Walk Into The Light - Shadows of the Night 6

Chapter 21

Dear readers,

Now it's official: The Shadows of the Night series has got its own fan video on youtube! Many thanks to ShadowsAfterglow, who made the video (see above)! (Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWW286G_AJA&feature=youtu.be)

This week I'm trying to make up for the short chapter last week. I hope you like this one! Have a great week.

Lara

__________________________________________________

Chapter 21

I threw myself sideways, landing hard on my shoulder, staring up at a fire hound the size of a monster truck, its massive hind legs ready to pounce. A beast knit of flames and fury, it was bigger than the one I faced while fighting Heléna Bathoryn at Red Night's Eve.

The magical suction it carried left me reeling. The stench of burned air pricked my eyes, the hissing sound of combustion ringing in my ears. I was painfully aware of the massive rearrangement of atoms – fueled by oxygen; amplified by Heléna's spell.

The creature came charging towards me without a warning, drifting through space and time in a fast forward motion; carrying a trail of smoke that left my lungs burning. I kicked into motion, manipulating the air in front of me.

The ground shook beneath my feet, vision sketchy, as I zigzagged through the street. The hound was following on my heels, hot breath on the back of my neck, burning the ground behind my feet.

Dammit, it was too fast!

I veered to the right, then to the left, riffling through the air currents coming my way. Air particles danced back and forth between my fingers as I shaped them, throwing orbs of compressed air in the hound's way.

The hound evaded them with the grace and agility of a panther, changing directions rapidly.

A trickle of familiar laughter danced into the street. Soft and yet so clear and loud, I had the urge to turn around and check, make sure he wasn't right there at my back – or worse: in my head.

"A dog to chase a dog's servant. How fitting," Vladislav said. His voice boomed through the street, reverberating in my mind. As if the words carried more texture than just noise that defied the laws of physics and sound.

He believed I was running because I was outgunned. He was wrong. I wasn't going to let myself be chased or hunted. Never again.

I stopped in mid-run and turned, staring into bottomless eyes of a hellish hound charging my way. This was Heléna's hound, not made of flesh, but of fire; forged with a complicated spell I couldn't recreate. But I didn't necessarily have to.

I closed my eyes and let myself sink into that zero space deep inside of me, where no rules applied. Where loneliness and sadness faded away into nothing. Where all that existed was me, dancing on a thin line between life and death.

It was in this dark space of nonexistence, where no rules or morals abided.

Power leaped up, shooting into my hands, connecting. Stretching invisible fingers out, I reached right into the varying planes of existence, finding a giant system of hot burning fire in front of me that all of a sudden made sense. Taking it.

Invisible fingers closed into a fist. Heléna's magic tasted of burning ash and throat-razing smoke. The magic was intricate and powerful, slippery and slick as hell. It reared up, wild and untamed, trying to slip through my fingers.