Page 286 of Scorched Earth

Which meant that Rufina’s focus had to be elsewhere. Either on Marcus or Dareena, or…

“Killian…” Lydia whispered. “Something is wrong.”

“I know.” He pressed his horse close to hers, Bercola moving to hold the reins of both animals. “If this is the path to Deadground, why isn’t her focus here? Why aren’t there at least some of the corrupted here?”

“Perhaps she’s distracted by the Cel? Or Dareena and Xadrian’s forces,” Malahi said. “Maybe we’re winning?”

“No,” Killian answered. “Rufina knew Deadground was our goal.”

Lydia’s face was blanched of color, and he understood why. They’d spent every tool in their arsenal to get this far, and for what?

Bercola exhaled a long breath. “Eoten Isle will deal with the blighters, Killian. Those are not our children, and while our hands will be stained for the rest of our days, the hurt will not cut us as deep.”

“We can’t destroy them,” Lydia whispered. “If the children can’t be brought back, what are we fighting for?”

“I don’t think we have to. At least, not yet.” Killian unhooked the bow from his back. Nocking an arrow, he aimed at the distant xenthier.

And let loose.

He watched the arrow sail over the blighters’ heads without them noticing. But rather than disappearing into the stem, it struck the crystal dead on.

“Shit,” Agrippa whispered. “It’s a terminus. This isn’t the way to Deadground. It’s a decoy.”

Wings flapped above, and Astara fell to the ground before them. The shifter was bleeding heavily from what appeared to be multiple bite wounds, no doubt from one of the deimos. Slipping off the side of her horse, Lydia ran to Astara’s side and the shifter’s wounds disappeared beneath her touch.

“It’s Rufina!” Astara gasped. “You told me to watch her. I was tracking her from the air when I was attacked, but not before I saw her and her corrupted go through another stem. Worse still, now that she knows the legion attack was a ploy, her main army has disengaged from Dareena and Xadrian and is marching this way.” She swallowed hard. “Runningthis way. Thousands of them. You’re going to be overrun.”

“Where is the genesis stem?” Killian demanded.

“East of here. I can show you.”

Before anyone could move, the blighter children began to stir, heads swiveling and eyes latching upon them.

As one, they began to walk.

In the same uncanny way as the dead legion that had attacked Marcus’s forces, they moved in total lockstep, any individual too damaged to move properly falling beneath the feet of the others. Faces vacant.

Eyes fixed on Killian, and he knew that it was Rufina who looked out.

“Astara, get us to that stem!”

The woman shifted, taking wing and flying low. Killian led them, but Lydia kept close to his warhorse’s heels. Their friends and comrades followed, running down a narrow track through the dead woods, horses and giants leaping over the blight. All while blighter children pursued, the dead caring not for paths, instead crashing through the blackened trees.

“Keep close!” Killian shouted at her. “We’re going to have to be quick.”

Never mind that they’d be going through a path blind to what was on the other side. Never mind that there was nothing to stop the blighters from following them through.

As if hearing his thoughts, Bercola shouted, “Killian, get them through the path! We’ll hold them off for as long as we can.”

It was a death sentence.

The blighters knew no fear. Knew no pain. They’d keep coming and coming…

Lydia shouted, “No! We won’t leave anyone behind!”

But Killian looked over his shoulder and met Bercola’s gaze, giving the giantess a tight nod. A silent promise to see her one day when the gods had claimed them both, because this war would not be won without sacrifice. And it would be his old friend who made it.

Agrippa urged his mount for more speed, passing Malahi and Lydia and reining close to Killian. “Having done it more than once—those first seconds when you pass through that xenthier are when you’re most likely to die. At best, she’s going to have archers waiting to shoot anyone who comes through. At worst, the corrupted are ready to take your head off. Worse still, we don’t know the lay of the land on the far side. Could be into a cave or into a pool of water. Could be a long drop. So what’s the plan?”