Chapter Thirty-Two #2
I craned my neck to peer over the heads of those in front of me in time to see Prima.
She raised her arms high, the billowing sleeves of her emerald robe falling down around her thin elbows.
She gazed up at the starry sky for a moment before turning and striding toward the entrance of the sacred cave.
She paused just outside, peering up at the dozen or so Zver that laid in various positions on the rocky surface above and around the cave opening.
“Brothers and sisters,” she said in greeting, dipping her head in a reverent bow.
I could have sworn the beast closest to her bowed its head right back.
Then she was entering the cave, vanishing into that ancient darkness.
The people around us fell silent, bowing their own heads as their lips moved in a language no longer used for anything but ceremony.
Kane, Hugh, Zya and I looked around, feeling remarkably out of place.
This was ritual, this was religion, and one we weren't privy to, one we didn't belong to.
No. Our religion had been worshipping their enemies.
A long time passed. The moon rose high in the sky, reflected on the pious crowd’s faces even lowered as they were in prayer. What did they pray to? If not the Geist, who did they believe answered their call? What higher power existed that they could appeal to?
Suddenly, as quickly as she'd gone, Prima returned.
Her face was streaked in dark crimson paint that ran from her eyes down to her neck and disappeared beneath the collar of her robe.
It made her look as though she'd been crying but her tears were composed of blood.
It was a jarring image, particularly so paired with the broad grin she released on us now.
“This is Archí!” she screamed suddenly, interrupting the long held silence with her cry. “This is the beginning!”
A cheer went up from the crowd. It was so loud I couldn’t help but cheer with them, so loud Kane, Hugh, and Zya were grinning as they cheered as well, so loud we didn't hear the screams. Until they grew louder than the cheers.
Kane’s eyes grew wide as he whirled to find a soldier advancing at his back.
It took me all of one moment to realize his armor was not of the camp.
Quick as lightening, I was between him and my friend, twisting his arm so his weapon fell to the ground.
He cried out in pain as he dropped beside it, cradling his broken wrist.
I stared down at the staff he'd released and hesitated. I could hear it there, humming with some foul power that called out to mine. But my own magic shrunk away from it as if repulsed by it. Still, it came to the surface, ready to strike if I could only figure out how to let it loose.
“It’s her,” the soldier was saying and my eyes snapped back to him. “It’s the girl. It’s the one who—”
A dagger through his throat silenced him.
I turned in horror to see Zya standing behind him, chest heaving as she clutched another dagger in her left hand, ready to use should the first one fail. Our eyes met and I saw the terror in her eyes. Pain, but not regret.
“He would have told,” she whispered.
I nodded once to show her I understood. Then someone was pulling me back. I stumbled over a rock before righting myself and running alongside Kane as he led us to the trees.
“There’s too many of them,” he shouted.
There was. I hadn’t noticed at first but there was.
Scores of Pavosian soldiers were pouring out of every inch of the forest beyond the river and from the top of the cliffs the cave was set within.
The Zver were already tearing some of them down, sending men falling to their deaths through gnashing teeth and deadly claws.
Prima and her circle of warriors were holding many back as well, fighting with cold eyes full of hatred.
Gryfon’s warriors were holding their own but the civilians of the camp, the mothers and children and servants and old men, were screaming in terror as their throats were slit.
Their blood joined the water of their precious river, flowing downstream to the life beyond.
“Zya!” I screamed, reaching in terror for my friend. Her fingers brushed mine as we ran, her eyes wide as she clutched her dagger in bone white knuckles.
I stumbled once, tumbling to the soft earth below as Kane swung his sword in a wide arc, cutting down a soldier that was so much younger than I expected. Hugh knelt and lifted me to my feet.
“Come on, Adrian,” he said, his voice somehow gentle even in the chaos unfolding around us. “We have to run. You have to keep going.”
I scrambled to my feet, allowing Hugh to bear my weight for only a moment before rising and running on my own.
Somewhere behind us, a tree exploded, sending jagged shards of wood raining down around us.
We dove to the side, leaving the path in an effort to disappear within a denser part of the forest.
“This way,” Kane shouted from somewhere up ahead as we fled blindly through roots and underbrush.
