Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 121924 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 406(@300wpm)
Some jerked back as arrows forcefully slammed into their bodies. Others stumbled under the numbing pain of freezing cold orbs. Some crashed to the ground as concentrated energy blasts barreled into them.
The rest headed right for us.
A blast of energy from Lear sent two sailing backwards. Another charged at me like it had a score to settle. I threw the orb of ashes, watching as it smacked the dog’s face—blinding and burning it. I brought the scythe down hard, slamming it into the dog’s neck and chopping off its head. I didn’t have time to feel anything, because more were almost on me.
The battle officially began as swiftly as it did furiously. I couldn’t see much of what was happening beyond this little area here, but I could hear it. The noise was as deafening as it was intense—a discordant blend of bestial sounds, pained cries, and crackles of power.
When I wasn’t launching orbs of ashes, I was using the rotated blade to deliver one devastating blow after another; always trying to dodge the spikes on the canines’ marbled black/gray fur.
Creatures of the Pines soon leaped into the fray. Hairless, leather-skinned vultures dived down, their razor-sharp talons extended. Silver leopards covered in long quills pounced, raking and biting. Black rhinos sporting ivory horns all along their spines charged enemies so hard they knocked them clean off their feet.
The hounds were as ferally brutal as usual, a flurry of teeth and claws and tails. But I stabbed and hacked and carved and slashed, offering not one bit of mercy. The dogs yelped with every orb of ashes that hit them—orbs that scalded, singed, burned, and charred.
Around me, officiates and candidates fought just as hard. Delphiae alternated between attacking with swords and lashing out with energy blasts. In their animal forms, Lykaons and Nemeans pitilessly tore out throats, sliced open bellies, and ripped chunks of skin from bodies. Phoenixians attacked from the sky—shooting arrows and orbs, snatching up and tossing away dogs, or diving down enough to lop off heads before sailing back up.
It was chaos at its finest and deadliest. Carnage reigned. Flesh burned. Bones broke. Screams rang out.
Battling a particular hound, I hissed as I pricked my hand on its spiked fur. The little shit emitted a satisfied snarl, whipping its prehensive tail back and forth. It flinched as two balls of ice-cold orbs rained down on it from above. Taking advantage of its distraction, I buried my scythe in its head.
Almost instantly, another was coming my way. An arrow narrowly missed its head, sinking harmlessly into a tree, but two Lykaons quickly wrestled the dog to the ground.
Not all arrows and strikes of power aimed from above met their mark—how could they, when officiates couldn’t see all too well courtesy of the fog? They were shooting blindly. But if nothing else, they slowed the dogs down by forcing them to weave and duck and jerk backward.
The hounds wouldn’t admit defeat, though. They kept on charging, kept on leaping, kept on lashing out with their claws.
I heard the telling snaps of Talon’s power and knew he was nearing us. I was—
Three hounds appeared out of the smoke. An energy blast shimmered through the air like waves of heat, knocking two down. The third pounced at me, its claws extended, its canine eyes lit with a mindless bloodthirst.
I sidestepped it fast and whirled as—unable to pause its momentum—the creature sailed past me, skidding to a halt. I swung the scythe, bringing it down hard on the hound’s back; cleaving it in half in one smooth move.
My head whipped to the side as a loud male cry snatched my attention. It was Glory’s boyfriend, Harbin. A hound had him by the leg and was dragging him along the ground.
I advanced on it fast. “Hey!” I lashed out with my scythe. But, releasing Harbin, it dodged my blow and then pulling back its lip to reveal teeth dripping with blood-stained saliva.
I angled my blade just right, watching the way its muscles bunched as it prepared to lunge. “Come on, fucker.”
It might have lunged. Might not have. I’d never know, because Khalida swooped down and grabbed it by it hindlegs. She lifted it off its feet and unceremoniously tossed it away.
“Shit, do you hear that?” Lear yelled.
If she meant the pounding of hooves, yes. The centaurs were fast approaching. “They must have found one of the nearest bridges.”
Taking a quick scan of what I could see of my surroundings, I noticed several broken and bloody bodies sprawled on the ground.
More snaps of Talon’s power split the air, closer now. Still, I couldn’t see him. And I didn’t try to search for him either. I trained my gaze on the fog up ahead of me, knowing the centaurs would appear any moment now.
As the clang of swords joined the furious noise within the haze, I adjusted my grip on the handle of the scythe, impatience battering my control.