Chapter 11 Briar
Briar
Sharp teeth crushed my foot, and the ground vanished beneath me. The corridor flipped as I was wrenched backward toward the gaping, writhing wound in the wall.
Pain spread through my ankle, and I thrashed and clawed at the ground, looking for a way to fight my attacker. My nails split on the stone as the shadow wolf tugged me closer.
Briar! Vad’s voice crashed through our link, our connection blazing from his anger. The others screamed and shouted.
Shadows pulsed like a heartbeat, the portal yawning wide just feet away, eagerly waiting to devour me. The air churned with rot and static, like wet stone struck by lightning. Claws scraped for purchase behind me. The beast’s jaws clamped tighter, crushing leather, tearing through flesh.
This wolf was larger than the others, its eyes crimson like the figure in the tapestry and on the banner. The pressure from its jaw intensified, and I whimpered.
Vad collided with the wolf in a furious storm of wings and claws.
His talons punched into the creature’s side, and he yanked it off me in one savage motion.
The beast shrieked as Vad tore into it, his snarls raw with rage.
Blood arced through the air, and he slammed the wolf into the wall with a crunch of bone.
Rhielle dropped beside me. Her arms locked under mine, and she helped me to my feet as Veralt surged past. A flash of steel came from the corner of my eye, and Veralt’s blade cleaved through the wolf’s skull in one clean stroke.
As soon as I put the slightest pressure on my foot, I gasped. Pain flared, sharp and hot as fire.
“We need—” Rhielle started.
“It’s fine,” I managed, breath hitching. “Looks worse than it is.”
Thalen appeared on my other side, catching me as I swayed. “It’s very clearly not fine, Chaos.”
“Get some bandages,” Elara called out from several feet away where she was leaning on Silus. “Did it crush your foot, Briar? Is it broken?”
Vad whirled away from the crumpled wolf, blood streaking his arms like war paint.
His chest heaved, and his eyes burned molten silver as he stormed toward me, shoulders taut, every line of him seeming carved from stone.
Relief and fury warred in our bond. “Everyone, hold your position and watch the portal. If another one comes through, kill it.”
He crouched in front of me and lifted my bloodied foot.
I bit back a pained cry and gritted my teeth.
“Sorry,” he murmured, voice rough with guilt.
Vyraetos knelt beside him with the lamp and the medicine bag, eyes scanning the wound with grim focus. “Deep lacerations, but the bone’s whole. You’re lucky.”
“If I shift, I’ll heal. It’s not a terrible wound.” I hoped I could. I’d been injured horribly and had still managed to shift twice, but there had been times recently that I'd tried to shift, and something had prevented me.
“You shouldn’t shift yet.” Vad’s voice was tight with fury. “Not until we’re somewhere safe.” Concern bled through the bond, weighing it down with a dull throb.
Rhielle pressed a scarf to the back of my neck and tied my hair out of my face. “That wolf’s eyes weren't the same as the others. Something’s changed.”
“Doesn’t matter what color their eyes are,” Veralt muttered, still gripping his blade. “We kill whatever comes through next.”
Quen glanced at the tunnel and adjusted her grip on the lamp she was holding. Elias steadied one of the bags slung over her shoulder.
“Does this mean all our beasts have gone mad?” Her words shook. “Are the fire beasts in my kingdom insane as well?”
“Probably best to assume so.” Silus scanned the passage.
The portal pulsed before us, its dark purple veins writhing and alive. An uncomfortable ripple of power shot through me, reminding me of the stag’s energy but more unsettling. My stomach churned, and my skin crawled. “We need to get moving. Anything could follow.”
Vyraetos tied off the bandage on my ankle.
Grunting, Vad rose and stood beside me with a set jaw and one hand pressed to his chest. “What can you give her for the pain?”
“If it’ll slow me down or cloud my head, I don’t want it.” I tugged at Vad’s wrist and turned his hand over to find blood welling from four fresh slashes. You cut yourself on your claws. You need to wrap that. If more wolves come through or come later, they’ll be able to track the scent.
He grumbled and swiped another bandage from the bag.
As he bound his palm, a flicker of guilt shot through our bond, chased by anger.
I’m not used to fighting with weapons while having my claws out.
Now that our magic is gone, they won’t retract.
He lifted his surcoat and tore off some strips of cloth, then wrapped them around his sword handle to make it easier to hold.
Maybe you shouldn’t be using a sword.
He raised an eyebrow at me but smiled slightly. It’s not ideal, but I need the reach if I’m going to be fighting shadow beasts.
Vyraetos placed the items back in the bag. “I’m afraid all the medicines would have side effects. Sleep is the best antidote for pain.”
