The Land of Gods and Beasts

Chapter 11

Esther

As the fae stood and drew their daggers, I, was confused as fuck.

"What are you doing," I asked, looking at Ekon in bewilderment.

His face was as serious as death, "giving you an answer." He drew an extra dagger from his bandolier and handed it to me, hilt first. I gripped the cool hilt, thumb tracing the symbols and scars in the metal.

"Then what is going on?"

Mallok cleared his throat and began speaking, watching me cautiously as he did, "Ekon possesses the ability to read minds."

I stuffed down the pettiness that tried to work its way out of my mouth, "I am aware."

His green eyes twinkled, well aware that I was stuffing down any comments I wanted to make in an effort to appear docile. The bastard had the audacity to look amused.

"That ability allows us to link our minds to his through a one-way channel. And that channel is focused with the use of our blood and runes."

My brows rose as I looked into Ekon's handsome face, "you can't just tell me what the Harbinger is?"

He scratched at his head, dark curls falling to brush his forehead. "It will be easier to just show you. But I must warn you, what you will see is not going to be pleasant."

I took a deep breath and tried to muster up courage as I stood. I was suddenly so afraid of what I was going to see. The dread that was slamming through me seemed like a horrible omen, this was something I didn't want to see. I knew that in my bones.

I shut that thought down as hard as I could and looked at Ekon. Trying to draw strength from his steady gaze. "Okay, what do I do?"

Ekon gave me an encouraging smile, "just follow our lead."

I nodded watching in bewilderment as the fae in the room unflinchingly cut deep gouges in their palms as one. Blood streamed onto the table in crimson lines that made the beast in my chest lurch.

I steadied myself and placed the blade on my palm, slicing deep with pain I barely registered as the lines of blood slid to the center of the table, pooling together in front of Ekon. He began speaking a string of words that were elegant and melodic and utterly foreign. I watched mesmerized as crimson split and morphed into curves and sharp angles that was reminiscent of a knot, beautifully woven and intricate. My hand that was pouring my life's blood began to tingle, the fae in the room pressed their palms flat to the table and I followed their lead. Ekon closed his eyes, I held my breath.

"Aonachd."

His eyes snapped open, blazing silver covering his entire eyes.

I gasped, and fell from my own mind, into oblivion.

*******

I was surrounded in darkness that writhed and breathed, my footsteps making the night ripple like water.

No, not my footsteps, Ekon's.

A loud boom made me freeze, the darkness whipped out and shredded around me in a sphere, thrashing like severed tentacles. Roars so loud my ears felt as though they would bleed. Visible through the flailing dark a rupture emerged from the earth in waves of catastrophic hate and fury. A figure emerging wrapped in crimson waves of mist, the scent of metal pungent and crushing my lungs. The figure stepped towards me, body lurching and limbs yanking unnaturally. Twisted things of night crawled from the earth behind the approaching figure, spindly and massive. Their number so immense it spread beyond my limited view. Roars and screams of delight as hell emerged, the darkness flailing around me winked out as I came face to face with a terror covered in dark festering blood.