Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,138
ogre was on its back, struggling to stand, and she ran past it into the compound. The firebird was lying on top of a large, debris-riddled snowdrift, and cooed weakly when Tala reached its side.
“Stop showing off, you dolt,” Tala scooped it up, relieved to see that it was dazed but uninjured. “You’re exactly like your master.”
It stuck its tongue out at her.
“See?”
Behind her, she could hear more cracking sounds. Ryker had removed his bound ropes and was sending thick icicles through the ogre, puncturing it repeatedly in the chest. “Why won’t you listen to me?” he shouted.
The ogre’s hand came down on a nearby tower, dislodging an avalanche of snow that rained down on them. Ryker flicked his wrist upward, and the snowslide stopped in midair above him while whipping more knife-sharp icicles the ogre’s way. The creature sank down, bleeding black.
Ryker didn’t stop until it was finally an unmoving, broken form before him. “I couldn’t control it,” he finally said. “I should have.”
“Maybe you’re not as good as you think you are,” Tala suggested sarcastically.
He frowned at her. “You don’t understand. If I couldn’t manipulate it, then that means it wasn’t under the Snow Queen’s control to begin with. And that’s impossible, she has control over all the nightwalkers, unless…”
He turned to the firebird cradled in Tala’s arms, now angry. “Is this your doing?”
The firebird lifted its head weakly, gave Ryker a careful once-over, and then blew him a raspberry.
“No. It wasn’t your doing. But…” He paused, anger marring his features. “Of course. I should have known. It explains why the ogre hasn’t destroyed more of the city. How did your master do it?” Ice formed atop his palm, changing shape until he was holding a long, thin blade. “Who did he bargain with? The sea witch? The Baba Yaga? I wanted to see Tala safely out of Avalon, and that’s the only reason you’re still free. But our deal is over. I’m sorry, Tala. I’m going to take the firebird now.”
“Like hell you will,” Tala said, holding the firebird closer to her chest. She stepped away from him, and he followed.
“Look, I let you bind my hands as proof that I wasn’t lying, and that I’m never going to hurt you. But you have to understand. The firebird was created as a weapon. And in the wrong hands, it can cause a lot of destruction.”
“And you think the Snow Queen won’t use it to destroy more kingdoms like she did Avalon?” She was almost there. The heavy snow, still suspended in the air by Ryker’s will, was directly above her.
“Tala,” Ryker pleaded. “Things aren’t always what they appear. In Alex’s hands, it can cause even more devastation. I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“And I’m only here to make sure you don’t succeed.” Tala directed all her strength upward. There was a faint shimmer as her curse overcame Ryker’s barrier, the latter fading. “I’m sorry, Ryker. But I can’t let you do this.”
She darted the few steps needed to get out of its way, but Ryker wasn’t as quick to react.
The avalanche landed on him.
The firebird wriggled out of her arms and flew past the open palace doors.
“Wait!” There were no signs of movement within the fresh mound. Tala didn’t look to see if he was all right. It would only make matters worse.
“I made my decision too, Ryker,” she muttered, and plunged through the doors after the firebird.
* * *
Ken kept feeling his face, waiting for his eyes to bulge out, or his skin to feel like rubber. He’d only been a frog a few hours, and technically he didn’t remember anything of his time there, but he remembered…sensations. Sliminess, mostly, the idea that his current human body felt somehow wrong to him still, coupled with a general sense of ick. It sucked ass.
“That’s not going to help, you know,” West reminded him as they rode. “It’s not something that you can con…conshoo…it’s not something that you can change by thinking about it.”
“I’d like to make sure, anyway.” Ken touched his nose, his mind cringing at the memory. “How can you stand that? All that shifting? I would have gone insane long ago.”
“It gets easier the more you practice.”
“I don’t want to practice, West,” Ken said with a shudder. “I’d be happy if I never had to do anything like that again.”
“Why?” Nya asked, who was riding behind him.
“I was a bloody frog for nearly four hours. Do you even have to ask why?”