Page 23

A Clash with the Shadowguard

A t his words, my stomach flips, and I turn to look over my shoulder. My muscles tighten involuntarily, and Stella dances beneath me. I force myself to calm down, and she settles, but I’m anything but calm.

The sun is setting, and the sky is red. Across the far horizon, something like smoke snakes across the landscape—thick, black and alive.

“Shadowguard,” Thanouq says. “They must have picked us up after we left the city.”

A sudden image of red eyes and yellow teeth fills my mind, and a shudder runs through me. A sense of dread wells up in my belly and spreads through my entire body. I’m not ready for this. I may never be ready for this.

Beside me, Thanouq and Therion are talking quietly. Khaosti nudges his horse over to join us.

“We fight?” he asks.

“Yes, we fight,” Thanouq replies, and I wonder who he’s including in the “we.” I wish I had a gun. But clearly, they don’t exist in this world. “But not here,” Thanouq continues. “They’ll surround us within moments. We need to find somewhere we can guard our backs.”

He looks around, searching the landscape. In the distance, there’s a small range of hills rising up from the grassy plain. “That’s the best we can do. And it’s going to be a close thing.”

“Then let’s go,” Khaosti says, already swinging his horse around.

I can’t resist looking back just once. And I sort of wish I hadn’t. I can see individuals in the smoke now, see the gleam of their crimson eyes. Long, lean wraiths that look vaguely human, as I presume they once were. Or something similar. I glance at Zayne; he’s rubbing his neck. Does he remember?

“Ride,” Thanouq yells. “Ride as though your lives depend on it.” And with no further words, we’re off. Thanouq takes the lead again, followed by Therion and me, Zayne, then Khaosti. But soon I forget everything because we're going faster than I’ve ever gone before. The horses are in a flat-out gallop, low to the ground, and I’m leaning over Stella’s neck.

There’s a small stream approaching, and I don’t even try to check her. I just close my eyes and try not to think about crashing to the ground as she takes to the air. Then we’re racing again. Stella is fast, and in moments, we come up parallel with Therion. I can smell the sweat rising from her skin. Her shoulders are steaming, but still, we go.

I look behind me, but my hair has come loose, and it gets in my face. So, I just face forward and let her go. Now, the grassy surface is changing to rocks and boulders, and she stumbles but rights herself.

Finally, we’re in the hills. We slow slightly and wind our way through a small valley. At the far end, there’s a steep rise, and Thanouq pulls up in front of it. The rest of us stop beside him. He’s off in a moment, but I just sit there. I turn around, but our followers are lost behind the hill. I’m breathing hard, even though I’ve done very little, and beneath me, Stella matches me breath for breath. I scratch her shoulder—she’s so good—then slide onto the ground. My knees are weak, and I almost collapse, grabbing the saddle to stay upright.

The others are also down. Thanouq hands his reins to Therion, and Khaosti brings his horse over and gives the reins to me. Zayne looks between them.

“What are we going to do?” he asks.

“We’re going to fight,” Khaosti replies.

I’m still not quite sure who he means—whether he’s including me or not. But that’s unlikely. I doubt Khaosti has a very high opinion of my fighting skills.

“Therion,” Thanouq says, “look after these two. Make sure nothing happens to them. If we go down, you take them to the Crone. You understand? You do not join the fight. If things look like they’re going bad, you get them out of here.”

Therion doesn’t look happy, but I’m guessing this is something they’ve discussed before, and he gives a curt nod.

“I can fight,” Zayne says.

I look toward him and go still. Then I swallow slowly. His eyes have changed. Lizard’s eyes glare out from Zayne’s face.

“Not happening,” Khaosti replies.

“What am I, useless? I can shift. I can feel it.”

Khaosti snorts. “I have no doubt. But you’re a liability right now. You have no control, and you’re as likely to kill us as our enemies. Just stay out of the way.”

I feel he could have been a little more diplomatic, but then he doesn’t know Zayne like I do. And I can see that staying out of the way is not going to happen. Zayne is losing it. Steam is coming out of his ears. His eyes gleam, and his skin seems to shudder. I have a super bad feeling about this. Without warning, Khaosti steps up close, raises his hand, and clips Zayne under the chin. Zayne’s head snaps back, and he collapses to his knees, then to the ground. He’s out cold.

“Sorry,” Khaosti says, “but we don’t have time.”

I stare from Khaosti to Zayne’s unconscious body. I can’t believe he just did that, but at the same time, I sort of understand why. Zayne is not stable right now, and the thought of letting loose whatever is inside him is maybe even scarier than the shadowguard that are coming after us.

“You know what to do,” Khaosti says to me. “If things go bad, you run.”

