“Ruari!” Roth shouted then. “Watch yourself!”
Lara turned to see a Loch-Bhàn reach for the seer. Ruari had been slashing at a Slew, focused elsewhere. He hadn’t seen the ethereal figure drifting toward him.
Roth had, but his warning came too late. Silver fingers enclosed around Ruari’s wrist.
He staggered, his eyes snapping wide. The Loch-Bhàn released her grip then, drawing back.
A bewildered expression rippled over his face. His dagger slipped from limp fingers.
“Ruari!” Annis rushed toward him.
He blinked, turning to her. “Who?”
Two bog wights, seizing their chance, lunged then. Clawed, webbed hands grabbed the seer, and they dragged him backward.
Roth and Alar tried to get to him. The Slew dove, blocking them as they slashed and stabbed—even as the Fuath hauled Ruari toward the edge of the loch. Lara watched, heart pounding in her throat, helpless to stop them, as he disappeared under the cold dark water.
Just like that, he was gone. So fast. So final.
Lara flinched.Gods. Ruari.
“Climb!” Mor shouted. She’d already scaled the first few feet of the outcrop. The urgency in her voice tore through Lara’s shock.
She staggered away from Bracken, following Mor. There was no time to tether her mare; it wasn’t safe to do so anyway. Bracken needed to be able to flee, if necessary.
An instant later, Alar was at Lara’s side. But so too, unfortunately, was a boggart.
“Half-breed fucker!” Spittle flew. “Freak! You’re not fit to—”
Alar stabbed it in the throat, cutting off a tirade of jabbered insults. He then pushed her ahead of him. “Go.”
Scrambling over rock, slippery with dew, her hands and feet fumbling, she followed Mor. The Shee queen was well ahead now, her black mink cloak billowing behind her. She climbed like a mountain goat, but Lara didn’t find it so easy.
She was only a few yards up when her arms started to tremble and burn.Fuck.
“Faster,” Alar grunted from below her.
“I’m trying,” she panted, even as sharp rock dug into her palm. Gritting her teeth against the pain, she hauled herself upward. The Ancients hadn’t made this stone circle easy to reach. “I … must … stop for a moment.” She halted then, clinging to the side of the promontory, her pulse hammering in her ears. Farther below, the others were climbing the crag. Grunts and curses echoed through the icy air. “Just … need … a breather.”
Alar pulled himself up next to her. “Can you manage this?”
Lara shook her head, too winded to answer.Gods. Her body was letting her down. Clenching her eyes shut, she made a silent prayer to The Warrior.Just get me to the top of this rock. Please.
“Climb onto my back,” Alar ordered then. “I’ll carry you.”
Lara’s eyes snapped open. Under other circumstances, she might have refused him.But she didn’t now. She needed help, or she wouldn’t reach the top.
Edging closer, she slid onto his back. The next thing she knew, she clung to him. Her arms wrapped around his chest, while her knees gripped his narrow hips.
And then, he was climbing. Inch by inch. Foot by foot. The promontory suddenly seemed so much higher than it had from a distance.
Alar didn’t speak as he scaled the crag. His entire focus was upon his task. He was sweating heavily, yet his body felt cool compared to hers.
Craning her neck, Lara gazed up at their destination, at the point where Mor had disappeared. “Just a few yards more.”
Alar grunted. His arms were starting to tremble now.
“Not much farther,” she whispered, tensing against his back.
