I got to my feet, scanning the field. I couldn’t see Samara, but I felt her light. I pointed in her general direction. “She’s over there. Don’t leave, I’ll be right back with the squirrel and the mage.”
Val was already moving, half-running, half-stumbling across the uneven ground.
Amari shifted to his demon form. “Nico ran after Kage.”
I took off, ignoring the way my damaged wings protested.The barrier was a little harder to get through in my weakened state, making me dizzy.
I pushed through the discomfort and searched the burning forest and clearing below. The smoke was thick now, and visibility was reduced. Looking for a squirrel and an invisible house mage was nearly impossible. The hell serpent was still shooting flames at the forest.
Nico had run off in that same direction.
My heart sank as I returned to Earth. I’d been too late.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
KAGE
The hell serpent’s roar shook the trees, followed by a wave of heat that hit my back. I didn’t look behind me. Looking would slow me down, and slowing down meant dying.
Nico chittered somewhere in the branches above. I followed the sounds, my lungs burning as I ran. Branches tore at my clothes, but I didn’t stop.
The vacants were everywhere. Their shrieks pierced through the roar of flames. Some ran past me, close enough that I felt the displaced air. Too close. If one of them touched me, it would be over.
I veered right, following Nico by sound. Nico was leading me somewhere safe, but the flames were spreading quickly.
My foot caught on a root, and I went down hard. I scrambled up, not caring about the pain shooting through my palms and knees. My chest seized, and I couldn’t get air past the panic clawing up my throat.
A vacant ran into me.
The impact knocked us both sideways, and I stumbledagainst a tree. I pressed myself against it even though I was still holding onto my invisibility.
The vacant’s head snapped toward me, and it reached out, fingers grasping inches from my face.
A flash of brown knocked it to the side.
I bolted, my heart threatening to burst through my ribs. My body wasn’t used to running. If we didn’t make it to safety soon, I was going to collapse.
Looking over my shoulder, I sighed in relief. The fire was far enough away from us now, and the vacants had thinned considerably. I stopped for a moment, hands on my knees, gulping in air that tasted like ash.
We couldn’t just keep running. We needed a plan.
Nico shifted next to me and grabbed my arm. He pulled me forward, not giving me time to catch my breath.
“Wait!” My voice came out hoarse. “Where?—”
His fingers dug in harder. “Run!”
I wanted to ask him where we were going since Val’s estate was in the opposite direction, but I could barely breathe, let alone talk.
We ran for what felt like forever, though it was probably only a minute, before Nico put his arm out, stopping my forward momentum.
In front of us, a man stepped out from a cluster of trees, twenty vacants behind him. I stumbled backward, pressing against a tree.
“Stay quiet and invisible,” Nico muttered, his hand going to his waist pouch but freezing when the man said his name.
“Nicolas.” The man spoke with no emotion in his voice and stopped his forward trajectory. He had the same eyes as Sammy, but they lacked the life hers held.
Nico took several steps to the side, standing in front of me protectively, even though I was invisible. “What do you want?”
