,” I murmured as we hunched and crowded in with the demons in front of us. They tried to get away, but we persisted, running behind them, basically herding them the direction we were going.

Don’t chance it, Darius thought.

Everyone slowed into a cluster as we all reached the big open area where I’d slayed the huge demon. Only a few brave souls walked through it, hurrying from one side to the other.

“What does the dragon want?” I asked a strange creature beside me. It didn’t look much like a demon, but I had no idea what it might be. Gargoyle?

“I don’t know. I didn’t even know dragons existed!”

“It’s looking for someone,” a demon in front of us rasped.

“Will they find someone else by accident?” I asked.

“Yeah. This is the start of the raid. Anything that can’t go back across the river will be killed. Usually they don’t bother with this area, but when they do, they clear it out. Won’t want anyone on the outside hearing about dragons. The news can’t get out with everyone dead.” The demon looked up, its fear plain.

“Then why don’t you head toward the river? Why doesn’t everyone?”

The demon glanced back over my shoulder. “Too late now. I gotta stay alive long enough to sneak back over.”

I followed its gaze but only saw a mass of cowering creatures, hunched together, as though trapped and waiting for a golden opportunity to escape.

I didn’t know why it might be too late, but it didn’t matter. I wasn’t going toward the river, anyway. And I certainly wasn’t the kind of girl to wait for the enemy to come to me.

“Darius, let’s light this place up with magic and make a run for it.”

“Wait. You got magic?” The demon in front turned around, giving me its full attention. It pointed.

I punched it in the face.

“Don’t draw attention to me and I won’t kill you,” I seethed.

It ripped its finger down. “You’re that human that beat two turns with the dragon,” the demon whispered. “You got magic. That sect has been looking for you.”

“They found me. The clown is dead. Take a hint.”

The demon shifted. It looked around and then back to me, not moving away. It took hints like it minded its own business—not well.

“Where’d you get all that magic? You got any for sale?” the demon asked.

Two other demons hovering near us glanced over. Darius leveled an assessing stare at the demon willing to buy. I had no doubt a side business featuring large payments to the dual mages and demons acting like mules into the underworld could come out of it, but we didn’t have time to hang around.

“We gotta—” I cut off as yelling and shouts rose over the murmurs. Everyone looked back, me included.

“Told ya,” said the demon with a future as a magical mule.

The crowd around us shifted, their movements harried and jerky. Through opening gaps I saw demons running toward us from the corridor, fear smeared across their faces.

“Raid!” someone shouted.

The dragon roared somewhere to my right. A stream of fire raked through the trader space in front of us, blasting us with heat. Two demons flailed in the fire, scorched in the spray.

Screams of agony and the clank of metal filled the air, and the chaos was, sadly, headed our way. Large demons with weapons surged forward, pausing now and again to deliver a killing strike. An insect-looking creature climbed up the wall, whining and flinching as the protrusions pierced it. It didn’t get far before one of the armed demons ripped it down. Suddenly the corridors surrounded by jagged rock walls made sense. They made it easy to corral, then take down, prey.

“We gotta go,” I said, urgency speeding up my heart. I unzipped my pouch and dug out a handful of spells. I handed them over to our potential new business associate. “Pinch,” I yelled, taking one out and pinching it. “And throw quickly.”

I lobbed it behind us. An explosion sent a leg flying.

“Do it quickly. They won’t all work without words. Ignore those that don’t and move on. Stay alive, and the vampire will get in touch with you.” I had no idea how, but that wasn’t my problem. I hooked a thumb Darius’s way before shoving the demon away from me. “Go! Save yourself. Kill people. Do whatever you do.”

The dragon rose to the left, pumping its great wings. It turned toward the river and spewed a stream of fire. I grabbed a still, strategizing Darius and yanked him forward, pushing my way toward the edges of the crowd and waiting next to the main drag.

A few demons ran through the space, making a break for it. More joined until the place was filled with panicked creatures. I pushed Darius to the side near the wall as the dragon turned. The throb of power filled the area.

The gush of fire blistered the air as it raked down the main drag. Without overthinking it, I covered Darius and I in a protective bubble, ignoring the press of the crowd. The dragon turned, blasting those who’d made it across the clearing.

What better time to follow them?

“Let’s go.” I ran across the blackened stone of the trading area, putting distance between us and the task force. On the other side, I ran until the walls were higher and we couldn’t see the trading area, before stopping and digging into my pouch. The beat of wings, much too close, announced the dragon was doing a flyby.

Darius dragged me to the ground and moved closer to the wall with me. A demon sprinted our way, looking up as it did so. A moment later, it jerked its arms over its head and ducked. A blast of fire consumed it, the flame spreading out along the corridor and washing toward us.

I threw another protective bubble over us, realizing that my ability to do so had to be something else imparted by my father. Thanks, old man.

Something screamed up ahead as the fire burned everything in its path. My breath caught as a glimmering black body and one wing appeared above the wall just down the way, the dragon checking out its handiwork. I clutched Darius, shrinking as best I could, watching the body. Seeing a front foot, then the back. Waiting for the head to appear next.

The rush of fire sounded, but not in our corridor. The dragon was cleaning out the one next to us.

“Go, go, go!” Staying low, ignoring the scrape of the wall against my arm, I ran, stepping on or jumping over scorched remains. We turned a corner and straightened, the dragon out of sight. For now.

“Spells,” Darius said in a tight voice. He was feeling the pressure.

I grabbed a volatile spell, squeezed it, and lobbed it as hard as I could toward the dragon.

Darius threw his over the walls.

A blast of light exploded. The dragon trumpeted. Wings flapping drowned out a yell.

A pink haze ballooned up from Darius’s spell. It solidified and then burst, spraying spikes.

We took off running, staying near the wall, constantly looking up to make sure the dragon wasn’t coming our way.

Another spell went off, flashing red across the dark ceiling. Then blue. Our potential business associate was trying out his new arsenal.

That was good for us.

A demon stood in our way, cowering and blocking a small offshoot path. It was in the direction we needed to go.

“Move!” I shouted.

It stared at me, mute. Not complying.

I raked my special hellfire across its middle and kicked my way through, with Darius right behind. There was no room for cowards in this band of thieves and cutthroats. Not if we wanted to live.

That path dumped us out on another that led to the magical stairs. We were almost there.

I tried to look back for some sign of the dragon, but the walls were too high. We had to go up, though, and get out. If we stayed here, they would find us. Going back was not an option.

But if we went up, the dragon was sure to see us.

Darius ripped me around to face him. His bruising kiss fluttered my eyelashes. He stared down into my eyes and looked all the way down to my very soul. “I love you more than sunlight, Reagan Somerset, and I will see you out of this world and safely home, where I intend to kiss you every night for the rest of all eternity. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” I said fervently, clutching his wide shoulders.

His brow scrunched in determination and he nodded before stepping away. He dug into his satchel, to the bottom, and butterflies filled my stomach at the thought of the dangerous spells he stored way down where it was hard to grab.