Page 148 of Walking in Darkness

And I knew I stood in those ranks.

I would give it all.

Without giving the fucker the time to anticipate my return, I fisted a handful of his hair and jerked his head back, and I dragged the knife across his throat before he even knew I was there. Blood gushed, and I tossed him off the seat.

He toppled off the side of the tractor, just another monster getting consumed by the swarm.

I jumped into his seat, and I fumbled around to find the brake, hitting it hard once I did.

The tractor ground to a halt.

A couple of the demented tried to climb onto the tractor in their hunger to get to the wicked destination they were heading toward, and I stood, kicking them off as they scrambled to get on from all sides.

Then they were right there, twenty feet in the distance.

Aria and the rest.

Nothing but a living, thriving ring.

Aria caught my eye from the middle of it.

Energy crackled. Riding between us on a keening bow. Invisible but so bright it was blinding. A mark forever written on my soul.

Hope blazed from her.

Belief.

Faith.

Conviction.

I swore she scored it into me, and I turned and sat back on the seat. I gripped the old gearshift, and metal groaned and protested as I tried to put it into reverse. Took me three times before I got it; then I backed up, smashing into a car behind me as I turned it around in the middle of the street.

By the time I finally got it righted and was facing the other direction, Aria and the rest had made it to me, and I began to drive the tractor up the center of the road, clearing a path as we moved up the street.

I didn’t slow.

I ran right over the depraved who came sprinting my way without thought while I shouted warnings at Laven to get out of the way.

Laven who gathered and gathered, quick to come to the realization that they were meant to stand with us.

Each of us tied.

Strength in our unity.

Something that scum Ambrose had tried to keep hidden.

But that tether was too powerful between Aria and me for him to keep it bottled up. For him to keep it from us.

Because she and I? We were meant for this.

I carved a passageway for the slew of Laven who now marched together; then we all stopped when we’d made it to what appeared to be the town square.

It was a large, rambling park with an assortment of benches and a playground on the opposite side of a big, grassy circle.

The road looped around the entire area, and four roads jutted out from its juncture.

Right smack in the middle of it was a gazebo.