“Move!” Eleos’ voice scraped across my mind.
As though the Empty were an ocean, keres emerged from its bounds like swimmers breaking the water’s surface. Ragged clothing clung to their sallow limbs, torn by their long claws. Their hollow eyes fixed on Percy and me.
The Guild members pointed their bows at the creatures. An arrow sailed over my head and struck the keres behind me, steel sinking into its chest. The creature staggered, its head thrown back by the force of the impact. The sinewy neck snapped back into place a moment later, and the keres trudged on, undeterred.
Percy grabbed my arm and hauled me to my feet. Instincts kicked in, and I fled toward safety, ignoring the pounding pain in my chest.
Whirling around, Seth grabbed the long sword that had been hovering beside him and threw the dagger he’d clutched in secret. It soared through the air toward the nobleman’s throat while he cut through the bloody vines with his chthonic blade.
Ducking out of the way of the dagger, the nobleman drew a rapier from his belt and cut his hand. Thorned vines burst from his palm, wrapping him in a protective embrace as the bloody dagger arced past him and swung around mid-air, circling back to slam into his back.
It connected with the vines, blood merging into blood before the two separated, and the knife whirled back to Seth’s hand.
Steel rang across the forest as several Guild members drew their blades, and arrows arced through the air.
Shit shit shit!I cursed in my head, turning back to look at the Empty worriedly. The edges of its border pulsed, unstable, drawn to the violence. Nostalgia and unease burst to life in my heart.
A keres charged me, slamming into my back and knocking me to the ground. Covering my face with my arms to shield myself from its claws, I tried desperately to summon whatever cursed magic I possessed, but nothing answered my call.
A flare burst through the night sky, searing the land with a red glow. The keres’ sunken eyes lifted from my face to stare toward the battle raging behind us. Taking advantage of its distraction, I shoved it off me and crawled away.
Pounding hooves alerted me to a charging horse: a black mare bolted toward me. Shrieking, I pressed my head to the ground and shielded myself, but the mare leaped over me. Fire streaked across my vision as a scythe of burning radiance spun through the air and cleaved the keres’ head from its shoulders.
A bright red braid swung behind the woman on the horse, a scythe made of blood and flame clutched in one hand, a shimmering red stone in the other.Seraphim. Hope flared in my heart for a fleeting moment before I noticed a shadow closing in on me.
Gods, why hadn’t I taken sword lessons? Bolting to my feet, I found myself face to face with a Guild member, his blade arcing for my head. Back-stepping, I avoided his first swing and managed to block his second with my gold bracer. The jewelry wasn’t meant to be armor. It dented and pain racked through my wrist.
The black mare charged between us, forcing the Guild member back. It kicked, hooves connected with the man’s chest, sending him flying backwards. He struck the bounds of the Empty and disappeared into a sea of dust.
I’d seen someone touch the Empty before, but the experience did not spare me from the shock and horror.
Life, extinguished, leaving nothing behind.
“Stay down!” Seraphim shouted. An arrow flew past her head, soaring into the Empty and crumbling. Hooves pounded past me as she rode back towards the remaining enemies.
Heeding her order, I ducked, trying to take stock of the chaos. Seraphim’s flames burnt a path through the trees, and I could faintly see Seth’s bloody blades whipping through the air, but the night and the Empty made it impossible to keep track.
My attention was drawn to a white coat and a blue scarf. Eleos. He stood where he’d been before, gaze locked with the masked nobleman.
What were they doing? The nobleman didn’t move either, rapier clutched in a frozen grip.
Keeping low, I hurried toward him, intending to push him down to better avoid flying arrows, if nothing else. The masked nobleman’s head jerked in my direction, and his voice sang in my mind.
“We will meet again. And you will understand everything, then.”
Eleos pressed a hand to his head and staggered to a knee. The nobleman stepped back, a little unsteady, but found his footing and quickly turned, disappearing into the trees. Running to Eleos’ side, I put a hand on his back.
“Are you alright?”
Shaking off whatever had stunned him, he wrapped his arms around me, shielding me with his body as he pushed me back towards the horses. An arrow whizzed past, scraping a gash across his cheek.
The sound of our horses, frightened and distressed, guided us to where we’d tied them up. Sliding behind the trees, Eleos grabbed one of the mare’s snouts, trying to calm her. “Cut her loose.” He snapped.
Fumbling with the rope, I managed to unfasten them. Fire blazed through the woods as Seraphim rode toward us, strands of red hair clinging to her face. Yanking the reins, she halted beside us.
“They’re retreating.” She said, “Ride to safety. I’ll catch up.” Kicking her heels into her horse, she turned around and bolted back into the chaos, grabbing Percy by the neck and hauling him onto her steed.
Eleos wrapped an arm around my waist, picked me up, and threw me onto the red mare’s back. He climbed up behind me, tugging the reins to turn the horse around.