Hugh still held onto my elbow as we darted right to follow Kane. Zya brought up the rear, her dark braids swinging side to side as she glanced around for more enemies, dagger poised to strike.
“Shit,” Kane said suddenly.
The ringing of steel against steel filled the forest as our friend fought an unseen foe just ahead.
“Kane!” Hugh cried out, stepping toward the sounds of battle.
In that moment, something gripped my ankle and pulled.
Losing my balance, I twisted and fell, peering into the trees to see who had me.
The determined gaze of a Pavosian soldier stared back at me.
Shrieking, I kicked out with my other leg, using the full force of my enhanced strength and aiming at his chest. The moment my foot made contact, the soldier went flying back through the forest, branches cracking and leaves falling in his wake. I stared down at my leg, remembering.
The Darkness wasn't the only magic I could call. I still had my Blessings.
Leaping to my feet, I whirled to face the two soldiers who'd emerged from the brush and were now circling Hugh with predatory intent. Zya was a few feet behind us, fending another off with her shorter blade. I couldn’t reach her. Not yet.
Spurred on by anger, I stepped toward the two sneering at Hugh who stood, unarmed, between them. I lunged.
I had the first one’s spear in my grip before either of them saw me.
Moving faster than light, I spun, cracking the soldier over the head with his own spear before he knew what was happening.
His companion cried out as he hit the rocky ground, unconscious and skull fractured.
The second man took a clumsy swing at me in his fury.
I phased out of existence long enough for his spear to swipe through nothing but air. He gaped.
“It’s you,” he gasped, stunned. “You’re the one we came for.”
His hand darted to his belt and I lunged again.
I was too late. The magic of the staff in my hands sent him crumpling to the ground, shaking violently and breathing his last but not before he'd activated his beacon.
Not before a beam of light shot straight through the canopy of trees above us and gave a clear signal of our location.
Shit.
“Kane!” I cried, already whirling around in search of my friends. “Hugh!”
I stepped forward, picking my way over loose stones and sharp brambles. Zya reached my side a moment later, wiping the blood from her blade onto the front of her trousers and peering down at the soldier I'd killed and the glowing beam of light shooting out above him.
“We should go,” she said quickly, stepping around him. “We should get out of here before they find us. Adrian—”
“We just need to find the guys and then—”
“Looking for something?” the voice that rang out from the clearing just ahead was high and lilting, feminine.
I looked back at Zya and exchanged an uneasy glance with her once before stepping through the trees. I gripped the sword in my hand more tightly. Zya drew up her dagger once more. But the moment I saw what lay ahead, my heart sank.
“Kane,” I whispered, deflating. “Hugh.”
“Are these your friends, Third Ringer?” The woman crooned.
I pulled my eyes from my friends who each stood with a knife at their throats supplied by one of the half dozen soldiers waiting in the clearing.
I turned to the woman who'd spoken and was surprised to find a familiar face.
Sure, she was dressed in a shimmery silver gown that trailed past her feet to create a puddle of starlight on the ground behind her, finery that was quite out of place in a forest, much less a battle.
But I would recognize her anywhere. I had, after all, grown up passing her likeness every day I trudged through the Second Ring on my way to work for House Valin.
“Chassina,” I breathed, my voice equal parts awe and fury.
“So you recognize me,” she replied, lips spreading into a grin that revealed each of her teeth. “I wondered if you would. Good to see they’re keeping up a proper education in that city we both call home.”
I just glared at her, silently reaching for the dark.
My friends were in danger. Kane and Hugh both had knives pressed against their throats.
Zya was drawing closer to me by the minute, dagger in hand, eyes darting about to assess who would strike first. If there was ever a time to use my power, it would be now.
“Come with me,” Chassina said. “That’s all you have to do. Lay down your weapon and come with me. If you do, I’ll leave your friends alone.”
But the spear wasn’t my only weapon. It wasn’t even my best weapon. The better one was rising. I could feel it. I could almost reach out and touch it.
“Don’t, Adrian—” Hugh started.
Chassina snapped her long elegant fingers and a blade slashed straight through Hugh’s throat.