To Hell and Back by Alex Steele

Author:Alex Steele [Steele, Alex]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781950310142
Publisher: Steel Fox Media LLC
Published: 2021-10-01T22:00:00+00:00

Twenty-Three

Blackwell

We passed the one year mark without acknowledgment. After that, I stopped counting the days. Training was all that mattered. Iapetus and Kronos kept me focused as they found new and interesting ways to push me to my limits. The rakshasa remained bound. Nosy, however, had ventured out of her orchard and now watched me most days like my own personal cheerleader. Or stalker.

I kept my eyes locked on Crius as we circled each other. In the last fight, I’d come close to putting him on his ass. This time, I was determined to finally do it. I needed to win.

Nosy trilled in excitement as I flung myself out of the path of Crius’ kick. I’d learned that despite his calm exterior, he always attacked first, too impatient to wait for me to make a move. He’d also hold off until he was in close range before summoning his short sword and shield.

I cut toward him on a diagonal. As expected, the shield materialized on his left arm, but I was ready. My magic slammed into the shield and pinned it against him. I continued moving to the side and dodged the thrust of his sword. Once his arm was fully extended, I snapped out my mayhem magic like a whip and wrapped around the sword guard, then darted behind him and yanked hard on the weapon.

He resisted on instinct, which left him open to my attack. I kicked his legs out from beneath him and he toppled backward. Triumphant, I moved to follow him to the ground, but a bolt of lightning shot down my spine. I stumbled, startled and dizzy. Chaos threw up a shield to block Crius’ next attack as the titan leaped back to his feet, saving me from the consequences of my sudden distraction.

Crius paused rather than press his advantage, his mouth twisted into a frown. “Why are you stopping? You finally got me on the ground.”

“Did you feel that?” I asked rubbing my spine. It was still tingling, and I felt off-kilter, like the ground was rolling beneath my feet.

Crius eyes narrowed with concern. “Feel what?”

“That magic. It’s…” I whirled around as the tingling raced down my back once again. It was building. All the hair on my arms stood on end. “You seriously don’t feel that?”

Iapetus pulled himself away from his quiet conversation with Kronos. “Why did you stop?”

“He’s sensing something. Or he’s gone mad,” Crius said with a shrug.

“Chaos?” I asked, slightly desperate for confirmation that I wasn’t, in fact, going mad.

He materialized next to me. “I feel it, too. Something approaches.”

“How are we feeling it, but they aren’t?” I asked as I waved a hand at the titans who were now all intently focused on our conversation.

“I don’t know.”

My skin grew warm as it took on a strange glow. I tried to push the foreign magic away, but it wouldn’t budge. This could not be good. “At what point should I start panicking?”

“As if you aren’t panicking already,” Iapetus said with an eye-roll.

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