I’m not sure I’m telling the truth, but I nod anyway because I can see the first of the shadowguard appearing around the hill. Somebody needs to do something fast.

I watch as Thanouq and Khaosti head out on foot. “What are they doing?” I can’t help asking.

But as they move away, a change happens. There’s a shimmer in the air, and where Khaosti was walking, a huge wolf now pads along. I look toward Thanouq and see his own transformation come over him.

Oh, my God, what the fuck is he?

His body is that of a huge lion, sleek and powerful, covered in a coat of golden fur that shimmers in the sunlight. Muscles ripple beneath the surface, and his tail flicks with controlled energy, ending in a tuft of fur that matches the dark mane adorning his neck.

His head, crowned with a regal mane that extends down his neck, is that of an eagle. He’s a griffin, like on his soldiers’ tunics. He glances back, and sharp, keen eyes the color of burnished bronze stare right at me with an intensity that hints at a predator’s focus. He blinks and looks away, and I let the breath I didn’t know I was holding out.

The beak is a fearsome hook, ready to strike with lethal precision.

Wings, vast and feathered, spread wide with a span that seems almost surreal. Each feather is a gradient of earthy browns and golds, like autumn leaves caught in perpetual flight. Talons like gleaming obsidian curve beneath powerful paws.

All in all, he’s pretty amazing. Unbelievable. Magnificent.

He takes to the air effortlessly, huge wings flapping slowly. Then he shoots forward, moving across the sky with incredible speed.

The shadowguard have spilled into the valley now, and I can feel a dull headache pressing behind my eyes. Like the night I crashed into Khaosti. Thanouq is already on the far side of them. On our side, Khaosti is racing across the empty space toward them. He barrels into them fast, knocking a bunch to the ground, then rolling to his feet, taking out the first with his claws and teeth. They disintegrate, fading into mist. And he’s onto the next.

On the other side, Thanouq dives down, his wings folded against his great body, as he crashes into the crowd of shadowguard. His claws rip them apart, his beak tearing into them. He moves so fast, I can’t follow. On this side, Khaosti is causing his own sort of havoc, and their numbers are diminishing as each one meets its end. I’m not sure “dying” is the right word. They disintegrate into mist that hangs in the air and slowly disperses.

My heart is racing. The horses are restless, and I hold on tight, my hands slippery with sweat. There’s no blood, but they must sense something.

There’s a groan at my feet, and I look down. Zayne is coming around. God, I hope he’s okay. I don’t want to have to hit him, mainly because I doubt it would have much effect. It would probably just piss him off even more. But then he opens his eyes, and they’re normal. I sigh, the relief making my shoulders sag. I can’t take Zayne turning into one of the bad guys right now. He rises to his feet, pushing himself up and rubbing his chin.

“Bastard,” he mutters. “Where is the fucker?”

I nod behind him, and he turns. “Jesus,” he mutters. There’s no sound from the fight, no screams. The devastation is amazing, and it’s almost over. Some turn and run, but Thanouq cuts them off.

But three of them break through, past Khaosti, and they’re streaking in our direction, heading straight for us. Straight for me. I can feel the force of their focus. I search around, but there’s nowhere to go, and I brace myself for the inevitable impact. They’re almost on us. Stella rears, and I drop the reins so at least she can run. She just screams with rage and rears into the air again.

Beside me, Therion draws his sword and swings, slicing the head off the first shadowguard. It disintegrates into mist, then vanishes. He turns to the second…

The third ignores me and leaps for Zayne. Like last time, I can’t help thinking that they don’t want me dead. But they’ll kill Zayne, and that is not happening. I literally fly through the air and knock Zayne off his feet. We both crash to the ground. I roll to my feet. Zayne is flat on his back, stunned, I think.

I’m not letting those things have him again.

I wave my hands at it, trying to draw its attention from Zayne just long enough for Therion to get to us.

I sense the moment the thing turns its focus to me. I swallow… and hope to hell that I’m right and it won’t just rip my throat out. Then it hurls itself at me. I dive sideways, but its claws pierce my skin, scoring down my side.

Shit. Ouch.

I go down, roll onto my back, and it’s on me. Its hot, stinky breath clogs my nostrils. I stare up into its face, the red eyes, the snapping teeth.

I might have miscalculated.

But I just need to hold it off and stay alive for a few seconds more. I scrabble to get my feet up between us and try to push it away. Suddenly, its weight is lifted from me, and I am in the shadow of giant eagle’s wings. Thanouq clasps the shadowguard in his claws, wings spread, rising up above me, then he lowers his jaws and rips its head off.

It fades into mist and disappears.

But I think it might be too late as agony rips through me.