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CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ryker

A guard ran into our path and skidded to a halt when he spotted me. The man’s face went from shock to alarm to determination in less than a second before he lifted his sword and charged at us.

I used my blade to cut the idiot down before he could launch much of an attack. I ignored the warm spray of blood splattering my face as I pulled Ellery behind me to shelter her from it.

Our doused lightning still crackled beneath the surface, ready for release. Unfortunately, that would give away our location and, while staying hidden put us in danger, letting them know where we were again would put a giant target on our backs.

Another thunderous boom shook the air, screams sounded, and smoke coiled from a location a hundred feet behind us. More guards emerged through the smoke but never got to us before the women brought them down.

The guards had weapons, but these women had years of pent-up frustration and anger. Swords didn’t stand a chance against that.

When one of the women got entangled with a severed leg, she tumbled to the ground. I grasped the waistband of her skirt and plucked her up to set her on her feet. I didn’t pause to ensure she was okay before pushing forward again.

The twang of arrows filled the air, but it was impossible to see their deadly arc through the smoke. “Get down!” I shouted.

I hugged Ellery against my chest before going to my knees and climbing on top of her. “Wait! No!” she cried.

“Stay down!” I snarled.

Thuds sounded as the arrows struck bodies and the earth. More screams joined the endless cacophony of them, but I didn’t feel the tearing of flesh and muscle.

Lifting my head, I discovered Scarlet and Ruby had also survived unscathed. Rising, I pulled Ellery to her feet and slid my arm around her waist to keep her locked against me.

She held her free hand out to Scarlet, who squeezed it. I didn’t comment on her broken arm or the fact it must have hurt her; she needed to connect with her friend.

Though I couldn’t see the Revenant Woods, I kept pushing toward where they were. I hoped we were taking the fastest way possible to get there and not drifting too far off course.

I pushed through more of the crowd as a gust of wind cleared the smoke enough for me to glimpse trees two hundred feet away. As always, the woods were an ominous place full of death and flesh-eating creatures, but they were far more welcoming than Tempest.

“We’re almost there,” I shouted to Ellery.

“What about the others?”

“We’ll get as many out of this as possible, but we can’t save them all.”

That must have been enough for her as her fingers dug into my back. After another hundred feet, the congestion eased as many of the women ahead of us fled into the woods.