His grin turned mischievous. “Not yet. But hopefully soon.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Before I could finish my meal, my Wraith Lord pendant came alive, vibrating and glowing on my chest.
“Damn it!” I shot to my feet.
“Go,” Vardan said. “I'll take care of our plates.”
“Thanks.” I faded to the citadel. Coming out of the arrival chamber, I cursed. I couldn't fade upstairs because I didn't know where my men were.
“This is why we should stick together,” Xae said as he came out of the arrival chamber behind me.
“Xae! Do you know where the others are?”
“Yeah. Kel is in his room and Rath is in the dressing room, getting armored up. I came down here to wait for you to return. We can fade into the sitting room.”
“Oh, thank the Goddess.”
We faded upstairs, then ran into the dressing room to get armored up. When we were prepared, we faded to the mission together. The three of us arrived seconds before Keltyr, standing in a dark alley. Light from a streetlamp ventured a few feet into the alley, leading us out to a sidewalk. Screams came from both directions, though we couldn't see anyone.
Before we could decide which way to go, Lord Loren swooped over our heads and shouted, “This way!”
We ran after him, chasing him around a corner.
He doubled back to report, “Large group ahead. At least twenty dead.” Then he flew back to it.
I suppose we could have used Air to fly alongside Loren, but Xae and Kel weren't the best at it yet, and we didn't need them falling and getting hurt in the middle of a mission. So, we ran. When we reached the group, Loren was already pelting it with counterspells. My men and I started helping him. But, just as it had been with Vardan, these dead moved faster than the others we'd encountered before. And they were human, not the immortal races like the Corrupter had been sending lately.
We didn't have time to backpedal. In seconds, we were overrun.
“Ember!” Xaedren roared.
I blasted Air out from me, sending the dead tumbling, and searched for my lovers. Xae was throwing bodies, but more replaced each one he tossed. Rath shot into the air and hurled counterspells at the dead around Xae. Xaedren tried to fly, but the dead kept pulling him down. Meanwhile, Keltyr mimicked me, using Air to defend himself instead of to levitate, and the pile that had been covering him exploded. And I mean exploded. Body parts came raining down.
“Damn it, Kel!” Rath snarled as he wiped away gore from his cheek.
And that would be another reason not to use magic in a fight before you had mastered it.
Before I could reach into my pouch for more counterspells, someone grabbed me around my ankles and yanked. As I went down, I saw Xae toss the pile on him away, finally using Air as Kel and I had. Then I hit the ground. Hard. The breath was knocked out of me, and I blacked out. When I came to, I was still moving across the ground, someone—or maybe I should say something—dragging me at a fast slip.
I groaned and tried to get up. I couldn't. Not with the way they had my legs lifted, making my back arch. I heard screams and shouting but it was too distant for me to make out if any of it came from my men. I tried to summon my magic, any magic, but that was nearly impossible to do while being dragged. I had to concentrate.
I protected my face as best I could, my vambraces protecting my arms. The rest of my armor shielded me from not only the street but also the tearing fingers of the dead.
I took hope in the fact that they couldn't drag me forever.
Or could they?
We went from cobbled street to grass. Were we out of the city? Then I was flying through the air, tossed onto something hard. Wood. It gave a thud when I hit. The wood shuddered and moved, taking me with it. Before I could get up, I was covered in corpses. The dead piled atop me in what I assumed was a wagon. But now that I wasn't trying to keep my face from getting flayed, I could focus.
The dead went flying, exploding just as Kel's group had. I didn't have time for the counterspells, nor was I sure I'd brought enough with me. The wagon didn't stop. I got up, bracing my feet wide, and turned to see a dead man at the reins. I could hardly believe he had the will to drive a cart, or that the horse wouldn't protest the scent of all those corpses. But wait.
I looked closer at the man. He turned to look at me.
He wasn't a corpse. He was one of the Corrupted.
Shit. It looked as if the Corrupter was mixing things up.
