Free Death's Mantle: An Urban Fantasy Novel (Revelations Book 1) by J.A. Cipriano Page A

believing you about that.”
    Mal opened his mouth to say something when Caden’s body burst through the kitchen’s back door in a spray of glass and debris. His body slammed into her kitchen table so hard the dark wood shook as he lay there, sprawled across the top of it, barely moving.
    “Oh my god!” Kim screamed, rushing over to him and gathering his broken body into her arms. Fear and horror washed over her in waves as her gaze shifted from him to the broken doorway. What the hell had caused that?
    “I’m in desperate need of a bargaining chip,” Polyphemus roared as he stepped through the shattered door and into the room. He was so large he had to duck his head and squat down on his haunches. One three-fingered hand was clenched around a huge hammer. Shards of pale sapphire glinted off of it as he pointed it at them. “Those barbarians have something I want. They have my wife, and they want someone for her.” He shrugged, and for some reason, the gesture enraged her. “It’s not personal.”
    “Throwing my boyfriend through a door is ‘not personal?’” she screamed before she could help herself. Everything around her went sort of hazy as she stared at the massive creature, her lips curling into a snarl. She was going to make him pay for this…
    It seemed like the cyclops barely moved, but somehow, he was right next to her. The air around him was so hot it scalded her flesh as she stumbled away from him, falling over a chair that clattered so loudly against the pale pink tile it made her hammering heart nearly burst through her chest.
    “Polyphemus, get away from her!” Malcom cried, stepping toward the giant, his hands curled into fists.
    The cyclops glanced at him and snorted. “You have no power over me, Mors. You have yet to truly take on your mantle and see.” Absently, the huge cyclops whipped his hammer outward, smacking Mal in the chest with the weapon. The sound was unlike anything Kim had ever heard, sort of a wet, cracking squelch.
    Mal flew backward, crashing into the refrigerator with such force, he actually dented the front of it. He slid to the ground, leaving a scarlet smear on the metal. The cyclops laughed, a deep, throaty sound that sent chills crawling across Kim’s flesh. “Someday, Mors, you will look back on our encounters and thank me for opening the door for you.”
    The cyclops took a step toward Malcom, his huge hammer raised in front of him. Blood dripped from the jagged, sapphire shards and spattered on the tile, leaving a trail behind him like a macabre Hansel and Gretel.
    Everything around her faded away as she stood. Her skin was on fire, every nerve sizzling inside her. The urge to crush him beneath her heel was so strong, she couldn’t feel anything else. This thing wanted to defeat her? The idea was laughable.
    She sneered and the world went white and opaque as she took a step toward the massive creature. Her footsteps echoed in the tiny room, and the cyclops turned toward her. The smile vanished from his face, and his huge eye widened.
    “No,” he swallowed, swiveling around to bring his hammer in front of him. He clutched the weapon tightly, hanging onto it like doing so would keep him from falling off the world.
    “Leave, now!” Kim said and her voice was like a trumpet call, like the crashing of hooves, like an invading army. “Or so help me…” the words left her in a tumble of rage as she raised her hand in the air and slowly curled it into a fist. Smoke curled off her body as a fog of wrath settled over her mind. Yes, she would destroy him, and it would be a righteous victory.
    Unconsciously, she began to rub her thumb around the top two fingers on her right hand. It felt like she was nursing a fire. A worried look crossed Polyphemus’s face for a split second before vanishing behind an emotionless mask.
    “You’re all the same to me.” Polyphemus’ crooked teeth curled into a cruel smile, and the sight of it sent a tremor down her