She nodded.
“I built one here. The Celts and their stupid human sheep followers should be good and lost by now. They’ll be lucky to find their way out in a hundred years. By then, everyone will have starved to death.”
“They can use magic.”
“It will boomerang right back at them. Funny acoustics in the labyrinth. That Minotaur was crazy, but smart as a whip. I took his ideas and did them one better.” Slototh inclined his head. For one bizarre moment, he looked like an emcee at an awards ceremony. “The Minotaur is here. He liked the idea of fresh food. It has been a long while since anyone thought to send him human sacrifices.” The dark god sighed. “I miss the old days. Things were so much…easier.”
He morphed back into man form. The transformation sucked all the air out of the room again. She gagged, but maybe because she was expecting it, she didn’t have the same sense of being half suffocated this time.
His eyes gleamed as he looked at her. “Take your clothes off. They’ll just be in the way.”
What do I have to lose? Pulling every ounce of magic she could summon, Aislinn heaved it at him. When it didn’t do much other than bring a surprised look to his face, rather like he welcomed a challenge, she glanced about. Desperation burned through her. If magic wouldn’t do it, maybe something else would. An iron rod leaned against the wall next to the rack. She lunged for it and swung at him, connecting with his neck.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The crack sounded loud against the silence of the room. Not waiting to see if she’d hurt him, Aislinn swung again. This time, the bar thunked against warding. Shit! She used her Mage gift to blast a hole and drove the rod through right behind her magic. Iridescent blood spewed out, steaming and hissing where it contacted the stone floor.
Slototh bared his teeth. The sound of his breathing, ragged and breathy, eddied between them. His human form shimmered.
Nooooo! She was sure he was more vulnerable as a human. She did not want him back in beast mode. Her heart stuttered in her chest. She pulled her top up, exposing herself. “Don’t change back.”
“What? You like it rough?” A knowing smile spread across his face. “Never would have guessed that from your discards.”
She managed to nod. The wound she’d opened in his neck was closing rapidly. She wondered if she could hurt him enough to buy herself time to jump out of there. He walked toward her, flexing his hands. She forced herself to keep her breasts out. Anything to bring him within reach again.
“Drop that piece of iron.”
Dredging up what she hoped would pass for a genuine smile, she let go of it. The rod clanked loudly as it clattered to the floor.
He closed a hand over one breast, twisted the nipple, and then lowered his head to bite down on it. She felt his warding fall when he touched her. Excitement thrummed through her, but she batted it aside—and waited. She’d have to pick her moment carefully. If she blew it, she wouldn’t get a second chance. His mouth moved to the other breast, then to her mouth. Blood, hot and salty, flowed where he bit into her lips. She ignored the pain and focused her mind.
The cadence of his breathing increased. Something huge and hard as stone pressed into her stomach. His cock. Christ, it felt as if it was two feet long. She tried to twist away, but he just bit harder. Shoving both hands between them, she closed her fingers around his shaft. She dug into it as hard as she could. He bucked against her, obviously enjoying the hell out of what would have reduced any other man to shrieks of agony.
Her lungs smarted from the effort of fighting him. She tried to knee his balls. Anticipating her, he kicked her leg aside, doubled up a fist, and punched her full in the face. It sounded like a cannon went off inside her head, and she felt the bones crack in one cheek. More blood filled her mouth. She spit it out, gasping for air.
Slototh was done toying with her. She didn’t think she had much time left before he finished her off. Reaching deep, she channeled her pain and despair into anger. Magic hurtled out, aimed for his carotid artery. She gave it everything she had, willing the walled vessel to burst. Her exhilaration when she felt it rupture was heady. I haven’t won yet. The bastard might be able to Heal himself.
He leapt back from her, a horrified expression on his face, and clapped a hand to the side of his neck. “You bitch,” he snarled. “You fucking bitch.”
She felt him grope for his beast form. Can’t let that happen. Weaving fire and air, she built walls around him, praying they’d hold, that he wouldn’t just shatter them with a thought. His throat was swelling visibly because there was nowhere for all that blood to go. How long did it take a human body to bleed out? Eight minutes? Ten? How long would it take him? Aislinn added reinforcements to the barrier keeping him in his human body. Her breath rasped, harsh in the still air, and then plumed white, as the temperature in the room dropped. She heard him struggling to breathe, too. A gurgly, grating quality raised her hopes that he might actually be dying.