Release (The Protector Book 3) (52 page)

I jumped through the hole and broke into a run. Dust flew up around me as my feet tore into the earth, leaving Zairo and his insanity behind me.

Hot air rushed past me and the black dot turned in the sky, creating a dark hole in the clouds. A red beam of light burst from the inside and struck the ground. Dirt exploded in massive chunks and a dark portal opened over the earth.

I pushed myself harder and Zairo appeared beside me, and he slowly brought both of his hands up to cover his faux guilty smile. His four bowed legs trampled the ground and he released a high-pitched giggle.

“Run, run as fast you can. Zairo goes faster, oh yes he can!” He giggled again and accelerated in front of me, his legs trampling the earth like an arachnid.

The temple was still a few hundred feet away, but it was getting close. I pushed myself harder than I’d ever gone, and something sparked inside of me. My body shot across the earth at speeds I knew I shouldn’t have been able to manage.

Zairo was stopped ahead of me and his rainbow-painted lips were curled into a smile. I blew past him, and in a few steps, he matched my pace with a frown on his face.

“Protector all business, makes this no fun, Zairo create obstacles for him to run!”

The ground cracked and white roots spilled from the crevice. I leaped over them with ease but that wasn’t enough. They chased after me, smashing into the ground behind me. I zigged and zagged, dodging the strikes while the earth broke around me.

More roots flailed from the crevices, reaching their limbs out until one wrapped itself around my foot. The air in front of me shifted and a stone wall appeared. The roots pulled my legs out from under me and my shoulder crashed into the wall at full speed.

I was dragged along the hot, red earth, and it seared my skin as the uneven ground scraped against it.

The largest root broke free and stretched into the sky. Green and white appendages thrashed from the massive stalk with purple and black leaves. At the tip of the massive trunk was a small yellow bulb.

Zairo clapped his hands, amplifying his magic. The tiny yellow bulb expanded like a water balloon, and the stalk rocked back and forth until it could no longer support itself. The massive trunk teetered and fell to the ground.

The bulb hit the earth, and the roots guided me towards it. A wide crack formed in the center, separating it into two halves. Sharp, plant-like teeth hung on the bottom and the top as it stretched open its mouth.

The plant hissed and Zairo giggled. “Oooh, Jammy Jam is hungry!” He clapped. “Protector impressed now?”

I clenched my jaw and writhed against the earth, rotating myself to reach my daggers. I pulled one from its sheath and my muscles flexed as I forced myself into a sitting position. My grip was firm around the dagger and I bent forward, reaching towards the roots. The silver blade sliced through the white stem and black liquid spurted over me.

The plant’s mouth opened wide, revealing several thrashing tongues, each of them taking on the color from Zairo’s hair. With its mouth cracked open, the plant began to heave before releasing a grotesque belch. Along with the stench, a storm of green spikes shot up from its throat and rained down. I covered my face and they all pierced the ground around me with the exception of one that pierced my thigh.

“Bulls-eye!” Zairo clapped.

The spike stuck out of my leg and a burning sensation spread beneath the skin. I gripped the end of it and tore it out, anger spreading through my body.

Pushing myself back, I dodged the roots that continued their attempt at recapturing me. I jumped up and tossed the spike at Zairo, and it spun in the air, the point of it piercing his stomach.

Zairo cried out and stared at the spike. His rainbow lip stuck out and quivered again while his eyes welled with black tears that ran down his cheeks.

He yanked the thorn out. Black blood soaked his dirty gown and he stomped his feet.

“That hurts! Zairo upset.” His magic pulsed around me and a thundering charge of footsteps rattled the earth.

The red portal churned, and one after another, the Kivrakai stampeded through, wielding long, jagged blades.

“Protector made Zairo sad. So Zairo do something to make Protector mad. Take your friends I shall do, and Protector will cry like Zairo too!”

