Her dragon roared, drowning out his response.I smell the stench of my enemy.
“Trap!”
William and Archie reacted immediately to Tate’s warning, flanking the emperor and guiding him toward the distortion. Ryu lagged behind, waiting for Tate. He took her arm, towing her in the direction of the exit.
They’d only moved a few steps when the sound of fluttering surrounded them. It started small, a barely heard sound easy to ignore. More and more of the sound came until it was a dull roar, echoing out of the fog.
They ground to a halt, watching their surroundings in preparation for an attack.
“That sounds like wings,” Ryu said grimly.
“A lot of them,” Archie agreed.
“Please tell me that’s normal.” Tate didn’t hold much hope of that being the case. Her hands trembled from the spike of adrenaline that rushed into her body.
There had to be hundreds if not thousands out there. In those numbers, it didn’t matter how small the birds were; they’d shred their party to bits.
“It’s unlikely.” There was wry amusement in Ryu’s tone as his gaze remained trained on the sky.
“Suddenly, I think I have an idea of how that man lost his face.” And so many other parts of his body. It wasn’t an image she liked having in her brain.
The fog thinned, for the first time giving them a glimpse of what was beyond it. Black shapes nearly blotted out the snowcapped mountains and fractious ocean. They spiraled in the sky above the stone circle. So many of them it was impossible to count.
“Great Saviors protect us,” Archie whispered.
The birds dove.
“Run,” Ryu barked.
He swung a hand, fire arcing out in a sheet to meet the leading edge of the birds. Shrieks accompanied the bodies that fell lifeless to the ground. Archie and William did their best to protect Thaddeus, but Tate knew it would be difficult with their attackers coming from the sky.
Several birds made it past.
Curses came from the others as bright lines of red opened on their skin. They had to stop to protect themselves.
Archie hissed and a heavy thump Tate felt in her chest accompanied the invisible force that shot out from him, knocking dozens of birds from the sky. From her vantage, Tate was unable to tell if that force was the product of a relic or his own special ability.
William slashed at the birds mobbing them with a grim expression.
It didn’t take a genius to realize the situation was not good. Some might even call it dire.
“Any plans?” Tate called. “I welcome all options.”
Ryu’s grin was savage. “Kill as many as possible.”
“Sounds like the sort of plan I’d come up with.” Tate waved the daggers she’d drawn at the birds, her attempts feeling ineffectual. A putrid stench assailed her nose, making her wonder how she’d ever missed it in the first place. “Good to know I’m such a corrupting influence.”
Pure white light exploded from Thaddeus, disintegrating any bird it touched. His expression rivaled Ryu’s for cruelty. “The sooner you get started; the better.”
Laughter bubbled from Ryu. He grabbed Tate and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Make sure you take care of yourself.”
Tate cupped his jaw. “That’s not something I ever forget.”
Ryu’s grin was playful as he stood back. The dragon erupted from his form in a beautiful display that made Tate catch her breath.
Rath roared a challenge at the sky. One answered by the screeches of thousands of birds.
“Ilith, you said this was your ancient enemy. I think it’s time we did something about them. Don’t you?”
