A Battle of Blood and Stone (Chronicles of the Stone Veil 4)

For the now, anyway. They both knew they’d have to deal with Rune’s curse after.

The first indication that something was happening was the fall of loose pebbles and shale from above Carrick. He didn’t dare look up, wanting to protect his eyes, but then he felt the rumbling.

And it seemed the entire mountain was starting to shake.

Turning his head, he looked over his shoulder in question at Lucien, who stood beside him, hands gripping hard to a small outcropping of rock to maintain his balance on the ledge. His brother merely shook his head to indicate he didn’t know what was happening.

The rumbling grew stronger and a piece of the ledge Carrick stood on broke away, causing one leg to swing outward. He tightened his grip on the stony mountain to prevent falling, but Lucien had also reached out and grabbed him by the bicep until he could gain his balance. Shuffling to the left, Carrick was able to find a wider piece of the ledge to stand on.

Glancing out to the shores of the dead ocean, Pyke, in his Charmeine glamour, had stopped walking and faced the entrance of the cave. Carrick wondered if he could see them standing on the ledge from the glow of the Crimson River, but Pyke never looked their way. Merely kept his gaze on the cave.

And then something Carrick wasn’t prepared for came out of the cave.

Clearly needing to duck down to clear the top of the entrance, a huge beast came ambling out. He stood at least fifteen feet tall and his shoulder clipped some rock as he exited, causing large pieces to fall to the ground.

Carrick again looked over his shoulder at Lucien, muttering in a low voice. “He’s a lot bigger than you described.”

“He’s definitely grown a bit since I last saw him,” Lucien gritted back.

The ground shook with each lumbering step Micah took as he came out of the cave. Pyke’s eyes flared slightly as his head tipped back, clearly as surprised as Carrick and Lucien had been.

Other than his enormous size, Micah was as Lucien had described in the Libri Mysteria. He was covered in hair all over his body, patches thicker on his back, chest, and thighs. Not only had his feet turned cloven, but his lower half was clearly animal, shaped like a goat with reversed knee joints. His arms were muscular, hanging slightly lower than a human’s, and he had a long, whip-like tail coming out just above his buttocks that had a triangular-shaped end.

It was his face, though, that made him a monster. His hair was black, shaggy, and matted. There was little skin showing through the fur except around his eyes and his nose, which was mashed in. His lower jaw jutted with yellow fangs curved upward at the corners, and saliva dripped from one corner of his mouth. The horns on his head sprouted from just behind his temple, but rather than curving upward, they flared out to the side and curved slightly downward.

Sure, he was big, but Carrick knew he wasn’t invincible just because of his size. While it was unknown if his powers had grown along with his frame, they had brought sufficient might to this realm to handle him.

Micah advanced toward Pyke, his shaggy head tipped to the side. While his face was partially turned away from where Carrick stood, he could only assume his expression would be one of curiosity and wonder.

He supposed it could be rage, but he thought not as Micah’s ambling was slow and steady… almost hesitant.

When Micah was a good twenty yards from the cave entrance, Carrick made ready to jump down, knowing Lucien would follow. Their superhuman prowess would ensure they’d land soft as feathers and not draw Micah’s attention.

But before Carrick could take a step off the ledge, Lucien once again grabbed his arm and his attention. With a sharp nod down toward Micah, Lucien growled. “Look at his hand.”

Carrick’s gaze moved away from his brother and down to the beast. His heart sank.

He was holding the chalice, which looked almost like a toy in his meaty grip.

“Fuck,” Carrick muttered. “Change of plans.”

“Let’s ambush him,” Lucien suggested in a low voice.

“I’ll go first,” Carrick whispered in response. “I’ll aim for that arm to get him to drop the chalice. You grab it and run like hell.”

Lucien’s expression turned hard with determination. “I’m not one to run, but, in this instance, I’m with you.”

“Let’s do it then.” Carrick prepared once again to make the jump, but before he did, movement caught his eye. Pyke was walking toward Micah.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Lucien grumbled in exasperation. “He’s going to get himself killed.”

Carrick thought the same thing, but he wasn’t surprised. Pyke might be shallow and self-centered, but when he committed to a battle, he committed all the way.