Dimwater's Demons (27 page)
Lepkin’s right hand went up in the air, and then came down in a heavy arc and the shade twitched. When Lepkin shifted his weight on the shade, Kyra saw the dull end of a crossbow shaft sticking out from the creature’s forehead. She glanced back to where the shade had last stood after it had kicked Lepkin. The bolt was no longer on the ground where the shade had dropped it. Lepkin had picked it up and used it to attack the shade.
Leatherback grabbed Lepkin’s sword and then dropped it in front of Kyra.
Kyra took the hilt in her hands and then stormed up to the barely breathing shade.
“You will never win!” the shade hissed.
Kyra looked down and pointed the tip of the sword at the shade’s heart. The green garunda blood hissed and bubbled as she plunged the blade into the shade and ended his life.
The hole in the shade’s chest widened and then emitted a ghastly green glow that erupted into flames. Lepkin jumped back and watched the shade turn to ash.
Leatherback roared triumphantly and let out a large column of fire into the air. For a moment Kyra and Lepkin just stood there, breathing heavily. Kyra wiped her hand across her face, and then put both hands to her heart, trying to calm its frantic beating. She startled slightly when she heard Lepkin whoop loudly and jump while he thrust his fists into the air around him several times. Catching on to his excitement, Kyra began to laugh a bit hysterically, and then more naturally as she watched Lepkin run to Leatherback and plant a big kiss on his muzzle. Leatherback snorted once in response, and then blew an enormous ring of smoke into Lepkin’s face. Lepkin took a few steps back, coughing, and then fell to the ground, still breathing a little heavily and laughing sporadically.
“It’s done,” Lepkin said.
Kyra nodded, staring into the green flames as the shade continued to burn away into nothingness. “My mother is avenged,” she said, hardly daring to believe the words. In an instant she replayed the last year in her mind: the first of the strange attacks at Caspen Manor, her arrival at school, the day she had first seen Lepkin, the day Leatherback had hatched, her first battle with the shade, and now this moment, knowing that this creature which had sent the demons to hunt her had now been silenced forever. Then, her smile slowly faded away as she recalled that even this creature had been sent by another.
Kyra walked over to where Lepkin was lying on the ground and knelt down next to him. “We killed a shade. A
shade!
And you were amazing, but it is not done yet.”
Lepkin sat up a little and leaned on his elbow. He looked to her with a questioning stare, and then his impish grin returned and his blue eyes sparkled once more. “Time to hunt the vampire?”
Kyra nodded. “It’s time to cut the head off the snake, and it seems I have a dagger to find.”
If you enjoyed this book, then keep your eyes peeled for Dimwater’s Dagger, book 3 in the Sorceress of Aspenwood series, coming soon!
Sam Ferguson is a fairly average guy.
That’s it.
No, really, that’s it.
Oh- you are actually reading this?
Well… the truth is that Sam is a very
lucky
guy. He juggles work in such a way that he makes sure to spend enough time with his loving wife and sons. He loves being a fulltime writer and enjoys sharing his workspace with two bearded dragons. If he can carve out an extra hour for himself during the day, he’ll hit the gym to try and regain the body he used to have in his youth (but he eats too much junk food to ever accomplish that goal).
He spent nearly five years serving as a U.S. Diplomat and absolutely loved the experience, but decided to move back home. Outside of the U.S. he has lived in Latvia, Hungary, and Armenia. He speaks Russian, Hungarian, and Armenian. (He used to speak some Latvian too, but he has no one to practice with anymore…)
He also has two dogs.
He plays the Elder Scrolls series.
His favorite superhero is Wolverine, but Batman is a close second.
If the kids go to bed at a reasonable hour, he will cuddle up with his wife to watch Scrubs reruns, the Big Bang Theory, Castle, and Burn Notice.
See, really just an average guy after all.