Yasmine Galenorn - Night's End

He patted my shoulder, and then was off again. As he plunged back into the cavern, now a vortex of swirling lights, I gingerly pushed myself to my feet, leaning against the wall for support.

Cicely? Are you all right?

Ulean, yes. . . . I will be. Grieve—Hunter? Do you know where they are?

No, but I cannot leave you unguarded. Lannan is looking, is he not?

Yes. What are those things?

I don’t know—it seems they might be some sort of stinging insect. They are deadly, I’m afraid. I know at least two of your guards fell. They don’t seem to be able to harm the vampires though, so maybe there’s hope that Lannan’s men are able to guard some of your men.

I pray so.

As I began to look around, trying to see through the shadows cast by the lights from the other chamber, I realized I was in another corridor. I searched my pockets and found a tiny flashlight. Bringing it out, I flicked it on and turned back to the cavern where the insects still swarmed. I couldn’t make out what was going on, other than the hypnotic swirl of the lights. I placed my hand over my stomach and summoned my wolf.

Grieve, if you can hear me, if you can feel me, let me know. Let me know if you live. Where are you, my love? Are you alive?

But there was no answer, only the continuous swirl of motion. As I watched, waiting and praying for Lannan to return with good news, a sound caught my attention. It was from the corridor beyond. A gust of cold wind blew past, but it wasn’t stirred by Ulean. I heard a faint laughter.

No. . . . I know that laugh. Please, not now. Not here like this. Ulean, can you find out if it’s who I think it is?

A beat. Then another. And then . . .

Myst is here. She’s waiting for you. Do you want me to go up ahead?

My blood froze. Myst was waiting for me. If I sent Ulean, she might be able to disrupt her or banish her.

No. You must stay behind me. I have to go. If I don’t take the offense, she will. Better I make the first move than struggle for defense. I have to go. I have to face her.

Surely, not alone! What about your men? What about backup?

There may not be any backup! For all we know, they might all be dead. If I wait here, she might release the light creatures from being trapped in the cavern. Then it would be over before it began. I have to go, Ulean.

Then I will be by your side, Cicely.

And with that I began to creep through the corridor, Ulean behind me. I was sweating cold bullets. This was about the worst scenario I could imagine—facing Myst, not having her heartstone as collateral, not having my men beside me. She had all the toys, and I was going in unarmed.

I thought about pulling out my dagger, but then decided the fuck with it. A blade against her? Might as well tickle her fancy. No, I had two things to my advantage. One: I could turn into an owl and fly away if need be. And two: I could control the winds.

Sucking in a deep breath, I began to run. No need giving her any more time to prepare, and she knew I was coming. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be here. Something must have warned her. The guardian we killed, perhaps, or the disruption when we banished the paralaxium to its home realm. Or maybe this had been her plan all along.

The passage abruptly ended, opening out into yet another chamber. But this chamber had a large opening to the outside world. From where I stood, I could see what looked like an incredibly steep drop-off into the forest below.

And to one side, on a throne of bone and crystal, sat Myst.

Myst , queen of the Indigo Court. Myst , the mother of the Vampiric Fae. Myst , the woman who had long ago been my mother. She was tall and thin and mesmerizing with her terrible beauty. Spindly, and yet stronger than the reeds that will not break in the wind, she stood. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders in jet locks, with crystals of silver running through them. Her dress was gossamer silk, deep indigo embroidered with sparkling silver threads, and her skin—a pale alabaster with a cerulean tint. Her eyes were, like all of the Shadow Hunters, pools of ink scattered with stars. And sitting beside her, glittering on a pedestal that was no doubt rigged to high heaven, was a shimmering stone. Her heartstone. I could feel the pulse of its heartbeat from here.

She simply waited, watching as I skidded to a halt near her. I braced myself, but she did nothing. Said nothing. Just smiled a cunning smile.

After a moment, I steeled myself and stepped forward.

“And so we meet again. This time it is not Lainule’s heartstone up for grabs.” The last time I’d faced Myst was in a desperate race to recover Lainule’s heartstone before Myst could destroy it. I had won, but not by much, and though I had driven Myst away, it had only been temporary.

“Welcome to my lair, Cherish. Of course you remember the Barrow. And of course, you figured out that my heartstone would be here. When my first guardian fell, I knew that you were here. So I came, quickly, to wait for you. You did not disappoint me, daughter of mine.” Her voice was throaty and rich, with a hint of madness behind the laugh.

“I’m not Cherish. Not anymore. That was long ago, far away—in a different time. I’m no longer your daughter, but Queen of the Court of Snow and Ice. And you are an upstart who has disrupted the balance.”

I thought about making a dodge for the heartstone, but that would be suicide. It didn’t take a degree in rocket science to know that she’d snatch me up if I got within arm’s reach. But we couldn’t stand here talking. One of us had to make the first move.

“Cicely!”

Gasping, I whirled to see Grieve stumbling into the cavern. He looked dazed, but he was on his feet. Behind him, Lannan was helping Check, and behind him, the Snow Hag. Whether anybody else had escaped, I couldn’t tell.

“My disloyal lover—how good to see you again. Perhaps you’d like a taste of my gratitude?” And with that Myst was on her feet and she held up her hand. A pale beam shot forth, hitting Grieve in the chest, and he went down, screaming as convulsions racked his body.

“No!” I threw myself at the Queen, body-slamming against her. Startled, she broke off her attack and turned on me. She let out a low hiss as she laid her hands on me. I screamed as her nails dug deep, burning where they penetrated my flesh. Leaning down, I bit her, deep, sinking my teeth into her hand.

“Bitch!” She let go and slammed me back. I went flying against the wall, landing to slide to the ground. Grieve was on his feet, and he lunged at her as I scrambled up again. She managed to grab hold of him and wrapped her jointed fingers around his throat. He gasped, struggling as she tightened her grasp.

“Leave him alone!” I frantically looked for something to attack her with—I knew my dagger wouldn’t make much of a dent, and then I saw it. On the ground beside her. She’d dropped an obsidian blade when she stood. I darted forward and grabbed it up.

The obsidian blades were like crystal meth to the Shadow Hunters, fueling their destructive urges, and that tendency was still there, buried within my soul. As my fingers closed around the hilt, a shiver of arousal ran through me, and I came up, laughing. Here was power—the power of the stone to bite and claw and suck the life out of my opponents. The power of the blade to sever through muscle and bone. The power to destroy, to rend and tear and maim.

“Taste this, you cunt.” I lunged toward her and sank the blade into her arm, twisting it as hard as I could. The joy as her blood began to pour escalated, and all I could think about was making her hurt, making her scream, feeling her bones break under my pressure.