“Thank you for getting me away from whatever was shooting those arrows.”
“Are you finally starting to believe me?”
“Possibly.”
He almost groaned. This girl was more stubborn than any previous Soulbearer he’d protected before. The gods must have sent her to try his patience.
One of the boulders shifted in front of him. The hair stood up on the back of his neck, and he rubbed his eyes. Lady Luck, please let me be seeing things . The boulder moved again and raced toward them.
***
A tingle shot down Arden’s spine a split second before the horse reared and tossed her to the ground. Pebbles dug into her flesh, and the stars danced in the sky above.
“ Get up before you get killed ,” urged the voice in her head that was becoming all too familiar.
She rolled to her side in time to see a pair of hooves kick up the dust in front of her. Fear rushed through her body, and she scrambled to her feet to escape the frenzied horse. The smell of rotting flesh intensified. Shadows coated the darkened surroundings, deepening the chaos around her. The clang of swords echoed nearby.
“Trouble, behind you!”
A shriek escaped from her mouth when she turned to see the man wielding a scythe. The blade sliced through the air. She jumped back. A whoosh of air rippled her tunic from the near miss. Sweet Lady Moon, he’s trying to kill me.
“ This brainless minion won’t kill you yet. I think he wants that honor. ”
“ Who wants that honor? ”
The grey-skinned man swung the scythe again, forcing her back to avoid the blade.
“ The necromancer is standing about twenty feet behind you .” Her chest tightened. It was all true—everything Dev had tried to warn her about. Undead.
Necromancers. And now they wanted her.
“ They only want you to get to me ,” Loku continued.
She twisted to avoid the blade and changed her direction. Like hell she was going to be herded like a mindless sheep. “That’s rather conceited of you to think that,” she said to him through clenched teeth while she focused on her attacker.
“ Didn’t I ever tell you that the world revolves around me? Life is dull without chaos .” If she weren’t inches from being slashed into ribbons by a man with glowing red eyes and scythe, she would have laughed. Her hand wrapped around the handle of the knife Dev had given her. The slim blade would probably shatter if she tried to block a blow with it, but at least she could flash it around and let her waxy-faced attacker know she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Maybe she’d even be lucky enough to draw blood.
Other than her own, that is.
A burst of flames ignited nearby, chasing away the darkness. Her heart pounded in her throat. Cinder was on fire. She ran toward the glowing wolf with the intention of extinguishing the inferno but stopped when she realized he was wasn’t in pain. Quite the contrary, actually.
He seemed to attack the undead around them with renewed vigor.
“Trouble!” Dev pointed behind her.
Scythe-man caught the end of her braid as she whipped around, and her hair tumbled into her face.
Several small pyres burned around her, and the number of attackers grew smaller. Dev struggled to avoid three of them while Cinder attacked two more.
“ Remember what Dev told you. Fire can kill undead. ”
“ But how— ”
“ Gather it up inside you like you did in the inn and launch it at him .” If only she had a few seconds to cast the spell. The curved blade hissed through the air. Its wielder took a step toward her, directing her toward the dark-cloaked figure waiting on a boulder behind her.
Fury at becoming a pawn in his game gnawed at her stomach until it burned. The heat travelled through her body from her core to her fingertips, building in intensity until her fingernails glowed like white-hot coals. With a strangled cry, she released the magic. Six fireballs erupted from her hands. Scythe-man moaned as the flames consumed his face, and he dropped to his
“Are you finally starting to believe me?”
“Possibly.”
He almost groaned. This girl was more stubborn than any previous Soulbearer he’d protected before. The gods must have sent her to try his patience.
One of the boulders shifted in front of him. The hair stood up on the back of his neck, and he rubbed his eyes. Lady Luck, please let me be seeing things . The boulder moved again and raced toward them.
***
A tingle shot down Arden’s spine a split second before the horse reared and tossed her to the ground. Pebbles dug into her flesh, and the stars danced in the sky above.
“ Get up before you get killed ,” urged the voice in her head that was becoming all too familiar.
She rolled to her side in time to see a pair of hooves kick up the dust in front of her. Fear rushed through her body, and she scrambled to her feet to escape the frenzied horse. The smell of rotting flesh intensified. Shadows coated the darkened surroundings, deepening the chaos around her. The clang of swords echoed nearby.
“Trouble, behind you!”
A shriek escaped from her mouth when she turned to see the man wielding a scythe. The blade sliced through the air. She jumped back. A whoosh of air rippled her tunic from the near miss. Sweet Lady Moon, he’s trying to kill me.
“ This brainless minion won’t kill you yet. I think he wants that honor. ”
“ Who wants that honor? ”
The grey-skinned man swung the scythe again, forcing her back to avoid the blade.
“ The necromancer is standing about twenty feet behind you .” Her chest tightened. It was all true—everything Dev had tried to warn her about. Undead.
Necromancers. And now they wanted her.
“ They only want you to get to me ,” Loku continued.
She twisted to avoid the blade and changed her direction. Like hell she was going to be herded like a mindless sheep. “That’s rather conceited of you to think that,” she said to him through clenched teeth while she focused on her attacker.
“ Didn’t I ever tell you that the world revolves around me? Life is dull without chaos .” If she weren’t inches from being slashed into ribbons by a man with glowing red eyes and scythe, she would have laughed. Her hand wrapped around the handle of the knife Dev had given her. The slim blade would probably shatter if she tried to block a blow with it, but at least she could flash it around and let her waxy-faced attacker know she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Maybe she’d even be lucky enough to draw blood.
Other than her own, that is.
A burst of flames ignited nearby, chasing away the darkness. Her heart pounded in her throat. Cinder was on fire. She ran toward the glowing wolf with the intention of extinguishing the inferno but stopped when she realized he was wasn’t in pain. Quite the contrary, actually.
He seemed to attack the undead around them with renewed vigor.
“Trouble!” Dev pointed behind her.
Scythe-man caught the end of her braid as she whipped around, and her hair tumbled into her face.
Several small pyres burned around her, and the number of attackers grew smaller. Dev struggled to avoid three of them while Cinder attacked two more.
“ Remember what Dev told you. Fire can kill undead. ”
“ But how— ”
“ Gather it up inside you like you did in the inn and launch it at him .” If only she had a few seconds to cast the spell. The curved blade hissed through the air. Its wielder took a step toward her, directing her toward the dark-cloaked figure waiting on a boulder behind her.
Fury at becoming a pawn in his game gnawed at her stomach until it burned. The heat travelled through her body from her core to her fingertips, building in intensity until her fingernails glowed like white-hot coals. With a strangled cry, she released the magic. Six fireballs erupted from her hands. Scythe-man moaned as the flames consumed his face, and he dropped to his
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