I squint, straining my eyes to see further, beyond that boundary. Are there demons lurking out there, ready to attack us as soon as we emerge from the safety of our realm?
I can’t tell.
Thorne glances at his watch.
“The elite team won’t be here for another five hours, Briony and Dray probably six.”
I nod in agreement. We shouldn’t have been in such a hurry to leave the palace. At least it was warm there.
“You want to go on a scouting mission?” Thorne asks, peering out towards the border.
“Not while it’s dark. Let’s go check out the hut. There may be a fire we can light.”
Inside, we find a fireplace and a kettle with a few old tin supplies – none of which look appetizing. I light the fire with my magic and Thorne brews us both a strong coffee. An old bunk with moldy-looking covers runs along one wall, but even if we wanted to brave bed bugs and whatever other infestation the bed must be crawling with, neither of us feels like sleeping. Not withBriony out there in the sky, not with the anticipation and the adrenaline pumping through our blood.
Instead, we perch on low wooden stools, hunched by the fire, sipping our drinks.
“Want to explain about the sword?” Thorne asks me.
We both stare down at the weapon spread before our feet. I pick it up by the hilt and spin it on its point, the metal so sharp it carves a mark into the old wooden floor.
“You know how Briony told us that story about how the firestone called to her, pulled her towards it?”
“Yeah, it’s hard to forget a story like that.”
“This sword did the same to me.” He’s quiet, considering my face. I’m not sure he believes me. “It sounds like nonsense, but it did.”
“Just now or–”
“I took Henny to the room. That was the thing she wanted. Her trade for information.”
“That was it!”
“Yeah,” I say. “I can’t quite believe I got off so lightly myself. Anyway, that’s when it happened. The sword is called Thunderstrike. You ever heard of it?” Thorne shakes his head. “The Empress used to use it in battle. It slays demons. I thought that might be handy considering where we’re going.”
Thorne’s dark gaze slides down the blade. “Very useful. I’m assuming you didn’t have permission to take it?”
“No, not exactly,” I confess.
Thorne sips his coffee and I lay the sword down carefully on the floor.
Even now I hear it singing to me, willing me to pick it up again and hold it in my hands.
“Are you angry at me for taking it?” If the Empress punishes me for this, she’s likely to punish Dray and Thorne too.
“No,” he says, “we’re going to need all the help we can get.”
We drink another four cups of coffee as the hours pass and finally a weak light penetrates through the windows and the barren landscape becomes more clear. I stand and walk to the doorway, opening it wide and once again searching beyond the border for any signs of demons. There are none and yet I find it hard to believe we could creep into their lands undetected.
I jog down the hut steps, Thorne behind me, and scan the landscape next, searching for the elite team. They’re due to arrive in the next half an hour and there should be signs of them soon. So far, though, there is nothing.
Thorne prizes open one of the ancient tins with his shadows and cooks the concoction of beans and sausage over the fire. We pass it between us, all the time watching the horizon, waiting for the team to displace into the landscape.
The rendezvous time comes and goes. An hour passes and I finally spot something. A movement right where the sky meets the earth – out towards the west. But soon it’s clear it’s no vehicle. No team of soldiers. It’s a giant creature flapping through the heavens.
Briony.
I look at my watch. Right on time.