I turned and ran as best as I could. Blood soaked through my jeans and jolts of pain were shooting up my leg. The statue was close, towering into the swirling gray clouds while thunder and lightning crackled around it.

A screech came from above and a massive Rai dove from the sky. Her golden talons struck together and an enormous crack sounded, followed by a flash. The light blinded me, and when it faded, Zairo was on the ground, a massive black hole in his gown. He squirmed in the fetal position, whimpering and crying in pain.

“No fair! No fair!”

Rai swooped down and both talons wrapped around my arms. She lifted me into the air and her soft white feathers brushed against my face.

“Gods it’s good to see you, girl!”

Rai’s voice vibrated as she sang, releasing a melody of tones in a gentle song.

The statue grew larger the closer we got. Small dots of people moved below and the Kivrakai dashed towards them.

Earth magic rolled over my skin and I recognized it immediately. The power grew more dense and powerful by the moment, and boulders broke away from the terrain. Massive stones floated behind Rayna, and as she flung her arms forward, a storm of rocks crashed into the Kivrakai like bowling pins, scattering them in every direction.

Rai cawed and descended towards the demons lying on their backs, their lion-like bodies struggling with their human upper-halves to climb to their feet. As the portal began to close, nearly a dozen more stormed into the world.

Shrieks crashed all around and Zairo appeared in the sky. Black tendrils of smoke drifted from his back, forming massive wings that cut through the air. His four legs were bent at awkward angles and folded beneath his body. The hole in his stomach was gone and streaks of black tears stained his face.

“Hurt Zairo once, shame on you. Hurt Zairo twice, your pain ensues. Hurt Zairo thrice, and Zairo get mad, I will stop Protector, wild forces be glad!” Zairo clapped his hands together but he wasn’t smiling. His forehead was creased and his bottom lip was still sticking out.

His power prickled against my skin, and groups of trees smashed through the distant stone wall I’d come through earlier. Their slimy green limbs were flailing and their white roots tore up the earth with uncanny speed.

“Zairo has power, don’t you see? I will not let you take the amulet from me!”

Rai cawed and tried to swerve away, but Zairo’s black wings turned and folded, mimicking our every move. Rai descended as we approached the Kivrakai, and Zairo’s giggles coasted alongside us.

“Protector, Protector, you cannot win. Zairo has power of magic and—”

Rai screeched, banking hard to the right and smashing into Zairo, cutting off his rhyme. His black wings dissolved like blown smoke and he screamed as he fell to the earth.

“Thanks, girl.”

Rai chirped and pulled me against her, more feathers brushing against my skin. We were just above the ground now, and Rai cawed as we approached the newly arriving Kivrakai. Their lower bodies were massive and muscular like cats on the prowl. Their upper bodies rippled with strength, and black tendrils spread across their white eyes.

Their orange skin glistened with sweat, black ink tattooed on their arms. Their eyes were round like a human’s, but a smaller cat eye was set back in their foreheads. The noses narrowed and protruded from their faces in a cat-like snout, but when they opened their human mouths, long fangs jutted from their jaws and a ferocious roar boomed between their lips.

I prepared for the impact as Rai’s claws released me and I stuck out my uninjured leg. I hit the first demon’s chest with my foot and a burst of power surged between us, exploding outward and throwing everyone into the air.

I tumbled end over end, pain coursing through my leg, but there was no chance to rest. The Kivrakai struggled to their feet, bodies writhing awkwardly against the ground.

I ran forward and plunged my dagger into the closest demon’s neck, and red blood spilled down his orange skin. Streams of fire erupted from the third eye in his forehead, and I jumped back. Even out of its direct path, the heat threatened to burn my skin. Stepping behind him I raised the blade and swung again, the demon’s spine snapping beneath the force.

Expecting his body to light up into ash, I turned away, but it didn’t. Instead, it exploded into fiery pieces, and the force sent me skidding across the terrain. My shirt caught on something and was torn from my body, leaving the small cuts on my back to sting against the rocky ground.

