Chapter 22 #2
“We fucked once, and now you think you can tell me what to do.” Meri stood with one hand on her hip, her fury so hot she wanted to spit.
Getting too close to men was dangerous. You started to think of them as friends, and then they began to think with their cocks.
“This is why I don’t bed the men I fight with. ”
She had taught Gallmau all he knew about hunting monsters. He had no right to try and take over this particular quest and act like she was a helpless maiden who needed rescuing. She wasn’t Rixende.
At least Sinan had dealt with the morning after their night of passion by giving her the romantic gift of petrified eyeballs. That had been far preferable to this nonsensical fight with Gallmau over a theoretical baby.
Sinan had turned his attention away from their argument to stare out at the horizon.
The temperatures had climbed back up to a comfortable level, the sun shone in a bright blue sky, and nothing but soft grass and wildflowers stretched ahead of them except for a copse of trees in the distance.
When the necromancer turned back toward them, though, his face was troubled.
“Perhaps the two of you could have this conversation later, in a less exposed position. I can’t”—he let out a breath, as if frustrated by himself—“give us any warning about an impending attack, much less help to stop one.”
“No, we need to talk about this now.” Gallmau wagged a finger in her face, and she had serious thoughts about dropping into her speed and slicing it off.
“You didn’t tell me any details about your curse until it was almost too late.
For the Saints’ sake, you didn’t even let me know Jacques’s father lied and shielded a child-killing Bone Lord.
Odart should be arrested and brought up on charges for that crime alone. ”
“What difference does it make now?” Meri reached up to grab Gallmau’s shoulders. Rerek was dead, and she was free. Imaginary babes and corrupt necromancer-hunters were future problems she would deal with if she had to. All she wanted was to get to Rixende before the other two groups did.
Trying to shake some sense into Gallmau didn’t work, of course. She had to go up on her toes to reach his upper arms, and he was about as movable as the chateau they had stayed in. It ended up becoming an awkward embrace, and Gallmau enveloped her in a hug.
The Prophets damn the man, he was too hard to stay mad at.
“Sanura came into my dreams last night and told me she saw two futures.” He pulled her closer to him. “In one there were children, yours and mine. In another, you died.”
The grief that came with hearing her sister’s name overwhelmed her.
No, Sinan couldn’t be right. Sunara must have been released by the Amor Vitriol to journey to Paradise with the guidance of the Prophets.
That’s where she should be, in an eternal garden filled with lush, green grass and the music of running water, safe in the love and acceptance of the Divine.
Her sister shouldn’t have to fight on as a ghost, trying to warn them about possible futures.
“Get down. Now.” Sinan’s words had the deadly command he had used when he had his necromantic powers, and Meri slipped into her speed.
The Azhdarchid came down so quickly Meri had to move fast even while using her Gift. The beast was the largest of the Archaic birds she had seen yet, with a wingspan of at least thirty feet, an enormous beaked mouth, and shadows streaming off its coarse downy coat.
A Bone Lord Azhdarchid. Lovely.
The damn thing would have been a monster even if it hadn’t been cursed. It was headed straight for Gallmau, who had yet to react to Sinan’s warning. The necromancer was taking the sensible route by throwing himself flat on the ground.
Slashing at the creature’s underbelly as it descended for the kill would have been Meri’s first choice, but assuming its shadow armor worked as it did for human necromancers, she wouldn’t be able to do enough to stop it from snapping Gallmau’s head off.
That meant she had to get close and knock it off its intended path.
As the winged beast swooped lower Meri launched herself up in the air and caught its flat, splayed feet with both hands.
Enormous, but weighing less than she did, the Azhdarchid lurched off course.
Wings flapping, the creature struggled to right itself before it arrived at the next logical decision, which was to bend its long neck underneath its body and drive its bill through her heart.
Meri kept in her speed and released her hold at the last moment, landing hard on the ground.
Time rushed back to its normal pace, and the monster alighted near her, wings now folded into another set of limbs.
It advanced forward with a stilt-like walk, using the three-clawed joints of its wings like forelegs.
Its eyes, bright and intelligent, glowed a faint orange as it glared at her and screeched what she could only assume was a challenge to fight to the death or complaints about her hitching a free ride.
Meri backed up and drew her blades, trying to draw the thing away from her two companions, but the Azhdarchid lunged forward with its beak and tried to spear her like a wriggling fish.
She didn’t dip into her speed, cautious about expending energy she didn’t have, and that was a mistake.
As ungainly as the creature appeared, it could manage a good pace on the ground.
Her first dodge to one side worked well, although the slashing blow she tried to land failed.
Then the animal swung its great crested head and sent her sprawling.
