The shield wouldn’t last forever.
Hastily I grabbed Takkan by the hand, pulling him up. Together, we leapt onto Admiral’s back and raced to join my brothers. “What were you thinking? You could have been killed.”
“The odds of death were high,” he replied, catching his breath. “But not assured.”
I wanted to hug him. “You courageous fool.”
“If that’s what you call me now, rather than ‘that barbarian lord of the third rank’ ”—he passed me Seryu’s pearl with a grin—“then it was well worth it.”
Along the edge of the forest, my brothers had rounded up extra horses for themselves and were shouting at us to hurry. Behind us the branched walls were beginning to crumble. Black smoke spilled over the Wolf, rising into the sky toward the mountains.
I let out a sigh of relief. Without Seryu’s pearl, the Wolf could not resist his call to the Holy Mountains for long. We were safe.
Then invisible claws wrapped around my neck.
“Shiori!” Takkan shouted. He grabbed my hand as our horse reared and the Wolf started to drag me away.
Let go,purred the Wolf against my ear.Let go, unless you want him to die. Unless you want all of them to die.
Pain pricked my eyes. I saw my brothers charging toward the Wolf. “Don’t fight!” I shouted as the darkness surrounding the demon swelled. “He will kill you.”
“I won’t let you go,” Takkan said through his teeth. “Come on, Shiori.”
“You have to.” I drew as close to Takkan as I could, our lips so close I could feel his breath.
Our foreheads touched, and I pushed Seryu’s pearl into Takkan’s hand. It would protect him and my brothers. Kiata too, if I couldn’t defeat the Wolf.
Then I let go.
Away from Takkan I flew, the Wolf’s laughter booming in my ears, so deep even the trees shuddered.
Before I could blink, we shot up into the sky, leaving the forest far behind.
There was no turning back now: we were joining the demons inside the Holy Mountains.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Night fell. The sky turned to ink, blotting out the sun, and darkness cloaked the world below, too. I could not tell whether we flew over sea or forest or mountain.
It mattered little. I knew where we were going.
The gods had decreed that all demons were prisoners of the Holy Mountains, and now that the Wolf had transformed, he could not resist their pull.
Nor could I resist his.
We were flying so fast that I could hardly blink or breathe, but every chance I got, I wrestled the Wolf, grappling to free myself of his hold. Kiki speared his eyes with her beak while I attacked him with my dagger, but it was a losing battle. He was smoke; he had no flesh to wound, no bones to break.
There was only his amulet. No longer was it bronze, but black as obsidian, the face of a wolf still scored into its surface. Every time I tried to reach for the amulet, the smoke shifted to conceal it, until I was practically drowning in my own despair.
Finally Gindara glittered beneath me. I’d forgotten how close my home was to the Holy Mountains. Against the cloak of night, the city was alight with lanterns and torches. I could see the Sacred Lake, its waters reflecting the glow of the pale moon. Too quickly, we passed the palace and flew into the foothills, drawing ever nearer to the mountains.
A light shone from the valley and trees below. Like us, it was moving, winding through its woods like a snake.
“Your stepmother,” rasped the Wolf. His claws curled over the satchel of starstroke, and he clutched it gleefully. “Her pearl is quite exceptional. I’ll look forward to relieving her of it, once I’m done with you.”
“You should have thought about that earlier,” I shouted. “You killed your master, remember? You’re a demon.”
“You think I would break my oath so carelessly?” the Wolf jeered, clearly reveling in what he knew and I did not. “Only a bloodsake can breach the seal upon the Holy Mountains, which means that only you can free the thousands trapped within.” He paused to let the words sink in as horror gathered on my face. “Yes, that’s right. I’ve been waiting all this time for the birth of a new bloodsake. You, Shiori. Once your blood spills across the Holy Mountains, the demons will unleash their fury upon Kiata at last. With your stepmother’s pearl in my grasp, I will be their king.”
