“Oh.” Drew swallowed thickly. “Any chance there’s something else outhere it’s hunting?”
Andras shook his head, his white-blond curls bouncing around his face. “Everyone avoids being on the plains at night.”
“Which is why we were staying at the inn,” Zach said pointedly.
“Well,excuse me. I’m sorry for putting a spoke in your wheel,” Andras snapped.
“So you should be!” Zach snapped right back. “You’ve put Drew in evenmoredanger!”
“Next time, I’ll just ask the Shadow Blades to keep their pursuit to daylight hours, shall I?”
“Save your sarcasm for someone else.” Zach’s voice had taken on a dangerous tone, and Drew couldn’t help but shiver. He wasn’t a violent person, but he was the first one to admit that Zach was sexy as fuck when he was in protective mode. “You’re the one who involved us in your problems. You’re the one who has put us in the path of the Shadow Blades. You’re the reason we’re on the plains in the first place. This isyourdoing, Andras.”
Andras had gone very still. A long moment passed before he said in a quiet voice, “Well, I apologize for involving you in my business. I thought that perhaps our history together meant you harboured a little goodwill towards me, but obviously I was mistaken. Return to the inn and keep Drew safe. I’ve always done everything alone, so I don’t know why I even thought I wouldn’t have to face this alone as well.” He let out a shaky breath and then turned away. “Farewell, Zachariel. It was a pleasure to meet you, Drew.” Then he walked away.
Drew stayed silent, even as all the complicated feelings Zach was experiencing played out across his expression. It wasn’t long before he swore and started after the demon. “Andras!” he called. “Get back here. We’re not letting you go alone.”
Andras stopped, but didn’t turn back. “You know what I’m facing,” he said.
“Intimately,” Zach confirmed.
“Then you know how dangerous it is.”
“I’m not a fucking moron.”
“There’s no need to be rude,” Andras sniffed, turning and slowly making his way back to them.
“Don’t push it,” Zach warned him.
“You used to love it when I pushed you.”
“I give up,” Zach muttered, and stalked off into the night.
“I want to say he’s gotten grumpier since we were together,” Andras confided to Drew. “But honestly? He was just as grouchy back then too.”
“He’s never grumpy with me,” Drew pointed out as they hurried after Zach. “Pouty sometimes, but not grumpy.”
“Yes, well, that’s because you’re fucking adorable,” Andras said. “I can’t see anyone being grumpy with you.”
After another few hours of walking, exhaustion was creeping up on Drew, and not even the sound of the urco closing in on them could ward it off. His chest ached, his lungs forced to work harder because of the lower oxygen levels. His jaw cracked as he yawned, and his eyes squeezed shut, protesting when he forced them to open afterwards. He thought longingly of their bed back home and wanted nothing more than to climb under the covers and sleep for a week. Instead, he forced one foot in front of the other as they trudged across the—literal—Hellish landscape.
The urco howled once more, the sound echoing off a rock formation that rose from the barren sands ahead of them. Zach was guiding them towards the rocks, hoping to find somewhere they could take shelter and defend against the beast shadowing them. They had yet to catch sight of the creature, but there was no denying it was getting closer. When Zach picked up the pace, Drew held back his groan of despair and pushed his aching body into a jog.
They reached the base of the rocky outcrop, and Zach surveyed the area, his sharp eyes looking for somewhere suitable to hide. Leila flew off Drew’s shoulder and hopped from rock to rock, making her way rapidly upwards. She was soon lost to the darkness, her inky black feathers blending inseamlessly with the shadows. Just as Drew was thinking he needed to go and find where she’d gone, they heard herbokloudly, and he suddenlyknewshe wanted them to follow her.
In the two days since Leila had found him, Drew was starting to learn that this was the way his familiar communicated with him. She didn’t “speak” into his mind like Zach did when he was in his cat form, but it was as if she deposited fully formed thoughts there directly instead. He waved up the slope in the direction she’d gone. “I think Leila’s found somewhere for us to hide,” he told the others.
Zach didn’t even question it, just gestured for them to go in front while he covered their backs. The urco had fallen silent, and Drew had the feeling it had gone into stealth mode for its final approach. He scrambled up the slope, his feet slipping on loose stones and sending them cascading down behind him. He heard Andras curse as he got a face full of gravel, but he didn’t have time to apologize. There was a slight movement up ahead and another softbok, and he saw Leila perched on a rock.
As Drew reached Leila, he put his foot down on a larger rock, only to have it shift beneath him. His arms windmilled as he fought to regain his balance, and time seemed to stop for just a moment as he was suspended between falling forward or falling backward. Ultimately, gravity won. With a shout, Drew toppled backwards, careening into Andras, who in turn fell against Zach. As Drew hit the hard ground, the wind was knocked out of him, but he had no chance to catch his breath. They tumbled down the rocky slope, gaining momentum, and every time Drew connected briefly with the ground, he felt some new part of his body hurt.
The three of them finally rolled to a stop a few feet from the base of the outcrop. Drew fell onto his back and gasped in a lungful of the thin air. His entire body was tender and bruised, and he knew he was probably bleeding from more than one spot. He knew they had to move, that the urco was closing in on them, but he just hurt too much to get up. Distantly, he heard Leila clucking to him, and closer by, Zach was getting to his feet. Drewclosed his eyes, wishing desperately that he would wake up and find this was all just some horrible dream.
“Drew? Sweetness, are you okay?” Zach asked.
Drew groaned in response. He felt a hand on his wrist and opened his eyes to see Zach kneeling above him. “Sorry,” he muttered.
“Come on, we have to move,” Zach urged him and climbed to his feet.
