Empire of Storms
Page 37
Yet her grandmother darted back fast enough that the sword sliced down her torso, ripping fabric and skin as it cut between her breasts in a shallow line. Blue blood sprayed, but the Matron was moving, blocking Manon’s next blow with her iron nails—iron so hard that Wind-Cleaver bounced off.
Manon did not look to see if the Thirteen obeyed. But Asterin was roaring; roaring and shouting to stop. The cries grew more distant, then echoed, as if she were now inside the hall, being dragged away.
No sounds of pursuit—as if the onlookers were too stunned. Good.
Iskra and Petrah had swords out, iron teeth down as they stepped between their Matrons and Manon, herding their two High Witches away.
The Blackbeak Matron’s coven lunged forward, only to be halted by a hand. “Stay back,” her grandmother commanded, panting as Manon circled her. Blue blood leaked down her grandmother’s front. An inch closer, and she’d have been dead.
Dead.
Her grandmother bared her rusted teeth. “She’s mine.” She jerked her chin at Manon. “We do this the ancient way.”
Manon’s stomach roiled, but she sheathed her sword.
A flick of her wrists had her nails out, and a snap of her jaw had her teeth descending.
“Let’s see how good you are, Wing Leader,” her grandmother hissed, and attacked.
Manon had never seen her grandmother fight, never trained with her.
And some small part of Manon wondered if it was because her grandmother did not want others to know how skilled she was.
Manon could hardly move fast enough to avoid the nails ripping into her face, her neck, her gut, yielding step after step after step.
She only had to do this long enough to buy the Thirteen time to get to the skies.
Her grandmother slashed for her cheek, and Manon blocked the blow with an elbow, slamming the joint down hard into her grandmother’s forearm. The witch barked in pain, and Manon spun out of reach, circling again.
“It is not so easy to strike now is it, Manon Blackbeak?” her grandmother panted as they surveyed each other. No one around them dared move; the Thirteen had vanished—every last one of them. She almost sagged with relief. Now to keep her grandmother occupied long enough to avoid her giving the onlookers the order to pursue. “So much easier with a blade, the weapon of those cowardly humans,” her grandmother seethed. “With the teeth, the nails … You have to mean it.”
They lunged for each other, some fundamental part of her cracking with every slash and swipe and block. They darted apart again.
“As pathetic as your mother,” her grandmother spat. “Perhaps you’ll die like her, too—with my teeth at your throat.”
Her mother, whom she’d killed coming out of, who had died birthing her—
“For years, I tried to train her weakness out of you.” Her grandmother spat blue blood onto the stones. “For the good of the Ironteeth, I made you into a force of nature, a warrior equal to none. And this is how you repay me—”
Manon didn’t let the words unnerve her. She went for the throat, only to feint and slash.
Her grandmother barked in pain—genuine pain—as Manon’s claws shredded her shoulder.
Blood showered her hand, flesh clinging to her nails—
Manon staggered back, bile burning her throat.
She saw the blow coming, but still didn’t have time to stop it as her grandmother’s right hand slashed across her belly.
Leather, cloth, and skin ripped. Manon screamed.
Blood, hot and blue, rushed out of her before her grandmother had darted back.
Manon shoved a hand against her abdomen, pushing against the shredded skin. Blood dribbled through her fingers, splattering onto the stones.
High above, a wyvern roared.
Abraxos.
The Blackbeak Matron laughed, flicking Manon’s blood off her nails. “I’m going to dice your wyvern into tiny pieces and feed him to the hounds.”
Despite the agony in her belly, Manon’s vision honed. “Not if I kill you first.”
Her grandmother chuckled, still circling, assessing. “You are stripped of your title as Wing Leader. You are stripped of your title as heir.” Step after step, closer and closer, an adder looping around its prey. “From this day, you are Manon Witch Killer, Manon Kin Slayer.”
The words pelted her like stones. Manon backed toward the balcony rail, pushing against the wound in her stomach to keep the blood in. The crowd parted like water around them. Just a little longer—just another minute or two.
Her grandmother paused, blinking toward the open doors, as if realizing the Thirteen had vanished. Manon attacked again before she could give the order to pursue.
Swipe, lunge, slash, duck—they moved in a whirlwind of iron and blood and leather.