“I prefer intoxication,” Quen mumbled. “Works for the body and the mind and, if you drink fast enough, super quick.” She drew in a shaky breath and dashed a hand beneath her eyes.
Elias gave her an awkward half-hug. She leaned into him like it was the only thing holding her together.
Up ahead, Myantha had edged toward the corridor we’d come from. She froze and pointed. “Do you hear that?”
The pounding against the cellar doors had shifted to high-pitched squeals and metal shrieking under pressure.
Vad growled. “The hinges are giving way. Move!”
Chaos erupted with bags hoisted and lamps gripped. Silus shifted Elara’s weight against his side while Thalen’s wings flared. Veralt and Elias flanked the rear, weapons drawn.
Myantha spun to face Vad, keeping close to Thalen. “Which direction?”
“How bad is your foot?” Rhielle’s gaze darted to the shadow-drenched portal behind us. “Can you walk?”
Veralt stepped forward, already ready to assist. “I’ll carry her. She won’t be able to walk fast.”
Vad’s head turned slowly, the look he gave Veralt nothing short of lethal. “If anyone’s carrying her, it’s me. Now this way!”
Before I could protest, he had one arm under my knees and the other behind my back. With practiced ease, he lifted me into a bridal carry. I’ll get you clear of the portal. Then you can shift.
I curled into him, fingers clenched in the front of his tunic.
The tunnel blurred past as Vad surged forward, his strides long and merciless.
Every step jostled my injured foot, sending hot shards of pain up my leg, but I didn’t tell him to stop.
Behind us, the others followed, shadows clawing at the walls with every flicker of lamplight.
CLANG-KRAAANG–SKREEEEE–BOOOM!
Metal shrieked against stone, and then the echo of something heavier slamming into place resonated down the corridor. Silence held for a quick breath and was shattered by a chorus of snarls.
“They’re coming,” I breathed.
A howl split the air, reverberating so deep the walls seemed to tremble. Another answered closer to us but farther left. My blood ran cold.
They’re coming from multiple directions, I linked to Vad.
His arms cinched tighter around me, his steps never slowing. I hear them. I have a plan. His gaze swept the tunnel, and he took a right fork without hesitation. “Stay close,” he snapped to the others. “No splitting off.”
The tunnel veered sharply. His chest heaved beneath me, muscles bunching as he ran harder. The grim set of his jaw didn’t change, but tension spiked through our bond.
Are they going to cut us off? The path sloped steeply, with new tunnels branching out like veins. I tried to memorize the route’s twists, turns, and elevation drops, but the howls were closing in too fast. There had to be at least a dozen, maybe more, and their sounds were feral and frenzied.
They’ll try, Vad responded.
The tunnel grew colder, air thinning as he charged deeper into the maze, dodging the occasional stalactites and stalagmites in the cavernous labyrinth.
Every time his foot hit the ground, my leg jarred, and pain shot through me until I became nauseated.
His grip on me never faltered, but it wasn’t going to be enough.
Not with the scent of blood trailing us.
Snarls echoed down the passage, closing in all around us. No direction was safe.
I twisted in his hold, eyes searching the dark beyond the flickering lamplight. I called on my wolf vision, eyes sharpening past the glow. Shadows darted along the far wall with their claws scraping stone.
Too close.
I linked to Vad, More coming. Behind us. At least fifteen now—
“Vad!” Silus shouted.
“I know.” Vad’s tone was steel. “We won’t outrun them in this corridor. There’s a steep drop-off ahead with a ledge above it that we can climb onto.”
My heart slammed against my ribs, and tears blurred my vision.
“It’s after the next curve in the tunnel, and the opening narrows there. Getting into the elevated access point will be tricky—full wing spans won’t make it, and the stalactites are sharp.” He sighed. “We go one at a time, focusing on the wounded first. Does anyone have razor wire?”
“Quen!” Silus barked. “It’s in the bag with three black bands.”
“Quen, as soon as we get to the drop-off, leave the bag at the edge,” Vad ordered. “No delays.”
The tunnel curved, and as Vad had promised, the ground farther ahead vanished into a pit.
A cliff face beyond the pit rose up about ten feet on the far side and then leveled into a narrower ledge and, I assumed, a continuation of the passage.
Jagged stalactites hung from the ceiling, and long, sharp rocks resembling teeth framed the opening.
It was too narrow for anyone to fly through easily, especially carrying someone.
I judged the trajectory it would take for me to get up there. Don’t fly me. Just throw me.
Fear shot through our bond, and Vad’s jaw tightened even more.