As he ran, Cole gathered the air rushing over his fingers and pulled it around him. The water had put out the cherufe’s flames, but it hadn’t dissolved the creature. It had taken time to kill Auberon. Unfortunately, Cole didn’t have time.
He didn’t dare touch the cherufe again as his broken foot continued to throb. Touching it might get him killed. Instead, he pushed the air ahead of him until it became a wall of pulsing, unseen fury building before him.
When the creature turned toward him, Cole lifted his hands and held them up in front of him as he pushed the air forward. He bellowed as the wall of air slammed into the creature. The impact lifted the cherufe and flung it backward.
It flew twenty feet into the lake and came up sputtering as its rocky arms slapped at the surface. It splashed its way forward but only made it five feet before it stopped. Without the flames in its eyes, its sockets were empty.
It remained frozen for nearly a minute before it started to howl. All around it, the water began to bubble and churn like a thousand piranhas were feasting on the most delicious meat they’d ever encountered.
The cherufe’s arms flailed in the air, and its hands smashed the surface. It thrashed like it was trying to swim back to shore, but the more it flailed, the lower it sank in the water.
A side of its rocky face slumped downward before breaking away and splashing into the lake. When it lifted its hands to hit the surface again, they splintered apart on the downward swing. The broken fragments fell beneath the roiling water.
The cherufe’s cries echoed across the lake until it finally fell silent. Bubbles and foam continued to disturb the pristine surface for a few minutes after the monster disappeared as the water continued to devour its prey.
Finally, when the lake quieted, Cole turned and hobbled a few feet away. When he did, he spotted Aelfdane emerging from a walkway the dark fae had created in the lake. The dark fae was a couple of hundred feet away, but when their eyes met, Cole knew this was it.
Aelfdane wasn’t anywhere near as battered as him, but he hadn’t been through the fires or battled a cherufe yet. And Cole was certain more of those lumbering beasts lurked within the fires.
He could turn and walk back into the fire and hope one of the remaining cherufes or the flames destroyed Aelfdane, but he wasn’t one to rely on hope. Besides, Aelfdane wouldn’t let him get away that easily. At least not while Cole was more battered than him.
Aelfdane bore the marks of the battle in the desert like Cole had. However, Cole suspected he’d also taken some time to rest as his wounds were healing.
Aelfdane would see him as an easy target right now as his flesh bubbled and popped; he still limped on his broken foot, and blood seeped down to coat his skin. Cole could slip into the flames and hope to lose the dark fae there, but he’d never walked away from a battle before, and he wasn’t about to hide from this arrogant prick.
They stared at each other until Aelfdane smiled. At first, he sauntered toward Cole as if he had all the time in the world and was closing in on a guaranteed kill. But as he drew closer and Cole didn’t move, Aelfdane charged across the distance separating them.
When the dark fae held his hands out at his sides, Cole knew Aelfdane intended to do exactly what he’d done to the cherufe he plunged into the water. After everything he’d endured, there was no way he was going in that lake.
Aelfdane was fifty feet away, and Cole felt the pulse of the air coming toward him when he knelt by the water’s edge. He rested his fingers near the lake, and drawing on its power, he pulled forth some of the water.
It rose in a wave that hovered in front of him before he twisted his wrist and flipped his fingers at Aelfdane. The water whipped through the air and around the wall of air coming toward him.
With no other choice, Aelfdane had to spin toward the serpentine water and use the air he’d planned to hammer Cole with to deflect it away. Before Aelfdane could turn back toward him, Cole launched to his feet and, ignoring his throbbing foot, sprinted toward the dark fae.
He would tear this motherfucker apart and shove his broken arms up his ass before he finished with him. Aelfdane, and everyone else who stood in his way of Lexi and revenge, would meet the same deadly fate, and nothing was going to stop him.
When Aelfdane turned toward the wall of flames, he flicked his fingers, and a ball of fire launched at Cole. The flames crackled as the ball shot through the air like a comet across the sky.
Cole threw up his arms, but not in time to deflect the fire. It crashed into his forearms before spiraling away and crashing into the ground behind him. The flames left a hole in his forearm, but they also cauterized the wound, so no blood seeped free.
Lowering his arms, Cole sprinted at Aelfdane. The dark fae stumbled a step back before recovering. For some reason, he hadn’t expected Cole to attack, and that underestimation of his opponent would be his downfall.
