Page 46 of Red Demon (Oria #1)

“Command, we—” Another man down as she dropped beside him from above, slicing.

Her movements were a blur as she danced through their ranks, her blades piercing each narrow mark.

Mahakal swore into his comm, losing her behind a tree.

“Jesse!” Asher’s voice rang out, and then he was beside me.

She turned at my name, angling her head in a question. A crossbow bolt hit her in the shoulder just as she’d speared a screaming woman to a tree. She ducked away.

Then, she charged Ash.

Terror flooded my veins as my brother raised his blade to meet her. “Not him, Far!”

The Red Demon, mid-strike, whipped toward me, her crimson hair flying like a banner of war. Our eyes met, a flash too quick to be certain of in the dark, but voids, I hoped it was recognition. She sliced men to either side, backing away from Asher.

Asher’s chest heaved, staring wide-eyed at me. “Far?” He looked between me and the Red Demon, lost.

“Cut me loose, Ash,” I said.

He did.

Bodies lay in heaps around us, and whoever remained alive stayed low. I grabbed a crossbow from one of the fallen, keeping close beside Asher.

I saw two soldiers creeping on the edge of the ridge with crossbows, trying to get behind her. She had no helmet, and her worn armor wasn’t worth much at this range. My heart pounded.

Mahakal gashed at Faruhar, his sharp blade tearing into a tree. I studied Istaran, dark on his belt.

“Fight me, you fucking mutt!” he roared at her.

“You.” I saw pure hate in her as she circled him. “I know what you did to my mother.”

His laugh echoed through the forest. Mahakal drew his own blade as she sliced, catching his belt. Istaran fell to the ground.

I’d never seen Mahakal fight, but I had heard the rumors. None of them did him justice. Even with my nightvision, I could barely track his movement. The remaining soldiers on the ridge aimed their crossbows, ready for their shot, but the two forms blurred together between clanging steel.

I dove for Istaran, the blade glowing blue as soon as I touched the grip. I caught Asher’s gaze, silent but so alive, screaming at me with his eyes.

Mahakal landed a blow on Faruhar, a deep slash under her arm. She cried out, her thick blood leaving her in pulses. She froze; that earned her a crossbow to the leg. Another flew as she groaned into another sequence of attacks, glancing off Mahakal’s armor. She was slowing. He was not.

I reminded myself of the names in her journal I didn’t know. I reminded myself Mal seemed to get better before she killed him. They weren’t all ruren-sa; she told me herself.

Havoc. That was the third time she saved my life.

“Your mother was much more fun,” Mahakal shouted. “More fear, less fire, but we’ll work on that.”

“You fucking bastard!” Jagged pain laced her voice as she charged.

“She screamed for me.” Mahakal laughed as he deflected, sending her reeling. “I loved her scream. Did she scream when you killed her? Can you make the same sound for me?”

She roared at him, throwing a sloppy attack with her injured arm that the other limb couldn’t compensate for. Mahakal sliced her up the leg as she stumbled.

My heart pounded. The air was thick with the iron tang of blood. I stood there, frozen, but not in confusion. The path was clear, the wrong thing took convincing. I waited for my opening.

She cried out again, her eyes on me as Istaran pulsed in my hand.

I attacked.

One moment I was staring at Mahakal’s smug face, the next I’d twisted behind him to cut across his lower back. I sliced the weak spot between the Chaeten leather shirt and pants with enough force to cut his kidneys, just as I saw Faruhar do. Mahakal dropped to his knees.

“Go, Faruhar!” I bellowed, throwing the churn of everything wild in me into my voice. “Go!”

Mahakal turned over from the ground, his eyes wide and panicked, darting to the few soldiers flanking. “All forces to the third hill. Now!” he said to his comm.

Faruhar had another man dead before his finger twitched on the crossbow, bleeding though she was.

She cut down another on the ridge with his hand on his comm. Istaran pulsed as I moved to finish Mahakal. I’d never killed a man; my first would be Chaeten-sa.

Asher planted his body in front of me. “Jesse, brother.” He aimed a trembling crossbow at my face.

“Out of the way, Ash!” I growled.

“SBO aggression, Eirini!” Mahakal rasped, desperation replacing his earlier arrogance. “Do your duty.”

“Is SBO even a real thing or is that another lie you’re pulling out of your ass?” My sword hung in the air, but I doubted I could disarm Ash before his bolt took me down. “Is the queen in on all this?”

Mahakal just laughed. “He’s insane.”

“Ash, please trust me.” I gripped Istaran tighter.

Asher took a step back, his crossbow still trained on me.

“Such a waste,” Mahakal said, laughing at me.

“You need to go, Jesse. Bria said they are coming to kill you too,” Faruhar rasped behind me.

“Why are you still here, Far?!” I demanded, leering at the blooming trail of blood on her torso. “Run!”

“Jesse,” Asher said, emotion heavy in his voice, looking between her and me. “I don’t understand.”

“Use your dahn. Look at her and look at him!” I gestured to Mahakal, my sword shaking in my hand.

“We need to go, Jesse,” Faruhar said. “Now!”

A streak of silver whizzed past my ear. The crossbow bolt buried itself in the oak ahead of me.

My breath hitched, the world snapping back into focus as Mahakal rose to a stand.

Another bolt, launched in quick succession, found my back as I began to run.

I reached back, finding I’d been saved by Chaeten leather.

Faruhar cursed, running down the hill, darting between trees and around the broken earth from the aerial assault. I plowed through the grotesque shadows in the moonlight, the frosty air filling my nostrils as soldiers pursued.

“Ash!” I yelled, hoping he was right behind me.