Suffocate In Spirit - Shadows of the Night 4

Chapter 46

Hi!

Okay, so I've got good news and bad news. The good news is you'll find out who will win this fight in this chapter. The bad news is that there's sort of another cliffhangerish ending. I tried, I really did, but it just turned out to be like this. ;-)

I hope you like this chapter. It was so much fun writing this, so I really hope you enjoy it :-D

Lara

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Chapter 46

Air rolled between my fingers, racing back and forth like a lab rat. I shuffled particles, made them slide and slip sideways until all I had was a mass of empty space. Hurled the orb at the flames, watching the dog-like form evade the vacuum as if it had a mind of its own. It veered to the side and changed directions in one fluid heartbeat, leaving a trail of hot, thick smoke in its wake.

I blinked. It was speeding in my direction.

I drew up a wall of air, crammed air masses, and darted to the left, grass flying under my feet.

Stopped, turned and stared at the spot I'd been standing at instants ago.

The hell-hound of fire was hovering above it like a red, destructive beacon of heat. I studied it, mind racing. If I concentrated I could sense the undercurrents of heat, anticipate and feel them like a second pulse. Hell, technically speaking I was a fire user as well.

It was Helena's magic. Her spell. If I could wrest away her control over the thing, however, I could win this. Damn the consequences.

I lifted my hand, sifting through the make-up of ignited particles, getting a feel for the construction of power. It was easy; sinking into that place inside of me, dark and eerie, lonely and unforgiving. My eyelids closed on their own as I dipped metaphorical fingers into that zero space I once vowed I wouldn't touch again.

Power leaped from one hand to the other, spread and reached across the night sky until connected with something. The hellhound and the magical construct were in front of me, within reach. I could read the spell as if it was laid out in front of me, deconstruct it piece by piece. Magic I couldn't have done myself fell apart, made sense to me all of a sudden, resonated within me as if it was mine.

I raised my hand, as if beckoning, then closed fingers to form a fist. Power moved in, leaving the centerpiece of the hellhound, as if sucked in by an invisible drag. I muttered the words underneath my breath. My own words, my spell. My power.

Mine.

The hellhound stopped and hovered in midair, as if in indecision. Fire and smoke caught up in a net of timelessness.

I used my left hand to form a power-charged orb of air and sent it careening into the monster of fire. At the same instant I nudged it with a thought, forced it racing back to its former master. The hound rolled towards Helèna like an avalanche of smoke and heat.

I panted, peering through smoke and fire to get a glimpse of Helèna Bathoryn.

Let's see how she'll like the taste of her own magic.

I'd been concentrating too hard on what I was doing to realize it – I saw it in the expression of shock and disbelief on her face. Helèna knew exactly what I did.

Fire raced through air and met with flesh. The wall of flames she tried to erect was big and powerful, and I wondered how much of her power she used when she conjured her hellhound. The beast tore into the wall. For a moment all I could see was the explosion of flames, smoke billowing out from the corners. My eyes watered, but I kept looking. Looking away could be the first of a string of fatal mistakes.