Page 105 of A Hunt Bound in Blood
Cammon
XLVIII
Two flying mutts zipped towards me on their bent, barely functional wings, strengthened by their rage and their orders. I veered south, wanting to lure them away from the ship, but I knew I wouldn’t get far. I was tired after so many weeks of minimal food, endless walking, and multiple injuries. My only goal was to keep them busy long enough for Glory to leave the harbour and hope they had no interest in her after I was dead.
With her in mind, I levelled my horns and shifted my direction, aiming straight for the airborne mutts.
We crashed into each other, talons and teeth flashing as we worked to tear each other apart. Their snarls and shrieks drowned out the memory of Glory’s beautiful voice, and I growled in return, my fury rising that these creatures had stolen away any possible future with her. That instead of being in her arms, I should be in theirs.
I slashed my claws across one mutt’s chest, and blood sprayed in a fine mist that rained over the hundreds surging below us. The mutt yelped. Its bat-like body writhed in pain, and it doubled its efforts against me, teeth sliding against my shoulder, back talons kicking at my chest. My skin was too thick for it to do any significant damage, and its greatest mistake was getting too close to me. I wrapped my hands around its neck and hurled it into the hawk-like mutt. The two tangled together, plummeting towards the ground before they could find their wings.
With my first aerial threats dealt with, I turned to the grounded army and thought of Glory. Of her hazel eyes, the green so rich with gold they might have been treasure all on their own.
More precious to me than any loot.
More worth fighting for. More worth dying for.
I tucked my wings against my back and barrelled into the middle of the army. I took down three with my first strike, and those closest to me spread out in a circle, surprised by the force of my assault. They didn’t hesitate long, but I used the split-second pause to my advantage, scanned my enemies, and targeted those who appeared weakest. The badger, the fox, the weasel. All larger than they should have been because of their mutated human shape, but smaller than the others. I swiped them with my wings, gouged them with my claws. The larger creatures leapt on me from behind, but I shoved them off with wing and leg and tail. My horns gored those who came from above, and my mouth was soaked with blood where my teeth shredded their flesh.
More came, and more died.
A bear rose on her back legs and came down on my side, her hooked claws flaying me from shoulder to elbow, catching my torso and opening my ribs. I screamed at the fiery agony but wheeled around to face her, driving my horns through her neck. Blood spilled over my chest, burned my eyes, but I didn’t need to see to fight. Not when the enemies crowded this close. I barely needed to move to find another target.
I flexed my feathers to shove back the mutts behind me, anything to give myself space, and something sharp raked down my spine, splitting one of my wings. The pain was enough to bring me to my knees, but I gasped through it and launched myself up before the creatures overwhelmed me.
So many. As I blinked the blood out of my eyes and peered through the film of red, I couldn’t see anything but fur and fury. The corpses were piling up, but they were nothing to the rest of the army bearing down on me.
They blurred in my vision, hundreds becoming thousands, and then they were moving, parting, as though the ground had split and forced them to make way.
I shook my head to clear my daze, and rage seeped into my veins at the sight of the demon striding through the horde. His dark hair was long and slicked back, showing off his widow’s peak and making his red eyes that much brighter. His wings, a mottled grey, extended from his shoulders, and his tail lashed left to right, pressing the mutts farther away from him. My fucking brother.
I experienced the smallest recharge at the validation. I’d read the scene right. Knowing wouldn’t save me, but it was satisfying that even after so many years away, I was still better at playing the game than they were. Their work was sloppy. Half-plotted ideas that started strong but never landed the way they intended. They would get their crown, but under their rule, Karhasan would struggle. It would take a few years, maybe a decade, before the demons of my homeland saw through their poorly led monarchs and slaughtered them. I wouldn’t be around to witness it, but the thought of their self-driven destruction fuelled my battlelust all the same.
“Hello, brother.”
“Donal.” I bared my teeth in greeting. “About time you revealed yourself, though of course you waited until the end like the coward you are.”
He snarled, then hid his rage behind another preening smile. “I’d prefer to call it pragmatism. What was the point in risking my life when there was a chance you might win?”
“Where’s Leto? Sabina? Did they send you to do their dirty work?”
Donal’s expression darkened, then cleared.
“Ah, you lost a bet,” I said. “They got to stay home and comfortable in Karhasan while you degraded yourself by tracking me across human country.”
Donal spat. “Disgusting place. So many positive emotions going around, it’s no wonder you’ve grown soft. Bending over yourself to indulge your sweet little human.” He peered over my shoulder. “Where is she, by the way? I would have loved to meet her.”
The way he slid his tongue over his teeth, I knew exactly what he would have loved to do, and rage filled my muscles. Behind me, a mutt snapped at my ankle, the bulk of them growing impatient at the pause in battle. I flicked outwards with my tail to put it in its place but kept my attention on Donal.
“She’s out of your reach, and you should be grateful for it. Lay a hand on her and I won’t allow your death to be quick.”
Donal barked a laugh. “Oh, Cammon. You were always so full of yourself. I’m glad that hasn’t changed. It will make it all the more satisfying when I tear you apart.”
He launched himself at me, and I wrapped my arms around his waist to take him to the ground. His tail circled my middle, tugging me to the side, but before he could get the upper hand, I punched him in the face. Blood spurted from his nose, and with a livid cry, he sank his teeth into my throat. I slammed my elbow into the side of his head and used my tail to pry his off me. As soon as I could reach it, I took it in both hands and snapped it.
His scream pierced the sky as he tried to roll away, but I didn’t let him get far. I leapt at him and shifted my weight to pin him down, then pummelled him with my fists. All these years of wanting revenge, and he’d finally shown his face. While I wished the other two were here as well, I’d be satisfied with what I could get.
Donal’s eyes glazed over with waning consciousness, but in a burst of strength, he put his fingers to his bloody mouth and whistled.