The Azhdarchid moved in for the kill, its beak gaping open.
Sinan was suddenly above her, close enough to the animal to get a hit inside its shadow armor with his sword. The blow cut a shallow slice into the creature’s muscular neck, but once again the Azhdarchid used its crest, and it rammed a blow into Sinan’s chest.
Meri recovered enough from her dazed state to sink into her speed and drag Sinan away from the beast. As drawn out as it felt, the battle with the winged predator had taken so little time Gallmau hadn’t had a chance to join the fight.
Now he did, and the balance changed.
Gallmau used the same approach he had with Rerek, bashing at the shadow protection around the creature with his shield.
The Azhdarchid screeched in fury and smashed its bony head against Gallmau’s treasured family heirloom, but the prince had the advantage over the looming but lightweight creature.
He pushed the monster back from both Sinan and Meri, not even trying to land a sword blow.
As the dark ripples of energy protecting the Azhdarchid began to dissipate, the creature apparently concluded the three of them weren’t tasty enough to require this much effort. It took off with its odd gait, then spread its vast wings and soared upward.
Gallmau lowered his shield and wiped sweat off his brow. “Why the fuck does every monster known to humanity want to track us down in this Saints-forsaken place?”
“A beast master.” Sinan gasped out the words, and Meri was alarmed to find the necromancer sagging against her for support.
The breastplate Gallmau had found for him had a sizable dent, and Sinan’s breathing was shallow.
“That’s what the necromancer we’re facing is.
The fish and now an Azhdarchid—they’re both Touched. ”
“We have to find a place to let you lie down and rest.” Meri slid her shoulder under Sinan’s arm to prop him up and made shushing sounds to stop the necromancer from lecturing them about theories they could do nothing about.
“The trees should provide cover to stop that flying monstrosity from attacking us again.”
“No time.” Gallmau’s voice was grim.
Meri lifted her head in alarm and followed Gallmau’s gaze.
Three riders were approaching, each on horses that looked comically small, like ponies.
Only the mounts weren’t undersized, it was their riders who were too large.
Each man barreling toward them with dust kicking up from his horse’s hooves was taller and broader than even Gallmau and dressed for battle.
“Shields of Thaschus.” Sinan got the words out, then paused for breath. His chest was injured, and she’d bet some of his ribs were broken.
They could have used his sword arm in this fight—not to mention his Bone Lord powers—but he couldn’t do much in his current situation. She and Gallmau would need to take out the three fighters and try to protect Sinan at the same time.
“They’re not wearing those fancy Shield uniforms.” Gallmau slung his shield on his back and pulled out his two-hander. “Whoever they are, I’ll deal with it. Get behind me.”
No, not this again.
“I’m going to do what I can before they get here.” Meri prepared to slip into her speed, despite Gallmau’s protests.
But Sinan was the one who gripped her arm. “Don’t attack them directly. If they’re Shields, they would’ve trained against speed fighters, and they’ll have the best protection the Noviodunam artifex guild can provide. Focus on the horses.”
Meri couldn’t imagine Shields of Thaschus defecting and joining up with a Bone Lord, but whoever the men were, they looked ready to finish the job the Azhdarchid had started.
Time slowed around her as she ran, and she reached the three riders when they were still a good distance from Gallmau and Sinan. The riders were focused on the prince and the reach of his sword. Meri had to take away the advantage their mounts gave them.
Even with her speed, she couldn’t kill or maim all three of them as they charged forward, and Sinan’s warning had made her more cautious.
The men were dressed in dark colors and nondescript light armor, but their bearing and weaponry indicated they were well trained and equipped.
Still, they had to be nothing more than high-priced sellswords, and Sinan’s natural fear and hatred for the Shields must be clouding his analysis.
The Noviodunam’s private soldiers hated Bone Lords.
Meri used one of the small daggers she hid under her garments to slice through the girth attaching the saddle on the rider on her right, then moved to the rider on her left. The man seated on the middle horse was harder for her to reach, and she knew she had little time left to stay in her speed.
Worse yet, if this trick didn’t work, she wouldn’t be of much help to Gallmau.
The middle horse pulled ahead of the others as time ticked slowly and the leather girths began to separate.
Hopefully, the sudden twist of the saddles would send the men flying off their mounts.
She caught up to the rider in the middle, knowing she would need to drop out of her speed soon, and tried to slip her knife through the leather band.
Her hand brushed against the rider’s leg and sparks filled her vision.
She dropped to the ground, falling out of her speed and losing any control of her limbs. Her fear barely had a chance to register before her head struck against something hard and unyielding. Darkness rushed up to engulf her, and she felt nothing at all.