She approached him steadily. “Do you wish for the gods to find your soul now?”
“Yes,” Garyth breathed.
“Then we will release it together,” Nikella said and plunged a short knife into his chest.
My own numb heart winced. Garyth breathed his last.
Nikella wiped her knife and stowed it. Then she placed her hand on my shoulder until I met her gaze. “Keep fighting, Aiden. Fight for the souls still left.”
I nodded, again and again, until my head cleared. I squeezed some of the spattersap from the pouch at my waist onto Garyth’s body and laid the torch against it. Flames poured over his twisted flesh.
“May the gods find your soul,” I murmured.
Then Nikella and I raced back to the battle.
“A few dozen Wolves were hiding in a deep cave,” Nikella panted. “But they weren’t expecting our numbers.”
Chaos reigned in the main tunnel. Wolves clad in their usual black fought with my warriors. These Wolves were bigger, stronger, and faster than the ones in the yard.Thesewere the true killers.
One of them grabbed Maz’s sister, Yarina, by her hair. Nikella threw her spear straight through his torso. She leaptforward, whipping her spear from his body while Yarina lopped off his head with her scythe.
A Wolf cut down a sailor and spun for another. I plunged into the melee and sank both my swords into his stomach. He smashed his metal mask against my face, eliciting stars. But I roared, yanking out my swords and crossing them over his neck. One jerk, and his head rolled to the ground.
Fiery pain seared across my forearm as another Wolf sliced me. I swung hard at him, but he blocked my strike with a strange black gauntlet. My sword shattered.
Fucking Four! Sunstone!
The shriek and shatter of more metal told me others were finding the same sunstone on other Wolves.
The Wolf struck again and again. I blocked and slashed where I could, but this fight wouldn’t last long if all our weapons were destroyed.
“Bombs!” I yelled.
My Wolf faltered for a moment, enough for me to kick him backward. I doused him with spattersap and grabbed a torch.
Dags tossed their powder bombs while others shot them with fiery arrows. They exploded, showering the confused Wolves with bursts of flame.
I held the torch to the boot of my fallen Wolf. Fire engulfed him. He rose, screaming, as I tossed more spattersap in his path and on any Wolf I ran past. He flailed blindly through the tunnel, sparking a wildfire among his comrades.
Blood-chilling howls tore from their throats as half the Wolves caught fire and the other half were slaughtered as they tried to flee.
Nikella impaled a snarling Wolf on her spear while a huge Dag—one of Maz’s cousins—threw another into two of his burning brethren.
Smoke and the smell of charred flesh made my eyes water. Coughing echoed in the tunnel. We hadn’t counted on the battle being underground, but rather in open air beyond the gate.
“Push them out!” I shouted.
Locking into step side by side with their weapons out, the Dags and sailors started herding the remaining Wolves toward the training yard.
I stayed behind with the bodies. Covering my mouth and nose with my shirt, I walked among them. Thirteen dead Dags. Ten dead sailors. Twenty dead Wolves.
Gods, I hadn’t expected such losses. There might be more by night’s end. Wounds and infections would take their toll as well.
Nikella coughed next to me, staring down at a Dag woman, her throat slashed. “Renwell must have guessed our entry point. He had those Wolves lying in wait.”
“Then he probably thinks we aren’t still alive. I need to get that door open.”
Nikella stared at me incredulously. “He’ll be waiting for you on the other side. You know that.”
