Spirit (33 page)

I reached with
my empty hand and curled my fingers into the gaping wound my arrow was lodged
in. Holding on as tightly as I could, I used the edge of the wound as leverage
to thrust my hand and the arrow past the sticking point until I punctured
something soft. Blood gushed out of the wound, running down my arms, coating my
shirt and chest. The monster screamed in terrible pain and faltered, stumbling
and dragging me along the ground.

Balor got to his
feet and growled like the Hell Hound in my memory before he launched himself at
the monster, his jaws open and teeth gleaming. He latched onto the beast’s neck,
his razor teeth sinking into the soft skin. I was so focused on Balor that I
didn’t see the clawed foot reaching for me until it was too late. The monster grabbed
me and pulled. I let go of the arrow to save my arm just before he flung me
away, just as he had done to Balor.

I flew through
the air, too shocked to even scream. He threw me so high that I crashed through
flimsy tree branches, tiny twigs lashing my face as leaves scattered like
fireworks. I grabbed blindly for anything to slow my fall, the skin of my palms
burning as the wood tore through them. When I struck the ground, it wasn’t
nearly as hard as it could’ve been without those precious branches lashing at
my face, but I still hit with more force than I could handle. Something sharp
pressed into my back. I braced my foot against the ground and pushed myself to
roll over. The looking glass had shattered.

Pieces of black
glass littered the ground, dull and flat with a coating of dirt. I reached back
and pulled the handle of the looking glass out of my belt. I found one long
piece of glass attached, looking very much like a jagged dagger. Balor cried
out when he fell again, his teeth ripping through the monster’s neck.

I ran forward,
my makeshift dagger in hand, and screamed to get the monster’s attention, but
only stabbing its thigh made it turn away from the limping dog. It roared that
high pitched keen again when I ripped the dagger out of the meaty thigh,
feeling the muscles in my back twitch with the effort after the jarring fall
I’d suffered.

“Stay away from
him,” I growled. My hands dripped black blood, and my clothing and skin was stained
in a macabre mess. The monster whipped its body around and raised up, ready to
launch itself at me, but Balor darted forward again, tearing into it, making it
whip back around with its mouth open, ready to finish Balor once and for all.

I ran forward,
blind panic driving me and the rush of adrenaline beating back the pain in my
body. I climbed up the beast’s rear leg, using the curve of hip and knee joints
as hand and foot holds until I was on its back. I saw him dipping his head
forward, ready to bite down on Balor, and I plunged the broken looking glass
into a soft spot next to its spine. The monster screamed, his voice pitching
high enough to make me pause as my ears threatened to pop. He reared up on his
hind legs, and I had to hold on to the looking glass’s handle just to keep from
falling, my feet frantically working to find purchase on its scaly back. With
my free hand, I reached up and gripped the edge of his left wing.

My grip wasn’t
very strong, and my arms shook with the effort of holding my body weight until
the monster finally fell back to all fours. The force of the impact was almost
as surprising as any earthquake I’d been in.

“Balor!” I
screamed, ripping the looking glass out of the monster’s back and climbing
until I secured my feet in the wing joints. “Enough! Run, please!” My throat
burned from so much screaming, but I couldn’t watch Balor continuing to get
hurt while I tried this ridiculous plan.

Gripping with
knees and thighs, making my legs shake with the effort, I held myself in place
as I lifted my arms above my head, the handle of my makeshift dagger in my hands.
I didn’t even take a second to hold my breath or think; I brought the broken looking
glass down with as much strength as I possibly could, buried it in the base of
the monster’s spine, and twisted. I pulled the handle sideways, cutting a deep,
long slash. My hands sunk into the wound, so I felt the separation of muscle
and skin. The cries and roars stopped so suddenly the sound echoed in my head.

