When she turned, Cathrynne was staring at the Sinn in fear and wonder. Kal paused, transfixed by the creature’s monstrous beauty. It was a thing of heat and shadow, shifting like a bed of live coals, all burnt orange and bloody red except for the eyes, which were a rich golden hue.
Then she yelped as a torrent of flame licked the cavern wall to their right.
“Go!’ Kal shoved Cathrynne into the tunnel. Then she turned and pulled the trigger until the hammer fell on an empty chamber. “I hope I hit it,” she panted. “I mean, it’s too big to miss, right?”
A furious roar answered as they fled into the tunnel.
Chapter 34
Cathrynne
She chased the wildly bobbing light of Kal’s torch. The tunnel was high and wide with slick walls like volcanic glass. Her chest felt as if a fist was insistently pounding on it, and there wasn’t enough air to fill her lungs. Seeing a blue emperor out in the open had been bad enough. But down here, deep underground . . .
When she glanced back, a fiery shape filled the passage from floor to ceiling. There was no way to outrun the creature. Her only hope was to distract it so Kal could get away. Cathrynne slowed and turned to face it. She still had Lara’s rings. They were mostly depleted, but the sunstone held enough ley for one good blast. She ignited it just as the blue emperor’s snout came around the bend.
Her attack seemed to have no effect other than enraging it more. It thrashed in a frenzy, head swinging back and forth. Cracks skittered down the tunnel walls. Cathrynne looked up to see chunks of stone crashing down. She threw herself to one side as a wave of dust billowed outward.
The torch was knocked from her hand. Darkness closed in. Coughing, she scrambled away from the collapse. When the dust settled, a wall of fallen rock blocked the tunnel. And she was on the wrong side.
The Sinn crawled backward a short ways, its blue claws scraping against the fallen rocks, then stopped. Its stare, illuminated only by the eerie flickering light of its mane, was deeply unnerving.
Kal’s muffled voice came through the rubble. “Are you hurt?”
“No! Are you?”
“Some scrapes. Not too bad.”
Cathrynne dug a tiny hole near the top of the rubble. She poked her fingers through and felt Kal grip them. For a dizzying instant, she remembered holding Julia Camara’s fingers through the bars of her cell in much the same way.
“Run!” she urged. “Tell Gavriel what happened. I’ll find another way out.”
“I’ll help you dig,” Kal protested. “We can widen the hole?—”
“There’s no time. It’ll take hours. Just go!”
Kal squeezed her fingers.
Cathrynne turned to face the Sinn. Its head was draconic, with a ridged crest and crocodilian nose. But its eyes were what riveted her. They were deep and ancient, and they studied her with clear intelligence.
The creature stalked closer, its body flowing like molten metal, muscles rippling beneath the shining scales. She couldn’t help searching for some hint of its origin. Some sign that it had come from a cypher like her. But the creature seemed utterly alien. It was born of a curse—or some genetic throwback to the cosmic dragon that was the first avatar of the triple god. What stood before her was nothing like witch nor angel.
Its nostrils flared, taking in her scent. The flames along its spine burned brighter, shifting from blue to violet. Its jaws parted, exposing curved teeth. The Sinn’s chest expanded. Cathrynne recognized the tell.
You learned to spot them in combat training. A foot coming forward, an arm swinging back. In animals, it might be a lashing tail or low growl. There was always a tell when something was about to attack, and the Sinn were no different.
She threw herself behind a pile of rubble as heat cooked the air. The flames missed her by inches, though the smell of burned hair filled her nostrils. Ethereal blue fire licked along its spine, casting the tunnel in fey half-light. It seemed to be studying her, head tilted slightly to one side. What thoughts churned behind those ancient eyes?
Cathrynne forced her breathing to slow. Instead of giving in to panic, she focused her senses outward, reaching with the part of her that was fully witch. There. The cave-in had exposed something buried in the granite ceiling. A seam of quartz ran through the rock above. Cathrynne slammed her palm against the wall and reached for the ley trapped within the crystals. It surged through her, hot and electric. She drew deeply, and deeper still, shaping it into a lethal arrow of force.
The projective magic struck the Sinn like a battering ram. Its massive body skidded backward down the tunnel, claws carving furrows in the stone. The impact knocked more rock loose from the ceiling. When the air cleared, she spotted the huge form of the Sinn halfway down the tunnel, partially buried under debris.
Coughing, she staggered toward it. The beast lay stunned and unmoving, though its mane still flickered with flames. She could see its blue tongue between the fierce ivory teeth. It was panting, its eyes closed. She found a rock, ready to bring it down on the monster’s skull if it showed signs of attacking again.
The cave-in was at her back. She could try to dig through, but that would take a long time. The only other way out was past the Sinn. There might be room to squeeze along the tunnel wall if it didn’t wake?—
She was a few cubits away when eyes the size of dinner plates opened. The Sinn blinked twice, its gaze sharpening at the rock in her hand. Cathrynne froze.
“Won’t you kill me, witch?” The words rumbled from its throat.
