“There’s another one,” I muttered.
“The first is still following,” Belis said. Rhiannon’s face turned from one to another.
“They’re hunting us,” she said, “waiting to strike. We should hurry.”
We set off again, scurrying through the forest. The pale men followed. They didn’t seem to be speeding up, but they stayed at the same distance. I could see more of them appearing through the trees, all of them bare-chested, with the same white skin and their eyes on the ground.
“Faster,” called Belis, and we broke into a run. The woods were getting louder and louder, strange birds screaming as we sprinted under the canopies. There was a clattering behind me and I turned to see the first of the men come onto the path. He raised his eyes and I could see they were dark red, blood trickling down like tears. He bared his lips and his teeth were broken and rotting in his mouth. A second stepped onto the track and then a third, and then there were six of them, blocking the whole path as they staggered forward.
Belis dropped back, whirling her spear, and shoved me in front of her.
“Get Rhiannon to the arch, don’t wait for me.”
“Are you mad? You can’t fight them all off.” I tugged at her arm. “Besides, it’s only worth getting her out if you survive, too. You’re a far better warrior than me. If anything, I’m thedisposable one.”
“Not to me,” she said, but she let me drag her forward, starting to run.
The pale men were sprinting now, no more than a few yards behind us. Rhiannon was just in front. She whispered something and an enormous elm tree began to teeter, before crashing to the ground just as Belis and I ducked beneath it. The vines whipped at my legs and I staggered but Belis caught me and pulled me on. The pursuingshadowbittenslowed to clamber over the tree and we gained a little distance. Rhiannon called out again and two more trees uprooted themselves, crushing a couple of the pursuers as they fell. I began to feel a little hope, though my chest was burning with the effort of running.
Then a pair ofshadowbittenburst from the trees in front of us. I stalled, fumbling for my sword, but Belis was already in motion. She launched her spear and it sailed through the air, sinking with a thud into the chest of the leftmost man. Before he hit the ground she’d loosed a knife that hit the other man in the eye, causing him to stagger forward, clutching at his face.
I managed to recover my grip on my sword and half fell forward, running it through him. The man juddered and gasped as I tried to drag the blade back out, collapsing as it slid free. Belis bent to retrieve her knife, picked up her spear and then caught my arm, tugging me on as Rhiannon darted past.
“Can’t you pull down more trees on them?” I panted as we caught up with the witch. “Or open another ravine?”
“I don’t have the strength for that,” she hissed at me. “You’ll have to fight them off.”
I glanced over my shoulder. The two we had attacked were crawling back into the undergrowth, but there were still four on the trail and they had made up some of the distance when we stopped to fight past the others.
“Outnumbered,” muttered Belis to herself. She was barely panting, running easily as Rhiannon scrambled on and I fought desperately for breath to keep going. “How much further?”
“Still a way to go,” Rhiannon called, “but there’s a shortcut through an old hole in one of the hedges. If we can squeeze through there we’ll be close to the arch.”
Belis looked back and nodded. “All right, let’s make for that.”
We hurtled to the right, heading down a long, narrow path that pointed due east. It was too tight for us to run side by side so Rhiannon went first, then me, then Belis, running sideways to keep her spear pointed at theshadowbittenwho were pushing past each other to get after us.
Rhiannon skidded in the dirt and began clawing at the base of a bush. She tore at the new leaves and vines and cackled with delight as they came loose in her hands, revealing a small gap. She began to squirm through just as theshadowbittenreached us.
Belis caught the first of them on her spear, pinning the man to the ground. The second ran right over his fellow and leapt at her, mad hands clawing even before he was within range. Belis brought up her knife and slashed at his arms, opening great cuts in the pale flesh.
Rhiannon gave a grunt of relief and slid through the hedge. Then she ducked her head back to our side.
“Quickly, Mallt, get in here.”
I swung my sword at the man fighting Belis, slicing through his neck before the blade got caught in the column of his spine. He dropped and I yanked it free. Belis grabbed my shoulders and pushed me to the ground.
“Get through, I’ll follow when I can.”
She picked up my sword and was already turning to face the next attack. I caught the end of her spear and passed it through to Rhiannon, then crawled through myself. For once I was glad to be small and scrawny as I slid through easily.
“Belis, come on,” I called, crouching down in the dirt and peering through the gap.
It was too small to see what was happening, but I could hear the clamour of blades and the growling of theshadowbitten. There was a thud and I saw red hair hit the ground. Belis groaned and I could just about glimpse her wincing through the tangleof branches.
“Here,” I screamed, reaching out to her. She rolled over and gripped my hand. I pulled with all my strength. Rhiannon knelt next to me and grabbed her other arm and we dragged her through the dirt towards us.
She was too broad-shouldered and the branches of the hedge were too close together. Rhiannon let go of her hand and said something short and sharp. The branches widened and Belis shot through to our side of the fence, one of the remaining men still clinging to her heels. I grabbed for the sword and stabbed at him, sending him howling back under the scrub.
