King's Throne(60)

And the mountain in the distance shook.
 

 
Chapter Eleven
 
Mitch felt the pain in his side, even as the volcano stirred to life. A split second later, he felt the lava flowing—in his veins and under his feet. Somehow…he was connected to the mountain. He felt its anger and its pain reflected the pain in his own body. And somehow…it gave him power.
Broken ribs knit as lava flowed around them, setting them as hard as the Grim’s basaltic magma when it hit the tempering air. He was invigorated by the fiery mountain. Enthralled by its pulsating magic that beat within his own heart. He was aware of it as he had never been aware of anything before. Almost as if it spoke to him in its deep, rumbling voice of fire.
Mitch shook his head and got back into the fight. Gisli had been thrown off for the moment but he was regrouping, ready for the next round. Mitch was ready too. His injuries had been healed in the mountain’s fire, strengthened by the Grim’s rocky heart and the magma powered his body as it flowed like fire through his veins. In that moment, he was the mountain.
And the mountain didn’t like Gisli one bit.
 
“Bright Lady.” Gina heard Gunnar whisper from in front of her. “I have never seen anything like this.”
“What do you see?” she demanded.
Gunnar turned his shocked face to her. “He is one with Grímsvötn. The heart of the volcano works through him.” And then Gunnar seemed to realize something. A smile spread over his handsome face. “Gisli doesn’t stand a chance.”
Gina watched Mitch with careful attention, wondering at Gunnar’s words. If Amma Hilda was to be believed, Gunnar could sense magic. And if what he said was true…#p#分页标题#e#
Gina gasped as Mitch seemed to gain speed. His motions blurred as he and Gisli struggled against one another, acrobatic moves occurring at lightning speed as true lightning lit the dark sky behind them—the volcanic ash of the mountain’s eruption attracting the charged electricity in the air.
Full night had fallen, and the flash and bang of the lightning and thunder was almost blinding as it hit so nearby. The two men joined in mortal combat didn’t seem to notice that the fury of the storm and the anger of the mountain reflected their own conflict.
But Gina saw. And she started to realize the truth behind what Gunnar had said. The mountain responded to Mitch’s actions. It growled and spat molten rock when he got hit. It brought lightning bolts to earth, almost in triumph, when Mitch scored a hit on Gisli.
She realized then that the mountain was truly on Mitch’s side.
Sweet Mother of All. The implications were staggering.
Mitch began to dominate the fight. In his human form, he was unstoppable, clearly more than a match for Gisli. When her uncle realized it, he shifted to his tiger form.
Mitch shifted a moment behind him, and where Gisli’s magic had shown dull and sickly against the snow and dark night sky, Mitch’s magical transformation shone like sparkling ice crystals, glistening in the air. His fur was sparkling as well, where Gisli’s was a dull off-white. Seeing the two white tigers side-by-side, it was strikingly clear who was more powerful.
Gisli was huge and had artificially sharpened claws. Mitch was the natural. The way things ought to be. His claws were sharpened by nature and his dark-black stripes stood out in vibrant contrast against the glistening white of his fur. He was truly magnificent.
The two giant cats began to circle, lashing out with claws as they came together, tails tangling in an effort to trip each other up. In this form, they were more evenly matched—at least at first.
Gisli seemed to tire faster than Mitch. In fact, Mitch seemed to lose nothing despite the length of the battle. It was as if he was being powered from somewhere outside his own being. Before long, the black and white mixed with the red of blood as each scored hits—some deeper than others—on one another. The black of the volcanic mountain behind them. The white of the ice cap beneath them and the red of the magma that lay just below the surface. All were represented as the fight dragged on and on.
“I’ve never seen him this strong,” she whispered to Paul at her side, but apparently Gunnar heard her comment as well.
He turned briefly to look back at her. “Grímsvötn is feeding him energy. The mountain favors him. It heals him as he fights. He is unstoppable as long as the Grim gives him its power.”
The mountain rumbled in the distance and an eerie ice fog began to steam down the slope, heading toward them. Gina watched the battle carefully, keeping one eye on the creeping fog. It seemed almost…alive?
“The mage gathers himself,” Gunnar warned in a tense voice. “Be ready.”