Then the world
began to shift and fall as the monster lost the ability to hold itself erect.
Balor dashed to the side when he realized the monster was collapsing. We hit
the ground with such force that the trees shook and leaves fell like rain. I
bit my tongue when the shock went through my body, forcing my jaw shut, but
that pain was nothing compared to the pain in my arms, legs, and back as the
adrenaline rush faded and I was left in shock.

I slid from the
back of the dead monster, hitting the ground hard and falling to my knees. I
braced my hands on the ground, the dirt coating my hands and fingers still wet
with the black blood. I had lost the looking glass in the gaping wound I had
opened when I severed the spine, but since it was broken, it wasn’t much of a
loss.

“Balor,” I tried
to call out to him, but my voice was a raw whisper. “Balor,” I said again,
making myself cough roughly. I was suddenly very worried I was about to throw
up. A cold, wet nose pressed into my cheek. My throat swelled as the tears
came. We were both alive.

Chapter 19

I had to lean on
Balor for help to get to the stream. He was limping badly, but I had to get
this vile filth off of me before it made me sick. We both collapsed at the
water’s edge. Balor dunked his muzzle in the cold water and drank his fill
while I tried to wash my hands and arms by cupping water with one hand to wash
the opposite arm. I was tempted to just slide my whole body into the river, but
my muscles were already starting to seize. I knew the shock of the cold water
would be too much, and I would probably drown. I settled for splashing my face,
neck, and chest, desperate to get the blood off of me. My movements were clumsy
and slow. By the time I was done, I looked as though I had actually fallen into
the river, but I felt marginally better just being clean, even if I was cold and
my shirt was still stained with gore.

I scooted over
to Balor, wrapped my arms around his neck, and hugged him, just taking a moment
to be grateful he’d saved me and lived.

“Let me see
what’s wrong,” I said after a while, pulling away. I checked each of his legs,
rubbing and gripping each inch, watching for a reaction. Nothing felt broken,
and he never complained or fought me as my fingers kneaded his muscles. A knot
in my chest loosened, and I could breathe normally again.

“Nothing’s
broken then, thank goodness,” I said. Balor dipped his head in agreement. I
moved to his ribs and at one point, as I pressed on his side, he whimpered
quietly. “A rib, huh? I can’t do much for that. Can you breathe okay?” Balor
huffed in answer, making me smile.

“We’ll take it
easy, okay?” Balor huffed again. We stayed on the riverbank for a while, both
of us succumbing to exhaustion and passing out. I would say we fell asleep, but
when I came to, I definitely didn’t feel like I’d been asleep. I felt like I
had the time I’d woken from hitting my head against a dresser after being flung
bodily by that sylph.

When I opened my
eyes, my head throbbed and my mouth was dry. I cupped my hand in the river and
swished the water in my mouth before spitting it out and taking a fresh drink.
When I sat back on my heels, I instinctively reached for the looking glass at
my back, only remembering it was gone when I couldn’t find the handle.

“Oh,” I said,
shaking my head, “right. Damn it.” Now I had no idea what Jodi, Steven, and
Ashriel were doing. I had no idea when they might perform the spell and pull me
out of this realm, effectively delivering me into Ashriel’s waiting hands. The
damn sneaky bastard.

Heat flared in
my stomach. My fingers tingled with it, and I suddenly felt like I needed to
move, to hit something, to do something, anything.

“Balor?” I placed
my hand on him to shake him gently. “Time to go,” I said when he opened those
bright red eyes. He quirked a white brow at me, but I just motioned with my
head for him to follow me as I got to my feet. I stalked over to the trees
where I had drawn the glyphs and symbols to work as a portal into the Shide with
Balor close on my heels. I was glad to see his limp wasn’t as pronounced as it
had been, but I didn’t let that relief bank the growing heat of my anger.

In the melee, my
markings had been scuffed and the lines broken. I knelt down to study the
symbols and decided to try something entirely new. With the flat of my hand, I
erased everything I had drawn, including the two parallel lines. I stood up and
clapped my hands to dust them off. I stared at the empty space between the two
trees, and in my mind, I imagined a glowing tunnel of light leading into
another world. In my mind, I knew this was a gateway and all I had to do was to
step through it.

