Page 9

CHAPTER NINE

G ERARDA AND ELARAN HAD THE SENSE to grab horses while I ran on foot to the north side of the lake. Old portals had reawakened when the last seal broke. I only hoped that Gwyn had not taken the time to learn the new paths and that we could catch up with them before they did anything foolish.

Gerarda and Elaran charged at full speed toward two twin rocks that stood touching each other at the top. Gerarda pulled a vial of winvra from her pocket and pulled the cork out with her teeth. She dropped the reins of the horse meant for me, and I leaped onto the saddle mid-run, galloping behind them as they ran through the glowing water and into the snowy mountain tops along the southern ridge.

“This way,” I shouted, pointing along a winding path that continued south. It was the opposite direction of Gwyn and Fyrel, but at the end of it was a portal that opened along the northern shore of the Faelinth .

We just had to reach it before dusk.

I used my fire powers to melt the snow so our horses could run as fast as possible along the mountainous terrain. It was cold, but I used my magic to divert the winds. Our limbs were not completely turned to ice under our clothes.

Orange streaks painted the sky. If we didn’t reach the portal soon, I would abandon Elaran and Gerarda and fly through it on my own.

“The scouts reported the beast making a nest along the eastern foothills. The note mentioned a cave,” Gerarda shouted over the steady rhythm of hoofbeats.

I knew of it. I hadn’t had a chance to visit every rebellion safe house, but Tarvelle’s maps had only marked one location this far north. A small cave they would use to rest in while ferrying Halflings across the northern channel instead of through the Burning Mountains.

But as far as I knew, it was glamoured. Gwyn and Fyrel wouldn’t know it was there. They wouldn’t be able to run to it if they needed to hide.

My stomach was a hard rock, tugging at my ribs with every step my horse took. Then a large stony arch came into view. It was made of the mountain itself, no seams or cracks along the stone, a relic of an earth wielder’s magic from long ago.

The veil of water shimmered in the light of the setting suns. We only had minutes until the portals changed from their sunlit paths to their starlit ones.

I yanked on the reins, and my horse slowed to a walk. I tossed enough winvra into the water for us all to pass. I held up a fist and ran through first.

Salt filled my lungs. A cold and briny wind passed through the Elder birch trunks. They were thinner here than in the southern parts of the Dark Wood. Even with the new foliage covering the ground, you could see far into the wood.

There was no sign of Gwyn or the waateyshir .

I slipped off the saddle and tied my horse along one of the lower branches. The others did the same, our horses happy for the rest after running so long. I called the warmth of my healing magic forward and let it run over each of them, soothing the aches in their legs until all three were happily grazing along the ground.

I pulled out my blades and nodded south. “We will come to a glamoured cave. I’ve never been there, but Riven told me it opens like a mouth along the edge of the mountain. That should be enough for the glamour to break.”

Gerarda and Elaran nodded. The latter took her bow and walked thirty paces to the right of me while Gerarda did the same on the left. We marched forward as a unit, crouching and checking the skies every few feet.

The first stars dotted the deep blue skies. The only light left was along the horizon, but with the coverage of the forest it was already dark.

Dark enough for the waateyshir to fly.

We came to a small hill and the salty breeze went dead. I could no longer smell the ocean at all. Only sulfur and ash. I looked down at my boot and the white sprinkling of snow had turned dark. The shrubbery was burnt and black like a fire had blazed through this part of the forest.

The waateyshir was close.

A piercing cry split the air. I no longer cared about being cautious. I ran over the hilltop and saw the shadowy creature stretching its long neck and taking flight.

“Gwyn!” Panic shredded through my voice. “Fyrel!”

I was answered by a scream. It wasn’t a shriek of fear, but a battle cry.

On the other side of the burnt grove, a small flame grew. My shoulders stiffened, my blades suspended midair, as I realized what it was.

Fyrel ran at full speed with a flaming torch above her head. Behind her were the flapping wings of a second waateyshir .

Fyrel did not look back but charged forward. She didn’t even shift direction to evade a potential attack.

She wasn’t using the torch to defend herself. The shadowy beast wasn’t chasing her. She was luring it.

Fyrel was the bait.

The other beast shrieked from the clouds. It circled, watching its kin chase Fyrel. I ran toward the Halfling as the beast behind her reared back its long neck. Smoke and ash leaked from its open beak. The stench of rotting flesh and burnt meat seared my nostrils, but I kept running.

It stretched its wings, lifting its chest upward, and I saw it.

The red glow in the beast’s chest flared. Fyrel had seconds until it attacked.

“Move!” I begged at the top of my lungs. To Fyrel, to the beast, to the ground underneath her feet. But none did.

Stray strands of hair blew across my face as the beast took in a deep breath. The liquid black flames spurted from its mouth directly at Fyrel’s back.

I called forth as large a gust as I could muster but it did nothing against the stream of black, magical flame. My heart hammered against my chest. I was about to watch Fyrel’s bones turn to ash.

A flash of brown swooped in front of the girl just as the black flames licked her ankles. Fyrel fell to the ground, rolling far enough to stamp out the flames crawling up her cloak.

Gerarda shrieked with a desperation I had never heard from her before.

Elaran stood with four arrows nocked along her bow as the beast reared back its neck once more.

Gerarda ran toward her, but there wasn’t enough time. Elaran loosed the arrows, and I set the tips of each aflame.

The waateyshir shrieked as one passed through its wing. It stopped its attack, flying high enough into the air to get out of reach of Elaran’s bow.

Elaran dropped to the ground. The bottom of her pants were singed away, and her skin was blistered and black.

Gerarda slid on her knees and stroked Elaran’s hairline as she winced. She pulled a vial from her pocket and dropped some black liquid onto Elaran’s parted lips. Hot tears streamed down her face as she whispered, “You foolish woman. You could’ve died.”

