Chapter 19
Chapter
Nineteen
M y heart thundered against my ribs, so loud I was sure the others could hear it. Hooves scuffed in the dirt, and horses nickered as the strange creatures came into view.
Unnaturally tall, the things were humanoid in shape but bore features too disproportionate to be mortal or fae. Their heads were small, shoulders hunched, and they moved at a slight crouch, like predators stalking their prey.
There was no discerning whether they were male or female. The creatures all had the same straight, shapeless form. They wore no clothing, though there appeared to be nothing to cover. Grayish-brown skin stretched over wiry muscles, and their faces —
The sight made my stomach drop.
Where they should have had eyes and a nose and a mouth, each had only a caved-in pit of flesh. The skin was wrinkled and puckered, marred by oozing scabs, as though it were being sucked into the chasm at the center of their skulls .
I had no idea how they could see or smell us. Perhaps they had sense organs not visible to the naked eye.
“Soul eaters,” Kaden rumbled, jerking his reins to right his mount as the beast tried to flee.
“ What ?”
A muscle in his jaw popped as he evaluated the situation. “Whatever happens, don’t let them get their hands on you.”
I shuddered at the thought of one of those things touching me.
“There are an awful lot of them,” Adriel called. Though the royal guard’s voice didn’t waver, the flicker of apprehension in his eyes was enough to make my stomach turn over. “Any ideas?”
“They have us surrounded. When they attack, sever their heads. That’s the only way to kill them. If one fells your horse, leave the beast where it lies and get the fuck out.”
Then Kaden charged, his blade glinting in the moonlight before it severed the first soul eater’s spine. The crunch of bone cut off the creature’s inhuman shriek of pain before its head hit the dirt with a thud.
Tightening my grip on my reins, I kicked my mare in the sides, urging her forward as Sorsha and Adriel charged on either side of me.
But I was not a skilled rider, and the horse seemed to sense my unease. She reared up with a terrified whinny, and it was all I could do not to lose my seat. I gripped my mare hard with my thighs, and yet I still felt myself slipping.
Kaden shouted something I couldn’t discern, and I focused on regaining control of my mount. The commotion drew the attention of two soul eaters, and my heart leapt as they darted for us.
The first soul eater’s face contorted, and I realized that the puckered chasm in the center of its skull was a mouth. The skin stretched as it surged forward, revealing concentric rows of jagged teeth.
A scream caught in my throat as one latched onto my horse, and the agonized shriek that tore from my mare rattled my very bones.
Powerful muscles catapulted me from the saddle as the soul eater sank those vicious teeth into my mare’s flank. I was airborne for two heartbeats, three, before the ground rushed up to meet me.
My shoulder screamed as I hit the dirt, though the pain was dampened by the horror I felt as I watched the other soul eater scrabble onto my horse’s back.
Sunbeam bucked and strained, tossing her head as the whites of her eyes flashed.
It was too late.
I knew the moment they devoured her soul — saw the fight and fury rush out of her even as her frantic heart continued to pump blood from her wounds. Her body fought with a viciousness that any animal will summon in its final death throes, but she was merely a husk of flesh.
Tears stung my eyes as I surged to my feet. My shoulder throbbed dully in protest, but I forced myself to run.
Another soul eater appeared from behind a tree, and my swords seemed to move on their own as they sliced through the dark.
The edge of one blade connected with the monster’s neck, but it didn't sever its spine. Tarry black blood glinted in the low light, but my sword was lodged in bone.
The scent of rotten flesh greeted me as the creature opened its maw, and the horror that clanged through me held me in its grip. My shoulder barked in protest as I tried to free my weapon, but then the thing was on me.
Unnaturally strong limbs drove me to the forest floor. My head hit solid dirt, and my other sword skittered away. I tasted blood as I groped for a dagger, yanking it free from the sheath at my thigh.
Gripping it in both hands, I thrust it upward, spearing the creature through the throat and spinal cord. I winced as the soul eater opened its horrible mouth, but all that escaped was a sickening gurgle.
Hot, sticky blood coated my hands and wrists, but that gruesome maw continued to snap. My arms shook as I fought to hold it off me, my hands slipping on the slick hilt of my dagger. More blood peppered my face as the creature strained toward me, and the ground trembled with hoofbeats.
I barely registered the scuff of boots near my head before one shot out and kicked the thing off me. Strong arms hauled me to my feet, and I caught a flash of murderous silver eyes before steel split the night and sent the soul eater’s head flying.
