Read Online Demon Hunter (The Collegium Book 1) by Jenny Schwartz - Free Book Online
Authors: Jenny Schwartz
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this confirmed her fears: her dad didn’t just use the power of his position. He abused it. So much for free will.
She wrenched at the magic in the pavement, pulling it up by brute force. The energy of it surged, fought with the original spell-caster and at her insistent tug, became hers.
A straggly tree caught her eye. She gathered the flaring magic and flung it over the tree, seeing the net of power settle and sink into the sapling and deeper into the earth. The tree shuddered as it absorbed the energy, then it grew as if observed under time-lapse photography. In seconds, it stood a ten year older tree.
Someone had put a lot of power into the spell aimed to stick Fay’s feet. More power than most Collegium guardians could handle.
“If you’ve finished playing.” A voice purred in her ear.
“Steve!”
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her over to a SUV. Its doors clicked open.
Fay considered her options and climbed into the passenger seat.
The engine started with a roar as unsubtle as a leopard’s challenge. The dashboard lighting showed Steve’s unshaven, tired face. He looked grim. “Can you deal with it?” he asked.
“With what?”
He jerked his head, eyes going to the rearview mirror.
Fay turned in her seat.
Lumbering up behind the car was a golem.
Chapter 8
The golem was seven feet tall, the shape of a sumo wrestler and it gleamed sullenly in the night. In the glare of a streetlight, Fay saw the amalgamation of its construction: bricks, concrete, bitumen, all the mix of chemicals that had soaked into the city’s soil. It wasn’t made of clay, but of New York, itself—and it moved fast.
A hand like a fielder’s mitt lunged for the rear bumper of the SUV, skimmed and missed as Steve floored the accelerator.
“It was waiting for you,” he said. “I sensed something unnatural, but I couldn’t tell what the hell it was and I couldn’t contact you. You’d thrown your friggin’ cellphone in the friggin’ trash.”
“I cut ties with the Collegium.”
“Idiot,” he snarled as the SUV cornered tightly.
The golem should have been slow, but the power of its massive legs was relentless. It churned the road behind it, part of its clay.
Fay gathered power and as the golem rounded the corner, blasted it. She ducked, anticipating the explosion.
Instead, the golem absorbed the power. It grew. A split opened in the monstrous head. A mouth gaped open. Red light spilled out and a bellow rumbled down the sleeping streets. The damned thing gained speed, too, lunging again for the car.
Steve swerved, more than half his attention on the rearview mirror. He hit a curb and jerked the steering wheel, bringing them back onto the street. A low growl deep in his chest answered the golem’s challenge.
“It shouldn’t be able to do that.” Fay knelt up on the seat, fully facing the creature.
Golems were powered by magic, but only by as much as their creators commanded. They could not absorb more. And they were voiceless.
It bellowed again. A minotaur in a maze. A golem in the city. They were running in its home, in its powerbase. Somehow, its creator had tapped that power.
Time enough to work out how later. For a start she wrenched back the power she’d thrown at it. There was a moment of resistance, then the magic surged around Fay. She batted it away, turning it with a thought into the anti-mosquito spell she’d used at the boardinghouse.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied the golem. The power that had come back to her had been tinged with darkness.
“New York is my city, too.” This monstrosity was its shadow side. But she remembered the friendly neighborhoods, the excited tourists, and the committed workers. Compassion, laughter and tolerance.
It was too easy to forget the good people did. The media sold horror stories and she dealt with even worse. But the city didn’t just destroy, it nurtured. She would not allow the golem to live off a perversion of the city’s energy.
She
She wrenched at the magic in the pavement, pulling it up by brute force. The energy of it surged, fought with the original spell-caster and at her insistent tug, became hers.
A straggly tree caught her eye. She gathered the flaring magic and flung it over the tree, seeing the net of power settle and sink into the sapling and deeper into the earth. The tree shuddered as it absorbed the energy, then it grew as if observed under time-lapse photography. In seconds, it stood a ten year older tree.
Someone had put a lot of power into the spell aimed to stick Fay’s feet. More power than most Collegium guardians could handle.
“If you’ve finished playing.” A voice purred in her ear.
“Steve!”
He grabbed her wrist and dragged her over to a SUV. Its doors clicked open.
Fay considered her options and climbed into the passenger seat.
The engine started with a roar as unsubtle as a leopard’s challenge. The dashboard lighting showed Steve’s unshaven, tired face. He looked grim. “Can you deal with it?” he asked.
“With what?”
He jerked his head, eyes going to the rearview mirror.
Fay turned in her seat.
Lumbering up behind the car was a golem.
Chapter 8
The golem was seven feet tall, the shape of a sumo wrestler and it gleamed sullenly in the night. In the glare of a streetlight, Fay saw the amalgamation of its construction: bricks, concrete, bitumen, all the mix of chemicals that had soaked into the city’s soil. It wasn’t made of clay, but of New York, itself—and it moved fast.
A hand like a fielder’s mitt lunged for the rear bumper of the SUV, skimmed and missed as Steve floored the accelerator.
“It was waiting for you,” he said. “I sensed something unnatural, but I couldn’t tell what the hell it was and I couldn’t contact you. You’d thrown your friggin’ cellphone in the friggin’ trash.”
“I cut ties with the Collegium.”
“Idiot,” he snarled as the SUV cornered tightly.
The golem should have been slow, but the power of its massive legs was relentless. It churned the road behind it, part of its clay.
Fay gathered power and as the golem rounded the corner, blasted it. She ducked, anticipating the explosion.
Instead, the golem absorbed the power. It grew. A split opened in the monstrous head. A mouth gaped open. Red light spilled out and a bellow rumbled down the sleeping streets. The damned thing gained speed, too, lunging again for the car.
Steve swerved, more than half his attention on the rearview mirror. He hit a curb and jerked the steering wheel, bringing them back onto the street. A low growl deep in his chest answered the golem’s challenge.
“It shouldn’t be able to do that.” Fay knelt up on the seat, fully facing the creature.
Golems were powered by magic, but only by as much as their creators commanded. They could not absorb more. And they were voiceless.
It bellowed again. A minotaur in a maze. A golem in the city. They were running in its home, in its powerbase. Somehow, its creator had tapped that power.
Time enough to work out how later. For a start she wrenched back the power she’d thrown at it. There was a moment of resistance, then the magic surged around Fay. She batted it away, turning it with a thought into the anti-mosquito spell she’d used at the boardinghouse.
Her eyes narrowed as she studied the golem. The power that had come back to her had been tinged with darkness.
“New York is my city, too.” This monstrosity was its shadow side. But she remembered the friendly neighborhoods, the excited tourists, and the committed workers. Compassion, laughter and tolerance.
It was too easy to forget the good people did. The media sold horror stories and she dealt with even worse. But the city didn’t just destroy, it nurtured. She would not allow the golem to live off a perversion of the city’s energy.
She
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