Page 44 of The Witch who Trades with Death

Chapter Forty-Four

Khana’s mind screeched to a halt. He’s here .

Neta screamed her name, but she couldn’t hear it. The first few rows of Ghuran soldiers – at least twenty men and women – were shoved aside like grass to the wind, allowing Khana her first real look at their single attacker. The witch punched through a man’s shield, breaking through leather and flesh alike.

He’s here. Yamueto is here.

The witch’s red-orange-yellow-black-green glow dimmed as he used his aji, and Khana could finally see his face.

It was not Yamueto.

Neta grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked. “Move!”

They all scrambled back in retreat. Haz joined Khana’s other side. “Is that–”

“Not the emperor,” she breathed. It wasn’t Yamueto. She was safe.

Well. Saf er .

“You have to fight him,” Neta ordered. “You’re the only one who can.”

Fear swamped her again. “I’ve never fought a witch!”

“Neither has he! He’s killing us, Khana! At least hold him off.”

The witch grabbed the Red Frogs Six serji’s shield and tossed it aside, ripping off the man’s arm as he did so. The serji fell to the ground with a gasp.

Their eyes met.

Khana wasn’t sure she’d be recognized with her helmet and armor. She was wrong. The witch blinked. “Khana? Shit, it is you!”

“Prince Antallo,” she breathed, finally matching a name to the face. He wasn’t in silk robes, instead wearing proper armor that made speartips and arrowheads ping off him with ease.

The Ghura kept away, shields turned toward him as if that would actually do anything. He didn’t even glance at them.

Behind Antallo, Phramanka ordered soldiers to the front, to hold off the incoming footsoldiers. The other Reguallians hadn’t reached them yet, but they were close. Antallo must have ordered them back so he could claim more Ghuran lives –more glory – for himself.

Arrogance had always been his biggest flaw.

Phramanka met Khana’s eyes and gave her a meaningful look. Handle that while I handle this.

This wasn’t Yamueto. It was Antallo. A witch, sure. And a threat. But not Yamueto.

Khana nodded and turned her attention back to her target just as his disbelieving face turned into a glare.

“You look ridiculous,” he sneered. “A whore playing soldier?”

Her mouth twitched. “You should meet my unit.”

He marched toward her. “You’re coming with me.”

Haz tried to intercept, holding up his spear and shield. “Fuck off.”

Warmed though she was by the sentiment, Khana pushed past him, meeting Antallo in two steps, and breathed in.

Some of the excess aji that spilled out of his skin poured into her, and she could feel strength coursing through her. Antallo stuttered to a halt, too shocked that she had the audacity to steal from him, a crime punishable by night creature. He didn’t block the spear she drove into his gut, tearing through his armor like it wasn’t even there.

The blow forced Antallo back. Khana continued to breathe in his life force. Don’t let him heal, don’t let him heal, don’t let him –

Someone shot an arrow in her eye.

The force – the pain – almost sent her to the ground. She staggered back, and with a grunt, grasped the shaft with both hands and yanked it out of her skull.

Her vision went white with pain, then a mix of orange and green as the aji healed the injury. The arrow had knocked the helmet off her head – gods, again . Neta was going to be furious. By some miracle, she kept her feet, and when her vision cleared – eyeball completely repaired – she was left in the middle of the field holding a bloodied arrow, barely a glow left to her skin.

Antallo copied her, yanking the spear from his chest. The glow immediately pooled into his belly to heal it, leaving only the rip in his metal armor. But he was surrounded by fresh sources of aji to replenish himself. He grinned, stepping back closer to the wall of Ghuran soldiers.

“No!” Khana cried, running for him.

He breathed in.

The two Ghura directly behind him dropped dead. Those further away swayed with dizziness. Khana ran harder. She had to stop him from –

A spear soared through the air and hit Antallo at the vulnerable base of his neck. He choked on blood.

“Good shot, serji!” Haz cheered.

“Nobody else fire!” Neta ordered. “You could hit a friendly!”

“So, let’s get personal,” Itehua said, stepping forward.

