I scrambled up onto the banquette seating that curved along the back wall, my whole body trembling. And when the shadowkind lunged at me, I ran along it like a coward.
No, like a smart person who knew she couldn't win a fight against a much bigger opponent—plus a pub full of murderous monsters.
How did I end up here? I only wanted to go home.
My feet sank into soft velvet as I ran as fast as I could, no destination in mind so much as a panicked flight response. Behind me, roars, growls, barks, and a hundred different terrifying sounds built, and the floor of the pub itself seemed to shift as people chased me.
Pink glowed from my hands and I threw them blindly behind me, not knowing if I would do anything at all—I'd never hurt anyone unless I touched them—but willing to try anything.
"Grab her!" a woman shouted; maybe the barmaid, maybe someone else who wanted me dead.
I lifted my head, my heart skipping at the sight of a door in front of me, a tiny square of glass hinting at a room on the other side. The magic I threw behind myself didn't seem to do anything, but when claws glanced along my arm, opening stinging lines that made my eyes burn, I threw my head back and acted on instinct, spitting like a very annoyed llama.
The blue-skinned monster my saliva landed on reared back with a howl, and my heart skipped. It worked? Holy fuck.3
I spat at another monster when they grabbed for me, but I twisted too far around and lost my footing on the velvet seat. A scream tore up my throat when I fell, slamming into the floor so hard that pain spiked through my wrist and I tasted blood. I knew what falling meant—they'd catch me, hurt me, make me pay.
"Get her," someone said with immense satisfaction.
I tried to push myself off the beer-sticky floor, but my wrist buckled, pain exploding all the way up my arm, and I fell back down with a whimper.
"You're gonna pay, slayer," an unkind voice growled above me, and suddenly I was moving, two knives around my neck, hauling me to my feet.
The monster who held me wavered in my vision, but there were enough flashes of clarity for me to see. Oh, god. It wasn't knives pressed to my throat—the shadowkind held me in a giant pincer. One squeeze and my head would be cut off my neck.
"Please," I rasped, staring at him through watery eyes. "I-I didn't mean to."
A cruel laugh answered me, telling me everything I needed to know about his mercy and understanding—he didn't have any.
"What's that?" someone asked in a hushed voice.
I thought he was afraid of me, and it reminded me about my magic, reminded me I wasn't dead yet. So I shut my eyes and delved into all my nightmares, pulling up magic and ignoring the tight prickling in my eyes, the grief always there, waiting to swallow me.
"Shut up, Jonna," someone barked. "Don't be a pussy."
"That's not an insult," I whispered, my eyes screwed shut against whatever they were planning.
Be brave, Hala,my inner voice snapped, so I heaved my eyes open—and watched unease ripple across the faces of the monsters in front of me when the ground shook.
"What's she doing?" someone asked in a rush. "Fuck this; I'm outta here."
The squeak of the door announced their exit. But it wasn't me—I couldn't make the ground shake. My body trembled to match the heavy, thunderous beat. Something big and furious was coming to hurt me—to eat me?
"Just kill her," the barmaid snapped, tapping her foot on the sticky floor.
My eyes fixed on her, wondering what I'd done to her personally,4but my gaze snapped up as much as it could when … holy fuck.
When the roof was ripped off by a monster as big as the building.
"Shit!" someone screamed. "Run!"
14
Iexpected the shadowkind to drop me from his pincers, but if anything, they squeezed tighter.
I couldn't take my eyes off the giant—seriouslygiant—grey monster who ripped off the roof of the pub and now glared into the building with black eyes that seemed to glow with rage. They landed on me, and I whimpered, but there was something about the way the shadowkind's lips pressed into a thin line of irritation…
Had I killed this monster, too? I shook hard, my body weakening even more. I could barely keep myself upright, my legs like jelly.