He gestures to the two Blacksmiths on his right. “You two are with me.”
Then he turns to the Blacksmiths on his left—the two who chained wolves to trees. He addresses the man with the copper beard first and the one with the bronze hair second. “Deron. Abdiel. Search the cabin. Find Asha.”
With that, Kalith focuses back on me and Father.
“No matter what else we do,” he snarls. “We’re killing these fucking Einherjar.”
Chapter 14
Father’s chest rises and falls with a deeply indrawn breath as he sheathes his knives and reaches for the sword at his back.
As he draws it, a calm seems to settle over him once more.
He casts a quick look at me and then beyond me to the cabin.
I read his wishes loud and clear: Keep the Blacksmiths from getting inside, where Thoren and the woman—Asha—are hidden.
Father leaps back into the fight with Kalith, the sound of ringing metal filling the air while Abdiel and Deron storm in my direction.
From the way Kalith addressed them before, it seems that Abdiel is the one with bronze hair while Deron is the one with the copper beard.
They reach for a metal band from each of their biceps, at which swords spring forth within their hands.
My bow and arrow rest in splinters across the snow and my fight with Kalith forced me a few paces closer to the cabin, but I’m still well within the center of the clearing with plenty of space to move.
I draw my hunting knives, gripping one in each hand, taking quick seconds to study the oncoming men while Skirra stays close to my right side. If either of them gets past me, Skirra will be able to give chase more quickly than I can.
They come at me fast, weapons swinging, alternating glimmers of copper and bronze.
I dart back and to the side and back again, deftly evading each killing blow they aim at me as they work in unison, fighting as if they’ve been coordinating their attacks for years.
It’s clear from their increasingly furrowed brows and downturned mouths that, despite the way I defended myself against Kalith, they didn’t expect me to be able to evade them.
But I’ve had plenty of practice avoiding the claws and teeth of creatures in this forest. Their blades are no different.
And with the two of them coming at me at once, they have to be mindful of each others’ weapons. It seems to be slowing them down. Or at least, they aren’t as fast as Kalith—and I plan to make the most of it.
I just need an opening to use my knives.
Abdiel exposes his side and I throw myself forward through the snow, sliding past him, my knife cutting across his ribs, tearing through his tunic and the flesh beneath it.
Blood splashes across the snow and he whirls on me with a roar.
Unlike Kalith, it seems this Blacksmith doesn’t have liquid metal to protect him. I may not have struck the knife deep between his ribs, but I hurt him.
He slashes at me wildly, his movements erratic and furious as he splits off from Deron to rage at me.
My surroundings become a blur as I focus on his blade and the way it’s transforming, becoming sharp and jagged on both sides.
The copper metal swings in a deadly arc toward me, but this time, I step inward, a dangerous move.
My left dagger flies at the side of his throat. My right dagger flies at his stomach.
Both connect, each one slicing into him.
His eyes widen and suddenly, he’s trying to leap backward, where Skirra is waiting.
The wolf sails through the air, teeth bared, latching on to the back of Abdiel’s neck and pulling him down to the ground.
