CHAPTER SEVENTEEN #2
Lear wafted at the flecks of pollen peppering the air.
“I recognize different landmarks, so we’re definitely going the right way.
It’s funny how the fog makes you pay more attention to your immediate surroundings.
You can’t see much else, so you mentally note whatever you do see. It helps you stay on track.”
A soft breeze slid through my curls and made the foliage swish, the sound adding to the music of the meadow that came from chirping birds, droning insects, and the gurgling of a nearby creak.
“It’s about a twenty-minute walk to the city from here, right?” Reeve asked. “How long do you think it will be before officiates catch up to us?”
“It depends on whether they’re going at an easy pace,” replied Lear. “Either way, I’d say they’ve let us get this far.”
I nodded, adjusting the position of the sheathed scythe strapped to my back. We were all allowed to take a weapon, just as we would if on patrol. “It would be pointless to track us down too soon—it robs us of the full experience and won’t test our knowledge of our surroundings.”
Still, we’d taken the mission seriously; had acted as though we were genuinely avoiding hunters. We took only short breaks, kept our voices low, moved at a purposeful pace, and kept our minds switched on.
A branch cracked as the lazy, lumbering gait of a large beast sounded from somewhere within the fog.
Sable sucked in an audible breath. “Something’s coming this way.”
A few beasts treaded through here—I could see the trails they’d left in their wake. “It’s not hunting—it would be aiming for stealth if it was.”
“You don’t need to worry, Sable,” Reeve advised. “Ajax said the beasts here won’t harm us so long as we wear these cuffs. Make sure you don’t lose yours.”
Yes, the cuffs were supposed to give off some sort of repellent frequency.
“I can’t tell you how glad I am that Xalbia is almost over,” said Lear. “I’ll admit, there were times I wasn’t sure I’d get this far.”
“I think every candidate has had those moments,” waged Reeve, “thought they might not all admit it. I doubted myself a couple of times.”
“Xalbia is designed to make you do that.” I paused as the breeze fanned us again, stirring the high grass and fluttering my curls. “The officiates can’t see what we’re made of unless they first make us feel we’re going to fail. How we handle that is what’s important.”
Lear hummed. “It’s one big mental game, when you think about it.”
“At least you three can boast that your power hasn’t stayed dormant,” mumbled Sable.
“It’s agony waiting for mine to finally show itself.
Every time I see a Lykaon candidate shift into their wolf form, I want to punch them really, really hard.
Spiteful, I know, but I’m feeling kind of mean these days. ”
Reeve snorted. “You’re going to love shifting. Operating on all fours takes a little getting used to, but it’s awesome. It’s going to be hard not to smirk when I finally have an official Black Tapestry uniform,” the Nemean added, a note of excitement in his tone. “I can’t wait.”
“Moving into the barracks will be a relief,” said Sable. “I’m done sharing a space with males. Don’t get me wrong, most give a girl privacy. Others think it makes them big and tough to cause us to feel vulnerable.”
Lear sighed. “I considered finding a spot in the stables a couple of times, but the Laelaps scare me.” She paused. “They seem to like you, Anara.”
“They’re used to my scent,” I told her, pulling a face as I stepped onto a spongy clump of moss. “They attribute it with—” I cut off at a low rumble of thunder.
My brows dipped a moment later. Because no, it wasn’t thunder. It was a continuous rumble that wasn’t coming from the sky at all.
“Don’t tell me we’re being treated to an earthquake,” groused Reeve.
Halting, I shook my head, unease ghosting down my spine. I could swear that what we were hearing was the heavy beat of paws far behind us. Perhaps hundreds and hundreds of—
An alarm began to blare, drawing my attention to the city. I couldn’t yet see it, but I would bet my life that the torches this side of the battlement were being lit.
My heart lodged itself in my throat. “Run,” I bit out.
We tore across the meadow in the direction of the city. We were far too outnumbered to survive a battle against an entire army, so it would be senseless to make a stand. As Keyes had told us, there was no shame in running if it meant living.
A long, melodious howl filled the air. Then another. And another.
“Fucking hounds are back,” panted Lear, running alongside me.
More animalistic sounds soon rang out—sounds I recognized as belonging to the creatures of Deimos, who had clearly sensed the presence of the trespassers.
I had no doubt that the beasts would swarm them, but some slippery hounds would manage to evade them.
