I opened my eyes, registered the lack of the enveloping grayness, then heard the air snap with sound. The whip slicing toward me again.
I imagined my fingers wrapping around the thin end of the leather weapon. Imagined it coiling around my hand as I stepped onto the next level of the astral plane. Felt the sudden shift in the air, and opened my eyes to see a beach that was far darker and more faded than before, and one that remained free of Taylor’s fog. The third level, if all had gone according to plan. All I had do now was hope Taylor took the bait and followed. He should, since he actually wanted me in the umbra as much I wanted him there, but the insane often don’t do the predictable.
Pain rippled across my fingers. I glanced down and realized I was still holding the whip in my hand. It was long and wicked-looking, and it was eating into my flesh with needle-sharp teeth.
I yelped again and flung it away without thought, then realized leather couldn’t actually do that. It was Taylor, altering reality as I saw it. Which meant he was here, somewhere.
I did a slow turn and scanned the darkened beach. No Taylor, no creepy, oily shadow, but that didn’t mean much. He was here somewhere—the quiver in the air told me that, even if it didn’t seem to be giving away his location. Maybe he’d worked out that I was using it to track him.
I swung Amaya back and forth, and imagined her flames wrapping around the unseen and revealing their presence.
Fingers of lilac fire immediately swept across the empty beach, the arc wide at first, then gradually narrowing, until they formed a fist around emptiness.
Only it wasn’t empty.
Very few people have such control on the plane, huntress, he said, as he reappeared. The flames cast an odd purple light across his skin, and made it look like he was wearing a bejeweled death mask.
It was a death mask that held no features.
I shivered—an action that reverberated across the faded beach. Taylor smiled. I smell your fear, huntress. It is a fine scent.
Him so pleasant, Amaya commented.
Amusement ran through me, though it did little to lessen the tension. My sword seemed to be gaining a sense of humor, and though I wasn’t sure if this was a good thing or not, it was certainly better than her continual screaming for a kill.
Kill good.
Maybe her bloodthirstiness was rubbing off on me, because I could only wholeheartedly agree that killing Taylor would be good. But it could happen only in the umbra, and we weren’t there yet.
Fear is a useful tool, I commented. It sharpens the reflexes.
I wondered if Amaya’s fire was capable of dragging Taylor onto the next level, if only because it would be a whole lot easier—not to mention less painful—if I could. I briefly imagined her flames dragging him closer, and though they rippled and moved, no anbecausething changed—certainly not Taylor’s position.
Which in turn meant her flames might not actually have him contained. Maybe he was simply pretending to be so in an attempt to lure me into a false sense of security.
God, the bastard had me second-guessing everything I did.
But is it so useful? he said. Perhaps we should test this theory of yours, huntress.
He threw something into the air, but I ignored the instinct to follow the movement and see what it was. I wasn’t that green.
He chuckled, the sound grating down my spine. I shifted my feet, readying for an attack, but for several seconds nothing happened. His eyeless features just stared at me through the glow of his lilac cage.
Without warning, something hit me side on and threw me into the air. I twisted around, landing in a rolling tumble, then bounced back to my feet.
There was nothing there. Nothing I could see or feel, anyway.
Amaya?
Something, she replied. Hides.
Obviously. Where?
Everywhere.
Oh, great.
I swished her back and forth, but her flames didn’t reveal anything—sinister or not—hiding.
I glanced over my shoulder at Taylor. He was still encaged, but an odd sense of satisfaction oozed from him. Bastard, I thought, and imagined myself standing next to him. The minute I was, I lashed out with a clenched fist. I should have hit nothing but air, but his head snapped back, as if I had hit him.
Then he disappeared again, and the lilac flames fell to the ground, landing in tight coils that writhed and burned.
Seems you could do with a little fear yourself, I said.
It was certainly a blow that should never have hit. I shall endeavor to restrain my confidence a little bit longer.
His voice was so close to me I felt the brush of air past my cheek. I spun around and lashed out with my sword, but hit nothing.
Then something hit me again.
I staggered sideways, then caught my balance and swung around, sweeping Amaya from left to right. Still nothing but air.
Another blow, this time to my right side. I twisted, lashed out. Caught nothing.
What the fuck were these things?
A growl rolled across the silence. I swallowed heavily. Damn if that didn’t sound like a hellhound . . .
This time I felt the stir of air. I leapt up, twisted around, and stabbed downward. Hit something so hard my whole body shuddered with the impact. Amaya’s flames fanned outward, encasing a hound-like sa h Taylhape.
Whether it was actually was from hell or just another product of Taylor’s twisted mind, I had no idea—and right now it wasn’t important. I pulled Amaya free and slashed at the hound’s neck. It exploded, sending me tumbling through the grayness.
They come! Amaya’s shriek was so fierce and loud I could have sworn it echoed across the plane, not just in my head.
Oh, fuck! I had no time to think or do anything else, because they were on me. Invisible beasts that snarled and slashed and tore at skin that didn’t exist on this plane. Pain burned through me on all levels and blood flowed, until I was slick with it. I fought, god how I fought, but there were too many of them. Far too many, even for Amaya.
Run! the voice that sounded so much like Azriel screamed.
Instantly, I reached for the level that divided earth and the astral plane from the gray fields. Imagined myself there, free from the teeth and claws that rent my skin. Felt the plane shift, and then blessed silence. I didn’t immediately move. I just lay on my back, panting madly, desperate to regain equilibrium and strength.
Finally, I opened my eyes. The umbra was a place of shadows and darkness. I could see only a little of the beach on this level, but this was the dividing line between earth and the fields, and that was to be expected.
Something moved. I tightened my grip on Amaya, then realized that this time the movement held no threat.
The Dušan had stirred to life.
She coiled up my flesh, then moved across my shoulders and down my right arm. Her eyes glinted in the distant, smoky surrounds of the umbra, and her teeth shone. She wanted out, wanted action.
Not yet, I murmured. Not just yet.
I agree. Taylor’s voice was so close beside me I jumped. Death shall not find you just yet, but it will come, huntress. Even now, your flesh weakens. Soon, your heart will stop, and you will find yourself trapped in this place of nothingness, never to move on or be reborn.
Panic surged and I scrambled upright. Or tried to. My legs were like jelly and they refused to support my weight. One heartbeat later, I was on my knees. Which was stupid, because the wounds weren’t real. The hounds hadn’t chomped and chewed; I was whole and unhurt and fit.
But no matter how much I repeated that to myself, it didn’t seem to make one jot of difference. Maybe the umbra didn’t work that way.
Nevertheless, I took a deep breath, imagined it flowing through my being like a sweet breeze, blowing away the hurt and the pain as it refilled the wells of my strength.