Chapter 481

We ran through the trees, heading to the darkest recess of her mind. A skittering sound made their ears twitch; something was watching. A shadow leapt above us. The noise repeated, and my back crawled. It felt like a million little legs were crawling, giving me the willies.

Nix's voice was low. "Something is hunting us."

Megan grunted in agreement, but Shanara's trembling had me looking around. Her body remembered the feeling, warning her to turn back.

I ran my fingers down her side. "It's okay. We are here. We have you." She nodded, but remained tense. She kept running, only going deeper because we were with her.

She ran around trees, jumping at every sound. I kept running my fingers through her fur, mumbling encouragement, when something landed on us. Megan lunged towards me, but I felt fangs sink into my flesh.

I screamed, falling from Shanara's back. Darkness enveloped me, terrifying me. I shook my head, trying to clear the fear, but it felt like every pull the creature made, injecting me with fear. This creature, whatever it was, was a manifestation of the rune. As Vince pulled power from the affected, it amplified their fear, keeping everyone in line.

I opened my mouth to scream, but heard Nix yelp. The darkness was absolute. I retreated inward, trying to think of happier times, whimpering; the fear was overwhelming. My dad. I needed my dad.

The memory of him teaching me magic bubbled up, circling until I understood: the light orb. Nix and Megan screamed in pain, and something in my mind shifted. Attacking me was fine, but touching my wolves…all bets were off.

I bellowed, and light exploded from me. The ball of light, larger than my first, soared into the air. The thing on top of me screamed, trying to run, but I grabbed it, keeping it in the light. "Attack it!" I screamed at the wolves; they tried, but it was strong.

The black body was a hard shell, almost a carapace. I tried to attack, but we bounced off. A dark, eerie laugh echoed. "Stupid females. Do you think you can kill me? I am the destroyer, the ravenous. I will eat through all your energy, and in the end, I will stand, and you will be husks." The face—I don't know if it could be called a face—reared, and I felt the drain stop. Nix tried to attack again, but bounced off. It laughed again; I heard Vince in its voice.

This was his inner self: a black leech, taking from anything and everything. He didn't survive on his own power, but on what he could steal—sip by sip, tiny mouthfuls—to boost himself to his current position.

"You can't kill me. You aren't strong enough." His words ricocheted. "I will eat you slowly until I am satisfied." His words bounced in my mind like echoes in the trees. Slowly.

He struck me again, sinking fangs into my shoulder. The slow draw of power returned, and an idea formed. I started pushing power into the leech, slowly at first. Nix growled, but I wrapped my arms around the leech.

"What are you doing?" Nix's voice was confused as she circled closer.

"Feeding it." It chuckled, thinking me stupid, but Nix understood. She jumped onto the creature's back, forcing its fangs deeper into my neck.

"Good?" She met my eyes, and I nodded.

"Perfect. Hold it." She nodded, and I pushed power faster into the leech.

It grunted, but I kept the power flowing. My power funneled into the creature; Nix held it as it screamed. "Stop!" Its voice was panicked.

Chapter 481

I stroked its hard body. "I thought you were ravenous?" My voice was soft. "Take it. Take it all." I slammed all my power into the leech at once.

Chapter 482