He balanced it in his hands, got the feel for it again. “Perfect. Charlie, the hunters are attracted to light. Can you dim yourself? You don’t glow this brightly at home, do you?”
“No, but it’s so dark and scary.” Her bottom lip trembled again.
“I know, darling. But for us to make it, we need to be very fast and brave. We have to hide. And that means being as dark as the night. Do you trust me?”
In the blink of an eye, the cave went perfectly dark again. She clung to his side. “I’ll need to put you on my back so I can use my spear. If you fall off, stay close to me at all times and do as I tell you. Promise me.”
“I promise.” The words cracked in her throat.
“Good girl.” He edged to the doorway. A fireball soared through the sky and collided with the ground just beyond the cave, illuminating her terrified face. He comforted her with a squeeze of her hand. Thank the Mountain she was fireproof. Still, one of those could injure or kill her if it knocked her out of the sky, which was why they needed to do this on foot. He scanned the forest beyond. No signs of hunters.
Shifting her satchel around, he pulled her onto him, piggyback style. “Hold on tight, kid.”
Her cheek brushed his ear as she nodded. He tightened his grip on the spear, felt the comforting weight of the sword at his side. With one last thought of Harlow, he sprang from the cave and ran.
Weaving in and out of the trees, Marius drove forward with a single-minded purpose. He could see the white dome of the temple in the distance, beyond the dark and twisting labyrinth. If he could just make it to the tunnels.
The hunter came out of nowhere, dropping from the trees and landing on top of them. Marius fell backward. Crying out, Charlie slipped from his back before he hit the ground. Somehow he managed to angle his spear up in time. It pierced the thing’s chest, but the creature drove forward anyway. He wedged a foot between him and it.
Foul breath roared into his face, rows of teeth circling his head, snapping mere inches from his nose. Fingers bloodless with his grip on the spear, he watched the light slowly drain from its many eyes until finally it hung lifeless above him. Rolling, he thrust its body off him and yanked his spear from its flesh.
He circled the clearing, searching for Charlie in the darkness, tempted to call out for her but knowing to do so would be a death sentence for them both. A hunter’s screech came from behind him. He whirled. Charlie stared into the face of another hunter. Marius hoisted his spear onto his shoulder and threw it like a javelin. It pierced the monster’s heart.
The hunter froze, then fell over twitching. Marius swept Charlie into his arms, abandoning the spear and racing for the tunnel. He wasn’t going to risk checking to see if the creature was actually dead.
“It’s okay. I’ve got you.” He helped her to his back.
“I couldn’t move. I was too scared.”
“It’s okay. We’re almost there.”
He could see the tunnel ahead. It was made from the hollowed-out trunk of a massive fallen tree. Once they were inside, they’d be safe from the hunters who couldn’t fit through the opening. The trees above them rustled. “Charlie, now would be a great time to use that zappy zap you showed me in the palace. Do you think you can do it?”
“Mommy says not to.”
“Mommy would agree it’s okay to use against monsters.”
The screech of a hunter came close above their heads. Her hands lifted from his neck, and the forest lit up with her magic. The hunter backed off in a flap of wings. But then another screech pierced the night, and then another. More flapping wings. Fuck, she’d scared away one, but the light and the sound were attracting every hunter in the forest.
Branches snapped, and the sound of flapping closed in. No spear this time. He poured on the speed, his breath coming in pants. How was it possible to be breathless and have his heart in his throat when he didn’t technically have a body?
Charlie screamed as he dove into the tunnels. She tumbled over his head into the darkness. Talons snatched at his feet through the opening. He crab-walked deeper inside, out of the reach of slashing teeth and claws. When he reached Charlie, he pulled her into his arms.
“You okay, kid?”
She wept softly against his chest. He stood, bonking his head on the top of the tunnel, then slumped slightly so he could tread forward, deeper into the safety of the passage.
“Charlie? Give me some light so I can see you’re okay.”
Her glow started, soft as a lit match, and then increased to the radiance of a candle in his arms. He ran a hand along her limbs. No blood. No injuries.
“Scared?”
She nodded and wiped under her eyes.
“We’re safe in here. Until we reach the other side at least.” He set her down and took her hand.
They started to walk.
