Chapter 45
FORTY-FIVE
SLOAN
“How far is she?” Sloan grabbed the spyglass, training it on the unicorn and rider tearing across the land.
Her gaze went from the manic rider to those following behind her.
There were at least a dozen riders bearing New Hope’s colors.
They rode on black horses, closing the gap behind their prey. “She’s not going to make it.”
Sloan looked to the others gathered on the battlements. The same female gargoyle wearing the Azra uniform that Sloan had seen in Theo’s office was shouting orders to her men.
“Open the gate! Let the rider in, but do not, under any circumstances, engage the New Hope riders following her!”
“What are you talking about?” Sloan caught the gargoyle’s eye. “You know she’s not going to make it. We have to help her. We need to go out and meet her halfway.”
“I’m not ordering my men to engage New Hope.” The gargoyle looked Sloan up and down. “Not yet, at least. Tensions with the queen are already at a breaking point. But if it does come to war, we’ll need all the time we can get to prepare.”
She wasn’t saying it, but Sloan understood what the gargoyle implied. Sloan gritted her teeth, hating the idea of standing there and doing nothing. The sun was still high in the sky, forcing the Azra gargoyle to shield her skin with a long white-and-gold robe with a deep-set hood.
“What’s your name?” Sloan asked the gargoyle, peering into the deep-set hood she wore.
“What?”
“It’s a simple question. What is your name?”
“I’m Major Cherub.” Cherub straightened her shoulders, trying to determine Sloan’s intentions. “Why?”
“Major.” For the second time that day, Sloan wished she had access to her mage sword. “I’m going out there to help your rider. Don’t try to stop me. If it makes you feel better, you can tell Theo, or whoever questions you after this, that you tried.”
Cherub’s face broke into a small, toothy grin. “I can stop Azra guards from attacking the New Hope soldiers, but I guess you’re not officially part of Azra yet, are you?”
“That’s right.” Sloan broke into a grin of her own, finding herself even liking the Azra major. “Keep the gates open. I’ll be back.”
Sloan didn’t wait for more words to be exchanged before she turned to go.
“This will probably help.” Cherub reached into the folds of her cloak and brought out Sloan’s mage sword. “I was keeping it safe for you until you decided to join us, but I think you’ve already made up your mind.”
Sloan’s eyes grew as she accepted her weapon of choice from the Azra guard. Holding the pommel of her sword felt like a handshake from an old friend. She twisted the weapon in her hand, remembering its weight and feel.
“Hey, are we doing this, or what?” Aareth shouted up toward the battlements from below. “Your boyfriend is trying to convince me we have time for a snack before we go.”
Sloan jogged down the steps, feeling a rush of heat at her face. Was Kade her boyfriend? Did it just happen like that, or did they have to have a conversation about the exact titles of their relationship?
“Oh, we’re not boyfriend and girlfriend.” Kade stuffed a handful of dried jerky into his mouth. “I mean, not that I’m opposed to the idea. I’d love … I mean, I’d like it if that were to happen, but?—”
“You should just stop there, Mr. Smooth Talker.” Sloan rolled her eyes at the shifter she had grown to care for. “We have someone who needs our help.”
“Who is she?” Aareth asked.
“I heard the guards talking earlier.” Kade finished his mouthful of meat. “She’s one of their spies, carrying word from New Hope.”
The massive front gate of Azra was being lifted upward by a series of pulleys, with guards working a giant wheel enclosed in the gatehouse.
“We have the chance to help our new allies and to take out a few New Hope Soldiers in the process.” Sloan shrugged, flipping the switch on her mage sword.
The blade hummed with power as it glowed a dull red.
“That’s all I need to know. Let’s go crack a few skulls.
It’ll be good to stretch our legs a little. ”
No more words were passed between the trio of warriors.
They all understood what needed to be done.
Sloan started first, her feet taking on a slight jog before a full run.