Elaran patted her palm against her lover’s cheek. “You can’t be a hero worth talking about without a little risk, Gerrie.”

Gerarda scowled but pressed a kiss to Elaran’s head.

I pulled Fyrel to her feet and scanned the ground. There wasn’t a red curl in sight.

“Where is she?” I yelled over the sound of my own racing heart.

Fyrel didn’t answer, her voice paralyzed from shock. There was no color left in her eyes, only wide black pupils that looked upward to the cliff’s edge above us.

The two waateyshirak were circling the edge together, staring down at Gwyn, who stood at the top of a small abutment. She held a spear in her hands.

Gwyn held the pointed end to the ground. The blunt end of the handle was wrapped in tight leather binding it to the hilt of my dagger. A makeshift spear with a blood-bound point.

Gwyn was going to try to stab it through the beast’s heart.

Her stance was strong, but the arm holding the weapon shook. She hadn’t anticipated a second beast.

The largest of the two tilted its head, staring down at Gwyn like a bird watching a worm in the dirt.

“Gwyn, run!” I shouted, and then disappeared in a flash of light.

The beasts’ heads snapped toward the ground at the disturbance. My pleas for Gwyn to run became high-pitched eagle calls, and my wings beat as hard as they could.

I soared through the middle of the shadowy circle. Their tendrils of ash burned my feathers as I flew, but the waateyshirak took the bait.

A thunderous screech echoed through the trees as they both beat their wings hard enough that the leaves below them shook free of their branches.

I looked down. Both beasts were following me, the smaller trailing after its larger kin. My eagle eyes spotted Gwyn, climbing down the rocky edge with her spear in hand.

We rose above the lowest peaks of the mountain, and a horn blew in the distance. The waateyshir closest to me whirled around at the noise. A large flame ignited along the eastern edge of the mountain.

A warning pyre.

The beast flew toward it, and my heartbeat slowed along with my wing beats. I looked down, expecting to see the smaller one following me too, but its attention had been caught by something below.

Gwyn slipped along the rock face. Amber blood covered her arm. The sharp inhale from the creature sounded like thunder in the distance—it could smell her blood.

It didn’t wait to attack. Its large wings stretched as it circled to dive.

I dove first.

Its hot breath pulled at my tail feathers as it inhaled, preparing to strike.

I transformed mid-fall. The beast snapped at the flash of light and then reared back as I sent a spiral of flame toward it.

It opened its wings enough to evade the attack. The forest went silent as I fell toward the ground. I looked for Gwyn and saw that she was running.

Not away from the beast, but toward it.

It reared back and the red, pulsing glow in its chest burned brighter. But that was just what Gwyn had wanted. She leaped from the cliff’s edge, spear above her head. Her legs circled underneath her, propelling her as close to the beast as possible.

Black smoke pooled from its mouth as Gwyn hurled the spear toward the red, pulsing light. I transformed again and let my wings catch me as I watched the spear cut through the beast. Just short of its heart.

Black shadow leaked from the slice like blood in water. I didn’t have time to wonder how such a shapeless thing could bleed. I reached out for Gwyn’s leg with my talons. Her body lurched but there was no time to be gentle. The makeshift spear fell to the ground.

The waateyshir roared above us as I dropped Gwyn on the forest floor.

I curved through the air like a blade and the beast followed, swooping low enough to burn the tops of the trees with its smoky wings. It snapped at me, but I found the strength to keep myself just out of reach.

“Keera!” Gerarda shouted from below. I glanced and saw that she was cutting my blade free from the spear. She mimed a throw, and I knew we would only have one shot at it.

I let out a high-pitched call and lured the beast higher. Then I dove back toward the ground.

The beast snapped at me again, its hot breath burning the skin on my small legs as I stayed tucked. I plummeted to the ground and Gerarda’s frame grew larger. She kissed the hilt of the dagger, holding it by the red blade, and I transformed once more.

The beast reared at the flash of light.

Gerarda snapped her wrist.

I hit the ground. My shoulder and leg snapped as my bones broke, but I didn’t hear it. All anyone could hear for a hundred leagues was the shriek of the shadowy creature as the blade shot through its red center. Liquid shadow oozed from the wound and then the beast exploded into a cloud of black ash. My bloodred dagger sank to the ground, its job done. The wounded waateyshir roared at the sight and flew over the trees, leaving us and our weapon behind.

Gerarda ran over to me. Amber blood coated her cheeks, but it wasn’t hers. I looked for Gwyn, but then a piercing pain shot through my body as Gerarda popped my shoulder back into place.

“Fuck!” I shouted loud enough for my lungs to ache. “What are you doing?”

Gerarda cocked her jaw to the side and pressed into my femur with unnecessary vigor. “Saving your ass, as usual.”

The pain was too much for me to roll my eyes. Gerarda grabbed my ankle and twisted. I screamed until my vision blurred.

“That was the last of them.” Gerarda held out her hand to me, assessing my newly unbroken body.

I looked at it incredulously. “You expect me to walk on a broken femur.”

Gerarda gave my leg a hard pat. I winced but it felt like pain from a bad bruise, not an open fracture. My healing gift now had incredible speed. Magic flared hot under my skin. I didn’t feel tired, yet my control was slipping, like there were too many gifts fighting inside my body for release.

“You’re the one who decided plummeting to your death was necessary.” She stood and wiped her hands on her pants. “Apparently I’m the only one with any sense.”

A shriek sounded in the distance. Gerarda and I both froze, waiting for the sound of giant wings, but it did not come. She nodded at the cave, cut into the mountain. “We can hide there until morning. You likely won’t be done yelling by then anyway.”