CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
I packed my things, discreetly keeping those golden eyes within my line of vision. Is somebody going to tell me what s going on?
Terawolves are part aether dragon, part wolf. They are the sacred animal of the goddess s son, Io said in a low voice. The son, the one who took after his mother and had dominion over earth and metals. They were a gift to him from the war god. Once they choose their prey, they don t give up until they are dead.
The dread that had been building inside me since I d heard the howl bubbled over, and I felt my back break out in a sweat.
I only see one terawolf, I said. We can handle that.
Io shook her head. That s the scout. It is waiting for the others to arrive before they attack. They hunt in packs.
So do we, I said more confidently than I was feeling. If we were going to survive, everyone was going to have to believe that it was an actual possibility. We couldn t have anyone giving up.
Why are they hunting us? Ahyana said, shoving her blanket into her knapsack.
Were you looking for an answer besides in order to eat us ? her older sister asked, quietly pulling out her dagger.
They won t find us easy prey, I said.
Io was mumbling to herself. Their bite is venomous. Slow acting.
Are we going to fight our way clear? I asked.
No, Io said. There s no way. We have to run but . . . oh! I remember now. When I read about them, it said that terawolves cannot cross water. If we can find a body of water, we ll be safe.
Zalira dropped to her knees, putting her hand flat against the earth and closing her eyes. There s a fairly wide river not far from here.
It was probably the same one that fed into the temple grounds.
I thought aether dragons weren t real, Ahyana said. And that the terawolves were all dead.
Apparently not, I said, taking my xiphos out and getting ready.
We have to run for the river without stopping, Io said. Just because we can t see them doesn t mean they re not there. They can turn invisible.
An enemy I couldn t even see? My heartbeat hammered in my chest. How was I supposed to fight that?
Stupid girl, if you can t see your enemy, listen!
Suri had been quietly gathering long branches, tying a strip of cloth at the top, and then dousing them in the fire. A light source so that we would be able to see in the darkened forest.
But it would also make it easier for the terawolves to follow us.
We didn t have a choice. We couldn t risk falling. I took the torch from her.
Are we ready? I asked. On three, following Zalira. For the second time that day, I counted. One, two, three!
Zalira turned and sprinted and I kept back for a moment so that I would be the last one, making certain that Io didn t fall behind.
A few seconds later I heard something running in the bush behind our group, and heavy panting and the hurried footfalls of a large animal followed us. Terror churned in my stomach. I didn t know if we would be able to outrun them, but I wasn t in a condition to fight them all off.
I did as the voice in my head suggested and strained my ears to listen.
Another beast joined the hunt, and another, and another. I wondered how many there were, how many I couldn t hear because they were farther back.
There was a snarl to my right and then I felt the rush of something sweeping out at my legs. I immediately brought my xiphos down and was rewarded with a cry of pain as I made contact.
The next one came from the left in exactly the same way and I was ready for it as well.
This caused the terawolves to not attack again, but I felt them as close as ever. They were biding their time, waiting to corner us.
I knew from personal experience how dangerous it was to be cornered.
Io nearly stumbled and I reached out to grab at her and keep her upright. One of the terawolves seemed to see this as a weakness and it lunged for her.
Go! I told her. I had to sense where it was and stabbed my xiphos out, but I only swung at air.
The beast shimmered into sight. It was nearly as big as me, all dark fur with silver stripes, bright white teeth, and silver claws. It had curved silver horns on its head and its golden eyes stared at me. It seemed like it had appeared with the sole intent of terrifying me, and it was working. It growled and I tensed, prepared for it to make a move.
It didn t attack.
I realized that it was waiting for the rest of its pack so that they could overpower me together. I turned and started to run, feeling it right behind me.
If I ever saw Demaratus again, I was going to kiss his shaved head for forcing me to practice running so often.
The forest came to a sudden end and I broke into a clearing and could see again, the bright moon lighting my way. I threw my torch at the terawolf and heard it back off. There was the river! I saw Zalira, Ahyana, and Io were swimming across, but Suri was standing in the shallows closest to me. Was she waiting for me?
I m here! Let s go! I told her and then ran past her into the water. I dived in and had gone a few strokes when I discovered that Suri hadn t followed. I swiveled my head to look at her and called for her to follow me.
From the frantic and panicked expression on her face, I realized that she couldn t swim.
Cursing, I immediately turned and rushed back, but before I could reach her, a terawolf tore out of the forest straight toward her.
Suri! I screamed. Look out! It was like I was moving in slow motion. The water was making it so I couldn t go quickly enough. I wasn t going to be able to reach her in time.
She slashed at the terawolf, but it evaded her blow and reached over to clamp its teeth around her other arm and pulled her to the ground. It started dragging her away.
I ran out of the water and plunged my xiphos into the back of its neck. It collapsed to the ground, its teeth still wrapped around Suri s forearm. I pried its jaws open and she quickly withdrew her shaking limb.
