No problem, I could handle the Corrupted even better than the dead.
I summoned my Spirit Magic, bringing forth a dark wraith that I sent shooting out of me. It bashed through the Corrupted and out the other side. He crumpled, the reins going limp, and I had to jump onto the diver's bench to grab him and the reins. Horse shrieking, I eased back on the reins, trying to stop our mad dash down the dark road.
Before I could stop the carriage, someone jumped into the cart. I glanced back just in time to see a fist coming my way. My last thought before I blacked out again was that a helmet would have come in handy. Wraith Lords never used helmets. They impeded our view and were usually unnecessary. Of course, the one time it's needed turns out to be with me.
I wasn't out for long, my immortality reviving me again. I came to in the back of the wagon, face-up. Someone new was driving the horses. Another Corrupted. The last man was gone, probably lying on the side of the road. I sighed and sat up, getting ready to repeat the process.
Something streaked across the bench and took the driver off the wagon. I followed the blur to the side of the road where a giant white wolf had the man's throat in his jaws.
“Don't kill him!” I shouted at Xae. “He's not dead.”
Then I was flying through the air again, the side of the wagon having smacked into a tree, the horse running wild. I hit the ground with a thud, the sound of hooves and rattling wood telling me the horse didn't give a shit that it had lost its last passenger. Groaning, I tried to get up.
Something grabbed my arms, and I was yanked once more across the ground. This time, I had to duck my head to keep from getting smacked by bushes. They were taking me off the road and into the forest.
“I've had just about enough of this,” I growled.
“For fuck's sake, just let me in.”
It took me a second to realize it was Death talking to me.
“I'm good, thanks,” I muttered.
Summoning Earth this time, I opened the ground. Whoever was carrying me fell, and I dropped on top of them. Of course, I was better prepared, and I rolled even as I summoned my wraith. Before they could grab me, I shoved my wraith through them—two men—and we all collapsed together.
I lifted us by filling in the hole beneath us, then rolled away to lean against the trunk of a tree and catch my breath. The freed Corrupted stared at me with wide eyes.
“It's all right,” I said breathlessly. “You're safe now.”
Someone grabbed me.
“Not this time, motherfucker!” I shouted and swung.
“Whoa!” Keltyr jumped back. “It's me!”
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered and fell back against the tree. “Sorry, Kel. It's been a wild ride.”
Kel looked from me to the men and back. “What the fuck is going on?”
Chapter Thirty
I had assumed the Corrupter had been after me again. Me specifically. But I wasn't the only one who'd been dragged away. Rath and Kel had both suffered a similar attack, and if Xae hadn't gone wild to go after me, it would have been the same with him. When we got back to the city after finding Rath, we learned that others from our team had likewise been taken. Or rather, attempts to take them had been made. None were successful.
“What is that fucker up to?” Xae growled. He was covered but only in loose hanging armor. His clothes and the leather straps that held his chest piece together had been torn with his transformation. The scraps of his tunic were wrapped around his hips beneath his leg plates. It was quite the look.
“Seems to me that he's trying to capture us,” Lord Loren said.
“Yes, we caught that. But why?” I asked. “I mean, I know why he'd want to capture me, and sure, maybe he'd enjoy torturing the rest of you too, but why not just try to kill us?”
“Because he can't,” Rath said. “Not with Corrupted.”
“I don't know,” I said. “We were attacked by the dead first. This feels like it's something else. Like there's more to it.”
“Let's get back to the citadel and confer with General Rontor,” Loren said.
“We can't,” Kel said. “We still have to bury the bodies.”
“You go, Loren,” I said. “The rest of us will—”