But as Manon twisted away, the wounds in her stomach gave more, and she stumbled.
Her grandmother didn’t miss a beat. She struck.
Not with her nails or teeth, but with her foot.
The kick to Manon’s stomach set her screaming, a roar again answered by Abraxos, locked high above. Soon to die, as she would. She prayed the Thirteen would spare him, let him join them wherever they would flee.
Manon slammed into the stone rail of the balcony and crumpled to the black tiles. Blue blood leaked from her, staining the thighs of her pants.
Her grandmother slowly approached, panting.
Manon grabbed the balcony rail, hauling herself to her feet one last time.
“Do you want to know a secret, Kin Slayer?” her grandmother breathed.
Manon slumped against the balcony rail, the drop below endless and a relief. They’d take her to the dungeons—either use her for Erawan’s breeding, or torture her until she begged for death. Maybe both.
Her grandmother spoke so softly that even Manon could barely hear over her own gasps for air. “As your mother labored to push you out, she confessed who your father was. She said you … you would be the one who broke the curse, who saved us. She said your father was a rare-born Crochan Prince. And she said that your mixed blood would be the key.” Her grandmother lifted her nails to her mouth and licked off Manon’s blue blood.
No.
No.
“So you have been a Kin Slayer your whole life,” her grandmother purred. “Hunting down those Crochans—your relatives. When you were a witchling, your father searched the lands for you. He never stopped loving your mother. Loving her,” she spat. “And loving you. So I killed him.”
Manon gazed at the drop below, the death that beckoned.
“His despair was delicious when I told him what I’d done to her. What I would make you into. Not a child of peace—but war.”
Made.
Made.
Made.
Manon’s iron nails chipped on the dark stone of the balcony rail. And then her grandmother said the words that broke her.
“Do you know why that Crochan was spying in the Ferian Gap this spring? She had been sent to find you. After a hundred and sixteen years of searching, they had finally learned the identity of their dead prince’s lost child.”
Her grandmother’s smile was hideous in its absolute triumph. Manon willed strength to her arms, to her legs.
“Her name was Rhiannon, after the last Crochan Queen. And she was your half sister. She confessed it to me upon our tables. She thought it’d save her life. And when she saw what you had become, she chose to let the knowledge die with her.”
Manon did not look to see if the Thirteen obeyed. But Asterin was roaring; roaring and shouting to stop. The cries grew more distant, then echoed, as if she were now inside the hall, being dragged away.
No sounds of pursuit—as if the onlookers were too stunned. Good.
Iskra and Petrah had swords out, iron teeth down as they stepped between their Matrons and Manon, herding their two High Witches away.
The Blackbeak Matron’s coven lunged forward, only to be halted by a hand. “Stay back,” her grandmother commanded, panting as Manon circled her. Blue blood leaked down her grandmother’s front. An inch closer, and she’d have been dead.
Dead.
Her grandmother bared her rusted teeth. “She’s mine.” She jerked her chin at Manon. “We do this the ancient way.”
Manon’s stomach roiled, but she sheathed her sword.
A flick of her wrists had her nails out, and a snap of her jaw had her teeth descending.
“Let’s see how good you are, Wing Leader,” her grandmother hissed, and attacked.
Manon had never seen her grandmother fight, never trained with her.
And some small part of Manon wondered if it was because her grandmother did not want others to know how skilled she was.
Manon could hardly move fast enough to avoid the nails ripping into her face, her neck, her gut, yielding step after step after step.
She only had to do this long enough to buy the Thirteen time to get to the skies.
Her grandmother slashed for her cheek, and Manon blocked the blow with an elbow, slamming the joint down hard into her grandmother’s forearm. The witch barked in pain, and Manon spun out of reach, circling again.
“It is not so easy to strike now is it, Manon Blackbeak?” her grandmother panted as they surveyed each other. No one around them dared move; the Thirteen had vanished—every last one of them. She almost sagged with relief. Now to keep her grandmother occupied long enough to avoid her giving the onlookers the order to pursue. “So much easier with a blade, the weapon of those cowardly humans,” her grandmother seethed. “With the teeth, the nails … You have to mean it.”
They lunged for each other, some fundamental part of her cracking with every slash and swipe and block. They darted apart again.
