The Realms of the Gods Read Online Free

squawking in her ears. “Stop it, you idiotic birds!” she whispered. “Shut up, clear out, and get away from here!”
    She used her magic to give them brief wisdom. The chickens raced into the forest, away from the approachingmonsters. Daine took eagle shape for the third time, watching the Skinners from high above as she waited for Numair to arrive.
    He threw off his cloaking spell when he and Spots reached the dead zone, and Daine glided down to meet him. Taking her pack, she dressed behind a tree as she reported what she had seen. When he dismounted, she unsaddled Spots and sent the gelding into the still living woods, out of the Skinners’ path.
    Numair passed her crossbow and quiver to her. “Can we beat them?” he asked.
    Daine’s blue-gray eyes met his dark ones. “I don’t know,” she said truthfully. “I’ve never seen the like of these things.” Putting a foot in the crossbow’s stirrup, she drew the bowstring until it hooked over the release.
    The man sighed and dropped his cloak over their packs. Black fire that sparkled with bits of white appeared around his body. “Give me that quarrel,” he said, holding out a hand. She obeyed, passing over the bolt that she’d been about to load. He closed long fingers around it, lips moving, then handed it over.
    Daine placed the quarrel in the clip, then led him to their quarry. The Skinners had finished with the village of Greenhall and had entered a nearby peach orchard. Half of the trees were stripped of their bark. Even the green fruit had lost its skin.
    Numair looked ill. “Is it all like this?” he asked.
    â€œWorse. There’s acres of it, clean back to the hills.” She raised the bow to her shoulder, taking deliberate aim. The Skinners, in the middle of the orchard, turned to stare at them—if they could stare.
    Daine shot. The quarrel flew straight, and buried itself in one Skinner’s head. Numair gestured; an explosion tore the air. The Skinner blew apart, showering its companions with pieces of itself. The others looked around in apparent confusion.
    Daine started to grin, but stopped. Swiftly each ofthe Skinner chunks doubled, redoubled, and spread. Each sprouted a pair of stumps to stand on, and stretched. Now there were ten Skinners, five large and five smaller ones. Their attention fixed on her and Numair, they came at a run. Daine slipped another bolt into the clip of the bow.
    The mage raised a hand. Black fire jumped away from him and swept over the monsters, pulling them into the air. The Skinners thrashed and broke through his control, hurtling to the ground. Slowly, they got up.
    â€œI hope the owner of this orchard forgives me,” muttered Numair. Stretching out his hands, he shouted a phrase that Daine couldn’t understand. The ground before the advancing Skinners ripped open. They dropped into the crevasse.
    Numair trotted toward it, Daine right behind him. “If I can seal them into the earth, that may be the end of it. I certainly hope so.” Halting at the edge of the crack, they peered in. “I hate simply blasting them with raw power like this. There is always a spell to uncreate anything, though the consequences may be—oh, dear.”
    The Skinners were climbing the sides. Numair jerked Daine back, shouting a word that made her ears pound. The earth rumbled, knocking them down; the crack sealed.
    â€œPlease Goddess, please Mithros, let that stop them,” whispered Numair. Sweat dripped from his face as Daine helped him to stand. “Grant a boon on Midsummer’s Day—”
    Daine heard something behind them and whirled. Ten feet away, crude hands erupted through dirt. “Numair!” she cried, and shot the emerging Skinner. Unmagicked, her bolt had no effect. The creature rose from the ground as if it climbed a stair.
    Numair cried out in Old Thak. The creature that Daine had shot turned to water. The man