Cold shock seeped into my bones as Kaden lifted me into the saddle and flung himself up behind me. The gelding whinnied, but Kaden held fast to the reins as more soul eaters swarmed around us.
Then a furious cry shattered the darkness, and I turned in time to see three of the beasts dragging Adriel from his mount.
Kaden swore and urged his steed forward, hacking and slicing with a meticulous violence that was equal parts terrifying and beautiful.
Blood fell like rain as he lopped off heads, but then there was another howl, and I realized that there was scarlet mixed in with the black.
Adriel lay sprawled on the ground, his bloodless face contorted in agony. One glance down told me why.
His left arm had been ripped from his body, leaving only shredded flesh behind. One soul eater fell on the limb like a dog on a bone, and Kaden used the opportunity to slice off its head.
Everything after that was a blur. Kaden flinging his dying friend over the abandoned horse before clambering on behind him. Sorsha galloping past, clearing our path with deft swipes of her blade.
Slamming my heels into the gelding’s sides, I followed Kaden and Sorsha’s retreat. An unearthly noise echoed through the trees, and I realized it was the soul eaters’ shrieks of fury as they sprinted after us.
Leaning forward, I pressed the side of my face to the horse’s mane, urging it to go faster. My heart pounded in my throat as we raced through the dead woods, the frantic gallop of Adriel and Sorsha’s steeds like thunder in my ears.
Once the cries of the soul eaters had faded into the night, a hoarse yell wrenched from Kaden’s throat.
I pulled back on the reins, bringing my mount to a halt, and half climbed, half tumbled from the horse to see what could be done for the prince’s royal guard.
Kaden was already hunched over his friend, his face graver than I’d ever seen it. Adriel was deathly pale, his features contorted in agony.
Sorsha hovered over them both, her throat working as she stared down at Adriel.
“He’s losing too much blood,” she snapped at her brother .
“Can’t you heal him?” I rasped, thinking back to when Kaden had treated my wounds back at Imogen’s apartment.
Kaden gave a small jerk of his head. “The bite of a soul eater is meant to incapacitate so the beast can devour the soul of its prey. Their saliva is poisonous. The wound will not clot, even with my magic, and I can’t regrow his arm.
” He forced out a shaky breath. “If he continues to bleed, he will die.”
My mind raced. I’d tended to plenty of my own injuries back in the Quarter — stab wounds and slashes and bites — but I’d never encountered poisonous saliva.
I’d known witches who could heal by magic, but I hadn’t trained to do anything except freeze water and levitate small objects.
I knew there was a rune to stop the flow of blood from a wound, poison be damned.
I’d seen it in the book we’d stolen from the in-between when I’d had the opportunity to study Mankara’s text back at the House of Guile.
“The book,” I stammered, drawing Kaden’s attention. “Mankara’s text had a rune for staunching the flow of blood. If I just had the book —”
I didn’t finish the thought. Even if I had the text, it would make no difference. If Kaden’s magic couldn’t help Adriel, why did I think mine could? I’d never mastered even the simplest runes Gaeldric had put in front of me.
But Kaden’s eyes widened, and he fumbled in that invisible pocket where he seemed to keep everything he didn’t want to carry. I stared as he produced the small black book, which looked exactly as it had the last time I’d seen it.
My hands shook as I took the text, my bloodied fingers staining the fragile yellowed pages. Each was crowded with dozens of runes, but there was no time to search for what I needed .
Spreading the book on the ground, I concentrated on my intent to heal.
It didn’t matter that Adriel served the demon prince. Didn’t matter that he worked at the behest of the male who’d murdered my mother and taken me prisoner. In that moment, I knew I had to save him.
As if in response, I felt a familiar magic reach out to caress my own. It greeted me like an old friend, catching the pages of Makara’s text and sending them flying as if caught in a high wind.
The spine cracked as the book opened to a page near the middle, which was marred by a dark brown stain.
Hand shaking, I skimmed a finger down the wrinkled page until I found the rune I’d been looking for.
My stomach clenched. I hadn’t even mastered the levitating rune, and this was much more complex. Jagged half-moons bloomed from three concentric triangles, and the complicated angles had to be exact.
I took a breath. There was no room for self-doubt. No room for mistakes. If I didn’t get it exactly right, Adriel would die.