Page 126 of Ballad of Nightmares

Sam just chuckled under his breath. “Millie’s always complaining about the state of my jackets,” he said. “I imagine it’ll take more of a toll on her than me. Imagine the immaculate Hand of the King getting dirty in the back of a dump truck,” he teased her. “I’ll make sure to take a photo for Rolfe. He’ll enjoy seeing you covered in mud.”

Three more demons came up behind them then, weapons in their arms. Millie’s smile widened as she began strapping herself in, but Sam shook his head when he was offered the gear.

“What is the update on where our men are?” Sam asked Damien.

“Prei has them in the middle of an open field,” Damien said. “Every time I step over the border, I can hear them amid all the others. Our people in Firemoor haven’t been able to do their jobs as well as they’d like the past few months for fear of being caught. Tate, Trey, and Nolan were helping the injured when they were found out.”

“Do we know what the green substance is?”

Damien shook his head, his sage eyes darkening. “This is the first we’ve seen it. Seems like it’s the first time they’ve used it publicly. As far as what they’ve been doing in the prisons, I’m not sure. Who knows how long they’ve had it.”

Sam’s jaw ticked, his mind going to Ana, to the witch Millie was having an affair with, and then to the knife Ana had tried to kill him with. He’s seen that green glint on the blade when she’d pulled it from his body.

“We can get you to the border,” Damien continued as he loaded his own body with weapons. “There’s a four-mile stretch that hasn’t been occupied for a few days. I’ve my own men making a path for us, stationed at every checkpoint. No one has been able to get to those three. And the livestream hasn’t moved since they were strung up.“ Damien paused and considered Sam a long moment as Sam just stared ahead. “How exactly are you planning to get us out?” Damien asked.

“Just get me there,” Sam said, plan formulating in his mind. “I’ll take care of the rest.”

Riding through the Spine was seamless. Damien knew every guard at every stop, and they’d given Millie and Sam uniforms to blend in. There was a barrage of trucks, not just their own, that they could get in line with.

Sam couldn’t stop staring out the windows.

Farms that had once been plentiful were dried up; rows and rows of army camps and barricades settled on them. The few crops that were left looked like they’d been ripped of all nutrients, like somehow, Firemoor had stripped all rain from the realm. And although Sam knew it wasn’t true, he had the urge to pour thunderstorms over every mile.

The stretch Damien had told them about was easy enough to get to. They veered off from the rest of the barrage about a mile from the last checkpoint and rode down to a small farm that sat on the fencing.

“Place is deserted,” Damien explained as he cut the engine, dust flying around the truck when they stopped. “I found the family about a month ago, starving. Helped them over the border into Shadowmyer so they wouldn’t die. They gave me the place in exchange and told me if we ever needed a place to hide, the cellar below the last barn went under the fencing.”

“It crosses?” Millie asked as she hopped out of the truck.

Damien nodded. He looked to Sam. “Think you can pull them from there?”

As Sam took in the small farm, sunlight baked on Sam’s exposed skin. His eyes landed on the silver barn in the distance. “This will be different from those you left at the Spine border,” Sam said. “I won’t just be pulling their souls. Because they are one of us, I’ll have to pull their full bodies here.” He looked between Damien and Millie. “Prei will know I’m here when they disappear from the platform.” His gaze lifted to the sky. “This place could use a little rain, and we could use a getaway.”

“He can pinpoint where it starts,” Damien warned.

“It’s a chance I’m willing to take,” Sam said as the wind began to pick up around them. “By the time they figure it out, we’ll be halfway across the Spine, and both realms will be sopping in more mud than they’ve seen since the last time I was here.”

“This could all be a trap,” Millie muttered.

“I’m sure it is,” Sam said.

“Samarius…”

“I’m not leaving without them,” Sam snapped.

Millie watched Sam, her blonde hair billowing around her face. “What happens when we get back to the border?”

“Anyone that follows us into that forest will feel the full weight of those shadows upon them,” Sam said. “Open season for the starving monsters.”

Damien considered the plan. “I can’t help you back across the Spine.”

Sam knew it would come to this, that Damien wouldn’t be willing to risk exposure just yet, not when he loved this place and its people so much. Sam gave him a nod. “Millie can drive.”

A smile curled on her lips. “Thunderous rain. Raging puddles. Dying demons. And you’re letting me drive a big truck through all of it… Sounds like a party. Let’s get started.”

CHAPTER FIFTY

THE CELLAR WAS damp, dingy, and full of spiders. Millie joined Sam while Damien waited in the open air, keeping an eye on their surroundings. The border wasn’t marked underground, but Sam felt it when he stepped over. He felt the dread of humans dying in secret, the terror of those at their last breaths miles away.