“Fuck this.” She steeled herself and waited because that was all she could do. Maybe not.
She reached out with her magic, focusing on the jagged crack in the earth that hadn’t opened much more than a foot or two. Stretching her power, she felt for that bit of resistance in and around the earth and found it.
Her arms and shoulders ached as she hooked her fingers over that magical ledge and used her ability to manipulate earth and stone to pull everything back together before the mess got any worse. The ground shivered and groaned again, and the edges of the jagged crack jerked together. Yes.
The ground erupted at her feet, and a black spear of stone burst from the ground right where the halfling stood. It knocked Cheyenne backward and sent her skidding across the ground. The air roared as spire after glistening spire punched through from that non-world of the in-between into this very real one.
The halfling leaped to her feet again and raced down the line of erupting stone columns. She reached out with both hands and tried to find the pull on her magic so she could stop the rest of the portal ridge. Two more spires punched through just beyond the tree line, launching half a dozen trees into the air. Then the portal ridge stopped, only stretching about ten yards.
Cheyenne dropped her hands and hissed, catching her breath. The woods fell silent as the last bits of broken earth tumbled from the tops of the black spires. Then there was nothing.
“Okay.” The halfling bobbed her head, scanning the line of rocky spikes through the middle of her backyard. Just a little one, then. Maybe it won’t—
A piercing whistle like a teakettle made her stagger away from the portal ridge just before a wall of shimmering dark light shot from between the black spires and straight into the sky. It didn’t rise nearly as tall as the portal that morning, but it didn’t matter. From within the realm that wasn’t supposed to be here, dark, slithering shapes moved back and forth.
“Dammit!” Cheyenne summoned spheres of crackling black energy in both hands and waited.
Back at the house, Bianca stood behind Ember’s chair at the edge of the open double doors. Beside her, Eleanor covered her mouth with both hands and stared at the huge, jagged ridge of black stone jutting in a straight line from the edge of the woods and across the lawn. Ember gripped the armrests of her chair and bit her lip.
Bianca lifted her chin and raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think even George will be able to repair the landscaping after this.”
Eleanor clicked her tongue. “Oh, yes. Of course. That is the most pressing issue right now.”
“If you’re waiting for me to be concerned about my daughter, Eleanor, you’ll be waiting a very long time. Cheyenne can handle this.”
“I can’t fathom how you can be so sure of that.”
“I just know.” Bianca glanced down at the young woman in front of her. “I’m sure Ember will agree with me. You’ve seen her fight.”
The fae swallowed thickly. “Actually, no. I haven’t.”
“Hmm. Well, I have.” The drow halfling’s mother sighed. I should have grabbed the vodka.
She almost turned to do just that, but the sight of two long, snakelike tentacles shooting from the thin line of dark light she could barely see made her stop.
The tentacles whipped at Cheyenne, bashing the ground as the halfling darted from side to side, launching attack spells.
Eleanor shot her employer a sidelong glance. “You’ve seen her fight something like this?”
Bianca pressed her lips together. “Stop talking.”
Chapter Ninety-Eight
Cheyenne launched crackling black spheres at the two tentacles whipping through the split in the portal. One of them lashed at her head. The halfling ducked and lunged to the side, launching another attack just as a tiny mouth opened in the underside of the tentacle and spat. A thick, smoking glob hit the shimmering surface of the halfling’s well-timed shield, burning a hole in the grass the second it fell.
With a grunt, Cheyenne faced the portal rift head-on. Just another training session, halfling. That’s all this is. She shook out her hands and bounced a little on the balls of her feet. Let’s go, Nimlothar.
When she thought of the glowing purple seed, a sharper burst of tingling magic spread from her core. She took a deep breath and watched the tentacles waving above her. Here we go.
A third tentacle shot from between the two and headed toward the halfling’s chest. Cheyenne shouted and moved without thinking, throwing her hand out like she meant to swipe away a thick cobweb. A screech burst from the portal as the third tendril jerked in the same direction as the halfling’s arm. The thing ripped apart at the center, spraying black fluid everywhere as the end of the severed tentacle flew into the forest.
“Okay…” Cheyenne paced slowly in front of the other tentacles, which were whipping back and forth madly. “Bring it.”
The tentacles stopped their wild flapping, stiffened, and bent at an angle before slamming down to spear the earth with pointed tips. She took a few steps back and caught a glimpse of glowing red eyes from within the shimmering wall of black portal light. Two more crackling spheres hurtled from her hands into the center of those blurry red eyes, and the tentacles that were barbed legs now rose to slam back into the ground again. Then the thing emerging from the in-between pulled itself across the grass.
Leg after spike-tipped leg slammed into the dirt. The blurred red eyes solidified as a roiling, shifting face broke free from the portal. Two gaping mouths opened one right after the other, displaying two rows of fangs each and