And they’d eventually stumble upon us in their bid to storm the city.
With that thought in mind, I picked up my pace. The others of my group were hot on my heels, their breaths as labored as my own.
We all skidded to a halt as we reached a river. Shit. I ducked under a hanging tree and strode to the water’s edge. Narrowing my eyes, I made out wispy shapes at the other side of the ravine. Shapes that I recognized as weathered trees of the dark forest. “We’re going to have to swim.”
Sable cursed. “We’re not going to make it back to the city before they catch up to us,” she said, a note of fear in her voice.
I stared down at the frothing, blood-red flowing current. “No, but we could maybe take some cover in the trees—or climb them.”
Reeve swallowed. “I don’t think the hounds are alone. I can hear hooves now. And war shouts.”
Very distinctive tribal war shouts. “The lapithae,” I rasped, picturing half-human, half-horse beings that resided in the Dark Lands.
A sound of distress escaped Sable.
Lear sidled up to me. “The hounds—”
“Can cross it, yes,” I finished, pulling my sheathed scythe from my back. “But it’s well-known that centaurs hate water. They’ll find another path to the forest, but it will at least slow them down.”
I tossed my weapon across the river, relieved when it landed safely on the gravelly bank. The other candidates did the same with their own weapons.
I took a deep preparatory breath, clamped my lips shut, and then jumped into the cold water. The shock of its icy temperature made me freeze for a few seconds. Then I was on the move, swimming against the current; skirting around boulders and reeds.
Reaching the other side, I dragged myself out of the river. The feel of the cool air made me break out in a shiver. On a different occasion, I might have grumbled at how my hair stuck to my head and my sopping wet clothes clung to my body like a second skin. Right now, my priority was getting gone.
Like the rest of my group, I slung my weapon over my shoulder and then raced into the forest. That quickly, it was dark as night. Beams of light only slashed through the canopy here and there, so it wasn’t always easy to evade any obstacles in our path. We all felt the impact of it …
Lear almost tripped over a tree root.
Reeve ran face-first into a thick branch.
Sable stumbled into a bush that tugged at her breeches, slowing her down.
Me? I fell over a log like an idiot, landing hard on and my palms and knees.
Cursing through my teeth, I quickly jumped to my feet and forged on.
My wet clothes were like a heavy weight that tried impeding my pace.
I didn’t allow it. Didn’t let myself care how they chafed my skin.
Didn’t allow myself to sweat over how the snarls and thunder of paws were louder now, telling me that the dogs were closing in on us.
A loud familiar snap of power made me screech to a halt.
I pivoted on my heel, my stomach sinking.
“Talon.” If I was judging correctly, he had to be somewhere beyond the river we’d just crossed, so perhaps he’d been one of the officiates pursuing our group.
“He can’t take the hounds on with only a couple of officiates for backup.
” Not unless he shifted into his dragon form, which wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.
“Neither can we,” Sable retorted, anxiety rolling off her in waves.
“We won’t have to.” Lear pointed at the sky. “Look.”
I tracked her gaze. Through the fog, I could make out Phoenixians flying through the air at top speed.
Said Phoenixians were also carrying people in their arms who they then dropped at various spots; people who shifted into either wolves or lions in midair.
Other Phoenixians lowered Delphiae to the ground, who then armored themselves in wood.
Before we knew it, we had officiates in our midst. The sheer relief of that was tremendous. It wasn’t common for the Order to bring the fight to any enemies. I suspected they had come only so that any officiates out here weren’t outnumbered, meaning Talon wouldn’t be forced to shift.
I also suspected that many had hung back to remain on the battlements so they could deal with any enemies who might get past the line of defense we created out here.
Spotting me, Glory pinned my gaze with her own. “Just in case you aren’t aware, we’ve got both hounds and centaurs coming our way.”
“Figured as much,” I said as I retrieved my scythe from its scabbard, my hands annoyingly damp from my impromptu swim. I would have used my tunic to dry them off if my clothes weren’t still soaking wet.
“But why would anyone who’s launching an attack send not one but two species that can’t climb the city walls?” asked Reeve.
Glory cut her gaze to him. “Their main aim will be to attain the city at some point, so they’re not interested in invading and destroying it. These attacks are intended to keep up the pressure, pick off our numbers, and provoke the Sovereigns.”
So far, their plan appeared to be working.