the bend at the end of the hall. I could hear a clash from up ahead, and I raced along the hallway, turning left into what appeared to be a cafeteria. There, the vrykos were fighting Kipa, Herne, Yutani, and Kipa’s guards.
I looked around, spotting one of the creatures who was shuffling toward the door. I went in swinging, going full force on the offensive. I brought my blade around at neck length, aiming for the vrykos’s throat, and Brighid’s Flame sliced right through, decapitating it as the blade met flesh. The head fell to the side, but the body kept moving so I took another swing, this time from top to bottom, bringing the sword down on the headless neck. My blade cleaved through part of the torso before lodging right above the pelvis. I stepped back, pulling hard to free the sword. A moment later, it came loose and I fell backward, tripping and landing on my ass.
The vrykos was still trying to move, lurching around like some hideous monster out of a horror movie. I stared at it, panting, as the world seemed to slip into some surreal haze. My water magic wouldn’t do any good, and there was nothing I could do except keep slicing and dicing my way through the tangle of undead.
I closed my eyes for a moment, feeling a rush of rage and futility. As the anger rose, it blotted out my thoughts, and the next moment, I found myself hacking away at the vrykos, frantically chopping it into bits. I was crying, furious that the only thing I could do to save people was to play the part of a woodchipper on legs.
Everything melded into that angry blur, the rage swelling into neon white, exploding as I took on another opponent and yet another. Everything stopped except the endless swinging of my blade, the crunch of bones, the smell of blood from the victims, and long-dead gasses from the vrykos being released. Everywhere the floor and walls were slick with brain matter and bodily juices and the odd thing that kept playing through my mind was there was no blood from these creatures, no sign that they had ever been human except their distorted shapes.
Some of the vrykos were newly dead, and they were the worst. When we cleaved into their flesh, the sounds that they made were hideous, a slurping, slithering noise. The older bodies were desiccated, a few almost mummified, paper-thin skin clinging to the bone.
But after a time, the room fell still and I lowered my blade so the tip was resting on the floor. We were standing in a house of horrors. The remains of the vrykos were scattered everywhere and we were all covered with bits and pieces of muscle and gristle.
My stomach lurched and I turned to the side, vomiting.
A putrid smell hung heavy in the air, and I suddenly couldn’t breathe. I stumbled for the door leading into the hall and once there, leaned against the wall, barely able to hold myself up. I was exhausted, yes, but more than that, the fight had left me feeling like death warmed over. I looked down at Brighid’s Flame. Her blade was covered in gray matter, and slowly, I sank to squat on my heels, still leaning against the wall, as I waited for the others to emerge.
Herne was the first to come out, followed by Kipa and then his men and Yutani. Herne looked around. “Where’s Viktor?”
I shook my head and wiped my mouth on the sleeve of my jacket. “Gyell got him. I don’t know where he took him.”
“What?” Herne looked like he was ready to explode. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Kipa stepped in. “A shadow dragon landed and shifted form. He vanished around the corner and I hurried to follow. He was on the run, heading toward Ember, so I did what I could to throw him off.”
“Viktor was trying to help me,” I said. “He jumped in front of me. Gyell grabbed hold of him and before we could do anything, they vanished. But the vrykos…we couldn’t stop to look for him.” I pressed my forehead to my knees, not wanting to move or think or feel. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “We couldn’t stop.”
Herne leaned down and with gentle hands, lifted me to my feet. “No, you couldn’t. And shadow dragons are terrifyingly powerful. But now we need to figure out what happened to Viktor.” He motioned to Yutani. “Call Akron.