The Path of Giants by B.T. Narro (year 7 reading list .TXT) 📗

one of you before I burn him alive this time, so I don’t blow everything I have on a miss.”

“You’ll burn me also!”

“So Jon will heal you.”

“That’s—”

“What about the arrow I put in his leg?” Aliana interrupted Reuben.

“Demigods heal quickly,” Hadley said.

Leon asked, “Are you sure he doesn’t have a healing spell?”

“It’s my understanding that only Souriff can heal.”

“No wonder he risked so much to keep Cason alive,” Leon said. “But these demigods can die, can’t they?”

“It is believed that they can. Got it.” Hadley pulled out what looked to be a small snake fang.

Without warning, I was struck by dteria and thrown across the room. There was a clatter as my peers struck the walls and furniture around me. Before I was up, I noticed Reuben flying off toward the doorway. He must’ve dropped the dagger. I didn’t see it in either hand.

Leon sent a jet of fire after him, but it was too slow to catch up. No one else was ready to do anything, most of us still collecting ourselves.

“Fuck!” Leon yelled.

My peers collectively had a number of injuries I had to heal, mostly battered limbs, but Hadley had broken a finger, and Kataleya had a welt on the back of her head.

“I think he’s too fast for me to curse him,” Hadley announced.

“Can’t you do it right now while you have time?” Aliana asked her.

“I could, but all I can hope to do with these ingredients is slow him down. There’s no point of doing that until he’s here with us. Otherwise, he’ll just wait until he recovers before coming back for you, and I assume demigods recover very quickly, especially seeing how fast Gourfist recovered from my blind curse.”

“What about with Gourfist’s blood?” I asked.

“I can’t be absolutely certain it will do anything with my ingredients at hand. I’m not sure if I should choose it over a curse I’m sure will at least do something.”

“Don’t risk it,” Leon said. “Do what you know will work.”

“Damn him! I’m sick of this.” In a rage, Aliana started firing arrows through the open doorway.

“Stop,” Leon said.

She didn’t, so he pulled on her arm.

“You’re just wasting arrows!”

“What the hell else are we supposed to do?” she yelled.

Remi had her fists balled as she walked toward the doorframe, stepping over the broken door on her way.

“Remi, what you doing?” Leon asked.

“I’m not letting him leave with Aliana.” She stood with her back against the wall next to the doorframe, facing toward us. “I suggest you do the same.”

“I’ll be on your other side,” Jennava said.

I still wasn’t quite sure what Jennava’s specialty was. I didn’t know if she had lost touch with dteria after turning on Cason, or if she had skill with erto, like Leon. All I knew was that she had been a much calmer and more reasonable instructor than Leon had, even offering me pointers about dvinia when I was learning how to lift myself.

Leon said, “If he grabs you, Aliana, jam this into his groin.” He handed her his dagger. “Don’t drop it like Reuben did.”

“I won’t.”

Leon took his spot next to me at the center of the rectangular room. Kataleya and Hadley stood behind us, with Aliana all the way against the back wall of the basement. Remi and Jennava faced us as they stood with their backs against the same wall as the doorway. Valinox would have to get through them on his way out if he managed to snag Aliana.

“It’s been a while,” Leon said to me, “but do you remember how to resist?”

“When I’m ready for it.”

“Get ready.”

We fell silent. I concentrated on tensing my mana as if forming an invisible shield. My fear made it nearly impossible to keep up my concentration, though. How could Valinox remain invisible during this time? And was he taking my peers into the forest to be murdered by his waiting army? Was that the last time I would see Charlie, Michael, and Reuben? And might it soon be the last time I saw Aliana?

I forced my inner voice to shut the hell up. He was not getting Aliana if there was anything I could do about it.

I suddenly felt a presence in front of me.

Leon sent a stream of fire out in front of me while Remi casted from behind Valinox. I didn’t know what the demigod was doing standing in between all of us without attacking, but I didn’t care. Fire bathed him from both sides, but all it did was wrap around an invisible cylinder. He had dteria shielding him from all angles, the fire completely useless.

The roar of the flames was near deafening until Remi let her fire come to an end. Leon stopped soon after, both of them panting.

A voice came out of the gap between us. “Are you done?” Valinox asked with mirth, still invisible. I squinted my eyes. There, I could make out his camouflaged form like heat waves in the shape of a tall man.

A small scroll dropped out of the form and bounced on the floor. “Read that when I’m done,” he said.

I charged at Valinox, ignoring the scroll. I knew he would hit me with dteria, and I couldn’t be more ready.

It turned out that it didn’t matter how ready I was. I was flung back, the blow against my chest so powerful that I thought my heart had stopped. I gasped for breath as I sat against the far wall. Aliana was pulling me up as I healed myself.

Neither fire nor water could touch Valinox, a continuous shield of dteria blocking everything. I couldn’t hope to help, as one of the erto mages would have to stop casting just for me to approach the demigod. But then I saw all my peers blown away by an invisible force.

Aliana didn’t bother to have her bow equipped. She held her dagger behind her back. I could see Valinox coming toward us, deflecting fire and water from behind as Remi, Leon, and Kataleya got back up. There