Aareth was on her left, his large form already changing into the lupine beast he was still learning to control.
On her right, Kade gave her a wink before transitioning to all fours.
Two thick fangs sprouted from the top of his mouth.
A golden fur covered his body as he shifted into a giant sabertooth tiger.
Through red eyes, Sloan focused on the scenario unfolding in front of them. The New Hope riders weren’t vampire soldiers. If they had been, there would be no reason for them to ride on horseback. This would be quick.
Sloan turned her run into a sprint. The white unicorn carrying the fleeing spy was foaming at the mouth.
It had been a long, hard chase. The beast was beginning to tire.
Sloan targeted the closest New Hope rider bearing down on his prey.
He was only a few feet back when Sloan was ready to make her move.
With a single fluid leap, she vaulted over the unicorn and its handler. Sloan spun in the air, coming down feet first into the rider’s chest, striking the New Hope rider with a bone-shattering force. The three went down in a tangle of horse hooves, black cloak, and mage sword.
There was no way the soldier would be in any condition to pursue the fight. Sloan untangled herself from the kicking horse and the soldier’s limp body.
BAM! BAM!
Shots rang in the air as the other soldiers opened fire on Sloan, Aareth, and Kade.
Her two companions were already at work, each taking a rider from his seat and tackling him to the ground.
Bullets bounced off Aareth’s skin. Sloan felt searing pain, and the force like someone had punched her rippled through her torso.
The bullet had found a place in her abdomen, but Sloan winced past the discomfort.
In seconds, her healing factor would push the bullet out and close her wound.
There was no point in thinking about it further.
Her thoughts now went to Kade. Among the three, he was the only one not equipped with a steel hide or healing factor capable of protecting him from the bullets.
It seemed the shifter was well aware of this. He danced back and forth as the round of bullets passed through the air.
The distraction had worked. Three of the twelve riders pursuing the spy were already on the ground. The other nine were dealing with Sloan, Aareth, and Kade. Only one of the New Hope riders seemed willing to pursue the spy further.
Kade roared, winking to Sloan with a large orange eye as he took off after the single New Hope rider who still chased the spy. Sloan turned back to the remaining eight riders she and Aareth were dealing with. It wasn’t a fight at all.
Sloan almost felt bad as she landed strikes from her mage sword and blows from her fist, so strong they incapacitated soldiers with a single blow.
In seconds, the remaining eight soldiers were torn from their mounts and battered into unconsciousness. Sloan finished off her last opponent with a blow to his left temple.
Aareth was on the other side of the battlefield, his chest heaving with the rage of battle. His body, half man and half wolf, would be terrifying to any opponent. “Kimberly was right. You are kind of a scary wolf creature.”
Aareth grinned at her through a few dozen teeth.
BANG!
One last single shot rang out into the air. Sloan and Aareth turned at once to see Kade stumble, then fall.
Sloan’s heart jumped into her throat. Panic lent speed to her legs as she tore back to where Kade’s limp body lay.
“No, no!” In a matter of seconds, Sloan covered the distance to where Kade lay. There was no thought given to the last New Hope guard who frantically began reloading his pistol as Sloan approached. Sloan skidded to a halt on her knees beside Kade’s limp form. “You’re not dead. You can’t be dead.”
Kade had stopped the last New Hope solider only yards from the gates of Azra. He had managed to unhorse the rider, but in doing so, he had left himself open to the gunshot.
The scream of the New Hope solider behind her as Aareth tore his body in two was an afterthought.
All Sloan could focus on now was the crimson red wave that pooled over Kade’s short golden fur.
The shot had gone in one side of his chest and out the other.
Kade was still breathing, but his breaths were shallow.
Blood began pooling from his mouth as well as from his chest.
“Can you hear me?” Sloan propped Kade’s massive feline head into her arms.
There was no response.
“Help!” Sloan screamed to no one and everyone at once. “Help, I need a doctor!”