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Instead, dark clouds rolled in and blocked out my view of her. I searched through the web of lightning for any glimpse of her shimmering scales.
Nothing.
“Like I said, you took the bait,” the male informed me as he approached.
I spun on my heel. His voice had sounded like he was standing right next to me, but he was still near the iron bars.
His army banged against dark shields.
Why wasn’t he letting them inside? He had me completely cornered.
Glancing back at him, I monitored his approach. He didn’t have any weapons that I could see, but not much of him seemed to be solid enough to hold one anyway.
The rest of his body twisted in and out of existence, looking more like the snaking wisps of a candle’s lost flame than a human.
Poked ears from his head suggested he was some kind of elf, but he wasn’t the Malice King. I would have recognized him.
This creature approached me and stopped just out of arm’s reach. His red gaze fell to the egg in my arms.
“I want you to take her.”
That wasn’t what I was expecting him to say.
“What?” I asked.
He splayed his arms, although they looked more like smoky sticks. “You don’t know me, but I know you, Vivienne Reid. And I have a proposal for you.”
I raised an eyebrow as I dropped a hand to my sword. It would be difficult to fight something that didn’t even have a body, but he did have eyes.
Perhaps there was a tiny brain back there, and that’s where I would aim should he come any closer.
“I don’t make deals with darkness,” I informed him. “I don’t know what kind of creature you are, but I can smell the corruption on you.” I jerked my chin toward the army behind him. “Not to mention those dark elves back there who have been changed. Their king won’t even recognize them anymore.”
He hummed in agreement. “It is unfortunate, yes. However if I wanted you dead, I would have taken away the bars by now.”
My eyebrows shot up.
Looking at the bars again, I realized they had a smoky sort of attribute.
Was he the one keeping those up? Perhaps it wasn’t to cage me in…
But to keep that army out.
“If you wanted to talk, why didn’t you just ask?”
He scoffed. “You wouldn’t have come here had I invited you. And if I had stepped foot on your beloved Academy’s beaches, I expect I would disintegrate.” He waved his hand around, demonstrating the way his fingers dissipated into smoke when he moved too quickly. “I’m not supposed to be like this, Vivienne. The corruption took my soul from its rest and is rebuilding me… it wants to use me and take my knowledge of you.”
“And what do you know of me? I have no idea who you are.”
He tilted his head, his red eyes glowing with something that was definitely not related to his corruption. “I’m your mother’s brother, Vivienne. I’m your uncle, and while I still have my wits about me, I want to help you.” He extended a hand. “If you let me.”
CHAPTER 9
What kind of trickery is this?
Corruption had never been anything other than a disease, but now it seemed to have become something sentient.
“I don’t believe you,” I snapped as I fell back a step.
