“Promise me you’ll stay where we put you.” He tipped Celina’s chin up so that he could look into her eyes. “I can’t be worried about you dashing into the fray to help someone. We’ll get the situation under control as fast as we can so you can get to the boy, but you need to wait for our signal to come into the camp.”
“I’m not totally defenseless.” She gripped the hand under her chin, pressing a kiss on his palm. “I’ll be fine. Just be fast.”
A derisive sound from Cass interrupted them. “Seriously, it’s only eight men, Rodric. Assuming you’re halfway decent with those blades of yours, this should be easy. Close and quiet, no need for a ruckus.”
Celina squeezed his arm, making him look back at her. Fury radiated from her gaze, an unusual emotion to see from her. “No mercy, Rodric. Take them all out.”
Hugging Celina tightly, he eyed Cass, his combat enthusiast, who was giving him a similar hard look. He was both comforted and dismayed by the women’s collective desire to create a bloodbath. “Alright. Let’s get this done quickly.”
“Oh, trust me, this is my time of day. No one outmaneuvers me at dusk.” Cass gave a sly smile that raised the hair on his arms. “Wait for my signal, Preddari.”
Rodrichoveredontheballs of his feet, ready to spring forward at Cass’s signal. As the more seasoned warrior, she had insisted on taking the lead in entering the compound, swearing to him she could take out a few of the men unnoticed before they had to move in on the rest. Truthfully, as a hunter working alone most of the time, he was grateful for her presence. He could keep them safe in the woods, but his combat skills were rarely tested.
Giving him one last nod, Cass took off, silent and deadly through the trees skirting the perimeter of the camp. She moved with confidence, and he trusted her instincts. But trusting someone and being attuned with a fellow warrior in combat were very different things.
Stepping into a looming shadow, Cass disappeared into the night. He squinted at the spot where he had just seen her, his eyes well-adjusted to darkness from years of roaming the forests. She hadn’t just disappeared; she had actually vanished.
Shock held him captive until movement caught his eye. Across the camp, one of the men fell to the ground without a sound. Cass was visible for a mere second before fading into the shadow as if she was never there.And she called me a ghost in the forest? What does that make her? Vapor?
The second man gave her a little more trouble, and she wrestled him out of sight behind a tree. Fighting his instinct to jump in, he forced himself to stay still and wait. Celina was out in the woods a short distance away. If they let anyone escape, it increased the risk to her tremendously.
Suddenly Cass appeared fully visible in the middle of the camp and attacked the man closest to the fire. She blinked in and out of the firelight like she was made of shadow. The man yowled, drawing attention to the fight before succumbing to Cass’s blade as it slashed through his midsection, eviscerating him from one side to the other.
The commotion was the signal he’d been waiting for, and he sprang forward, taking the nearest man from behind, slicing him clean across the neck and dropping him to the ground.Four down, four to go.The noise from Cass’s last victim drew two others out of the tent, bringing all four of their opponents out in the open.
Chaos erupted, breaking the still silence of the forest. At once, three of the men turned and advanced toward Rodric, having lost sight of Cass as she vanished into the evening mist again. Since stealth was no longer needed, he sheathed his knife and brought up his sword to meet the men charging toward him.
Moving to his right, he placed himself outside and to the left of the furthermost swordsman, keeping the remaining two as far away as possible. Rodric’s blade caught his attacker’s thrust, parried, and flicked upward with a wide sweep, cutting across the man’s arm at the shoulder. Enraged, his opponent yelled and swung wildly at Rodric’s head.Poor choice.
The blade followed him as he stepped back, passing close to his ear with a rush of air. He quickly leaned in, thrusting low and hard before extracting the blade, cutting upward and out across his attacker’s hip.Five down.Blood flowed freely as the body fell to the ground, sword dropping with a distinct thud into the dirt.
Rodric spun to the remaining two scavengers, rotating his blade just barely in time to ward off a heavy blow. The clash of blades sent reverberations strumming through his hand and down his arm, leaving him reeling as he staggered back. He stumbled as he regained his balance, trying to keep both opponents in his line of sight as they advanced together.
The air sung as a blade sliced with lightning speed, barely a glint in his vision. The second attacker dropped as both his legs were cut from under him with a powerful swipe, screeching in high-pitched horror as he fell forward. The blade continued to gain momentum as it hit the peak of its upward arc, a metallic reflection in the firelight, before reversing in a serpentine rotation to strike the final foe, separating his head from the neck.
Energy rolled off Cass in waves as the shadow warrior stepped fully into Rodric’s view. Cleaning the worst of the blood from her blade on the back of one of the fallen men, she eyed Rodric. “You good?”
“Yes.” Relieved, he smiled. “Thanks for the rescue. Did you save one for questioning?”
“Knocked him on the head and came to help you.” She pitched her head toward the melee behind her. “I’ll go find him.” Stepping over an empty vessel, she moved toward the center of camp.
Dropping from the trees above, an unseen attacker wrapped his arm around Cass’s forehead, his blade flashing toward her exposed throat.
“Cass!” Rodric yelled.
At the same instant, a knife flew toward them through the darkness, striking the foe directly between the shoulders.
Tossing the man off her shoulders with a heave, Cass spun like a whirlwind, blade whipping through the air to slice the man across the stomach before he collapsed on the ground, mystery knife pierced through his heart from behind. The hilt was hand carved with a unique, familiar pattern he recognized instantly.
Sidestepping into a shadow, Cass faded from view, a look of vengeance on her face.
Peering toward the trees, Rodric spotted the knife thrower.
Sev! No!“Stop!” he shouted.
Cass’s blade arced through the night as he spoke, whistling as it split the air, stopping a mere inch from Sev’s throat.
Pausing for a moment until the echo of his words rang through the camp, she lowered her blade. Appearing in corporeal form again, she came to Rodric’s side, eyes still focused on the potential threat.
