Page 269 of Phoenix's Fire

I hated Moles. I always had, and we finally had the upper hand. Through the trees, I saw Xav's dog slam into a Mole, heave him around, and then lunge for the man's throat. That was what we needed: dogs. They worked better than guns out here, because unlike bullets, a dog could go around trees.

But then I got to see what Omden had been talking about. A Mole stood, revealing himself. I lined up my shot as he pulled something from one of those orbs. My fingers released. The arrow flew, slamming into the man's neck, killing him before his body hit the ground, but the grenade slipped from his fingers, rolling onto the leaves beside him.

"Jeera, back!" I yelled, lunging across the distance to grab my little sister and pull her behind a tree.

Nothing.

"What the fuck?" she demanded.

"I saw a grenade," I said.

She slapped at my arms. "They don't all explode! Let go of me and kill those fuckers!"

That was what we were all doing. The whistle of so many arrows flying was like a storm blowing in. Men screamed in pain. Others gurgled as they died, but itseemed we were still winning. My only problem was the sound of booming that refused to stop.

Then, "Retreat! Fall back to a defensive position." It was in English.

"South of base!"

"Fall back, fall back!"

And beside me, a hawk screamed. I whipped my head around to see Drozel with his hand to his mouth, amplifying the call to watch but hold. Across from us, the Moles were running. Above us, the sky was lit in reds and pinks, meaning night was coming too soon, but it was over. We'd won again.

"Let 'em go!" Drozel yelled. "Pull back to that pond we passed. Let's get medical attention. Check for wounded!"

Beside me, Jeera turned, dropping onto her rump so she could lean against the tree. "More arrows next time."

"Yeah," I agreed, checking my own quiver to see only two arrows left. Then I stood and offered her a hand. "And they're going to need you."

"Yep," she agreed, letting me pull her up. "It's this way."

"I'm going that way," I said, jerking my thumb over my shoulder.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Ayla," I clarified. "I left her alone with her dog and some Moles."

"Fucking idiot!" Jeera hissed, smacking me with her palm.

I looked over to make sure the Moles were truly gone, then stepped back in the direction I was headed. "She's fine, Jeer. She's fucking amazing, and I don't think she needs to be babysat anymore."

"And they have grenades!" she snapped, flailing her arms to make the point. "Zasen, pull your head out of your ass. We lost more than four this time!"

"What?" I gasped.

"They fucking blew us up, okay? We can't keep doing this! We're dying, and you just left her out there, alone? I get it, you like independent women, but have you thought that Rymar might not handle it so well if she doesn't come home? Or Kanik!"

"How bad?" I asked.

She shook her head. "I don't know. We weren't ready for grenades, Zasen, and if they have those, then what comes next? They're adapting, just like we are, and that means this isn't going to get easier!"

"Fuck," I breathed. "I need to get Ayla!"

"Go!"

So I did, spinning and running back to where I'd left her. Sadly, I'd passed a lot of ground. Now, even more bodies littered the space. When I saw one man in black trying to roll himself over and crawl away, I paused to sting him.

"Die," I growled before hurrying to the next.