They hit the ground hard, Roque’s shoulder scraping against the rough ground of the alleyway.He was up instantly, scanning the area for threats as his hand went to his sword.
Figures appeared at both ends of the alley—at least eight demons, maybe more.They moved with coordinated precision, unlike the tavern demons Roque and Dimri had fought recently.These were professionals.
Roque and Dimri were in trouble.
“Assassins,” Dimri hissed, two knives already in his hands.
A massive demon with obsidian skin and curved ram horns charged from the left, raising a hammer that looked like it could crush bones to powder.Roque had no intention of finding out if it actually could.When the demon aimed it at Roque’s head, Roque twisted away.The hammer slammed down where Roque had been standing, cracking the stone.Roque struck with his sword, cutting a wound across the demon’s ribs, grinning when black blood spattered the wall.
But there were too many demons attacking them.A demon with needle-sharp claws lunged at Roque’s back while two others moved in from his right.Roque spun, catching the clawed demon across the throat with his sword, but he couldn’t block the dagger that sank into his left arm.
Pain flared, hot and urgent.Roque drove his elbow into his attacker’s face, satisfied with the sound of breaking bone, but another sword hit him over the ribs.
Dimri moved like a shadow, his long arms allowing him to attack them from angles they didn’t expect.One of his knives hit an assassin in the eye, and the assassin dropped instantly.
“There are too many!”Dimri called out, ducking under a sword swing and cutting the attacker’s inner thigh in retaliation.
Roque sank his sword into one of the assassins’ stomachs, but three more stepped forward to take his place.His wounded arm was weakening, and the blood dropping from the wound was making his hold on his sword slippery.
“We need to move!”Dimri was moving toward Roque, still fighting but clearly looking for an exit.
Knowing him, he had five different exit strategies, and for once, Roque wasn’t in the mood to tease him for that.
The demon with the hammer was moving toward Roque again.He wasn’t the only one, and the situation was getting desperate.
“Which way?”Roque asked, stopping a sword that would’ve opened his throat with his.He pushed back and kicked the demon in the stomach.
“Let’s go!”Dimri yelled.
They fought their way toward the end of the alley, but for every demon they killed, two more seemed to take their place.They were never-ending.
Something hit Roque in the shoulder, spinning him around.Only Dimri’s quick intervention kept him from getting killed, and even then, it was a close call—too close.
“Run!”Dimri shouted.“Now!”
They rushed down a side alley barely wide enough for Roque’s shoulders.His horns scraped against the walls, but he didn’t stop moving.He couldn’t.He could hear the sound of someone coming after them, and he didn’t think they’d win if they were caught.
“The palace?”Roque gasped, his wounds burning with every step.
“Too far.They’ll catch us before we get there.But the safe house is close.”
They burst out of the alley into a slightly wider street.Roque could hear the demons behind them, getting closer.His legs felt heavy, and the blood loss was making him dizzy.“How much further?”He had no idea where they were.If it wasn’t for Dimri, he’d be completely lost—or, more likely, dead.
“Two blocks.”Dimri grabbed Roque’s uninjured arm.“Can you make it?”
“Do I have a choice?”
Roque’s vision was starting to blur at the edges when Dimri finally pulled him into another alley and toward a door he vaguely recognized.
Dimri was quick, opening the door and pulling Roque inside.Roque stumbled and almost fell on his face, but he managed to catch himself on Dimri’s shoulder.He let go so that Dimri could do his thing and collapsed against the wall.
“Are they—” Roque started.Dimri had closed the door, and the silence in the courtyard was startling.
“They’ll look for us, but we’re safe here.”
Roque looked down at himself.His shirt was soaked with blood, and his left arm hung at his side.The adrenaline was fading, leaving him shaky and nauseous.It hurt to breathe, which was unpleasant.
Roque didn’t argue when Dimri guided him toward the house.He was glad they’d been here before because it meant he was comfortable enough here to let go.He knew that they were safe and that Dimri would take care of him if he fainted.
