Page 57 of Cruelest Kiss and Fairest Blood (Tales So Wicked #2)

Harrow

T he thing taking shape behind Lenore has already surpassed my height. Bones from all around the garden shudder as they’re dragged toward the ever-growing skeletal figure.

Lenore’s terror-filled eyes stare up at me. She can hear the thing materializing behind her, but she hasn’t seen it yet.

“Don’t turn around.”

Lenore has sense enough not to fight me or ask why.

The bone-crafted creature has already absorbed three separate spinal columns.

Ribs click into place, running the length of its back.

A dozen or more misshapen femurs cluster up at the very end of the bone-monster’s new tail.

They form a sphere-like cage with one loose bone in the center.

A massive, heart-shaped skull flies to the top, righting itself and turning side to side.

The new body twists and writhes, bones grinding against one another. The action is followed by the swift rise of its tail. With a violent shake, it swishes the tip back and forth, rattling the bone within. When it’s satisfied with the new positioning, the creature raises its new head and bellows.

A giant fucking snake. Perfect.

To Lenore’s credit, she hasn’t turned back.

She flinches, hands flying to her ears when the creature releases its monstrous sound.

The bone-snake’s jaw unhinges, revealing an array of broken bones filling the top and bottom of its mouth.

Each piece looks sharp enough to puncture straight through a human torso.

With enough time, I can heal. But if Lenore is torn to shreds, she’ll never find her way out. If she doesn’t get out, I’m trapped here too.

I take stock of my options. There’s a horde of some type of monster stomping around my shadow veil. Dropping it so we can escape risks the damn things falling in on top of us. If I don’t drop it, I can’t fly us out of here.

We can hide out until they lose interest, but the snake will likely have devoured us by then.

Damn, I really hate this place.

Without hesitation, I send a wall of shadows straight for the snake’s midsection. He’s bisected before he sees my attack coming. Jaws snap wildly as the upper half hits the garden floor. A few twitches and the snake goes still. I ignore the victorious tingling beneath my palms.

That was too easy .

“Harrow,” Lenore whispers, eyes darting from my face to the space directly behind me. A slight tilt of my head allows me to keep the skeletal snake in my sights while also assessing the new threat.

Bones are shuddering all around us. They slide toward the snake as if pulled by an invisible magnet.

Piles and piles of bones assimilate, latching on to one another like a ladder.

The rattling tail is dragged through the dirt as the snake’s midsection grows long enough to wrap almost completely around the garden.

When it finally stops stretching, its tail locks into place.

It’s grown back even bigger than before.

A low, rumbling groan issues from the corpse. A ripple runs the length of its now-massive body. My shadows pool around Lenore and I, hovering in anticipation.

The snake releases another earth-shattering bellow. Flinging shadows out, I take the snake out just beneath its jaw and in a dozen other places along its slithering body.

The pieces drop to the ground, but begin moving shortly after. The snake grows again, lengthening as it mends itself and reminding me of a fucking hydra. Surely it will run out of bones to build with soon.

I send out my slicing shadows once more, hoping to extend the snake to its limit. It grows, consuming the perimeter of the garden. “Maybe you should stop doing that,” Lenore hisses.

“There aren’t any more bones. This is as large as it can get.”

“Well great, because it’s basically the size of this room. Now what?”

Forming my shadows into razor-sharp scythes, I send a dozen hurtling toward various parts of the snake. They hit their marks, cutting the oversized reptile into twelve equal pieces.

My assumption was correct. No new bones gravitate toward the snake.

Lenore touches my arm. “Is it dead?”

There’s a brief moment of silence before the bones begin to rearrange themselves. Damn . “It was dead to start.”

The bones on either end of the twelve pieces move, forming new heads and tails on each segment. Well, that’s not what I was hoping would happen . My powers are strong, but the shadows only seem to be feeding the skeletal beasts.

“Twelve snakes?” Lenore’s fingers dig into my forearm.

We need help. I’m not so naive as to believe that we’ll find any in the in-between. Everyone here is either fighting for their lives or fighting to take yours.

A howl sounds from above us. The shadows bow beneath the weight of whatever is walking across the top of my shield.