“Stay a spear’s length from him!” Khana shouted, grabbing the end of Neta’s spear and dragging Antallo sideways, spinning him away from the line of Ghuran defenders. She breathed in at the same time he did, the two of them fighting for magic, trying to leech off of each other. Khana felt herself get weaker and stronger at the same time.

“Bear-hunting tactics!” Neta ordered, scooping up a fallen spear.

“I never hunted bear!” Yxe cried.

“Get in quick enough for a jab, then run!”

Itehua darted forward and jabbed Antallo’s leg with the tip of his spear, then scrambled back before he could pull life from him. “Fucker.”

Xopil did the same, jabbing his other side and stepping back.

Haz did it next, then Lueti and Yxe. Everyone in the unit stabbed at Antallo with their spears, none of their wounds enough to be fatal, but certainly enough to distract and keep his aji from increasing his strength. The whole time, Khana continued to breathe in, draining him.

Antallo tried to pull the spear out of his neck, but Khana kept pushing it in. More and more life force went into her with every inhale. Blood poured from Antallo’s mouth as his wide eyes sought Khana’s. “Please,” he gasped.

Khana drove the spear deeper into his neck. “No.”

The emperor’s son slouched and finally breathed his last.

Khana yanked the spear out before pain shattered through her back. She dropped to her knees, an arrowhead digging into her spine. “Again?!”

“Wall!” Neta ordered. The unit moved behind her, holding up their shields to create a protective wall between her and the archers. The serji knelt behind Khana, hand on the arrow. “Three, two–”

She yanked out the weapon. Khana groaned at her shredded flesh, watching the glow of her skin dim as the injury healed. Every movement hurt. Even breathing.

“We need to stop those archers,” Neta said, pointing to the rock walls. “They’re picking us apart down here.”

“Isn’t that Sava’s job?” Itehua asked, grimacing as another arrow clanked against his shield.

“He’s keeping them busy, but he’s at a severe disadvantage. Especially with the nightmares.” Neta eyed Khana. “Can you get up there?”

Khana looked at the glow of her hands. So much of what she could have drained from Antallo had disappeared into her wounds. “I’ve never tried jumping that far,” she admitted. “I could maybe toss someone up there…”

“I’ll do it,” Xopil volunteered. “Just like jumping a slippery stream.”

“No, it is not,” Haz said.

Neta gripped Khana’s shoulder. “But how’s your aim?”

Khana peeked around her friends, at the mountain wall. If she didn’t throw high enough, Xopil would crash face-first into the rock. Even if she did have perfect aim, there was a chance Xopil would get caught by a nightmare. Or be overwhelmed by sheer numbers.

“Not good enough for me to trust it,” she admitted. “I’ll go.”

Alone. No unit, no friends to back her up.

The Reguallian archers fired again. Night creatures shrieked in the sky, picking up victims where they could. The Poison Dart Frogs continued to duck behind their shields, wincing as they saw more Ghura die.

“Then get up there,” Neta ordered. “Drain as many as you can, then drop down behind the enemy lines and do what you did last time. We’ll squeeze the Reguallians in the middle. Everyone, move forward.”

They adjusted their position slightly to make a smaller shell formation: Khana, Yxe, and Lueti in front with shields protecting their chests; Haz, Neta, Itehua and Xopil behind with the shields raised above their heads. They speed-walked to the mountain wall, stepping over fallen bodies. A couple of other units had a similar idea and climbed up the wall, but the archers aimed straight down at their faces, and the nightmares picked off what they could.

Khana concentrated on her breathing. You can do this. Witches have made similar jumps throughout history. You can do this.

“Xopil, you’ll be the launch pad,” Neta said. “Itehua, watch his back. Khana, I’ll count you off.”

Xopil and Itehua got into position, giving her a good running start. Xopil held his shield up at an angle while Itehua protected his back.

“Are you ready?” Neta asked.

No.

“Yes,” she squeaked.

Neta glared at her. “Are you ready?”

Khana cleared her throat and met her serji ’ s gaze. It came out much stronger this time: “Yes.”

Haz smacked her in the back and gave a gap-toothed grin. “Hop to it, froggy.”

“That was awful.”

Neta held up her fingers, redirecting everyone’s attention. “Three.”

Khana braced her legs.

“Two.”

She took a deep breath.

“Go!”

Khana ran.