“That sting packs quite the wallop, doesn’t it? Took me out for a moment.” His voice was panicked. “Legs? You in there? Spirits of the… Ant! Hold on, Legs.” He smiled as if trying to reassure me, but there were tears in his eyes. “Of all of us… you need to live. You’re the one the mistweaver said would ruin all their plans. So… you live, you hear me? That’s an order!” He looked away. “Bloody bones, War is up again. I gotta go, Ant will be here soon, I promise! You keep fighting!” Then he rose and squared his shoulders. “You want her, War? You’ll have to go through me!”
Chapter 25
My world spun,tilting wildly as the body-shock-inducing pain slowly faded. That left only the broken face pain, which was still enough to make everything hazy. I knew I’d black out again, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t let Maverick face Lord War alone. Yet, all I could do was watch — again as if from some great distance below everyone — as War charged in. He and Maverick were weaponless, but I knew… one hit from those powerful fists of Lord War and he’d sting Maverick, stunning him and that was all he needed. But Maverick was far from being a hapless bumpkin. His unarmed technique was different from what Amber had taught me, but he was no less skilled and kept batting away War’s fists before they could reach him, even managing to land a couple hits of his own on his massive opponent.
Something’s happening!Even Auwei’s voice seemed so far away.
Auwei was using my spider’s sense, even if I was too out of it to feel it at the moment.
I couldn’t talk, but I could still communicate with my True-Bonded.What?I asked.
Auwei’s voice surged with hope.Lady Claw is fleeing from Jack.But just as quickly I felt Auwei’s hope turn to despair.Oh no! It was a feint.
What?
Jaguar is back! He caught Jack unawares and… Sparrow is trying to stop him, but… he’s thrown her off, she’s down… and oh! Spirits Alive! Jack’s… not moving.
Is he going for Sparrow?My heart lurched.
No… Spirits! He’s going for Amber. She’s having a tough enough time fighting Tiger alone. She’d held her own this long, but… she doesn’t see Jaguar coming!
Through the haze and the pain, I tried to call out, tried to warn Amber, but all I did was croak a pathetic sound and cause myself more pain. I nearly blacked out. I lost contact with Auwei for a moment, and when I regained enough of myself to speak to her again, I felt her anguish.
Amber?
She’s…
No!
Yes.
I heard a roar, a sound so terrifying, so full of primal rage and pain my entire being sought to flee this place.
And I knew who had made that sound.
Ant?
Yes. He’s dealt with Lion and is now taking on Jaguar and Tiger alone. Spirits, he’s… terrifying…
Wait… someone is arriving… it’s… Midnight! She’s hurt Lord War… he’s… fleeing!
Distantly I heard Maverick’s weary voice. “I don’t know if you can get in there without being hurt yourself, but if you can help Ant, or get him away from those two, Legs needs help!” Then he was kneeling over me again. “One more moment, Legs, Ant is coming.” Even from my removed and distant view of him, seemingly kneeling so far away from me, I could see the strained look on his face. His forced smile and pained eyes were saying:by all the Spirits you’re a mess.
Auwei continued her narration of events.Midnight has joined the other fight. I… yes! Tiger is down, Jaguar is fleeing. He’s too fast for Ant to catch. Ant… I think he wants to give chase, but Midnight has stopped him. He’s… coming this way. Midnight is flying off, perhaps to make sure Jaguar doesn’t circle back once again for a final run at us?
I saw Ant, face hard, but streaked with tears kneeling over me. I faintly heard him mutter, “At least I can save you.” Then I felt his healing pour into me once again, my face mended, the pain faded, but I could see how much it took out of Ant. He’d pushed himself too far. Maverick caught him, laying him down as he passed out. But I was healed.
Take it slow, I can feel how exhausted your body is, all this healing has taken a lot out of you too.
Not to mention fighting for my life… and the lives of my friends and family in House Maverick. I sat up slowly and felt just how weak I was. My head spun for a long moment, and I breathed a long “ohhh…”
Maverick looked over at me. “You’re quite the sight. Who’s blood are you covered in?”
After what had happened to my face, probably a lot of my own, but mostly… “Lynx,” I groaned.
Maverick smiled. “Good.” He got into a crouch and offered a hand to help me up. I took it.
I looked away only for a moment, to get my feet under me, and in that instant the hand holding mine went limp. For the second time that night a hot spray of blood poured over me.