“Balor,” I
whispered, “this is the doorway to the Shide.” The dog made no sound or
movement to indicate he heard or understood me. “You and I are going to walk
through this gateway and leave this world behind. Do you believe me?” I glanced
down at Balor as he flicked his red eyes up at me. As one, we turned to face
the empty space before us.

“Just believe,”
I whispered for myself just as much as for him.

Together, we
stepped forward. I refused to close my eyes, thinking that if I did so, it
would somehow prove I was scared this wouldn’t work, that I didn’t actually
believe. You had to believe in magic to make it real, and I was always the kind
of girl who believed in magic, no matter what.

The air shifted,
making it difficult to breathe. Golden light sparkled around us as we passed through
the space between the trees, the forest before us melting away. Cold air was at
my back, but glorious, bright warmth was at my front as I pulled my body
through, knowing I was leaving that wretched place behind. I stumbled forward
as I took that last step. The portal slid closed around my body as we entered
the
Brugh,
the entrance of the Shide,
and I gasped as the vice around my chest finally let go.

Balor bounded
forward, his limp totally gone. He danced back and forth in the tunnel. The
light refracted off his clean white coat, casting prisms over the earthen
walls. He yipped happily, running back to circle my legs, his tail whipping so
fast I could hear the wind it created.

Running my hands
over my body, I made sure I too was wholly intact. My injuries, the aching
muscles, bone bruises, and whatever other damage I had caused myself, was gone,
left behind in that land of nightmares and endless night. I fell to my knees in
relief. A laugh bubbled out of me, bouncing off the walls in an echo. I laughed
until I couldn’t breathe and a stitch formed in my side. Balor licked my face,
putting his paws on my shoulders and knocking me over, and I didn’t mind his
weight at all. We were finally free of the Outlands, finally one step closer to
going home.

“Stop, Balor,
that’s enough!” I managed while trying to catch my breath. Lying on the ground,
I took a moment to enjoy the feeling of not worrying if anything was sneaking
up on me. The relief was enough to make me want to go to sleep right there,
safe now in the faerie world, but I knew I had to press on; I had to find Iris
of the Shattered Light.

***

The light at the
end of the tunnel faded rather quickly after we took our first steps down the
passage. We could still see, but only just. Balor’s initial excitement ebbed as
he padded beside me, his keen nose in the air, nostrils flaring as he tested
the scents around us. I hadn’t realized just how much I had missed the smell of
damp earth and old roots. It calmed me, made me breathe easier.

I was also more
than a little relieved to find I still had a corporeal body. I had thought
there was a strong possibility I would become like a ghost again if I crossed
over. The only difference here was that the healed wounds on my back, where my
wings should be, twitched and itched. For spilt seconds, I would glance up,
thinking my wings would be arched high overhead. But they never were.

The tunnel
seemed to go on forever before it widened at the sides. Eventually the ceiling
arced farther up, lifting the impending sense of claustrophobia. Soon we were
in a wide, sweeping room. Vines and purple flowers snaked up the walls, coming
together overhead, petals dripping down to carpet the dirt floor. The perfume
was soothing and inviting rather than heady and overwhelming. Balor sneezed at
the sudden onslaught of scents, and I was glad I didn’t have his heighted sense
of smell just then.

“We’re getting
closer,” I said in a hushed tone. Something about the room demanded quiet, like
a library or a church. Many identical passageways led off in every direction.
Balor’s head swung one way and then back as he took in the many choices, but I
had a feeling it didn’t matter which way we went; we would find our way no
matter what. My grandmother had told me the Shide was every bit as much a
living and breathing thing as the creatures that called it home. It could shift
and change from one moment to the next, anticipating needs or acting as a
labyrinth to trap enemies. Right now, I felt the Shide was guiding my steps,
taking me where I needed to go, and I trusted that it had somehow announced our
arrival.