"Go," Azriel commanded, drawing his sword. Valdis burned with blue fire, her scream echoing across the silence of the fields. It was a scream that found an echo as his Dušan exploded from his back—a winged black dragon who spat blue fire. "Read the book and find the keys’ location."
"But I can’t leave you—"
"Go!" he shouted, then raised his sword as the first of the serpents coiled in.
I swore softly but clasped the book tightly to my chest and closed my eyes. Valdis’s scream echoed through my body as my soul stepped briefly back into my flesh. I placed the book on the ground and opened it. I was vaguely aware of heat and noise and shouting, and wasn’t sure if it was coming from this place or the gray fields. Then I thrust it all aside as the pages began to flip on their own accord. The movement stopped several pages past the one that had held my Dušan, but there was no writing on it. No pictures.
Because the words can only be read while I’m on the grey fields. Fuck.
I closed my eyes and pulled free of my body once more. The moment I stepped onto the gray fields, my Dušan appeared again, but this time she screamed, her fire burning all around me as something fat and sleek lunged in my direction. The fire hit it head-on, exploding in a rush of air that rocked me sideways but seemed to do little more than push the serpent aside.
I shivered, knowing I was in trouble, my fingers itching to reach for Amaya. Her song was a hiss of anger that burned through me. She wanted out. She wanted to taste serpentine flesh and blood.
I licked my lips, ignoring her, ignoring the shadowy, sinewy shapes that twisted and turned just beyond reach. I had a book to read. The sooner I did that, the better.
I stepped forward, closer to the edge of the fields, until there was only the thinnest of veils between this world and my own. Viewed from here, the book— like everything else—was a shadow without substance or weight, but the words unseen on Earth glowed like fire when viewed from the gray fields.
The keys wear the veils of an ax, a dagger, and a shield, respectively. The first was sent to the west of Melbourne, to where the wild—
Something hit me hard, knocking me sideways, away from the book. I staggered, trying to regain my balance, vaguely aware of screaming—high, harsh screaming. I twisted around and saw the Dušan and a serpent coiling around each other, each creature’s teeth tearing into the flesh of the other. Then another serpent appeared, coiling past my Dušan to lunge at me. I threw myself sideways and drew Amaya. She didn’t scream, but she spluttered and hissed, the sound so ferocious it reverberated through the shadows of the gray fields.
White fangs slashed at me. I swung Amaya, her purple fire dripping like venom. The blade hit the serpent’s oversized teeth, slicing through them as easily as a hot knife through butter. Liquid gushed, thick and yellow, stinking to high heaven and stinging like acid. I swore and jumped back as it lunged at me again, this time attempting to use its head as a battering ram. I ducked under the blow, twisted around, and brought Amaya down as hard as I could just behind the serpent’s neck. It felt like I was hitting stone. The force of the blow reverberated up my arm and made my teeth ache. For a moment, nothing happened. Then the blade hissed and burned, her fire crawling across the serpent’s back like a living thing. And as the creature coiled its body around to face me again, Amaya began to burrow down, into flesh and then bone. The serpent screamed—a high pitched, almost human scream—and began to flop and twist its body, trying to shake Amaya off. It pulled me off my feet, throwing me around like a rag doll, but Amaya kept her grip. She kept slicing into flesh—a demon sword with blood on her mind and murder in her heart.
Then she was through, and the serpent’s head dropped clear of its body. As Amaya’s hissing became victorious, I hit the ground and rolled clear of the dying serpent, coming to my feet, demon sword at the ready once more.
But the gray fields were suddenly still. Quiet.
My Dušan pulled free of the coiled form and swirled around me once more, her purple scales battered and bloody looking. I wondered suddenly if they could die, and hoped not. I had a feeling I was going to need her more often as the years wore on.