When I came to a stop, Marcus and Eric stood on either side of me. Rayna was just ahead, her long whip in her hand and green earth magic spiraling around her arms. Willy was on the ground in wolf form; his colorless eyes met mine as he unleashed a howl.

“Chase, get inside the temple and get the soul piece!” Marcus shouted, waving the two long blades in his hands.

The ground shook as the Kivrakai got to their feet and barreled towards us.

“We need to get out of here!”

“No!” Marcus yelled. “We are here now. Get the soul piece.”

I hesitated for a moment and Tiki appeared beside me. He grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me up.

“Go, Chase Williams. We will fight until our last breath, but if you do not get the soul piece, this is all for nothing.”

“No, it’s not. I saw Krulear, and she said—”

Tiki’s beast exploded and he ran away from me, heading off the Kivrakai with long talons slicing through the first one he met.

“Chase, go!” Rayna screamed.

The statue was even more massive than I imagined. I ran towards it, my leg tender with each step. There was no time to explain what Krulear had said. If I could still manage to get the soul piece and destroy it, this could all be over.

It took me longer than it should have to run around to the enormous monument, but I was hurt. I searched each side for a doorway or some kind of entrance, and when I turned the last corner, I found the black stone staircase that wound around the statue. I didn’t hesitate; I grabbed the railing, ignored the pain, and started climbing.

The staircase turned again and again, funneling up to what I hoped was the doorway. But the longer I ran, the less progress I seemed to make. When I looked up, the staircase stretched, adding more steps as it grew.

“No!” I screamed. The battle below almost gone from sight. I could hardly see the small dots that moved below like ants, but as far as the statue was concerned, I was only at its knees.

Algar’s voice echoed inside my head.
“This world makes little sense if you’re from the outside. Trying different directions is always an option.”
Then I remembered Krulear leading me through the maze. She’d turned and walked back the way we had come.

The statue rumbled as it stretched and the stairwell moved into the clouds. Up wasn’t working; I had made almost no progress and there was only one other direction. I headed in the other direction and cursed under my breath, hoping I’d found my answer.

I gripped the railings and skipped down the stairs, four at a time. After going down a few dozen steps, the staircase folded from shingled stairs to a flat stone surface, and I slipped.

My body slid down the slope, crashing into the stone bars of what had once been the stairwell’s railing. The world blurred around me, and as I came around one of the turns, the staircase vanished into a small black portal.

The portal sucked me in and I flailed through the darkness for a few seconds before a bright light exploded and I hit something hard, my body rolling to a stop.

I used my arm to shield my eyes as the light became brighter. Gusts of air rushed around me, but it was too bright for me to see.

Zairo’s laughter came from all directions, and when it finally stopped, the light dimmed. I uncovered my eyes to find the world had morphed around me.

Dark red clouds bubbled above, churning in the sky. They grumbled loudly and static electricity danced along my arms before a flash of light crashed into my body. I convulsed and the power threw me to my back.

I screamed in pain as the world flashed around me. The lightning was sucked back into the clouds and my body went temporarily numb.

I lay against the rocky terrain of Vortan and my muscles fought against me as I pushed myself up. The statue was gone, and so was the battle. Endless desert surrounded me with the exception of a massive platform that protruded from the ground. A staircase that looked like it was made for a giant led up to the top and I had to jump to reach the edge of the first step, causing my injured leg to burn.

I hurled my body up and rolled over each step, ignoring the wheezing in my chest. As sweat ran down my face, I pulled myself over the final step, arriving at the top of a wide, white stone platform.

The ground rumbled and claw-like pillars shot up from the ground. They curled inward until five sharp stones hovered above me, pointing to the center.

Red smoke drifted down from the tip of each point and swirled together in a coiling stream. When it reached the center of the platform, magic tingled along my spine. The smoke swirled, and a glint of light sparkled in the center, revealing an object floating in the air. A platinum amulet decorated in black gems hovered above the ground.