Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
N eve gasped for breath, winded from the fall.
Who attacked them? There was still no other sound besides the swaying leaves. Eleksi leaped into a crouch.
“Neve, I want you to hide yourself,” he muttered. “Now.”
A fast-moving blur of a figure collided with him. He wrestled with it and heaved it at a tree trunk. But the figure righted itself midair before hitting the tree, landing lightly on foot.
The figure was a man dressed all in black, with a telltale glint of silver on his thumb. A Spider King had found them. Neve scrambled to her feet, panting in terror.
Eleksi drew his golden dagger and lunged at the assassin. He tackled the other man and hammered him with punches with impossible deftness and speed. But his peer was every bit as deadly, blocking Eleksi’s attacks and attempting to level his own.
Both men used the surrounding yew trees to launch themselves from, the soles of their boots nimble on the rough trunks, and they made no noise except the whip of their cloaks. Her heart thudding, Neve blinked rapidly, hardly able to tell them apart.
When Eleksi had been sent to kill her, he’d definitely held back. If he’d attacked her with this kind of zeal, she would’ve been dead within moments. The Spider Kings were even more dangerous than she’d thought.
Even so, she didn’t want to flee while he fought. It would be a waste of her magical abilities to run and crouch in the bushes and wonder who’d survive. But using sorcery on the men could cause more harm than good, because they moved too fast for her to cast with any precision.
The dilemma was made redundant when another Spider King appeared, dropping from the high branches of the tree overhead. Neve didn’t have time to draw a weapon. She reacted instinctively, casting magic with the strong desire to evade.
Her cloak crumpled to the ground as she fell straight downward into endless black nothingness. With a thrill of anxiety, she realized she’d sent herself to the In-Between—the void space that bridged life and death. She’d never done that before.
But no one could remain in the In-Between without soon dying. Reining in her ricocheting thoughts, she willed her body to return to the physical realm, clear of the fight. She rematerialized just in time to watch the assassin land on her cloak, driving a steel blade fruitlessly into the fabric.
Eleksi fought the other assassin nearby, leaves and dirt flying from the intensity of the combat. But her attacker ignored them, straightening up and looking around for her.
Neve cringed into the spiky undergrowth. The Spider King would find her within moments, if he possessed similar instincts to Eleksi.
She covered herself with a Camouflage spell. If he looked her way, his eyes would slide right over her. It didn’t render her immaterial, though. He’d be able to grab her if he stumbled upon her.
The Spider King prowled the undergrowth, pulling aside branches and kicking at grass. To her horror, yet another assassin sailed from the tree branches, landing next to him.
The arrival of the third enemy drew Eleksi’s attention. Dodging a blow, he flung a knife at the newest one. The blade whistled straight into his back, making him jolt to a stop with a grunt. He whirled around and lunged at Eleksi, the hilt of the knife protruding from his back.
The other continued stalking through the leaf litter, looking for Neve. Could he sense her, or was his path a lucky guess? Knowing she couldn’t outrun him, or hide for long, she feverishly tried to decide how best to fight him.
Her killing ability was undeniably her most potent magic and therefore her best hope of survival. But she’d require skin-to-skin contact to use it. How could she get close enough without him stabbing her in the heart or snapping her neck?
Grappling for the steel dagger in her cloak, she wished she’d asked Eleksi for the silver weapon and enchanted it right away. The steel blade would have to do. If she could Stun her enemy from the mid-distance, as she’d done to the queen and her men, perhaps she could put the steel blade into him before he laid hands on her.
Without warning, the assassin’s head swiveled directly to Neve. She knew he’d perceived her because her Camouflage spell dropped, leaving her visible and vulnerable, standing just paces from him. He flew at her, using a tree trunk to propel himself through the air.
Against such a lethal predator, the dagger in her shaking hand felt like little more than a butter knife.
At the last moment, Neve flung a Binding spell at him, which manifested as a silvery, net-like spiderweb. The web encircled him, clamping his arms to his sides.
This was her opportunity to kill him. If he got free, she was unlikely to get another chance. Her magical strength was waning and he was relentless.
Holding her dagger aloft, Neve bore down on the restrained man. He was already beginning to shake off the spell, thrashing against it with his considerable strength and determination. Through the swaying trees, Eleksi battled the other assassins in a furious whirlwind of black cloaks.
Stab him, Neve commanded herself. Stab him or he’ll stab you.
She grimaced. Perhaps she could’ve sunk the blade into him if he’d been flying at her, poised to annihilate her. But stabbing a man whose arms were strapped to his sides was another thing altogether.
How did Eleksi do it? How did anyone?
The assassin bucked his head, making his cloak’s hood fall back. He was younger than Eleksi, with a grass-green gaze and a shaved head. There was no malice or fury in his eyes—only single-minded focus.
And he was about to thrash himself free of her spell. The remains of the spidery web were falling away in wisps. Looking into his vibrant eyes, she promised herself that she wouldn’t avert her gaze as she plunged the blade into his chest.
