Of Blood and Smoke

Chapter 49

FORTY-NINE

Della

With most of the weight gone, I pushed up with one elbow and seized the tubing. My other hand grabbed the needle implanted in the crook of my arm and ripped it out. Ezra tightened his grasp on my hips, and I swiveled my head to follow his gaze.

The shadows were materializing into beings. Wraiths just like the ones in the van with Brett. They were covered with tattered rags and had the same bulging yellowish eyes I remembered peering out from under protruding brows. There seemed to be hundreds of them, slowly coming out of the rocks all around us.

“What is the meaning of this?” Ezra cried out. He thrust out his hands and the air wavered, but it had no effect on the shadow creatures I quickly remembered were wraiths.

Ezra pulled a sword out from somewhere beneath his robes, keeping one hand solidly clamped on my back. The guards that had been holding me charged off, their weapons at the ready. They’d seemed confused at first, puzzled over why the creatures showed up. It had to be an area they weren’t expected to be in.

“What are you waiting for?” Ezra roared at his men. “Destroy them.”

The first guard brandished his blade, holding it straight out in front of him as he stalked toward the closest wraith. The creature’s mouth stretched, and then the man froze before shaking like he’d been hit with a strong chill.

The doors at the back of the room flew open with a bang and a contingent of soldiers rushed in just as the mass of wraiths finished materializing. All hell broke loose, and Ezra was forced to let go of me.

Immediately, I rolled off the altar, launching myself to the floor. The impact was jarring, and my wrists took the brunt of my fall. Brushing the grit from my knees, I curled up against the slab, drawing my legs in close, and tried to formulate a plan.

The wraiths seemed to be ignoring me as I glanced around the moving bodies. It was like I didn’t exist. Soldiers fought off the creatures while Ezra struck several of them down with his blade. The blows appeared to dissolve them, leaving streaks of mist in the air that dissipated into the atmosphere.

Eyeing the exit, I saw it clogged with soldiers, men outfitted in sharp cut uniforms as they streamed into the space. My arm was still bleeding where Ezra’s medical team had inserted the needle. I took my sleeve and brushed away what I could, all too conscious I was among humans and other beings that saw me as a source of food. I’d wiped it away, but I was certain they’d still smell it no matter what I did.

Crawling to the edge of the platform, I dodged a clattering sword and then realized my mistake. I reached over, my sweaty palm slipping along the handle, before I dragged it to me. The weapon was much heavier than I expected, and I’d tried to pick it up too fast.

It had begun to fall, dragging me along with it and when I went to stop the motion, I fell forward, cutting the edge of my palm on the side of the blade. Swallowing a cry while my nerve endings screamed in pain, I tugged the bottom edge of my shirt down and wrapped my hand, watching red bloom along the soft material.

I plodded along on my hands and knees, dodging swooping wraiths and darting legs as I slowly made my way to the side of the dais. A hand snagged my ankle, and I turned, ready to shove my foot out only to see Ezra’s grin.

“Not so fast,” he ground out, yanking me back.

My belly scraped the hard rock, and I dropped the sword as both my hands grabbed at the ledge. The clatter of metal was lost beneath his roar when a wraith dropped down between us, its torn robes ballooning like a parachute. The smell of sulpher forced a wave of nausea up the back of my throat and I took advantage of the interruption, shoving my foot out again. I freed myself and crawled away as Ezra’s weapon swooped through the air.

Clangs of metal filled the room, along with the sound of grunts, shouting, and banging. Everything was in chaos. I slid off the edge of the platform and looked around. There was nowhere to go where I wouldn’t be seen and immediately captured. Whether it would be by Ezra, a soldier, or one of the wraiths, I didn’t know. But I was not going to wait around and find out. It was up to me to save myself.

Twisting my head, I noticed a divot in the rocks, a darker area I hadn’t seen before. It almost looked like a passageway and hope filled me. Bodies danced past, momentarily blocking my perusal of a possible escape route before they cleared out of the way. I rose up slightly, bracing my hands on the floor and staining it red before taking one final look.

I grabbed the sword again and took off.