Aelfdane was starting to recover when Cole hit him. The pure dark fae weighed less than Cole and was not as seasoned in battle, but Aelfdane knew this was a fight to the death, which fueled his strength.
As they hit the ground, Aelfdane’s fingers dug into Cole’s cheeks and tore away chunks of skin. The blood spilling down his face splattered Aelfdane as Cole wrapped his hands around the dark fae’s throat.
He pressed his thumbs up and under Aelfdane’s chin and pushed up as he sought to tear his head from his shoulders. A lava bomb crashed into the ground only feet away. Bits of debris flew off and splattered them.
The burning remnants of the bomb seared through Cole’s flesh as Aelfdane waved one of his hands through the air. A hammer of air hit Cole so hard in his back that his ribs cracked.
He thought his spine might have broken too, but he didn’t lose feeling in his legs, and he could still move. If Aelfdane hit him like that again, he wouldn’t continue to move for much longer.
Keeping hold of Aelfdane’s throat, Cole flipped over, so Aelfdane was on top. Before the fae could recover, Cole rolled with him toward the water. It was a risky move; he could end up in the lake as easily as Aelfdane, but it was a chance Cole was willing to take.
Blood seeped around his fingers as they sank deeper into Aelfdane’s throat. He rolled again as another fist of air hammered one of his legs. He was sure the blow was meant for his back or maybe his head, but his constant movement had thrown off Aelfdane’s aim.
Still, he bit back a vicious curse as the blow wrenched his knee out of place. Pulling back his fist, he battered Aelfdane’s face.
The dark fae’s nose flattened beneath the impact, as did one of his cheeks. From the broken remnants of his face, Aelfdane’s eyes bulged grotesquely, but it didn’t slow the dark fae as more blows of air battered Cole.
They were near the edge of the water when another lava bomb crashed into the ground. It was so close it skimmed Cole’s arm and tore away a chunk of sinew. The loss of muscle weakened his grip on Aelfdane, and the dark fae squirmed as he nearly broke free.
If Cole didn’t do something soon, he could lose his battle. Unable to keep a firm hold on Aelfdane’s neck, he bashed his forehead into Aelfdane’s already shattered nose. The dark fae howled as his face caved in further and bits of his broken teeth fell to the ground.
Cole didn’t let up as he slammed his forehead into Aelfdane again and again. Aelfdane’s movements became more sluggish, and the next blast of air to hit Cole was little more than a glancing blow.
Gathering his strength, Cole fumbled to lift his nearly useless arm and grip Aelfdane’s head. He seized the top of Aelfdane’s skull and snapped his head to the side with his other hand. Cole gritted his teeth and twisted as Aelfdane battered him with his hands.
Despite the blows and Cole’s weakness, cartilage and bone popped, muscle gave way, and he succeeded in tearing Aelfdane’s head from his body. Cole slumped forward over the bloody remains before resting his good hand on the ground and pushing himself to his feet.
He swayed before steadying himself and bending to lift the head. His fingers slid through Aelfdane’s black hair as he plucked it off the ground and limped toward the water.
He didn’t look down at the head before tossing it into the lake. Then he returned for the body, and lifting it over his shoulder, he carried it to the water and threw it in. As it had done with the cherufe, the water churned and bubbled as it devoured the dark fae.
Cole watched until no ripples marked the water before limping back toward the fire. Using his hands, he deflected the flames away from him the best he could as he pushed through the inferno.
With no other choice and no other way to go, he started climbing the closest volcano. As he climbed, he occasionally glimpsed shadowy figures moving through the fire and smoke, but none of them came after him again.
He didn’t know if the cherufes left him alone because they were trying to avoid the same fate as the one he killed, or if it was because he’d successfully navigated the trials, but even the lava bombs stopped soaring.
When he arrived at the top of the volcano, he made his way around the rim. Smoke continued to billow from inside, and lava churned, bubbled, and popped from deep within the volcano’s lethal pit, but he ignored it as he walked, and none of it soared up to hit him.
Once on the other side of the volcano, he discovered a wall of pure black waiting for him. When he glanced in either direction, more volcanoes decorated the burning land, but behind them, there was only this blackness.
Unsure of what lay ahead, and with no other way to go, Cole descended into the dark.