But she didn’t get the chance.
The assassin’s body locked up, his eyes widening in surprise. His mouth opened as if to cry out, only for bright red blood to spill from his lips. He fell to the ground in a heap, the last of her spell disappearing.
A golden blade was embedded in the base of his skull.
Eleksi strode to her, his face drenched in red. In his wake, the other assassins lay immobile on the leafy litter. Neve exhaled and let her dagger fall to her side.
“Are you hurt?” he demanded, stepping over the assassin’s body without glancing down.
She stared at the young man’s unseeing green eyes. “No. I’m not hurt. Are you?”
He shook his head, studying her face carefully for injury. “They’re dead, but we must keep moving. More will follow.”
Eleksi retrieved her cloak, which now had a hole over the heart. She flung the garment across her shoulders and hurried through the forest with him. He seemed to have changed course from their original path to his home.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“We can’t return to my place. The risk is too great that they’ve found it already. We must leave the area immediately and get as far away as possible.” He paused to touch the rich, chocolatey earth, which had been recently disturbed. “I’m tracking the trio’s steeds, so that we might commandeer them and travel faster.”
Within minutes, three black horses materialized in the gloom of the dense forest. They were tethered to low-hanging branches and grazed calmly. Eleksi unsaddled and released one, and then he and Neve mounted the others.
They rode through the vine-covered trees until reaching a path that led to a dirt road.
“These horses are beautiful,” said Neve, stroking the shiny black neck of her. “Fast and fit.”
“Aye. Supplied by Meliohr. Bottomless coffers afford the best horses. And killers.” He studied her again, his silver eyes extra bright against the rusty stain of the blood on his face. “Are you very tired from casting? I noticed you didn’t use the killing curse.” There was a reproachful note to his voice. “You could’ve died.”
“I’m not entirely depleted, but it would be ideal if I didn’t have to perform sorcery until I’ve recovered somewhat.”
Eleksi grunted in commiseration. “I fear we are beyond ideal . Royal guards and Spider Kings will swarm this area now that three assassins have gone missing here. But we’ll do everything we can to avoid detection.” He pointed ahead on the dirt road, which was beginning to wind through a mountain pass. “We’ll head north, then take the coastal road back down to Klatos, where we’ll need to move against the queen, quickly. The Spider Kings won’t stop coming for us unless we neutralize the person paying them.”
“Is there no way to call them off? I don’t understand how the organization works. Can you not just ask them?”
“No. It would go against the very ethos of the Spider Kings. We do the job we’re contracted to do and we allow nothing to get in the way. When we are hired to take a life, that life is as good as gone.” He shifted in his saddle. “Except in your case.”
Neve reflected on this. Even when he’d assassinated the wrong man, he’d killed the right man in quick succession. She was apparently the only mark he’d ever left alive.
“Did you know any of those men back there?”
Eleksi nodded. “Two, yes. I’ve collaborated with one before. And I trained Zyke, the one who attacked you.”
Neve’s eyebrows shot up. “And killing them didn’t bother you?”
“We are ready to die from the moment we become Spider Kings. They died with honor, doing their jobs well. Besides, it was them or us. I’d kill them again in a heartbeat, and they would’ve done the same.”
He looked straight ahead. She couldn’t help noticing that he hadn’t quite answered the question. But she didn’t wish to needle him about his dead associates.
“We’ll stop for a minute,” said Eleksi when they crossed a rocky, fast-flowing stream. “The blood is starting to smell.”
Neve’s stomach turned at the thought, selfishly glad she didn’t have to share that particular burden.
Nevertheless, she dismounted and freshened her hands with the clear, icy water. Eleksi washed his face until his skin was clean. He stood, water running down his neck in rivulets, and ran his hand through his onyx hair to slick it back.
“I said I won’t let you die and I meant it,” he said as she stood up, her hands cold from the frigid water. “But please, promise me that you won’t hesitate the next time your life is in peril.” His voice grew soft and imploring. “I would prefer that you live.”
She contemplated the striking planes of his face and his steady gaze. “I think I would prefer that you live, too.”
The apple of his black-stubbled throat traveled up and down. “Then I will.”
The water rushed ceaselessly and the trees creaked in the late afternoon wind. He stepped toward her and enclosed her hands with his, holding them tightly. His skin flamed against her cool flesh.
“I never thought anyone would choose to touch me,” she said softly, “if they knew what I really was.”
He cradled her cheek, making her breath catch. “You just hadn’t met me.”
Eleksi slid his fingers into her hair, snaking around the back of her neck. A shiver of pleasure passed through her. He leaned down, wetting his lips with his tongue, and claimed her mouth with a sultry kiss.
He tasted like the sweet, flowing water of the stream. She stood on her toes and put her hands against his muscular chest, his firm lips flaming against hers. All around them, the energy stirred and crackled, alive with the force of their union.