26. Clash of Stone and Steel #2
Before she realized she’d made a decision, instinct took over, and Talyn ported behind Samhail.
She swung the rock down toward his head the second she materialized, but he moved faster than she expected, and he caught her wrist only inches from his head.
An instant later she was flipped backward, and then he was on top of her, pinning her body beneath his.
He slammed her hand into the ground, and Talyn cried out in pain as the rock jarred loose from her grip.
There was no time to second-guess her decision. She’d made her move, and now she had to follow through.
Talyn ported out from under Samhail and reappeared near the horses.
There was only about a quarter of a moon in the sky, and she could hardly see in the dark, but she’d taken good note of her surroundings earlier.
She pulled both of Samhail’s swords from their sheaths and turned to face him when a strong force tried to pull the swords from her hands.
She lost her grip on one of them and it flew straight into Samhail’s outstretched hand, but she managed to hold onto the other one, tightening her grip on it.
Nemesis take her. She forgot he had summoning powers. She had to keep her head on straight or she was going to lose it. Literally.
Talyn could barely make out Samhail’s outline in the darkness, and the fact he was wearing all black didn’t help. Only his white hair was slightly visible, and she tried to focus on that.
The flash of the moon in the polished steel of his sword was the only warning she had when Samhail attacked.
His blade sang through the night toward her, and she somehow blocked it with her own.
She ducked low and rolled to one side, swinging out as she went.
She aimed for where she thought his ankles might be, but the clang of steel on steel told her he’d blocked her again.
Talyn’s eyes were adjusting to the dark more now, but she could still only see Samhail’s outline against the patch of starry sky through the trees.
He moved then, not toward her, but toward a denser section of forest so she could no longer make out where he was at all.
If he attacked from there, she’d never see him coming, and panic bubbled up like bile.
She had few options, but she had to try one more idea before she ran.
“I don’t suppose we can forget I just tried to kill you and go back to sleep?” she called in the general direction of where she thought he was.
She had no intention of going back to sleep, but she hoped he might respond so she could gauge where he was.
Samhail didn’t take the bait. Silence greeted her question as she scanned the forest for movement.
A twig snapped to her left, and she swung the sword out in a blind arc, hoping to catch something.
Anything. Instead, something hard came down on her hand and knocked the sword from her grip.
Then her arms were pinned to her sides as Samhail’s iron hold closed around her.
She ported instantly and ran as fast as she could through the trees.
She ran blindly, feeling her way in front of her and praying to the Protector she didn’t trip over any roots or break an ankle in a hole.
The branches of trees whipped across her face, scratching her skin, but she didn’t dare try to run slower or more carefully.
She didn’t hear anything behind her, but she knew better than to think Samhail wasn’t following.
In the back of her mind, Talyn realized he was hunting her, just like they’d jested about earlier. Well, not just like. The idea of being hunted had aroused her earlier, but bone-deep fear was the only thing she felt now. Samhail wouldn’t fuck her if he caught her. He’d kill her.
Talyn ducked behind a large tree and ported as far as she could to her right.
She did it twice more so she was nearly a hundred and eighty degrees away from where she’d been.
She only hoped Samhail didn’t realize she’d changed direction.
She tried to run as quietly as she could now, and the only sounds she heard besides the thudding of her heart in her ears were the night noises of the woods all around her.
Too late she heard the rustle ahead, then something huge slammed into her. The force of the impact would’ve knocked her to the ground, but Samhail’s arms again circled her like steel bands as they punched the air out of her lungs.
She was about to port again when white-hot pain lanced through her shoulder near her neck, and she screamed.
Something sharp seemed to have pierced her skin, and Talyn’s hand flew to the spot to feel what it was.
Her fingers found Samhail’s head, and it took her a moment to understand what was going on. Then it came to her.
He’d bitten her. Nemesis take him, he’d actually bitten her.
Talyn tried to port, but for some reason she couldn’t. She rammed a hand into his shoulder as hard as she could while her other wrapped in his hair to pull him away, but he didn’t budge.
Samhail’s mouth moved against her shoulder, and numbness began to creep through her body. Her eyes widened as she tried to push on him again, but her muscles had started to seize up.
Oh gods, no.
His face, Talyn thought as panic once again set in.
She needed to go for his face. She moved her hand up either to poke his eyes, or maybe scratch him, but she couldn’t do either.
Her limbs felt heavy as a tingling sensation spread through her, and her hand fell away from his face as she found she could no longer hold it up.
“What…are you doing to me?” she managed to ask, terror infusing every word. Her tongue felt large and awkward in her mouth, and the words came out slurred.
Talyn sagged against Samhail as her legs gave out, and his arms tightened around her to hold her up. She felt the pressure of his grasp, but her skin seemed to lose all feeling as the pain in her shoulder faded along with all other sensation in her body.
“No,” she whispered. “Samhail, please…”
Whatever else she might’ve said was lost as her jaw locked up and words were no longer possible. Her eyelids fluttered, and the small bit of light she could still see went completely black as she succumbed to darkness.