that I could rip out to incapacitate the lions. Granted, most spells ceased when they ran their course or the person casting them died, but in order to kill the ghoul, I had to be on the ground where he—and the lions—were.
If only I could freeze time to slay the ghoul! But I’d just used that power, so it would take days before I could utilize it again. No, I had to do this the hard way. I rocketed myself at the ghoul, trying to catch him off guard. He ran faster than I expected to the shelter of the cistern’s entrance. I pulled up at the last second to avoid bashing into the rock wall, then lunged at the ghoul again.
The lions tore into my back before I could reach him.
I whirled, sparks flying from my sword from how hard it clanged against their stone bodies. It didn’t penetrate, but their teeth did. Those long stone teeth might be blunter than a lion’s real fangs, but they ripped into me as if they were the predators their magic-infused bodies mimicked.
Something smashed against my head, causing me to see stars. I half staggered, half flew away, avoiding the ghoul’s next blow. He chased me, but not far enough. He was too smart to leave the protection of the cistern’s entrance for long.
If I couldn’t get him away from the cistern to ambush him from above, then I had to make that location work for me.
Pain won’t kill you, I reminded myself as I stared at the remarkably flexible stone lions below. Only decapitation or silver through the heart will. So, time to be a chew toy.
I pretended to charge the ghoul again. He retreated into the tunnel, and the lions jumped me as soon as my feet hit the ground. This time, I let them drag me between them for a short distance before I fought back and got away. My ruse cost me two hunks from my legs and a gaping hole in my side before the wounds healed with vampiric swiftness, but the ghoul was now at the entrance of the tunnel instead of inside it.
I charged him and the lions mauled me again. This time, I dropped my sword as if I could no longer hold it while fighting off the great beasts. The ghoul said he liked to hear his victims scream before he killed them . . .
My gamble worked. The ghoul ignored my fallen weapon and edged toward me instead. I kept staggering back as the lions drove me toward the entrance of the cistern where the ghoul was. When I reached it, I darted past him, then pretended to trip on the steps. The lions fell on me at once. Their weight was crushing, but between the slant of the staircase and the great stone beasts, I was now invisible to the ghoul.
I pushed past the pain to channel all my magic into creating an unbreakable barrier over my body. The lions’ roars sounded like rocks smashing together as their fangs met resistance instead of ripping through more flesh and bone. But this spell wouldn’t last. Magic against magic was unstable.
Come on, murderer. Come and get me . . .
The ghoul commanded the lions to let him pass. They did, and he squeezed by them to enter the narrow tunnel where I was sprawled. I waited until he was close enough for me to clearly see his smile. Then I smiled back—and leapt at his head.
I held on with all my might, ignoring his screams and the brutal pounding he gave my unprotected torso. The lions roared again, coming to his defense. I flung the ghoul and myself backward, the steep stone steps adding more punishing blows as we tumbled down into the stygian darkness. All the while, I held on to the ghoul’s head, using every bone-crunching jolt of our fall as added momentum while I lodged my arm under his chin and twisted.
His head had come off by the time we reached the first landing.
For a few moments, I was so exhausted that I sat with it in my lap. Then, I threw it aside, hearing it bounce its way down the rest of the steep staircase. The lions had collapsed as soon as the ghoul’s head came off. Now, they were a collection of scattered stones on the steps instead of the solid, lethal creatures they’d been moments before.
I stepped over those stones as I climbed back up the steps.