“As pathetic as your mother,” her grandmother spat. “Perhaps you’ll die like her, too—with my teeth at your throat.”
Her mother, whom she’d killed coming out of, who had died birthing her—
“For years, I tried to train her weakness out of you.” Her grandmother spat blue blood onto the stones. “For the good of the Ironteeth, I made you into a force of nature, a warrior equal to none. And this is how you repay me—”
Manon didn’t let the words unnerve her. She went for the throat, only to feint and slash.
Her grandmother barked in pain—genuine pain—as Manon’s claws shredded her shoulder.
Blood showered her hand, flesh clinging to her nails—
Manon staggered back, bile burning her throat.
She saw the blow coming, but still didn’t have time to stop it as her grandmother’s right hand slashed across her belly.
Leather, cloth, and skin ripped. Manon screamed.
Blood, hot and blue, rushed out of her before her grandmother had darted back.
Manon shoved a hand against her abdomen, pushing against the shredded skin. Blood dribbled through her fingers, splattering onto the stones.
High above, a wyvern roared.
Abraxos.
The Blackbeak Matron laughed, flicking Manon’s blood off her nails. “I’m going to dice your wyvern into tiny pieces and feed him to the hounds.”
Despite the agony in her belly, Manon’s vision honed. “Not if I kill you first.”
Her grandmother chuckled, still circling, assessing. “You are stripped of your title as Wing Leader. You are stripped of your title as heir.” Step after step, closer and closer, an adder looping around its prey. “From this day, you are Manon Witch Killer, Manon Kin Slayer.”
The words pelted her like stones. Manon backed toward the balcony rail, pushing against the wound in her stomach to keep the blood in. The crowd parted like water around them. Just a little longer—just another minute or two.
Her grandmother paused, blinking toward the open doors, as if realizing the Thirteen had vanished. Manon attacked again before she could give the order to pursue.
Swipe, lunge, slash, duck—they moved in a whirlwind of iron and blood and leather.
But as Manon twisted away, the wounds in her stomach gave more, and she stumbled.
Her grandmother didn’t miss a beat. She struck.
Not with her nails or teeth, but with her foot.
The kick to Manon’s stomach set her screaming, a roar again answered by Abraxos, locked high above. Soon to die, as she would. She prayed the Thirteen would spare him, let him join them wherever they would flee.
Manon slammed into the stone rail of the balcony and crumpled to the black tiles. Blue blood leaked from her, staining the thighs of her pants.
Her grandmother slowly approached, panting.
Manon grabbed the balcony rail, hauling herself to her feet one last time.
“Do you want to know a secret, Kin Slayer?” her grandmother breathed.
Manon slumped against the balcony rail, the drop below endless and a relief. They’d take her to the dungeons—either use her for Erawan’s breeding, or torture her until she begged for death. Maybe both.
Her grandmother spoke so softly that even Manon could barely hear over her own gasps for air. “As your mother labored to push you out, she confessed who your father was. She said you … you would be the one who broke the curse, who saved us. She said your father was a rare-born Crochan Prince. And she said that your mixed blood would be the key.” Her grandmother lifted her nails to her mouth and licked off Manon’s blue blood.
No.
No.
“So you have been a Kin Slayer your whole life,” her grandmother purred. “Hunting down those Crochans—your relatives. When you were a witchling, your father searched the lands for you. He never stopped loving your mother. Loving her,” she spat. “And loving you. So I killed him.”
Manon gazed at the drop below, the death that beckoned.
“His despair was delicious when I told him what I’d done to her. What I would make you into. Not a child of peace—but war.”
Made.
Made.
Made.
Manon’s iron nails chipped on the dark stone of the balcony rail. And then her grandmother said the words that broke her.
“Do you know why that Crochan was spying in the Ferian Gap this spring? She had been sent to find you. After a hundred and sixteen years of searching, they had finally learned the identity of their dead prince’s lost child.”
Her grandmother’s smile was hideous in its absolute triumph. Manon willed strength to her arms, to her legs.
“Her name was Rhiannon, after the last Crochan Queen. And she was your half sister. She confessed it to me upon our tables. She thought it’d save her life. And when she saw what you had become, she chose to let the knowledge die with her.”
