The klaxon was coming fromthe raven?
It had sat on Arabesque’s shelf for as long as I’d been in her inner circle. A taxidermied thing, dusty and forgotten, its glass eyes dull and lifeless. It had never moved, never made a sound, not even when I’d watched Amabel steal a demon token from it in April.
Now its wings spread and its beak opened wide, the glass eyes blazing with red light as its head rotated to face me.
“Shit!” I leaped back as the creature’s feathers began to shed, revealing rotting flesh beneath.
Either Arabesque had re-animated the thing as a guardian of her office, or it had very specific orders. With her, it was impossible to tell where paranoia ended and preparation began.
I didn’t wait to find out what other traps might spring. The bird was bad enough, alerting everyone in hearing distance that something was wrong. I bolted for the door, hearing something click beneath the floorboards as I crossed the threshold. A metallic whir followed, then the sound of blades embedding themselves in the doorframe where my head had been a second earlier.
The hallway burst into flames behind me as I raced down the stairs, fire streaming along the walls. Some part of me, maybe my wolf instincts, screamed that it was an illusion, but more traps were activating, and I didn’t have time to care if it was real fire or not.
I hit the share button on my phone as I ran, sending both photos to two separate contacts. If I died in the next five minutes, at leastsomeonewould have the intel.
The raven’s screams chased me as I headed for the front door, and I could feelherbearing down on me.
She’d prepared for this. Planned for this. All my caution, all my careful steps and guarded thoughts, had meant nothing. Arabesque had been in my head all along, watching, waiting, spinning her web with me at its center.
And now she was coming for me. With all her pet monsters slavering at her heels.
The front door exploded outward as I crashed through it, splinters embedding themselves in my arms and face. Pain registered distantly. A problem for later, if later existed. Right now, my only priority was distance.
I sprinted away from the house for all I was worth, doing what I did best. Running was all I’d done these past twelve years, and I’d probably die running. Which might not be too long from now.
I spared a glance at the garage. Maybe I could steal one of Arabesque’s cars? No, they’d be warded, probably rigged to trap anyone not keyed into their magic.
“Shit, shit, shit!” I hissed, taking off again.
Think, Foster, think.
There was only one option, one ally whomightsave my mangy ass. It was a long shot. The longest. Yeah, I called them “my boys” in unguarded moments, but the Cimmerians owed me nothing. Still, I jabbed at my phone as best I could while sprinting, heart pounding, hands shaking. Sent a final text to Zane.
Send. Moon Mother, please, let it go through.
The border of the farm. I had to get to the border. Past the wards, past the spells that would flay me alive if I tried to cross. Easier said than done. Every inch of this place was soaked in Dark magic.
I’d given the kids my truck and emergency money to get them to safety. No regrets there. King Julian had texted, “Package received,” last night, so I knew they’d made it out, and that was something. If nothing else in my forsaken life, at least I’d saved them.
Some prices you paid without complaint, even knowing the cost might be everything.
My lungs burned as I pushed my body harder, heading for the western edge of the property. It was the least guarded, with the fewest wards. Shared a border with the only neighbor, an old man named Ralph Gillespie. If I made it to the property line, I’d have to plow through the wards and hope to survive them.
Greisen? Yo, buddy. Sure could use a helping paw right about now,I called to my wolf.
No response. Didn’t even stir.
Behind me, howls split the night. Rogues, called to the hunt. I had maybe fifteen minutes before they caught my scent. Less if the Gravewrought joined the chase.
I played the last card I had and let the shift ripple through me, bones realigning and muscles reconfiguring. Fur sprouted across my skin, black and thick, and the world sharpened around me, scents and sounds becoming clearer, more immediate. Even without Greisen, fourlegs were faster than two. As my clothes ripped and fell, I spotted my phone on the ground. I hesitated, then carefully took it between my teeth. Too valuable to leave behind, even if it remained silent.
And then I was running, paws churning the earth, a blur of motion and silver-glinted eyes, but I knew, even as I pushed myself to the limit, even as my lungs burned and my muscles screamed, that it was fairly fucking useless.
No response from Zane. Still none from Greisen. Not surprising, but my isolation hit harder than I’d expected.
No cavalry coming to the rescue. Alone, then. Like always.
I was one person, alone and unaided. I had no weapons, no tools, nothing but my wits to keep me alive. And that wouldn’t be enough. Arabesque’s monsters would hunt me, and I would die in this nightmare world, just another broken corpse to fertilize her poison gardens.
