I jump out of the way, forced to forsake my shelter. Another arrow flies before I can take cover again and slams into my shoulder.
I gasp, staggering back. Then Kato has me. He shoves us both into the debris of the shattered icicle behind my stalagmite an instant before another arrow skids over the ice where I just stood.
Fuming, I grab the shaft and yank the arrow from my shoulder. Kato looks horrified.
“It hit a buckle. The armor blocked it.” Mostly. Under the tough leather, warm liquid dampens my tunic, making the material cling to the side of my breast.
His eyes close briefly in relief. Then, setting me behind him, he calls out, “We’re here on a mission from the Gods. We don’t want any trouble.”
Atalanta laughs. It’s a light, airy sound, like wind through trees. Preternaturally fast, she flits from cave to cave along the far wall. “So handsome. I think I’ll hold you for ransom.”
“What?” I say through gritted teeth.
Kato looks at me. The wariness in his cobalt eyes doesn’t color his arch tone. “Nowshecan rhyme.”
My jaw drops. “I can rhyme!”
“Live among bears, get covered in hairs!” Atalanta sings.
I roll my injured shoulder, testing it. It stings, but that’s all. “She makes no sense. She’s trying to kill us. We have to get past her.”
Drawing a Kobaloi knife, I rub my thumb over the sinew while I watch the way the archer’s silhouette moves. When I think I’ve nailed down the pattern, I throw the blade into an empty gallery, counting on her to flit through it at the same moment. She does, but shecatchesthe knife, stopping it right in front of her armored chest before twirling back into the shadows.
I blink. Titos and nowthis? Those Kobaloi knives were the worst purchase of my life!
Atalanta pops into the next cave, flips my knife in her hand, and then throws it back. The blade sticks in a mini stalagmite an inch from my foot. I jerk back, thumping mad.
“It’s not with a knife that you’ll take my life.”
I pry my knife free and then sheathe the blade again.
Twang. Crack!
Kato yanks me against him and spins to the side as another icicle falls from the roof and smashes down next to us. Shattered ice blasts our legs and scatters in a chiming wave.
“Nock an arrow, hit the marrow,” Atalanta chants, letting another bolt fly.
Too late, I realize Kato isn’t entirely behind the stalagmite anymore. He slaps his hand over his neck, right at the base of his skull.
Fury gathers inside me like a storm as he moves us both closer to the mineral deposit again. I reach for his wrist. “Let me see.”
He lowers his red-stained fingers, and I rise to my toes, using the arm he still has around me for balance.
“It’s just a scratch.” But mini Titos’s forked tongue islapping upthe blood.
I pat Kato’s chest in what I hope is a reassuring way, trying to keep my eyes a normal size and my voice steady. “You’re fine.” Animated tattoos and vampiric snakes arenotsomething he needs to worry about right now.
I pull my tunic from my pants, rip off the relatively clean hem, and then wrap the strip around Kato’s neck, securing the ends with a knot. “There. Good as new.”
He gives me a tight smile. “This stalagmite isn’t big enough for the two of us. I’ll go back to mine.”
“Don’t.” I grab his arm. “She’s too good. She’ll pin you in seconds.”
He hesitates and then gets behind me, pushing me right up against the frosty surface. Stuck, I can’t even give Atalanta the evil eye anymore.
“I can’t breathe,” I eventually protest.
“Good. Then you can’t move.”
