Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87781 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Oh. No.
It reaches for me with a swipe of its claws, just catching the edge of my cape before I’m able to leap up on the railing and out of the way. Jumping into the river might be an option, but that thing is only going to swim after me.
My best chance to kill it is here and now.
I don’t think I’m going to get many chances.
I look up and down the deck, the creature taking up at least half of it. There’s not a lot of room to maneuver, not a lot of time to think.
What would kill this thing that doesn’t even bleed?
It whips its spiky, reptile-like tail toward me, and I leap into the air over it, landing on its back.
The fur under my feet is coarse and slippery, making it difficult to maintain my balance, especially as the creature thrashes wildly, trying to dislodge me from its back. I cling on tight to the gross fur, my heart pounding in my chest as I try to think of a way to bring this beast down.
It lets out a roar that shakes me to my core, but I grit my teeth and stay the course. I can feel every muscle tense beneath me, every movement it makes as it throws its head back to try and snap at me.
I glance around its rotting body, searching for any sign of weakness, any vulnerability I can exploit. Most dead things will die again here and be sent to Oblivion, but the sword I drove into its side hasn’t done any damage.
It bucks now, the tail swinging and taking out large sections of the railing, the wood splintering as I scramble for purchase on the creature’s fur. If I don’t kill it soon, it’s going to sink the damn boat.
I try to move up the back toward the head, the brain the only vulnerable place I can think of. It might not have blood, but surely, it has some sort of nerve center telling it to act the way it is.
Slowly, I work my way up, nearly falling off as it tries to dislodge me, until I’m finally on its neck. I straddle it like I would a horse, my thighs squeezing tight.
It smells so bad.
With one hand wrapped tightly around the hilt, I raise my sword high and bring it down with all my might onto the creature’s head. The blade pierces through the tough skull with a sickening crack, andhe creature lets out a guttural roar, its body convulsing beneath me.
As I pull my sword free, a strange black energy crackles around the wound, sending sparks flying in all directions, followed by heavy smoke. The creature’s movements slow and then cease altogether. With a final shudder, it collapses to the deck, its ugly face gone still.
Breathless and covered in sweat, I stand over the fallen beast, adrenaline still coursing through my veins.
I think it’s dead.
I hope it’s dead.
But now what?
How do I get this thing off my boat? Or will it be stuck with me when I pick up the next newly dead at Death’s Landing? That bell has to ring sometime, right?
But that thought fades from my head as I take a careful look around me.
In the distance, on a hill, I see another patch of earth pulsing as something moves beneath the surface. And beyond that, further still, a great boney hand comes out from the ground.
Everywhere I look, there are things, some just skeletons of men, some giants and monsters, ancient horrors that emerge from the soil, as far as the eye can see.
With clarifying dread, I know exactly what has happened.
Someone has raised the Old Gods.
And that someone is my mother.
Chapter 18
Hanna
The Uncle
The next day, Death and I sleep in a lot longer than planned. I’ve never been very good with jetlag, but I definitely didn’t expect it when traveling across dimensions or portals or whatever you would call travel between worlds.
When we finally do rouse ourselves, it’s nearly two p.m. Since we went to bed at eleven, we’ve had over fifteen hours of solid sleep. I suppose our bodies needed it—and who knows when our next good sleep will be.
I roll over and look at my husband.
How strange it is to think of him like that in this world.
But that’s what he is.
We were married down in the crypt, and I took on the crimson crown.
I am his, no matter why he thinks I should stay behind in this world.
He had some points, of course. It’s been a long time since I actually sat with my thoughts and examined what my hopes and dreams for this life were. Other than thinking about my father and his well-being, all my focus has been on surviving the Underworld and my marriage to Tuoni. Everything else just seemed like a dream I once had, something I could ponder when things finally slowed down, and I had some time to think.