Ludo runs forward, takes the guard’s head, swiftly breaking his neck.
I shift again and run back to Theodora as arrows come flying from the forest.
Fuck. I’ve cracked at least a couple of ribs.
“Well, that was one way to do it,” Bloomhower says, raising an eyebrow.
“You OK?” Theodora asks, in a mirror of the question I asked her earlier.
“Yeah.”
“Good, because aren’t you supposed to be getting the uniforms?”
I stifle a groan then nod.
All three of us move towards the wreckage. The girls peel off to the cargo bed. I’ve no time to be curious about what’s back there.
Fighting the fact that every breath feels like a jagged piece of glass is sliding between my ribs, I start stripping the dead driver of his clothing.
The blood is already congealing, and I swipe the jacket across the snow to get rid of what I can, then start on his pants.
Donovan joins me, holding the body to make my job easier. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing,” I say, but my ragged breathing and the way I’m favoring my left side probably belies my words.
Max hauls another body around from the back. A gleaming arrow penetrates the man’s eyeball.
“Is the girl in there?” I ask.
“Yeah, Ludo has her.”
I look up to see Ludo carrying a child. She’s bundled up in a thick blanket, and looks far smaller than eleven. Her hair is a tangled mat of dark curls, and her skin is the color of ash. Theodora runs towards them.
“Hey," she says gently. “We're here to take you somewhere safe. Somewhere with a healer and a warm bed."
The girl doesn't move, just blinks.
“Move faster, everyone.” Alexis warns, arriving at the driver's side. He looks at the uniform I’ve managed to peel off. “Max, get that on. Ludo take the other one. I wish you’d followed my orders though. No one is left alive to question.”
—Once inside, my minotaur will know the entire layout—
Handy.
Willow takes the girl from Ludo’s arms. “I’m going to start back now.”
“Keep in touch with Theo,” Feniks tells her. “And if you get orders to run—do it. You’ve the keys to the truck, so take the girl and drive.”
“I will. I’m not taking any chances with this baby's safety.”
Max passes her the down jacket he’s just stripped off. “Wrap her in this.”
Why didn’t I think of that?
Willow swaps out the raggedy blanket for the warm puffer, and Theodora wraps the stained cloth around her own body. After abeat, her face changes, her eyes taking on a shocked, thousand-yard stare.
“Yeah, that’ll do it,” Max mumbles, looking unhappy. Then he shrugs into the guards uniform. “Let’s push this thing back onto the road.”
I let the others do the heavy lifting, then climb into the driver’s seat. Theo is in the back with Ludo, Donovan and Max. Feniks is beside me.