There are more of them now. All pacing atop the shadowy roof of the garden.

The twelve snakes react to the howls, hissing and snapping toward the sky. Whatever is above us snarls in return.

Interesting . The monsters appear to be territorial. An idea takes shape. It’s mad, absolutely mad, brilliantly so. Will it work?

Lenore’s fearful gaze finds mine. A silent tear treks down her cheek. It has to work.

Not wasting another moment, I set my monster loose. Lenore stumbles back, surprised. My claws hook out to grab her before she can move away.

Pulling her into my body, I murmur, “Do you trust me to keep you safe, little raven?”

She’s quick to answer, “Yes.”

“Good. When I tell you to go, you have to run to the nearest corner. I’ll shield you in shadows. Do not come out until this is finished. Do you understand?”

She nods, lip quivering.

“Ready”—I gather my power, drawing it inward—“set”—Lenore looks toward the nearest corner, readying herself to run—“go!” I drop the shadow barrier that’s surrounding us.

Lenore screams as the creatures from above my dark veil come tumbling inside the walls of the garden.

We get our first look at what’s been storming around.

Wolves . Or the closest thing to them that one could find in the in-between.

They have an extra set of legs and six burning orange eyes.

Muscles swell across their bulky frames.

Oversized jaws snap wildly as they fall.

Four in total. They drop to the ground, landing on their feet with a cat-like grace.

The tops of their skulls are open wide, revealing a secondary fang-filled mouth where their brains should be.

I fling my shadows over Lenore, cocooning her in darkness. Brief gaps between my storm of shadows gives me a momentary glimpse at Lenore’s frightened and confused face. I doubt she was expecting me to let the beasts inside.

If I can find a long enough moment where all the creatures are distracted, I could get us out.

With so many monsters in such close proximity, it will be impossible to take flight.

My wings are too large. I’ll be dragged down and torn apart the instant I try.

My only option is to leave the monsters dead or dismembered.

Then Lenore and I can leave the garden in peace.

My suspicions of a rivalry are confirmed when the first wolf barrels into the closest snake.

The beast slams the top of its wolf-like, tooth-filled skull over the snake’s head, sucking it in.

The snake vanishes. Moments later the bones reappear, spilling out of the wolf’s second mouth and landing in a motionless heap in the dirt.

The snake does not rise. It fucking worked .

Somehow the void in the wolf’s skull is able to strip the snake’s bones of their magic.

All four wolves have launched an attack, but they’re outnumbered.

The first wolf to fall does so with a snake wrapped around its belly.

There are several sickening crunches as its abdomen is constricted and crushed.

Behind them, a second wolf releases a mournful howl and sucks the murderous snake into its skull.

The pile of bones it spews out is unrecognizable.

After avenging his pack mate, the animal takes out a second snake. There are now three wolves, ten snakes.

As much as I’d like to sit back and enjoy the fight, the creatures have other plans. I spy a pair of snakes in the corner attempting to strike Lenore’s shadow shield. There’s a green flash each time their boney jaws connect with the shadows.

In my domain and in the mortal world, my shadows are strong enough to withstand almost anything.

The dynamics of the in-between are foreign.

Part of my power was drained as the price to enter.

I’m not fighting at full strength. Which means my shadows aren’t at full strength either. I can’t let them get to Lenore.

Splitting my thoughts, I pour a part of my consciousness into two separate shadows. My thoughts fuse with the monsters that dwell in my darkness. I direct them toward the piles of discarded snake bones.

Reanimating the bones, I use my shadows to shape them into creatures of my own. Two small scorpions emerge. It’s impressive, but won’t be enough to fight off both snakes. Merging the two, I create one massive scorpion. Much better.

“Protect Lenore.” I speak to the shadows, to myself, through our connection.

The insect leaps overhead, landing between the cocoon of darkness hiding Lenore and the attacking snakes.

With incredible speed, it whips its bone-shard-covered tail up and over its back, parrying the blows from the snakes.

Oversized pincers snap forward, gripping the snakes by their necks and hoisting them in the air. Their long bodies twist and writhe as my scorpion holds them suspended above the ground. I just need to keep them occupied until a wolf can take care of them.