Page 37 of The Midnight Death Match

A warning.

“Either way,” he finishes, “the city will bleed.”

“And the hunter line will fall.”

The rune still smolders on the obsidian when the second figure steps forward, her voice colder now. “She’s moving too quickly. They all are. If we want the curse to stay buried, we’ll have to act soon.”

“We are acting,” snaps the third. “Patience has gotten us this far.”

“We need more than patience.” Her gaze flicks toward the blue fire. “We needhim.”

A beat of silence.

Even the flames seem to dim.

The fourth shifts uneasily. “You don’t mean…”

“I do.”

“No one speaks his name.”

“You think that protects you?” she spits. “If the huntress breaks the curse, if the city awakens fully, he’ll rise whether we want him to or not.”

The tall one waits a beat before speaking. “You think you can control him?”

“I think I can aim him.”

“That’s not control,” mutters the third.

The fourth backs away from the fire slightly. “It’s death.”

“No,” she says. “It’s the only guarantee.”

The tall one finally looks at her. “You’d invite back the thing that built the curse?”

“I’d rather see the world burn on our terms than bow to a huntress we didn’t choose.”

The silence this time isn’t empty. It’s waiting.

And when no one speaks again, it’s clear the agreement is broken.

She turns from them then vanishes into the shadowed corridor.

The fourth watches her go, then glances back at the burning map.

“She’s going to call him,” they whisper.

The tall one doesn’t deny it.

And the fire crackles once, as if laughing.

Chapter

Fifteen

EIRA

Tension fills the air,though Harek, my father, and I all keep the conversation light. Our bellies are full from the deer Harek caught in the woods. The dragons are still licking their lips from whatever they got while out on flight.