Page 37 of Scorched Earth (Dark Shores #4)

LYDIA

Pressed against Killian’s back with Agrippa’s gloves on her hands and his knotwork binding her tight, Lydia fell into the first deep sleep she’d had in longer than she cared to remember.

Yet it was unfortunately short-lived.

It was still darkest night when Agrippa shook Killian’s shoulder, waking her as he did. “The blighters are about a half hour back from us,” he said under his breath. “They’re moving south. Doesn’t look like they’re actively hunting, but if one sees us, they all see us.”

“Shit.” Killian sat upright. “I’d hoped we’d put more distance between us and them.”

“They don’t sleep. Don’t eat.” As Agrippa spoke, he started untying Lydia’s bindings. “They don’t feel any pain as their bodies break down from the abuse of endlessly running, and if they fall, they’ll crawl. We can’t outpace them.”

“So what do we do?” Lydia asked.

“I think we need to get behind their lines,” Agrippa answered, though his eyes were on Killian. “Thoughts?”

“Are there enough gaps between groups of them for us to get through?” Killian asked, and when Agrippa shook his head, he asked, “Do they look up?”

“No, they aren’t concerned about the deimos.”

“Would trees work?”

“Yeah. We’ll have to abandon the horses, though.”

“What are you talking about?” Lydia whispered as Agrippa unfastened the rest of her bindings.

“We’ll hide in the trees while they pass,” Killian said.

“I’ll wake the others.” Agrippa hesitated, then said, “Malahi doesn’t do well with being woken up unexpectedly. Rufina used to set upon her whenever she slept, so she associates waking with violence. I’ll try to keep her from screaming, but be ready to ride and ride hard if she does.”

Heart hammering, Lydia gathered up her bedroll, though her eyes followed Agrippa as he approached Malahi and Baird. The Queen was buried in blankets, her back pressed against Baird’s, but one of Agrippa’s knives was gripped in her right hand.

Agrippa glanced skyward, then murmured, “Malahi.”

She lurched upward with a gasp, slashing out blindly with the weapon, her lips parting.

Agrippa only ducked under the blade, his hand pressing to her mouth to silence the rising scream.

He pulled Malahi against him, restraining her easily, and Lydia heard him whisper, “Easy, Your Grace. It’s just me. You’re safe. You’re safe.”

They were the exact opposite of safe, but to Lydia’s surprise, Malahi stopped fighting. As Agrippa dropped his hand from her mouth, she whispered, “I’m sorry.”

“You’ve got nothing to be sorry for.” His arm curved protectively around her back. “Always better to wake up fighting than not wake up at all.” He was quiet for a heartbeat, and then he said, “I’m sorry I left without telling you.”

Lydia twitched as Killian touched her arm. “Get everything packed. I’m going to set the horses loose so that they run ahead of us and hopefully throw off the trail.”

She swiftly gathered their things, heart in her throat because every time she blinked, visions of the blighter horde filled her mind’s eye. To willfully allow themselves to be surrounded by so many seemed like madness, but so did riding day and night without rest to stay ahead of them.

Baird was heaving himself up a thick tree while Agrippa lifted Malahi to grab the branches of another. Under Malahi’s touch, the branch moved, pulling her higher, and Agrippa scrambled up after her with ease.

Killian lifted the saddles up for Agrippa to wedge out of sight, then he strode to where Lydia waited. “Do you need a boost?”

Given she’d never climbed a tree in her life, she nodded, and he lifted her so that she could reach a thick branch. She slung a leg over it, then reached down a gloved hand to him.

Killian jumped, hand locking on hers. Though Lydia was nowhere near as strong as when she gave in to the Corrupter, Hegeria’s mark was no small thing, and grinding her teeth, Lydia bore his weight until he caught hold of the branch with his free hand.

Together, they climbed higher and deeper into the tree, and then fell still.

Not a moment too soon.

In the distance, the noise of hundreds of footfalls grew louder and louder, brush crunching beneath feet as the dead civilians of Derin marched across the countryside.

Lydia allowed her mark to take hold, but while her companions glowed with life, the blighters were midnight shadows of nothing as they moved closer, then beneath the branches of the trees.

The smell of old blood, urine, and vomit drifted up from the horde, the stink almost making her gag as she silently counted them, losing track after a thousand.

Lydia’s body ached from keeping entirely still.

She was afraid that even the tiniest movement, tiniest sound, would attract their attention, but they only pressed onward.

The frontrunners seemed whole and strong, but those that followed tripped and stumbled.

As they drew closer, Lydia saw many had visibly broken bones, falling when their legs gave out only to crawl forward on hands and knees.

Despite seeing with her own eyes that they were dead, nothing more than corpse puppets commanded by the Corrupter, the scene still made Lydia’s throat burn with bile. She could only imagine how her companions, who could not see that the blighters were dead, felt to witness the horror.

Minutes passed. Then hours.

Yet it felt like eternity as they waited for the last crawling members of the horde to pass them by, dawn illuminating the blighters as they slowly moved into the distance. Only then did Killian climb down, checking their surroundings before softly calling out. “I think we’re in the clear.”

Lydia clambered down, relieved to finally move her stiff muscles.

“That bitch killed them all.” Agrippa stared at the trail of footprints the blighters had left. “Killed her own people to create another army for no other purpose than to hunt us down.”

A snuffling filled Lydia’s ears, and she saw that Baird was weeping.

“Three years I spent in Derin, and I can attest these people didn’t deserve this.

” He wiped at his face. “Most were born to these lands and were doing naught but trying to survive beneath Rufina’s tyranny, and the tyranny of every demon who came before her. ”

Agrippa didn’t answer, only stared into the distance, his fists clenched.

Lydia could feel the anger seething from him.

The guilt. For the first time, she felt certainty in her heart that he was truly on their side, if for no other reason than that they fought against Rufina.

She met Killian’s eyes, and he gave a nod of confirmation before saying, “Does this change the plan?”

“There’s a reason why Derin is as isolated as it is,” Agrippa replied.

“Twisted seas and a coast made of swamp to the west. Liratoras to the east. Icefields to the north. Desert to the south. At least with Anukastre, there’s safety on the other side, which you can’t say for the rest. Plus the deimos can’t tolerate the heat, and Rufina herself won’t risk following on foot, which makes the sand dunes mighty appealing. ”

“Except she knows that’s where we’re going,” Killian said. “All those blighters aren’t just going to disappear. We’re going to have to get past them at some point.”

“The Eyrie, most likely,” Baird muttered. “With any luck, they’ll all just walk over the edge.”

“Edge?” Lydia asked.

Baird and Agrippa exchanged long looks, and the latter said, “We still set on south?”

Killian’s eyes went distant, then he nodded.

“Right.” Agrippa rocked on his heels. “Well then, as we walk, allow me to tell you about the edge of the world.”