Chapter 38
“I was right, and you know it.”
“You’re a prick.”
“Don’t be like that.”
“You’re a prick.”
“You could be a little grateful that I did the hard thing, so you didn’t have to.”
“You’re a prick.”
~Conversations between the Twins
Fiona
Darian proved to be the most valuable of the six of us when it came to digging, but everyone helped.
It wasn’t the kind of work any of them were used to.
I doubt even Darian would have concluded that hiding in a hole was the best plan, and doing something so menial seemed to bother all of them.
I guess that’s not all that surprising since Rurik was a prince before he was Godforged, and Darian’s been a High Fae for hundreds of years.
Yet, they still did it without complaint.
Darian transformed himself into a digging creature with long claws made for breaking through the side of the hill.
Elara quickly carved all of us wooden shovels from a tree she and Rurik chopped down with their swords.
I’d asked if it would dull their blades, and they laughed.
I guess the Godforged’s blades are too hard to dull or something.
Regardless, it only took us a few hours to create a hole we could all fit in.
Then we covered the front with branches.
Elara had her pegasus fly a few miles away from us for the night so that it wasn’t found, but she promised she could have the steed back in less than an hour.
It was hot, dirty, and clumsy work. Our new home is smaller than even the poorest hovels, but all we need is a place to sleep. Thoughts of Rhaskar’s story about lying amongst the dead Mindless run through my mind, and I can’t help but think that our original prison cell wasn’t all that bad.
The only problem came when we were done and sitting in the dirt with nothing to do.
“I’m guessing none of you thought to bring any vittles,” Rurik says. “Erik was supposed to bring the ale, but I guess we’ll have to go without that.”
I blink. “Do you even need to eat? I thought you were all immortal.”
Jorren says, “Being immortal doesn’t mean we don’t get hungry. Humans can live to a hundred, but that doesn’t mean that forgetting to eat for two weeks when you’re twenty doesn’t kill you. Our lifespan is just… longer.”
“I’d say we get even hungrier,” Rurik says. “What’s better than good food and a good tankard of ale when you’ve lived a lifetime already?”
“Sex is better than food,” Isola says just as seriously as when we were talking about how to deal with demons.
Darian chuckles. “I won’t argue with that.”
A piercing shriek rings out. Then another, and another. They’re not the shouts of demons that will put out flames, and I don’t think they’re from the other teams. They’re too… animalistic.
The hair along my arms stands up straight as more and more shrieks pierce the silence. “What in the thirteen hells are those?” I whisper.
Darian shakes his head and makes a motion that can only be interpreted as a need for quiet. Everyone slowly stands up, and a shadow rushes past the branches hiding us from the rest of the world, blotting out the moonlight.
My heart’s racing in my chest, and my hands move to the sheaths at my hips. The Infusions I took earlier are spent, but I don’t want to take any more if I don’t have to. I’ve only brought six of each since that’s all my pockets will hold.
More shrieks ring out, but they’re further away. Darian lets out a breath as if he’d been holding it for a long time. “Only whispers,” he says.
Jorren turns toward me. “They’re veilrunners.
They’re like wolves but smaller with oily black coats.
They travel in packs of twenty to thirty and are native to Nyxthos’s Realm.
If you haven’t noticed, the sun hasn’t risen.
It seems like we’re not in Nyth anymore, so veilrunners may be commonplace here. ”
The thought that we aren’t in Nyth anymore terrifies me, but it changes nothing. I focus on what matters. “Each of you could kill dozens of humans without a thought. Why would you be worried about a bunch of dogs?”
“Because they can shadow walk,” Isola says softly. “And their bites send anything other than flesh into the Void. Nothing, not even steel armor and blades, can protect you from their teeth.”
That sends a shiver down my spine. “They sound terrible.”
“They are,” Darian responds. “Luckily, they have short attention spans. They were drawn to our scents, but since they couldn’t find us quickly, they moved on. The cave was an excellent idea.”
There are nods from the rest of the team. There are shouts of pain in the distance along with more shrieks from the veilrunners. Darian sits down again, and the rest of us follow his lead.
“It’s probably a good idea for us to get some sleep. We’ll take watches in teams of two. I’ll sit with Jorren. Fi with Rurik. Elara and Isola will take the last.”
The corner of Rurik’s lip curls up in a smirk. “Is this everything you’d hoped for, Fi? Sitting in a cave while we hide from monsters?”
“Sounds like the human experience. Just another day.”
He laughs, but it’s much quieter than normal. Even Rurik seems keenly aware of how tenuous our survival is. I lay down and bunch up my cloak to use it as a bit of a pillow. My bow and quiver lay at my side, though I doubt I’ll have any actual use for them until we leave the cave.
And I try to get some sleep.