Come on, I ll help you, I said. In the water turn onto your back and I ll pull you. I was grateful that I had grown up next to the sea and had spent my entire life swimming and that my brother, Haemon, had taught me how to rescue someone who was struggling.
I also knew that if Suri panicked she could drown us both, and I couldn t imagine a worse death. Getting eaten might be preferable.
We ran into the river just as the rest of the pack came through the tree line, revealing themselves to us.
There were at least a dozen of them, all bristling fur over thick muscles and massive teeth, and they were the most horrifying things I had ever seen.
They came over to the riverbank and watched as I pulled Suri through the water. The cloak I wore was dragging us down, but I didn t have a way to remove it. Swimming like this was exhausting work and I was quickly tiring.
Despite my warning, Suri seemed to sense how I was failing, and she thrashed around, struggling within my grasp. I tried to warn her not to, but my arms gave out and we were both drifting down. Now I was the one utterly panicked. Drowning was my worst fear and I wasn t strong enough to save us both. I didn t know what to do. I kicked my legs out, but it was futile. I was too weak.
But then I felt hands on my arms, pulling me up. Zalira and Ahyana had come into the water and rescued both of us, taking us to safety.
We landed on the opposite shore, exhausted and breathing hard. We all collapsed and watched as the terawolves slowly disappeared, blinking out of sight until all we could see was their golden eyes. I heard the brush parting as they reentered the forest.
They ll keep hunting us, Zalira said. They will find a way around the river. We have to keep moving.
Suri s hurt, I said. One of them bit her.
Io was already moving, looking at the wound. She took off the cloth wrapping from Suri s arm and wrapped it tightly near Suri s elbow. Then she leaned down and wrapped her mouth around the bite mark, sucked, and then spat something out.
What are you doing?
Sucking out as much of the venom as she can, Ahyana said as she started looking for some long branches. We re going to need a litter for Suri. If she walks, her blood will pump faster and spread the venom.
Zalira went to help her, but I could only watch as Io tried to save our sister.
Lia! Give us your cloak! Ahyana said. I realized that I was the only one who still had mine. The cloak that had nearly drowned me was now going to help Suri. I quickly took it off and then handed it to Ahyana. She was using soaked ropes from her knapsack and tied the cloak to the wooden frame she and Zalira had constructed. I wondered why they hadn t used one of the blankets until I remembered that our cloaks had been coated in lanolin oil to make them somewhat waterproof. Our blankets would be drenched.
That s all I can do, Io said as she wrapped the wound up with the cloth from Suri s other arm. It is a slow venom and we have plenty of antivenin at the infirmary. We have time.
I hoped that was true.
After we secured Suri to the litter, we began pulling her with Io crying as she walked. We plunged back into the dark forest and again had a hard time seeing. I heard Zalira curse more than once as she tripped over something, but she managed to lead us safely through.
We found the main road, and despite Antiope s warning, we took it the rest of the way back. It was faster and felt safer than returning into the woods.
When Troas came into sight, Io suddenly collapsed. I called her name and rushed over to her.
It s probably from sucking out the venom, Ahyana said. She put herself at risk to save Suri. We put her onto the litter next to Suri and dragged it the rest of the way, trading off so that we wouldn t tire too quickly.
The streets were empty, but I kept my xiphos drawn the whole time just in case we ran into somebody we shouldn t. Urgency pushed us to hurry but I was so worried it wasn t fast enough.
Part of me wished that Jason would magically appear. I knew that he could have easily picked up Suri and Io and thrown them over his shoulders and run the rest of the way.
We reached the temple and the guards called out to each other in warning. Intruders!
It s Zalira, Ahyana, and Lia! Zalira told them. We need healers! Suri and Io are hurt!
The guards came to help, picking up our sisters and carrying them off to the infirmary for us. We followed.
I expected to see Daphne, but she wasn t there. Instead an older priestess I didn t recognize seemed to be in charge, directing the other healers.
They need antivenin, I said, remembering what Io had said. Terawolf bite.
The lead healer s eyebrows lifted in surprise, but she went to the cabinet to get what I d requested and quickly administered it to Suri and Io.
I collapsed onto one of the beds. Are they going to be all right?
One healer was rinsing out Io s mouth while another studied the bite marks on Suri s arm and removed the tourniquet Io had made.
The head healer said, Only time will tell. We will have to pray and hope.
There had to be something we could do besides just that. Where is Daphne? If anyone could help, it was her.
The three healers exchanged heavy glances.
Antiope and Maia rushed into the infirmary, clearly having just woken up. They were both asking what happened, speaking over one another, and we tried to answer as best we could but it was all confusion.
Zalira cut through the noise and repeated the question I d asked earlier. Where is Daphne?
Maia looked very sad as she folded her hands in front of her and said, I m very sorry to have to tell you this, but Daphne passed away this afternoon.