Page 50 of His Darkest Desire
He drew in a deep breath through his nose. The beast’s smell was strengthening with his every step.
Kinsley was fae-touched. Seelie blood flowed in her veins. The lifeforce with which he’d infused his mate would sustain her through wounds that would’ve been deadly to her before, but he had no way of knowing whether it would protect her from a barghest’s venom.
Vex’s uncertainty, paired with her vulnerability, nearly drove him back to the cottage right then.
But she was safe. His magic would serve as her shroud, her shield, and protect her from harm.
Just like it protected all the others? Like it protected my people?
He growled and pressed onward, following the tracks and the guiding heat of his fury.
Soon enough, a thin fog encroached upon the trail. It made Vex’s skin tingle with magical energy wholly unlike that of the mist encircling his realm. Where it had touched the sunlight, the fog had dissipated, leaving erratic empty patches. Vex slowed his pace, avoiding those spots.
Magic pulsed ahead. Most of it belonged to the ley line, but he focused upon the smaller, more insidious force. The primal mana of a beast born from the ether and shaped by brutal instinct.
A low ridge lay ahead. He knew that a shallow gill awaited beyond, where the sunken ground followed the ley line. A perfect nesting ground for a creature whose eggs drew magic directly from such sources to grow at alarming rates.
Vex wove a cloak of illusion around himself and the wisps, masking them from sight, as he crept to the ridge. Despite the magic, he took cover behind a large tree, braced one hand on the trunk, and peered into the gill.
Fog had pooled in the depression, shrouding the ground and making the rocks that jutted up from it seem like mountain peaks in a sea of clouds. Yet several of the things rising from the mist weren’t rocks. They were purple-gray and oblong, with leathery textures, and their exteriors pulsed as though with malignant heartbeats.
Eggs.
The beast has made haste since her arrival.
And having been lain atop so potent a ley line, those eggs were likely to hatch within a matter of days—not into helpless pups but full-grown barghests just as viscous and capable as their mother.
And they would consume every scrap of meat in this world before invading another to multiply and devour anew.
A snapping branch shattered the forest’s silence. Vex’s eyes darted toward the sound, and his fingers curled, digging his claws into the tree.
Farther along the gill, a large, dark shape stirred, making tufts of fog swirl around it. A pair of reflective silver eyes, devoid of any emotion but hunger, turned toward Vex before shifting away.
The barghest’s form grew more distinct as it lumbered closer. A female indeed, and certainly a large one. Even on all fours, it was nearly as tall as Vex at its shoulder. Its long limbs disturbed the fog with each of its slow, heavy steps. It had an elongated, vaguely wolflike head, and its body was reminiscent of a bear’s—albeit a furless, emaciated bear. Any details on its dark hide were too obscured by the fog for Vex to discern.
As the barghest reached the center of the gill, a mere ten paces away from Vex, it halted. The beast rose onto its hind legs as it sniffed the air with loud huffs. While standing, it looked much more like a gangly, oddly proportioned human than a bear.
And it would’ve towered over Vex were he not on higher ground.
The barghest’s head turned toward Vex, making its eyes gleam, and it leaned toward him, still sniffing.
Vex glanced down. A thick broken branch jutted from the tree trunk at the level of his midsection.
Images flashed through his mind unbidden. Pale flesh, shattered glass, blood glistening in the light of ghostfire. Blue-violet eyes so afraid, so pleading. His throat constricted, and sudden heat scorched his lungs. It was wholly unlike the heat of his anger. This was agonizing, debilitating.
Forcing the memories back, Vex returned his attention to the barghest, which had shifted closer to him.
Whether Vex maintained his illusory shroud or not, he would be discovered by the beast ere long. He knew he could not overcome it in direct combat. It was larger, stronger, and very likely faster than him. More, his wings would avail him not—the trees here were too low for him to maneuver beneath them, and if he flew above the canopy, he’d be exposed to the sun. That would kill him faster than any beast ever could have.
But that did not leave him without advantages.
He drew upon the magic at his core and shaped it without the need for thought.
The magic wove first into a voice—his own voice—that called from the opposite side of the gill.
“This is my realm!”
Straightening, the barghest snapped its attention toward Vex’s disembodied voice. The creature took a step in that direction, head shifting as it searched the trees. Its lips peeled back, revealing long, sharp teeth with protruding fangs. Though its mouth did not move, its words formed in Vex’s mind in a low, rumbling whisper. “Death has summoned me to hunt.”