Elements 03 - Monsters of the Earth by Drake David

Author:Drake, David [Drake, David]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy
ISBN: 9780765360472
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2013-09-02T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER X

Hedia sneezed. Half-burned foliage oozed bitter smoke, and powdered ash rose from the figures Melino was drawing on the ground with the tip of his staff.

Frustrated by the heavy undergrowth, the magician had clenched his left fist and nodded to the demon. She said, “Burn!” and his ruby ring sprayed a fan of scarlet light. The blast cleared a six-by-ten-foot hole and shriveled the vegetation at its edges.

When the light flared, the dog had stalked stiff legged from the cave. It paused at the edge of the semicircle it had trampled barren, glaring at Melino and growling in three different registers. The chain stretched tight behind the middle neck, but the dog didn’t rush hard against its limit.

Hedia tried to meet the beast’s stare for a moment but quickly turned away. It was disconcerting to be the focus of three sets of eyes, and the way the lips curled back from long teeth was stressful. She was mentally willing to face a vicious dog, but facing a pack of them was … well, it was unnecessary at present, so she chose not to do it.

Hedia glanced toward the demon and found that it—that she—was gazing back. What if I told you to do something?

But the demon would ignore her, and Hedia had nothing to tell the being to do anyway. She felt helpless and useless and frightened.

She quirked a superior smile toward the demon and immediately felt better. Pretending to be what you wanted to be—here pretending to be a gentlewoman fully in charge of the situation—was often the best way of becoming that very thing.

The demon smiled back and turned to face the snarling dog.

“There!” said Melino, straightening from his handiwork. Hedia couldn’t tell what the symbols he’d drawn were. If she hadn’t watched his staff moving, she would have passed off the markings as whorls left by a breeze.

Melino met Hedia’s eyes for the first time since he had explained what her part in the enterprise was to be. He looked away just as quickly, though, before he said, “Take your place in the middle of the figure, Your Ladyship. If you’re ready, I mean.”

Hedia stretched very deliberately, reaching as high as she could, then bending her arms and torso backward. Settling back, she said, “I’m always ready, dear boy. Anyone could have told you that.”

She stepped deliberately into the center of the burned patch, thankful for her sturdy sandals. Her calves felt the heat of the ground, but the thick soles protected her feet.

“Turn so that you’re not facing me,” Melino said in a peevish tone.

Without comment, Hedia presented her back to him. She suspected that he wanted her to turn not for any magical reason but because he would stumble over his spell if he had to look at her face. The thought made her smile.

Hedia was now facing the demon, who had somehow moved to the opposite pole from Melino. The demon was expressionless. Together, she and the magician chanted, “Though her face be that of a young woman…”

Hedia let her eyes drift away from the demon.

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