At my words, flames flared from Valdis's tip, then split and raced left and right, until they'd formed a two-foot-wide circle. Gray smoke began to billow, the concrete dust teasing my nose and catching in my throat, making me cough. Deeper and deeper the flames bored into the concrete, until suddenly they were through and the concrete ring dropped into a deeper darkness. The flames clung to its side, providing us shadowed glimpses of what lay below.
And what lay below were more fucking hellhounds.
Chapter 7
"You know," I said as the hounds stared up at us, their red eyes glowing with malevolence and their thick bodies little more than shadowed outlines in the fading glow of Valdis's flames, "I'm getting a little sick of being attacked by hell's creatures every time we take a step forward on this damn quest."
"It is the price we pay for tracking a dark sorceress. Stay here —"
I snorted. "Like fuck —"
"Risa," he said, cutting me off with a fierceness that surprised me. "There is no need for you to place yourself in danger. Not in this case. For once let me do what I was sent here to do without argument."
Let me take care of you. Please. He didn't say the words out loud, but they echoed through me nonetheless. I met his gaze, saw the annoyance and the caring there, and reached out, cupping his cheek lightly as I leaned forward and kissed him. "Just this once," I murmured.
"Thank you." His voice was dry but amusement tugged at his warm lips. "So generous of you."
And with that, he jumped into the hole, Valdis aflame and spitting in fury. I watched, heart in my mouth, as the hellhounds attacked and he briefly disappeared under the force of their onslaught. He emerged seconds later, Valdis a blur as he hacked right and left, dispatching the hounds with quick efficiency. When the last of them was dead, he looked up, his blue eyes glowing as fiercely as the sword in his hand.
"Now you may come down."
I sheathed Amaya, then gripped the edges of the hole and carefully lowered myself into the darkness. It seemed an awful long way down to the bottom, even at full arm's length.
"I'll catch you." He sheathed his sword, though her brightness still provided enough light to see by.
"You'd better, or I'll be pissed."
"Which scares me not. It's not like I haven't been subjected to your ire before."