He hits a particularly large bump, and I flail back onto the grain sack, then roll toward the rear of the wagon. The rope stops me, and I roll over and stare out the back.
“Oh my Ancestors.” My breath is gone in a whoosh as I see Gareth and Iridiel thundering toward me with a handful of warriors. All of them are bloody, and Gareth rallies them onward.
“What is—” I can’t get the words out. Not when I see what rises behind the unicorns. A giant. A huge, fluffy monster with lavender eyes and sharp fangs.
“It’s … it’s a … it’s—”
“The gremels!” Parnon shouts over the wheel noise. “They’ve combined to form one.”
I gape at the creature, its fluffy fur waving as it stomps toward us, the wagon jarring along with each of its heavy footsteps. “Why is Iwoo doing this?”
“I guess he didn’t like the way your mate treated him.” Parnon shouts, “Yah!” and snaps the whip again, the wagon moving faster as the other riders catch up. But the enormous creature is catching up, too.
It roars, the sound deafening and low as hundreds of voices join together to make an enraged cry. I can make out the individual gremels, their eyes fixed on the wagon as the giant swings its huge, pink paw at us.
I scream when it snags one of the unicorns and its rider, then shoves them off the side of the narrow lane and into the Abyss.
I cringe. “Iwoo, no!”
The wagon slows. “More trouble.”
“We can’t stop!” I turn to Parnon, but then notice why he can’t go much farther. Our fighters have taken cover behind an outcrop of rock as slavers send arrows swarming down from two black stone towers on either side of the road. A huge iron gate bars the way, the hinges reinforced with layers and layers of metal.
We’re pinned. But sunlight and freedom loom just beyond this bottleneck. If we can only get past it.
The wagon hits another bump, and a golden candlestick rolls against my ankle.
“Ow!” I reach for it. Then stop. “Wait a minute. Wait a minute!” I dig around until I find the right bag and stuff every item of spilled gold inside it.
“No waiting. Going to die,” Parnon grumbles as the wagon finally stops. “But you will die last, changeling. You will die only after my last breath is gone. I will not watch another die. No, I will not.” He clomps down from the driver’s seat and around to the back.
Gareth and the others are almost on us, the enormous fluffy darling roaring at their backs.
I hop down from the wagon and point to the bag. “Grab that. When I give you the signal, throw it into the nearest tower.”
“What?”
I hold up the golden candlestick. “I’ve got this. Just limber up your throwing arm. That gold is super heavy and—”
He lifts the bag as if it’s stuffed with nothing more than spider silk. “Throw it when you say. Yes. And then I fight. Yes. You will not die. You will not.” I don’t know if he’s speaking to me or himself, but I rise to my tiptoes and peck him on the cheek. “We are not going to die.”
After that, I take off toward the thundering hooves. Gareth holds up a hand and yells for me to stay back. I ignore him. Just like old times. He doesn’t like my ignoring, also like old times, and scoops me up onto Iridiel’s back with him as the other riders thunder past.
“What are you doing?” he yells.
“Turn around!” I try to pull the reins, but Iridiel doesn’t obey.
“What—”
“Just turn this unicorn around!” I bellow.
Gareth nods and digs his heel into Iridiel’s side. Mean, but effective, because the stubborn unicorn turns around. He doesn’t go galloping toward the approaching behemoth as I want him to, but this will have to do.
I raise my hand with the candlestick in it. “Iwoo!”
The creature snarls.
“Iwoo, I have the gold!”
